Sun, sea, sand and loose rock…

Last bank holiday weekend I managed to finally get climbing on the Lleyn Peninsular. I met Soames early Saturday morning and we headed into the Ty’n Tywyn Quarries. Considering the terrible weather report we actually managed to get good weather most of the weekend (the rain mostly fell at night) and I even might have picked up a little tan on the final day. So what did we get up to?

Day 1: Lleyn

A new cliff and a new rock type. Ty’n Tywyn Quarries is a very interesting place to climb. The rock is a micro-granite so it’s really compact. Finding places for gear proved to be a little problematic at time, but if in doubt (run it out!). Considering it is so compact you’d think that it wasn’t loose! Ha-ha you’d be wrong! Over the next couple of day’s me and Soames must have move about a tonne of rock between us. 

My first route was Timex (VD) but don’t let the low grade ease you. Soames lead P1 which was a run out slab but at a nice angle. About 10 minutes and 2 pieces of gear he was clipping an iron stake belay. Pitch 2 was mine and thankfully it had more gear, but it was still a little run out. It took a rising traverse line breaking through a series of overlaps at their weaknesses. Good value for VD but more like HS in reality!

The main slab of quarry 5

The second route was Sanatogen (VD). I took pitch 1 which followed a slab and corner up to a decent belay. The pitch had loads of gear, a little loose rock and good friction. It was worth its grade. Pitch 2 was a little different, and Soames’s lead. The first gear was a couple of opposing microwires before crossing an overlap to gain a slab. The slab was again gearless but pretty good climbing before a decent piece of gear and a hand traverse off to the left, avoiding a horn of rock. Another good value VD probably more worthy of a higher grade.

There’s more climbing to come. The next route was Round the Horn (HVS 5a) and it took an unprotected slab. To an overlap (and some gear) before turning the ‘lap and arriving at the belay stance of Sanatogen. Soames led this pitch as he’d been eyeing it up for a couple of days. I took the sharp end and followed Sanatogen to the hand traverse around the horn, only this time I went straight over it (very scrappily I might add) to top out. Not bad for 5a, but I’m not sure about the grade. 

Next up was our final route of the day (not that we knew it at the time). I’d picked Flat Iron to do, as it went at VS but there was no tech grades. The guidebook indicates that the lack of tech grades on some routes might reflect their nature or their lack of traffic. In the end it was the only route in that area of the cliff that we could be sure of the line, and as for the grade? Well it was closer to MXS 4b/c to be honest. Pitch 1 was for Soames, a delicate diagonal traverse across a slab… with no gear until reaching another iron spike belay (this was pretty eaten away). Found backed it up with a b/s nut and brought me up. The second pitch was nice. The climbing was actually quite good and reasonably technical, that is until I broke my hold pull pulling on it. I thought I was off and as I had no gear in I panicked a little (to say the least). I moved up and sunk 2 decent nuts into a good crack, breathing a sigh of relief and listening to Soames chuckle. Pitch 2 carried on up this ramp to a chimney. The chimney itself actually was really nice to climb, stemming and bridging up it. The gorse bush that was growing in it made it slightly less nice to climb. I should have cut it off to improve the route, but thought that wouldn’t have been sporting. I belayed off another iron spike, backed up with nuts and small cams. The final pitch was a brilliant bit of climbing from Soames, especially considering the nature of the rock he was on. The first rock over onto the slab prove pretty hard but at least gave him opportunity to place a piece of gear. From here the gear rapidly worsened, as did the rock. But it was good climbing. I topped out, glad to be on the bitter end of the rope rather than the sharp end for that pitch.

What a grand day out! Over tea (an excellent tarkha Dahl cooked by Soames) we discussed the new routing potential of the cliff and agreed the best thing to do would be to go back and take advantage of this fact the next day. 

Day2 : Lleyn again!

I woke up at 0515 and it was raining so I rolled over and went back to sleep. We eventually work up and had breakfast waiting for Stuart and Mick to arrive. The plan was set to head straight back to quarry 5 with a couple of new route possibilities in mind. This time I felt it necessary to sport my most garish of lycra for the day climb as the weather looked a little glum. 

On arriving at the quarry Stu and Mick set off up Sanatogen to get a taste for the cliff whilst Soames and I did a nice route called Exlax (HS 4a). This was a good route with decent gear for the crux as you broke through an overlap. The belay didn’t inspire much confidence as it was only a single iron bar, jutting perpendicular from the cliff. Then the second pitch followed a parallel line to Sanatogen, breaking through the overlap as it cross Timex before tackling the largest over hang. Thankfully this had an awesome borehole for gear and as a handhold. Soames’s happy little laugh as he finally clipped a decent piece of gear before pulling floated down the crag top. 

Then it rained.

