It has been an interesting summer in North Wales with plenty of innovative action out on the crags. The big news on the repeat front is that young Pete Whittaker has taken the second ascent of George Smith’s much discussed shale route, Ugly at Trwyn y Tal, near to Trefor on the Lleyn Peninsula. This exceptionally steep (5m in 35m!) and radical groove/chimney line has repelled a number of would be repeaters since it was first climbed in 1992. George proffered a grade of E7 at the time, but over the years its reputation grew as reports filtered back of its fearsome nature. I recall thinking that the nearby Foose, which George graded E5 6a, looked like a solid E7, whilst Ugly seemed like an altogether crazier proposition.

The route was originally protected by over fifteen pegs, plus a large selection of suspect cam placements (it has been suggested that a quadruple set, plus some up to size 6 are necessary). During recent abseil inspections by Jack Geldard and Tom Randall several of the pegs broke away under finger pressure. Tom did replace a number of the pegs, but the route is thought to be more serious than when it was first done. A new grade of hard E8 6c or XXS (i.e. extremely, extremely severe!), with a physical difficulty of F8a, has been suggested. The route took Pete several days to complete, and it should be noted that he left his gear in place in between attempts.

There is a short piece of film of Pete struggling up the chimney section (shot by Jack Geldard) on ukclimbing.com

A similarly mind boggling effort came from Pete Robins who upped his game considerably with a repeat of Jerry Moffat’s infamous test piece Liquid Ambar on Lower Pen Trwyn. Although the route is twenty years old it has only seen repeats from Ben Moon and Rich Simpson. Pete spent about twenty days before he landed the successful red point. As for the grade, there has been discussion of bumping the original F8c up a notch F8c+. Pete compared it in physical difficulty to Silk Cut V13/14/8B/+ - the epic highball problem in Parisella’s Cave which Pete made the second ascent of earlier this year – but added that the route was obviously a more frustrating proposition because of the additional problems of tides, greasy conditions and arranging belayers.

Aside from Pete’s monster effort, LPT has seen much attention, stimulated in part by a comprehensive re-equipping of the crag by Pete Harrison (well done that man!) and the production of a new updated topo which can be found on the North Wales Limestone wiki: http://northwaleslimestone.wetpaint.com/page/Lower+Pen+Trwyn .

There has even been some new routes: Tommy Chamings provided the hardest with Moonwalk F8a+ a superb direct start to Over the Moon. On the same day Chris Doyle added a hybrid link up: Battle of the Parasites 7c+, which as the name suggests connects the lower part of Battle of the Little Big Orme into the finish of Parasite.

The increased popularity of LPT has lead to some parking issues on the Marine Drive. Chris Doyle reports:

“Last weekend we had some issues parking at Pen Trwyn on the Marine Drive. The combination of tourists parking on the right by the kerb and most of the climbers parking in their usual place on the left by the caves (which is a lot more off the road incidentally) meant the buses couldn't get through, and one was stuck there for two hours. This situation is quite rare and soon shouldn't be an issue again for a while as the school holidays are nearly over and the busy tourist season should soon be over. However this coming weekend is a bank holiday and the tides are pretty good so there will undoubtedly be a lot of climbers and tourists again. The ideal solution would be for every vehicle to be parked on one side or another, but enforcing this at the moment without the council putting up signs will be very hard.”

“So anyone going climbing on the Ormes this weekend just be aware of the situation and use your common sense when parking. After last weekends furore there was talk of yellow lines, banning climbing (both are unlikely) etc... There have been enough sensitive access issues here over the years and we need to try our best to keep the climbing community in the best light. Also do not reverse back down the road from the cave, it is one-way.”

Up in the Llanberis Pass the right hand side of Dinas Mot has once again provided the focus for new route activity. The most impressive line came from George Ullrich who climbed Banarama E7 6b on the neglected, but wildly steep Ettws Isaf. George’s route starts up Kristian Clemmow’s The Darkside (an unrepeated E8/F8a first climbed in 1999), but then swings left and climbs the steep groove left of the arête to reach easier ground on the upper slab. The style of the ascent was headpoint; George top roped the line one day, and then returned for a second session when he made the successful lead.

The route was originally cleaned up and top roped by myself in between belay stints for Kristian back in 1999. I knew it would get done one day, but must admit I’m surprised it has taken ten years for somebody to bite. There are other obvious possibilities on this buttress, including a short, but hard groove line on the lower wall which Kristian top roped, reckoning a grade of F8a was about right. Unfortunately there is no gear apart from a sky hook placement.

