Nanabozho

After the big news coming from the slate quarries this week i thought i needed to show Caff who's boss and overshadow his poxy slab. As i stepped outside today it was fresh, dry and windy which felt quite surreal. I've been playing around on a little project at Llanddulas recently. I'd noticed the potential for starting up Mudjekeewis and finishing up Wirral Whip a few times over the years but didn't really think that it worked/was worth it. I was up high on Wirral Whip a few weeks ago taking pictures of Mawson on Mudjekeewis and the holds on the connecting section looked really cool and i got keen to try it. I returned with Lee Proctor and stuck one bolt in the new section and started trying it. It was very cool and seemed about 7c. I was on redpoint when the decent hold on the route exploded off when i was clipping. At first i was gutted but then is started trying it without the hold and it seemed like it would go so i decided to stick with it without the hold. It was quite a bit harder and i got excited. The holds were slippy and slopey and the footholds were hard to use and tensiony. I sorted the moves and left it for another day. On my return i found an easier sequence for the end but kept falling on a hard deadpoint to a slopey pinch. The route does the first hard move on Mudjekeewis and then 5 new, independent moves to gain the jug tufa on Wirral Whip which it finishes up. Certainly one of the better pieces of climbing on the wall despite not being an entirely new line. Today i returned with the Cattells- Danny and Mule. The conditions were good and i felt stronger and soon hit the slopey pod which was the hardest move. I kept falling afterwards though and tickled the tufa on Wirral. This move is amazing, you can really launch at the hold and it's really satisfying when you catch it. With time running out i despatched and topped out. I've spent so much time falling off this year with my attempts on Walking Mussel that the few times i've got up something it's been a shock. Mudjekeewis is a spirit from African mythology and the eldest brother to Nanabozho (which is what i've called the route). It was quite easy to grade as it's a grade harder than Wirral Whip and so 8a. It certainly felt pretty tough and took much longer than the other 8's i've done this year.

Danny would have got the FA on camera but he didn't press record so here is my best effort falling on the last move slapping the tufa. Danny is a muppet: