So I should have been in the Lake District this weekend just gone with the Wrekin, but the allure of a trip to Gogarth was too great, and I'm a sucker for Gogarth. An alpine start on the friday morning was disrupted by Toaf and some keys, setting us back an hour. We still managed to meet Stewie and get some breakfast at Eric's Cafe. Here we met Tom, swapped into one car and hit the road to Anglesey.
Toaf and Tom dislike climbing at Gogarth (they'll also admit it so they won't mind me putting it on here). Its not the climbing, it's the fact that you spend the time dangling around above the ocean I think. I can see where they're coming from completely. More than once I've let it get to me. Toaf will stretch to Wen Zawn, so that was where we headed, however it seemed like the world and his wife was heading to Wen so we buggered off that plan. Instead we took a short detour to Main Cliff.
You can walk into main cliff, but the word work is a loose term (as is the terrain, joke!). Sitting on the rim enjoying pre climb snacks Me and Stewie teamed up to climb something down on the cliff. On the cards was either The Strand or Gogarth itself. As we got down a scottish/finnish team was heading for the strand so we went straight to the base of Goagarth (E1 5b). Annoyingly there was a party on the first pitch, but after being reassured by thier friend that they where a quick team off we set up after them, taking our time.
As it happened they where not a quick team and we got held up all the way. We estimated that it must have taken us twice as long, but it least it meant we could take it easy.
P1 (4b) fell to Stewie a groove to a sound belay while I hung out listening to the waves crash around beneath me. This pitch took us ages and my thoughts where left to wonder, normally towards the reason as to why the party before us was taking so long. I got P2 (5a) and traverse on small crimps which then went up and back round on itself. The pitch was definatly "out there" and not what I was expecting (quarztite always takes a little getting used to). I wasn't impressed with my ropework as I should have put more runners in on the final section. I was more worried about m0ving quickly for some odd reason.P3 & 4 (5a) we ran together with Stewie taking a long (40m+) lead. From my stance on the 2nd belay I had a really good look at the final pitch and the crack system I would have to contend with. Stewie lead a good pitch of pretty hard slab and corner climbing and we sat eating wine gums, chewy sweets and waiting on the last but one belay. As we'd been climbing another party below us had started and I'd been talking to them. The poor guy had unleashed a krab of wires on the second pitch loosing what thier thought was a set of medium size rocks. Thankfully it only turned out to be 4 or 5, but I still made a note to be extra careful.
P5 (or p4 depending on how you look at it). It was supposed ot be a 5b pitch and looked like it too 3 steep/slightly overhanging cracks. I traversed out below them and placed enough gear should I fall off (Stewie commented that it was more than I use on most belays!). I knew the crux would be short (3 metres) and I could probably power through and place something after, so I went for it. The crux was hard. Like really hard but I managed it without coming off and then found that the rest of the climb seemed about 5a, not quite what I was hoping for. I got something in and then carried one, hanging on loose sounding flakes until I topped out on a gravelly ledge. Stewie must have managed it easily as he seemed to fly up it.
So thanks to being stuck behind someone it took us most of the day to complete this route. By now Tom & Toaf had moved off to climb on Holyhead Mountain. We joined them to find Toaf topping out on a HVS 4c while me and Stu lacked the motivation to do anything more. Eventually we bombed back to the car for a couple of beers (7!) back at the Golden Fleece in Tremadog. Strangely I had almost no hangover from the night before. Maybe it was good beer, maybe it was all the water I drunk before I went to bed, or the nice warm bed I had in Eric's Barn. We breakfasted at Tremadog and set off for Craig Pant Ifan. Although Bwlch y Moch is closer I've been there so often that I can't get inspired. Instead I was to send Stewie up Scratch Arete (HVS 5a) while Tom & Toaf would do Scratch (VS 4b). Here's how it went...
I took first pitch of SA, which was harder than I expected it to be with some big moves to get over the overhang. Little did I know that this would be a day of overhangs for me and Stu. Stewie took the second pitch and started off the slab. I've told him not to btoher with the big gear (size 3 & 3.5 cam) as he wasn't going to need it but as I looked up I saw the final crack and rememeber I'd done the same thing last time. I decided not to mention it. At the over hang he hung around for a while placing as much gear as he could (finally my little cam gets used) and discovering the "hidden" peg round the corner. Later we would read about it in the guidebook! Not believing there was a good hold to go to, Stu then launched himself up and over the overlap finding said good hold and then carried on up the slab with relative ease to finish. What a route!
I then attempted Silly Arete (E3 5c) but after arriving at the overlap, I backed off. Someone had left a sling and maillion behind which I took adventage off, but I downclimbed it as much as I could. I know thats only a little thing but it meant alot to me. I was pretty bummed out about not climbing it, or not really trying when we got to the bottom... then Stu suggested doing Barbarian (E1 5b).
Stewie took the first pitch and found it harder than he should he said. It didn't look or feel like a good pitch to climb though. I then had P2 (5b). I looked up at this massive overhang sticking out above us, "F*** that" I said. Stewie reply was somewhere along the lines of "just get on with it" so I did, begrudgingly. As I started off up the pitch with the first overlap I almost slipped off (good start!) and Toaf poked his head round to see what we where up to from the lead of Scratch. When he saw the overhang I was heading for he quickly called Tom across to watch too.
Underneath it really was as big as it looked, but with pretty bomber gear. I got a decent wire in and then clipped the aging sling of a overcammed DMM 4cu, rotting away at the back of the crack (it looked ok). I thing thought of my size 4 cam, sitting on my bed at home. I'd neglected to bring it as I wasn't planning on using it. Last time I leave it at home as it would have fitted perfect! I then got up on into the overhand. With an extremely painful fingerlock which was so tight I was worried I'd get them stuck. I placed a size 1 cam and reversed to get a rest below the roof. Then went for it. I heard Toaf, Stewie and Tom yelling and egging me on as I scrabbled with heel hooks and slapping hands to try and get my fingers out of that tight lock and round again. I manged to get out, round the roof and got the ledge I was aiming for, shaking madly and tried to pull up on it. I tried so hard and eventually got it pulling myself up panting, sweating, shaking and smiling broadly onto the ledge. Never has climbing such a short distance taken so much out of me. Stewie followed my up with relative ease (I swear he's catching up) as I belayed getting dripped on by the roof above. He then took the last pitch, a 4c groove line. This was harder than 4c and had a loose block to contend with and was pretty dirty. Stewie lead it well and I followed still shaking a little.
Thus ended our weekend, or so I thought. Stewie needed to get back so we high tailed it to Eric's cafe for a brew and he then headed off. This was going to be my first weekend in a while when I hadn't visited a new crag, but Tom suggested a final bouldering session in the evening sun before we went home so off to Carreg Hylldrem we went. My camera battery had died but we did some wicked bouldering (flashed a V4 first go) then worked a bunch of cool problems adding a removing holds as we saw fit.
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