Further left a very psyched Andy Scott steeled his way to the top of the thin slab between Gardd and Hornets Attack Victor Mature. White Lies E5 6b is a big pitch with some tricky climbing on the lower half, and a desperate crux section right at the top. Andy cleaned the route on a rope, then returned and lead it with a few sliding falls from the crux before topping out.

Just to the right Tim and Lou Niell added a neat new line in between Do or Dai and The Shining Path. Ayacucho Crack E1 5b starts as for Do or Dai, and takes the cleaned finger crack to the top of the crag, conveniently arriving at the ab belays above The Shining Path.

The Equestrian Walls at Porthllechog on Anglesey's north coast saw more new routes from the Nick Bullock, Streaky Desroy team. First up was Cities of the Plain E6 6b, which breaks out of Captain Mark Phillips at 5m height and takes the obvious line up the wall next to Three Day Event. Nick head pointed the line and reckoned it was more sustained and serious than his other recent E6 addition, All the Pretty Horses. To see a pic of Cities of the Plain, go to: dmmclimbing.com

To finish things off the lads kept with Cormack McCarthy theme by naming a big traverse line: No Country For Old Men. This E6 6b starts up Captain Mark Phillips, but breaks out right at the 15m height to traverse all the way across to a point just short of Crazy Horse, where a straight up finish is taken. The last section of the route is protected by three new pegs.

At the Angler’s Zawn Upper Tier at Benllech Ian Lloyd Jones and Phil Targett have extended developments with further sport routes in the French sixes grade range. There are now nineteen routes in this area. The original six routes are documented in last year’s Gogarth North guide and the rest of the route descriptions can be gleaned from the Gogarth wiki: http://gogarth.wetpaint.com/page/Other+Anglesey+crags. An updated Ground Up topo is due to be published soon – watch this space.

Slate action has slowed, partly because First Hydro had closed the public footpath which runs through the quarries so that a new fantasy blockbuster film could be shot. The main footpath is now open again, however Dali’s Hole remains a sensitive area as far as land owner, First Hydro are concerned. There has been talk of constructing a high fence here and possibly blocking off the tunnel entrance to California. In order that the situation is not further antagonised it would seem sensible to avoid congregating here in large numbers.

Up on the Skyline Buttress level a series of big 40m sport pitches have been established. Chris Davies and Ian Lloyd Jones climbed Ruby Marlee meets Dr Holingsworth a F6a line up the wall left of Dr Strangelove. Ian, this time with Phil Targett and Sam Beesley, added Plastic Soldier F5+/6a, which takes the large slab left of Lindy Lou. And lastly, Ian and Chris climbed Clash of the Titans F6a up the large slab between Lindy Lou and Plastic Soldier.

In Bus Stop Quarry Colin Goodey, Sue Goodey and Diane Kelly added Septuagenarian F6a on a previously undeveloped wall behind the promontory. Following consultation with the first ascenscionist the nearby Mud Slide Slim was cleaned up and equipped with a lower off by the same team. In its new state it rates MVS.

And lastly, Lee Proctor reports some new route activity from the Clwyd region:

“The ever prolific Gary Gibson has been active at Craig Arthur putting up a selection of mid grade sports pitches. The best of the crop is About Time F7a, which takes the wall between Digitron and Tito and is a stunning long pitch that gradually builds up to a tricky crux finale and ranks, in my opinion, as one of the best routes of this grade in the Eglwyseg Valley. There are two new routes right and left of Alpha Track Etch (both about F6c and currently unnamed) the right hand route being the better and finally there is a short addition to the left of Dead Man’s Creek F6b+. I think there will be more to come from this crag in the near future. Over on Dinbren I abseiled down and bolted up the old Will Watkin’s project left of Dr Gonzo. I did this on the 14th June and have called the route Extreme Ways F7c. The route starts just left of Cubase and climbs direct to join Dr Gonzo then traverses leftwards on dwindling footholds to reach a good undercut before blasting up the photogenic overhanging prow above. It’s a superb pitch and probably one of the best routes at Dinbren!”

That’s all for now folks. The A55 Crags guide, Slate guide and Gogarth South guide are all being worked on – please send in any action shots and feedback on descriptions, grades, star ratings.

Cheers, Simon Panton

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