Wednesday 19 February 2014

A Classic Welsh Tease - Clogwyn Y Garreg

Where? I hear you cry, nestling in the mouth of the Nantlle Valley, found in a 10 year old guide which states 8 single pitch routes up to a solitary E1, a brace of new routes added on the CC website all solo upto VS, and Questionable access.

Thus starts a classic welsh tease, familiar to all driven to the unheathly life of the new router. You see its 200m from the road, and looks pretty. Further more its strewn with a myriad of, admittedly small, boulders. To clinch the deal, a bit of digging divulged its now on open access land, and an anglers deal means easy parking and a maintained path.

The Game is Afoot.

2 mins from the car

The View down the valley

All starts as usual. Time is limited to 2 hours between home and Osteopath appt (hence why I'm not patioing  Neverfall..) so thats about 1hr to wander. First impressions are that the rock could be nice and is certainly quick drying (all dry here), its rhyolite with some quartzy metamorphing. Think wavelength meets  holyhead mountain.
Given the time I elected to circumnavigate the mound, not having time to scour the two tiers..
First lot into view
start of next tier

And so it goes on round the mound, new exciting rock round each corner to inspect at a closer range...
What we want is:
1)a line
2)a landing
3)respectable difficulty
4)more than 3 moves..

And thus the tease ensues. It means that we get 1 or 2 out of 4. maybe 3, but the golden chalice of 4/4 always slips like snot through our fingers. 3 out of 4 isn't bad I hear you say, but its always the most awkward un-useful combination.

And so the next corner beckons..
the end?
around the corner
up the gully
another corner. Okay this ones looking good....
A case study in tease. 3 lines each 3/4 in the most unhelpful combinations..

However

This crag has a lot to offer and is not really known about, so come for a wander, bring a pad especially if you're operating in the Font 3-6 range, and a rack if you like short interesting lines. Just no minibuses.

And there's still a few corners to explore around next time....



No comments:

Post a Comment