Smiler Cuthbertson - Mountain Guide

Ah! The sweet smell of spring. The flowers, the bubbling brooks, the birds, the DRY ROCK !

Ice gear stashed away, big boots cleaned and stored, it is time for real fun! We are going ROCK CLIMBING.

My usual spring programme was North Wales for at least a week or more (and this time it would be more!), followed by an ascent of the Old Man of Hoy (E1 4b, 5b, 4c, 4b,4b) and this year two ascents, back to back!) Finally, before heading off to the Alps for the summer season, I’d grab a few days on Scottish Rock, dodging the showers before hitting the Autoroute du Sol

The new Climbers’ Club Llanberis Pass guidebook was to be launched by a party at a restaurant called Caban, just outside Llanberis on June 6^th, and as President I needed to be there. So it was all working out nicely. Go down via Flybe to Manchester, pick up the hire car, drive to Llanberis and meet Rick and Andy in Pete’s Eats. Get a climb or two done with them then get along to the late afternoon meeting of the guidebook committee folowed by the party in the evening. Sunday would complete the lads’ two-day course with me.

After Rick and Andy, Dave would slip down from Cheshire for a couple more days’ rock climbing with me.

Steve would fill the Wednesday with a day’s rockin’ and I would then get back to Manchester in time to return my hire car and meet David, flying in from Inverness, he’d pick up his hire car and we’d drive back to Llanberis for a five-day climbing programme, as we did two years before, and then in glorious weather.

The plans were working out brilliantly. Unfortunately, North Wales was wet, right from the start and Dave had texted me to say he’d cut his hand badly on broken glass and was in plaster! He would be out for the summer at least!

Dark clouds, threatening weather met me as I drove into Llanberis. Rick and Andy were stuffing bacon butties in Pete’s so I joined in. The heavy rain started before we even left the cafe, but we parked at the climbers’ Club campground  and walked from there up to the roadside boulders under Dinas Cromlech. Undeterred by the now horizontal and almost freezing rain, an already soggy trio trogged up to foot of the Cromlech, the centrepiece of this famous valley.

I chose Flying buttress  (V Diff) to start the lads off. It would give me an idea of

  The lads were commuting to a b & b about an hour south of Porthmadog and I was heading for the CC meeting and the launch party. A hot shower in the hut at Ynys Ettws was very welcome.

The meeting, dealt with and over, we all had little time to relax before the early guests and CC members started arriving for the Guidebook launch party. By half past six the Caban room was heaving, and I recalled with some pride, I hadn’t seen so many rock stars/local Welsh activists all together for a CC function for a very long time, and certainly not since the Gogarth guidebook disaster!

Ray’s PowerPoint lecture was stunning. Revolving around Llanberis life, Snowdonia itself, and the local activists, so vital for our guidebook programme, the show he put on was superb. Lots of mickey-taking and sensational shots of rock climbers in action, pictures of the slate, Tremadog, Gogarth and the rain, everything and everywhere we hold sacred to North Wales.

Sunday dawned with slightly better weather, but it was prudent for Rick, Andy and me to edge our bets and go down to Tremadog for some hopefully dry rock. Fortunately, as always, Tremadog rarely lets me down.

Today was the first of a continued succession of trips to Eric Jones’ cafe at the ‘Madog. Every day, everywhere else remained wet and miserable, no chance of Gogarth or the Pass, and even at Tremadog, we would some days have to wait past our third coffee before the rocks showed their true value of flash drying!

 

Rick and Andy, now dry after the previous day’s downpours, wanted to improve their standard, and Christmas Curry (Severe) was the obvious starting answer.

We approached via the now clean-cut path paying a silent tribute to the local activists who had done all the good work. Dealing efficiently with the climb, the opening and damp groove,the short but technical wall above the Oak tree, and

The steep groove of One Step

finally the longer and steadier, but very enjoyable top pitch, the lads were warming up and looking for a harder test. 

One Step in the Clouds (VS 4b, 4c) gave us the On the climb, a moment or two of trepidation on the ‘one step….’ was helped by warm words and a stiff(ish) rope.

One Step - the exposed slab

solution to this test and, now in drying weather we approached the vector Buttress, now fully exposed in all its glory after the tree-felling and superb cleaning done by the North Wales/BMC activists.

Concerns over, we topped out up the diagonal crack and the lads really enjoyed a great couple of days with me. They insist they’ll be back for more!

Traversing to the exposed stance

how much and how well the boys could climb in the rain! Four hours later, in even worse weather (I could swear it was snowing at times) the climb was completed in some discomfort and we

Flying Buttress - the final awkward groove

quickly packed the gear away and sped down to the cars.

Monday morning blues? Not us!

Anne drove west and met me in Inverness and we sped off to check out a crag (new to me). What have I been doing? Why had I not climbed here before?

Jetty Buttress, on Gruinard Bay. Access was less than it takes to get from the car to Tescos. However, it WAS raining most of the way across, and I had doubts on its proclaimed ‘fast to dry’ guidebook statement?

After so many treks up to the Ben this season, it was a delight to step out of a car and rope up, lightly clad and in rock shoes, at last!

With the car parked conveniently on the grassy verge opposite, we scrambled easily up to check out the V.Diffs and Severes noted in the guidebook. These were all higher up and to the left of the main face, which is quite impressive for a small crag.

As with the longer routes on the front, the shorter, more scrappy-looking climbs that we wanted to warm up on were wet and we waited and watched the breeze do its stuff, the weather improving now the rain had ceased. Soon enough, it was no longer possible to wait, so we chose a climb called Route 4 (VS 4c) , which looked reasonably, even if steep? The guidebook says ‘Strenous, a little wet in the back does not affect the standard’. No-one mentioned cold fingers and tricky thrutching up a wet and overhanging chimney!

I got up it but not without some concerns. Anne was quiet on her ascent!

Ok, then. If that’s the way this crag is going to greet me, I’ll take it easier from now on. 

With some sunshine trying to get through, the front face and its longer routes looked more inviting. Lily the Pink (H.S. 4a) was a dream. Lovely incuts and ample protection. This was what we came for. We followed that by the classic of the crag - Anthax Flake (VS 4c) - and although it is very steep at one section, the jugs on the warmer rock, now dry, gave the route some ambience and both Anne and I thought it was a super route.

Now getting into the latter half of the afternoon, I opted for one more route before driving back. Route II (VS 4b) didn’t please us too much as a final climb of the day. The line wasn’t too clear and one could wander into harder ground if not careful.  I opted for the more obvious left-hand alternative (the book said - 4c - poorly protected). but it seemed marginally better than the line further right. I may have been getting a little tired but it did seem harder than 4c (I’ll go back on a warm sunny summer day and re-do it!)

All in all, a great little crag and the central, front wall with the longer and harder routes, looks a magnet for me when better weather comes later in the season.

A great day out.

Smiler.