Looking back along ptich 2

By this time we Soames and I had hunkered down behind a wall and were watching Stuart and Mick bail of the route next to ours in the rain. Luckily it passed quickly and it dried off fast giving us an opportunity to try and put up a new route. Pitch 1 took a slabby arête with better gear higher up to the belay for Sanatogen. It was nice piece and good start to the route. I took pitch 2 which went diagonally up the slab the follow under an inverted staircase overhang before pushing through the overlap and continuing under the next overhang. This was a great pitch to lead as the climbing was relatively easy, but the rock was a little suspect and I wasn’t too sure how much gear I’d get in. As it happened I emptied a third of my rack into the wall and belayed 40 metres away from Soames on the first decent crack I could get more than one piece of gear into (I had 6 in the end). Pitch 3 was Soames and what a good line. He carried on following underneath the overhang before dropping down a little into a corner. Here he could climb the corner and get onto the slab above before fighting his was through some very larger jumbled block that formed the last second. I watched as hand holds crumbled and foot holds slide away, only to find and awesome pitch for me to second. The route is called Interstella Ella named after the space walking on p2 and p3 and Soames new born daughter, Ella. It goes at about VS 4b and will get better with traffic. I think there is probably still time to grab a second ascent!

Soames tackling the crux of pitch 3

We only put up one other FA that day. Before that we sat around to watch Stuart on a 40 metre long E1 5b, which looked reasonably necked. It was a bloody good lead from Stu as the gear didn’t look so good. I sadly watched most of it upside down as I’d managed to trip and fall on the screen, gashing my knee open most spectacularly, and lay on the floor with my leg propped up on a broken spade. 

Our final route was another line we’d spotted the day before. It took a clean slab that wiggled it way up the cliff between Quarry 4 & 5. In the end I named it The Lycra Finish and gave it a grade of HVS 4c. It’s reasonably technical climbing based on the fact that several of the “good” holds are actual larger loose flakes that need to be avoided. Instead you get a run out slab climb with 3 pieces of gear, all of which are a little crappy. It doesn’t compare to Interstella Ella but it’ll appeal the climber who values a psychological lead over a safer and more technical. 

Day 3: Rhoscolyn!

I’ve only climbed at Rhoscolyn once and that was an awesome experience. I did Icarus (HVS 5a) with Mick, late one summers evening as the sun was setting. I was more than happy to get back there. After the new routing we needed to write them up at Pete’s, so it seemed silly to drive back to the Lleyn. This was also my first time writing up a new route so I was pretty happy. 

Rhoscolyn is a beautiful place. Shorter cliff than Gogarth but it still has a big feel to it. The rock is still quartzite which is nice. I really can’t wait for the Gogarth South guide book to come out, but seeing as I’ve been waiting 2 years I don’t have much hope. I’m not sure what’s going on with Ground Up, but they don’t seem to actually be producing guidebooks at the moment. I did 2 routes at this cliff. The first was Symphony Crack (severe). Sea cliffs scare me (bad experience at Gogarth involving high swell) and added to the fact I nearly slipped off the scramble in due to breaking off a hold I was a little on edge. 

A Soames in its natural habitat!

Symphony Crack looks like it overhangs by about 45 degrees. It looks really imposing, like it’ll force you backward when you try and climb it. Don’t be put off by this as it really is an excellent route. Considering it is only a severe on a sea cliff I can’t see why if doesn’t get more traffic! I guess just no-body knows about it. I climbed the route trying to use my arms as little as possible. This meant that I spent most of the route wiggling my back against the wall and commencing some quasi-chimenying motion or stemming wildly. The route has a load of pro all the way up and when climbed well it isn’t pumpy at all. This so be on everyone classic sea-cliff list… and it doesn’t even get a star!

Having done Symphony Crack, it was time for another of Soames’s classic routes, Baggy’s Crack (Diff). We’ve been doing a lot of “lower-grade” climbing this weekend (V.diffs and severes) and most of these routes are not something you’d want to send an aspiring VD leader up. Baggy’s was no different. Just as Soames described, it’s like a cenotaph corner but at a more convenient angle. The hardest part of the route was probably the scramble in, which required soloing above the ocean to then construct a hanging belay. The route itself was great. Good holds, good gear and nice climbing. It is again a fantastic route that needs more stars than it has, especially for its grade.

The cave below the route "electic Blue"

And well that was it climbing wise. I did look at Truant (VS) but in the end decided that it was worth leaving it as something to come back to. Instead we went and sat on the other side of the little zawn and watched Stuart and Mick climbing, even saw an another adder on the walk out. The Lleyn Peninsular seems to be embody what I like in climbing, adventure. I’ve not caught the new routing bug and can’t wait to get back to the Lleyn as there is so much potential. I liked trying the routes, cleaning then onsight and keeping a good ethic about the place. I’ll be throwing a rack of pegs into my bag for the next trip I think though… and a good brush!