Open Project of the Month - May

Its started to get warmer in Wales. I got my first bit of sunburn due to careless herding of my tribe up to Idwal this week, and the cool of the mountains is definitely calling. One spot that is easy for me to get to from home is Cwm Marchlyn. Not exactly a boulderer's paradise but there is things to scratch at, and its easily accessible by foot or bike. The latter allows a swift return due to the Reservoir road, although I've yet to brave it with a pad. The most well known are the Marchlyn boulders, a small collection of so so boulders by the Marchlyn Bach Reservoir (also this in the adjacent Quarry). Cycle / plod to the bend at the top of this reservoir and the plod approach to the Cwm Elidir boulders is found:

Home to this Puppy, as well as a series of slabs and highballs for the dedicated truffle hunter.


Recently I went to the Top; the Boulders of Craig Cwrwgl. Tipped off by the topo in the Ogwen guide (the boulders shown are so so, with one roof crack to seek out) I instead discovered these:

Massive Dolerite beauties of the Finest Brown Stuff!

This chap became the focus of my attention, as it had a very pretty face.. However the landing required work...

Next visit up pacified the landing somewhat, and still sans pad, I picked of the plum easier lines; the scoop and the blunt rib on the righthand side, the easy overlaps, the sitter up the righthand side of the nose to the eroded scoop, became Erodeo. On the Left hand side, the less than subtle campusfest became Ledgehammer. There's a line left of this that I required more of a safety net for, same for the stand on the left side of the nose. The sitter on the left side of the nose is the Open Project (as are all the unclimbed lines really) Undercuts, compression, poor feet and directional holds will gain the stand. A bit like a font extreme version of Braichmelyn arete, except instead of F7A sit/F5 stand its probably a F6cish stand and much harder sit (I could see the positions, just not hold them).

Another View of the Bloc. Just behind it is a steep boulder with a slopey lip. I climbed it  on the righthand side from a sitter off jugs with an exciting landing. I threw a heel up and thought of a vid I'd seen of The Prow at Cratcliffe, as I couldn't find it again here's Warm Love, same idea.
However,  as my trousers velcroed themselves to the extreme friction of the mighty brown, I stopped emulating the bespectacled grit guru, and with the focus provided by a hillside of spikey rocks wriggled like an epileptic catapillar..
The result was Livesey's Love Child.
The three named problems were in the F6B range, others were easier and there's plenty still to go at.
Enjoy.