 |
| View from Gribbin |
Sat behind the counter in Outside on a quiet Monday I browse
through the various guidebooks. Ignorant of
Welsh climbing in general I scan through Gogarth North, The Pass, Cloggy and
finally, Ogwen. New places hold mysteries, lines catch the eye and a list
begins; the lifetime list. Since then this list has grown, routes from
countless destinations, of all grades. At home I still have the original scrap
of paper that the list grew from. The first scribbled name on that scrap, Rare
Lichen - Clogwyn Tarw - Ogwen.
Arête's have and always will hold a special aura for me. There
is something about them, they draw the eye, the exposure on such features is
hard to parallel; further to this they tend to provide a cruel lesson in technique
to the uninitiated. Rare Lichen represents all of the above. The level of
danger is also perfect, there is gear there, but how "there" it will
be when you fall is another matter. Don't get me wrong its not a total chop
route but falling comes ill-advised.
 |
| Clogwyn Tarw |
The line breaks into three sections -
- Steady ledge climbing leads to bomber cams, then a little
sketchy section to place an awkward RP2 in a blind slot.
- Tricky section moving around the arete, don't fall!
- Hard crux section on the top arête after placing a few RP
runners.
It was last weekend that me and Oli gambled off up into the
hills of Ogwen to check out the Gribbin. With the start being wet we set to
work on the top section. Flicking between sidepulls and the arete the top sequence
provides superb on-off climbing, with just enough holds to get by! The start
gradually dried, awkward placements were found and we made solid links on the
top rope. Not returning was out of the question. Then came the Indy Party and
the rest of the weekend disappeared into the mist.
 |
| Ogwen in all its beauty |
So this Thursday I repeated the oddly convoluted and
longwinded journey from Sheffield to Bangor .
Friday was the day, looking just about dry, perched between days of rain either
side. Waking up Friday morning it was clear the forecast hadn't let us down and
we again wandered up to the Gribbin.
On top rope the route feels harder than previous, with my
old sequence seeming unlikely and on-off. After sorting out a more slappy, yet
bizarrely solid seqeunce and learning the nuances of the gear the lead seems
on. Selfishly I ask Oli if I can go when I get down.
Pulling on with warm fingers the holds seem better and more
positive than on the top rope. Arriving at the awkward RP slot I feel solid. But after placing it it doesn't look right, no time to rearrange, press on. Moving around the
arete I'm trying harder than I'd like to be, the RP in the back of my mind.
Once round onto the front face you can relax, place the key RP's and enjoy an
almost hands-off rest. The only problem is the rest is so good you don't
want to leave. You could lower off your gear here. There was no chance of this
however (You'd only have to do the sketchy bit again!) and pressing on the arête went like clockwork, tick-tacking up, enjoying the position and some
of the best moves about.
 |
| Team Chummer |
The day wouldn't have been complete without Oli's ascent,
which followed soon after. I've been badgering him about these routes for ages
so it was great to get the team tick! Also thanks to Mike Hutton for coming over and
taking photos, legend! Cheers for the place to stay aswell Henry!
We finished the day with a route march up to the Lily Savage
boulders and managed to bag the mega classic 7b Paul O'Grady. Cracking day, may it be
the first of many this summer!
 |
| P O G |
