Gogarth
Pissing in the wind...Like most trips away with Andy it started with a phone call early in the morning either waking me up and enquiring where I am. Now I'm usually on time, it just seems that when I'm not it always Andy who I'm late with, always. So I dived out of bed, ran to the car to move it before the parking nazi's in Stoke ticketed me and got moving. So much for the early start in the end. We reasoned that the weather report looked slightly better for the afternoon so we drank tea, pack the car leisurely and headed off.
The drive was like most drives to wales: long, sleepy and annoying. We kept driving through patches of decent weather, only to drive back into progressivly worse weather as we got closer. Eventually we pulled up in Llanberis in the driving rain. I'd had a few the night before so breakfast at Pete's was our first port of call. Eventually we decided to risk it and head to Gogarth as it looked like the only place that would be dry.
Now Andy has never been sea-cliff climbing before, but he's a pretty good climber leading HVS so we went to Castell Helen pretty much because I know where I'm going on the cliff. We walked down and sussed out if it would be ok to climb first. We took a good look at the ocean, the onshore winds and the incoming weather. I sea was low, but the swell high so I reasoned we'd skip the first pitch of the routes or just belay higher up. The wind was strong (40 mph), but dry and blowing inland. It would make communication a problem, but it would also be good practise so, and finally the coming weather? There was alot of cloud, and a few little rainfalls out at sea, but we figured we'd be alright.So back to the car, quick slash in which we seperatly soaked ourselves and then kitted up and headed down. Our first obstical was getting the abseil rope down. With so much rope we did try a throwing some coils. The wind pretty much carried them horizontal through the air. Next was a rope bomb. This little trick is pretty use full in medium to high wind I've found, but today it was found wanting. I still got the rope down, but it was in a 45 degree line across the cliff. No worries, I would sort it out on the way down.
As the heavier guy (and the one who knew where he was going) I set off first intending to do Rap (VS 4c). Abseiling over the edge in such high wind made me feel incredibly lonely. I knew Andy was just out of few but he could have been miles away. The wind was strong enough to make verbal communication worthless. I abseiled past the belay for the second pitch, watching the waves and tugging the abseil rope from around the cliff. I could see the niche where the route starts was getting washed by the ocean continually. Choosing a hanging but dry stance over an soaking wet one I tried to find out at the base of the groove. I'll admit I was pretty scared at this point dangling above a raging ocean and being blown around by the wind. I couldn't find anything I wanted to commmit myself to belay off and as I struggled to find anchors it started to rain.Well I just paniced. I'll happily admit it, hanging at the bottom of the cliff in the driving rain I paniced. I tried hauling myself back up the rope but there was too much weight on it and it was too stretchy. I calmed myself down and sorted myself out, attaching another prussice above my device and then getting my weight off it. Eventually I started my slow process of inching my way back up the rope, thank god I'v pracisted prussicing before! At the half way ledge I noticed it had stopped raining and the powerful wind had dried the rocks already. Rather then bail completly I took a stance and gave the rope the good old 3 tugs. Andy swiftly joined me.
Andy took the final pitch Rap (4b) as out first route. It was his first sea cliff lead and quite an intersting route trying to make sure you get in enough gear and extend it well. On the top we decided that all in all it wasn't so bad and I suggested that we do Lighthouse arete (VS 4c). As the sea was bad I opted to avoid the first belay and head to the second ledge. This entailed a crazy slanting abseil across the cliff and I built a hanging belay above the ledge. This proved to be a mistake the ledge was actually dry and out of reach of the sea. As I unclipped from the abseil rope I stupidly let go and it got carried off by the wind, stranding me hanging at the base of the cliff and without having let Andy know I was off the rope so he could come down.So I dangled away yelling into the wind but Andy didn't come down. In the end I got my phone out and sent him a message, I realised I'd only been there 30 minutes but it felt like hours. Andy didn't actually get my message but just got bored of waited and came down the rope anyway to see where I'd got to. I sent him straight to the ledge and he built his belay and I stripped out my unnessessary hanging one, I joined him and we flaked out the ropes and I set off... as anothe rain storm hit! I climbing as fast as I could while remaining save (I ploughed in alot of gear as I was afraid of slipping off on the wet rock) and got a niche about half way up the pitch. Here out of the wind and rain I belayed and brought up a soaking Andy. He was soaked but still smiling!
Again the weather cleared up and the strong wind dried the rock allowing me to finish my pitch. We swapped leads and Andy took to final to the belay. By now the hero factor was running low so we decided to head back to Llanberis for a victory meal at Pete's. This was then followed by a Lecture by Katherine Shirrmacher at Plas-y-Brenin. Eventually we decided that we should probably find somewhere to sleep. Eric's camping barn seemed a good plan meaning breakfast at erics and climbing on Tremadog, plus the weather was looking a little dodgy so a dry night sleep would have been nice. We arrived at Eric's nice and late to find the cmaping barn booked out, so up went the tents and down to the Golden Fleece for a cheeky pint.
Sunday morning and it was dry! God bless Tremadog. Andy hadn't climbed here either so I spoilt him and headed for Merlin Direct (HVS 5a) as our first route. I let him take the first pitch and the cheeky fellow belayed below the crux! Clearly the hero factor was so high today! He brought me up and I lead a 10ft pitch to the actual belay. Joining me, I salivated over the crack climb that starts off the pitch. I've been wanting to do this route for quite a while (ever since I did Merlin original with Rob). It was an awesome climb starting off with a crack (which I jammed not laybacked) then this petered out to some face
holds before a shift left to gain the thin cracks to finish. I dropped 1 wire fumbling around on the final section but shot up it with no problem. Tremadog definatly takes nut protection over cams!. Andy agreed what a good route it was and we headed for something else.
As our hero factor was feeling pretty low we picked "One Step in the Clouds" (VS 4c). I really was spoiling Andy with his first trip but I gave him the 1st and last pitches saving the middle pitch for me. Again a pitch I've been wanting to lead myself for while. Andy took the first pitch and was slightly stumped by the hand jam crack finish. I seem to rememeber having much smaller hand last time I did this route as my hands didn't fit this time. I took the second pitch which was a delight (I also realised carry up my gogarth rack was not requires as a rack of wire would have sufficed!). Seriously this route ios one of the gems of Tremadog and needs to be done. I hung around in my belay snuggled up in my belay jacket and sent andy off up the final pitch. We abseiled off grim wall in the end, with the ropes just reaching on stretch!All in all a good weekend, I'll apologise for the photos but like I've said my camera is a little broken so I don't quite know what I'm shooting!
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