The Empire State

Me and Tommy headed down The Diamond today. It was quite warm and still so we were expecting a bit of grease but the chalk was glowing as we approached and it was quite good. The crag's recent upsurge in popularity continues and there were people all over it. Tommy was keen for an old project line he re-equipped back in 2009. Right of Never get Out of The Boat is a amazing yellow streak. The start is a hard boulder sequence up to a long vertical jug and from here is a further 25 metres of amazing pumpy climbing to the top of the crag. Like The Black Pearl it makes for an unbalanced route with the first two bolts taking the grade up 3/4 grades and so the link from the jug to the top was an obvious challenge. The route has a hard sequence above the jug before it turns into a stamina fest. The rock has a rough shell so it's usually ok conditions when everything else is greasy. Tommy spent 6 days on it in 2009 and got involved again last Saturday and was soon on redpoint. Today he got the link first redpoint despite wet holds at the top. I'm glad he didn't drop the end as i doubt he would have got there again. We don't get much practice on 30 metre sport routes round here! He's called it The Empire State and has given it 8a but reckons it could be a tough one. Nice one mate. There are some pics on Mark Reeves blog.
I had another go on The Black Pearl, i still felt tired despite a rest day but had a redpoint and powered out on the top crux sequence. It's flippin sustained and the shake isn't that good as the holds are flat. I had a realisation that i really shouldn't be wasting myself on any more fitness routes this year. I need to make the most of feeling strong not wasting the window of opportunity getting boxed and tiring myself. It was a useful epiphany to have! I need to crush some stuff before mediocrity creeps back in. Jimmy Big Guns did Skip of Fools 8a+, ye! Later i had a look at the thing i bolted on hanging rock on the Orme. After one go i've christened it Hubble's Welsh cousin, its fuckin nails! Oh well, if i ever do Louis Armstrong i'll give it another go. Some nice weather coming up, need some wind to dry Pigeons!

New craglet near Ruthin

Two years ago my old mucker Ryan Mcconnell (aka Spidey) started developing a small roadside crag at Pwll Glass just outside of Ruthin on the A494. The crag yielded a 6a and a 6b on the right and a 7b through the central section which Danny Cattell bagged the first ascent of (name:Apple Crumble). Spidey had his sights set on a harder route on the left hand side. The route was a very nice little boulder problem passing the 3rd/4th clips involving some small crimps, a pocket and a high heel. Spidey tried the route sporadically but struggled with the tenuous bouldery crux, a long slap off the heel. This year he made the breakthrough and latched the move but got spat off the next move. He started getting through the crux more consistently recently but the last moves were still tenuous and hard for the feet and he kept dropping them. However he could tell the redpoint was close and desperate to bring closure to his seige he linked a few days in close succession and got the route ticked yesterday. It is the great thing about redpointing that we all go through the same tribulations on a long term project. The route is called Fraxinus Excelsior and is 7c or 7c+. The 7c's Spidey has done (including the LPT beast I've Been a Bad Bad Boy) have taken him considerably less effort than this route but he concedes that it may just not suit him. Time will tell but it is a very nice little route with a satisfying crux sequence. It's right by Ruthin escarpment which has been re-equipped by Lee Proctor and co so it's quite a handy micro venue. Spidey gets to jet off to Yosemite with his proj in the bag, nice one shag!
Pics:



Lee Proctor on Apple Crumble:


An attempt earlier in the year:

Tigger Cut

Wandered into the cave and saw this beast on Trigger Cut:


I chilled for a bit after the Dyserth exploits then went down the Diamond with Pete. It was greasy on first arrival but it got good. I finished off NGOOTB. I felt good on it but climbed it mainly on strength rather on fitness. I did get a bit back on the shakeout. Without doubt a North Wales classic! Pete tried the start to The Black Pearl, awesome hard boulder problem. I had a bolt to bolt on the new 8a. It is steeper than the other low 8's and is a really good power endurance route. I was tired so didn't have a redpoint. Yesterday i had a meaty sesh in the Cave with the stags. Some more Waiting Game footage:

