NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2023

Meet Reports

The Early May Bank Holiday Meet at Rhoscolyn, Anglesey May 5 - 7

Finding the campsite was a navigational problem in itself but once found we had beautiful camping pasture with a footpath leading to the sea and wonderful coastal

scenery. There were 16 people on the meet with ages ranging from 7 to 79. Saturday, in beautiful weather we marched to the sea cliffs of Rhoscolyn eventually finding a lovely set of cliffs just above the sea at high tide. The upper cliffs gave easy climbs at about V.Diff but the sea

cliffs were much more difficult at VS and E1.

This was a relaxing climbing meet where challenging leads by Stuart, Dave C and Tom were followed by many top rope ascents by Joanne, Angela, Ken F, Marcus, Jenson and the younger children Corey, Charlie and Samantha. Sea bathing and a long walk back along the coast completed the day's activities. The pub called for a meal at 8pm.

Sunday was cloudy so Stuart and family went cycling followed later by Family Tom. Paddle boards made an appearance in the afternoon. Meanwhile Ken went exploring more of the coastal paths around Gogarth. Of particular interest were the lesser known paths and sea cliffs of "the Range" area.

The Beginners' Rock Climbing Meet at Braithwaite May 19 - 21

This meet was intended for beginners but with few real beginners in attendance the first outing was to Shepherds Crag and leads made by Stuart, Tom and Dave C of Fishers Folly, Kransit Crack Direct and Creeping Jesus all at VS or HVS... Once the "Hard Lads" had got the extreme climbing out of their system a visit was made to Brown Slabs. Ken F teamed up with Jenson climbing "Brown Slabs" and lacing it with protection gear to show the multitude of protection possibilities. Jenson followed leaving the gear in to later do a lead ascent himself using and placing protection.

Meanwhile Marcus and family climbed several routes on the slabs and Stuart and the hard lads climbed "Conclusion" E1.

A later visit to the river and both the Swinside and Coledale pubs completed the day.

The Late May Bank Holiday meet at Braithwaite May 26 - 29

This meet was advertised as a normal Mountaineering meet where members and guests meet at the hut and form groups to "do what they want", walking, climbing, scrambling. However everyone was inspired to climb the "Gillercombe Enchainment Scramble" at 500 metres long possibly the longest scramble in the Lake District. Saturday was perfect weather and an early car ride was made to Seathwaite. Even at 9am the roadside parking was almost full but the enterprising farmer has now opened up a field giving parking at £5 for the day.

We entered the scramble right at the bottom of Sour Milk Ghyll. Lovely grippy rock and wonderful scenery and challenges to negotiate and rock climb three impressive waterfalls some more than 100 feet high. Above the final rock pitch we crossed a fence and wall to give access to Upper Seathwaite Slabs. There are various rock climbs here, nothing more than diff and some pleasant scrambling in open countryside.

Then onward to the main face of Gillercombe. The scramble at grade 2 follows easy slabs which gradually increase in severity as one ascends. After about 500 feet an escape is made into a gully on the right. We then had an easy walk to the summit of Grey Knotts

Weekend Meet at Ogwen, Snowdonia June 9 - 11

We had booked eight places at the Achille Ratti Climbing Club (ARCC) hut at Bethesda for this meet but only three people actually stayed overnight. Fortunately the ARCC very generously allowed us to pay only for the people who stayed at the hut.

Saturday dawned bright. With the possibility of thunderstorms forecast the climbers met at Clogwyn y Tarw a small crag on the way to Idwal Slabs. Ken and Sam arrived first to climb the lovely Slab Climb Direct 30 metres of well protected V.Diff. They followed this up with "Home Climb" a ninety metre multi-pitch route said in the guide to present many interesting problems. And that it did. Some of these old fashioned V. Diffs can be very deceptive because they present you with problems you've forgotten how to climb like "lay backs and Chimneys". Protection was also in short supply on this polished route so Ken leading came off a bag of nerves.

Meanwhile Matt and Simon climbed "Llyn" a very traditional VS, 4C following it up with Slabs Ordinary. Then came the really hard routes with Matt leading "The Trouble with Lichen, E2 5b" with a tricky and bold first pitch followed by a well protected but tough traverse and a sustained crack. Simon then attempted "Herford's Crack HVS 5A" with a magnificently clean and hard start but then backed off at 20 metres to allow Matt to give him a lesson in jamming.

Sue had a lovely walking day ascending Y garn then crossing over by Llyn y Cyn to Glyder Fawr and returning to the valley by the Devil's Kitchen Track.

The following day thunderstorms were again forecast from 13.00 hrs so the three remaining Ken, Sam and Sue set off early for a scrambling day. As they got to Llyn Ogwen the tops of the Glyders were already covered in a type of menacing cloud forcing a change of plan. Sue suggested going to Llyn Crafnant from Capel Curig. This is a fairly low level walk over interesting woodland and meadow terrain so it fitted the bill. We took a break at the head of the pass overlooking the Crafnant Lake. Thunder clouds now covered Tryfan so a quick ascent of nearby Craig Crimpau was made. The views from this isolated Carneddau Peak were magnificent giving a full panorama of the Snowdonia mountains. A tiny track towards Capel Curig kept to the high ground and led us past a lake, mountain ponies and always great views. The day ended with a visit to the Zip Wires at Penryn Quarry just to the rear of the Bethesda hut. This playground is now most impressive with four smaller Zip wires travelling over the lake and four much longer ones starting high in the quarry. Another feature reminiscent of the mighty mouse at a fairground hung younger children from a harness to ride a monorail.

A day out Sport Climbing at Penmaenbach Quarry, Conwy June 24th 2023

After a few days rain and with a mixed forecast at other venues we decided to head for Penmaenbach Quarry on the Conwy Coast. The Quarry is a Sport Climbing Venue just off the A55 with five tiers of climbing and caters for people of all abilities with grades ranging from 2a to 8a, and with several starred routes and a nice view looking across the bay to Llandudno and the Great Orme.

Matt, James and Simon each took turns to lead "A New Lease of Life (6b**), Shezurrection (6b*) before Matt climbed the classic of the Quarry "Map of the Problematique" a 35mtr 3-star 7a route with bold and balancy moves, Matt described the crux move as "quite intense".

THE ALPINE MEET

Members and guests and their families have just returned from the Alpine meet that took place in Argentiere, Chamonix. The mighty Alps protected against the ferocious heat of countries farther south and much good mountaineering was done. Taster photos are given here of Stuart climbing the ladder to the Cosmiques Hut and Simon Wallbank, Dave Connelly Tom Shaw on the Cosmiques Arete with Mont Blanc looming in the background. A more detailed account of this meet with spectacular pics will be given in the December newsletter.