The Black Pearl

Years ago Dave Redpath stuck some bolts in one of the obvious main lines on The Diamond. The line followed a hanging corner in the middle of the steepness which had plenty of holds but the first couple of metres off the beach to gain the corner was totally desperate. It made sense for someone to climb the route from the first jug as it is such an excellent line and the desperate start was so unbalanced. I remember when i first went to Ceuse this was a common practice on several routes. It seemed silly on those routes as starting from the ground was only usually a grade harder. I recall people hanging on the first bolt of Blanche Fesses 7c at Cascade. The one move off the deck was a v3 dynamic move but all the stamina jug pullers couldn't handle this savage piece of bouldering so they bypassed it. On the Diamond route it was an obvious way forward and Pete Robins did the deed a few days ago at 8a (name The Black Pearl). Now all it needs is a new lower off, maybe an extension and of course the route needs to be climbed from the deck. Hopefully this will go down this season. Its brilliant watching the crag coming to maturity with the obvious new routes getting done and the old routes getting re-equipped.

I was looking in my diary this morning and i noticed a list of 14 new routes that i made back in May that i wanted to complete this year. The Hole Truth was the last one on the list but a few extras have been added. Forgot to post this pic of my lucky belayer:

The Hole Truth

I did my project at Dyserth Waterfall today. I can't believe its 9 months since i first wondered up to this crag with Tony in the search for new rock. I was taken by the steep roofs and the first line i spotted was the roof with the hole on the right. I didn't really spot the potential for the two middle lines as i couldn't see the holds. I cut down some brambles at the top of the crag so i could ab down the line of the hole route. I got down to the lip and where i had been hoping to find some good holds was basically one solitary pinch. I gave up on the route and concentrated on the other lines. The hole was good when you got into it but there were so few options for your feet, i just thought it wouldn't go for me. After i'd completed Meatsville Arizona and Strawberries Man (7c's) i decided to bolt the last two lines even if they were two hard for me someone would do them. The middle line turned into The Madness Reigns which i sandbagged at 7c+. It was one of my best new routes. I had been playing on the hole project and had worked bits of it out. Before my injury in June i had a freak go and managed to get to the lip. It was a freak and when i started trying it again i struggled to get into the hole despite being as strong. It needed drastic action and a crash diet resulted in a breakthrough two days ago. It felt like a different route and i ended up dropping the last hard move. Today i returned with my lucky belayer Norman Clacher (Norm belayed me on the other routes) and did it first redpoint. I felt strangley subdued as i lowered off. I don't know why but the usual excitement when i do something at my limit wasn't there. I just felt pleased and relieved. I've never done a route like this, it is a hard, gnarly, crazy style. The moves you are forced into doing are quite wild for a route. It felt like a weird redpoint because after setting off it was done 40 seconds later. Difficulty wise i can't pinpoint it exactly but i'm guessing it is somewhere between mid to hard 8b. It could be my hardest route, i can't really judge if it's harder than Melanchollie as they're 7 years apart and so different in style. It's 6 easy moves to a 11 move font 7c+ sequence (compared to the recent boulders i've been doing/trying) and then 6b to the top. The name is The Hole Truth (nice one gorgy). I'd love to see some other folk trying it, i'd be intrigued to see what beta people come up with. Anyway to get to the crag follow the river from the top of the falls. Please act sensibly if you visit this crag. It is a popular tourist area and the crag is close to residential properties. You all know the score. I celebrated by climbing two 5's on the left so i could tick the crag.
Pic's by Mike Doyle:




Shit topo for the hard routes:

Pics n Vid

Ducko on G Spotting 7a, Pac Man boulders:

Bogroll comfortiser for toe cam on my hole proj:

Pete on the 2nd Ascent of The Madness Reigns:

Loyal belayer Tommy C:


Jimmy big guns film of the 2nd ascent of Dumpster Diver's. Looks cool, nice to see someone else recording the action!


We need some dry weather drastically, Pigeon's, The Diamond and the cave are all gopping. The Orme was shut today because of rockfall

New 8a+ on The Diamond

Neil Dyer climbed the old left hand Skip of Fools project today. Neil was surprised by the quality of Dumpster Divers (i don't know why! Name connection to Skip of Fools, google it!). This was one of the oldest projects in North Wales and if it were at any other crag it would have been done yonks ago. Pete Robins almost flashed the 2nd ascent falling really high on one of the last hard moves. The first proper hard move of the route is a spectacular dyno which is followed by sustained climbing above. The boys seem to think soft 8a+ is appropriate. The two long wall climbs to the left Robinson Cruiser and Non Tidal Screamer are now good to go. Pete did Robinson last week reckoning it to be pretty hard for the guidebook grade of 7c+. This must of been the first ascent for 20 years. Pete reckoned it could be 8a which in my brain register's as definitely 8a :). Expect a hard runout finish. Caff did Non Tidal Screamer, also probably the first ascent for a very long time. Unsurprisingly this also seems to be pretty tricky for its guidebook grade of 7c and don't be surprised if it feels 7c+ by modern standards. Either George didn't realise how well he was climbing in the late Eighties or we've all gone soft (probably both). Boat People is another example, 7c to the top of the crag in the guide but surely 7c+ compared to all the popular 7c's round here. Owen did NGOOTB (effort) and Caff did the 3rd ascent of The Brute (effort). I'm sure it was a casual affair, i love the way Caff keeps his belayer informed of his movements when he's on a hard route - "i'll have a little look in a min Soph" and the classic "bit of loose". Legend! Anyway no project is safe down The Diamond now, i'm quite glad i don't have to stress about it anymore as all the beasts are going down this year. I tried my Pigeon's proj again yesterday, it was a bit hot and still again. I took my jeans and kneepad but the kneebar wasn't as bomber as i hoped. I persisted and by the end of the session i understood the intricacies of it a bit better and managed to link the 3 hard moves. Pete was trying the S crack but had a go of my proj at the end and confirmed that it's tricky and there is no revolutionary beta that i'm missing. He reckons kneepads are cheating but he's just bitter cos his knee's too short. I embrace cheating like Tiger Woods so i've gone a step further and glued some rubber to my jeans. Please let it work, winter gop is coming! After i went to the cave and had a few redpoints on The Wire, it's a bit of a frustrating one as it's very easy to fall off Broken Heart even if you feel fairly fresh. You have to concentrate and climb it right. Dyer turned up and we killed the day off down LPT. I was keen to have a play on Liquid Ambar as i hadn't been on it this year and i wanted to keep it fresh in my mind. I wanted to try the crux as i knew the big slap Moffatt beta that i had employed when i did it wouldn't work for me on the link as it would be very low percentage. I know he was Jerry Moffatt but i find the way he did that move much more dismaying than the other methods despite being less powerful. It's such a hard accurate slap to be doing there. I had been taking notes when Malc was on it last year and was keen to try his foot beta of keeping his feet low on the shit left hand crimp pinch. I pulled and i roared and i was heartbroken to discover that i'm not as strong as Malcolm Smith, i wish someone had told me sooner, i've been living a lie for all these years. Anyway this crux move is substantially harder than all the other moves on the route for me and i'm not sure how i'm going to do it. The high feet feel too high and Malcs way feels too powerful and low. It'll probably be Malcs way. Just need to get stronger on that shit left hand. Dyer tried a cheeky heel on a decent sidepull which looked interesting. I had it in mind to go away this winter and do loads of campussing but i think its more a case of being able to hold a couple of very shit holds on the crux. On the plus side i was all over the first hard bit straight off, i was pleased because this is the second hardest bit and likely font 7b+. I was even more pleased to find the last sequence pretty steady on it's own. It is significantly easier than the lower moves. I'm sure it's hard on redpoint but if you're getting there you're laughing anyway. It's my lifetime goal and i'm fairly optimistic i can crack it within ten years after yesterdays session. Just need to get beastly, work the crux out and link 13 hard moves. Shouldn't be too bad actually. Its been the golden year for Welsh sport climbing. With well over 100 new routes from French 4 to 8c+ and hopefully more to come the place really is alive.