Gogarth North

Product Information

Ground UpThis kind of image – pictures of George outnumber those of any other climber – is a fitting tribute to the contribution Smith and others like him have made to the recent development of Gogarth, but it also reinforces the view of many that Gogarth is a loose and dangerous place and not for them. A view that is only amplified in the Introduction with its talk of Gogarth's 'well deserved reputation for wildness' and of its devotees 'wild eyed state of neo-religious zeal.' A cheeky route that makes a high girdle of the main cliff in a devious fashion, and has bags of exposure for a straight forward, if somewhat commiting route. Start as for Diogenes from the flake in the rake. Step down and right and cross the wall with trepidation. Continue to the arete and move up to a hole. Traverse down and right to a slab which is descended to a corner, belay. Up on the east face of Tryfan Derek Rydden has been developing new multi-pitch routes alongside Pete Johnson, Geoff Bennett and Glynne Andrew in the area around Munich Climb (HVS 5a) and Belle Vue Wall. This lofty crag above many of the more well-trodden traditional routes already offers some very worthwhile climbing and with this new development has become a great venue. The best of the bunch would appear to be Don't Mention the War (E1 5b) at E1, Appeasement (HVS 5a) (HVS), Schwein Würst (E4 6a) (E4) and Cally's Overhang (E2 6a) at E2. Further route information can be found on the UKC logbooks. Limestone and A55 crags The glorious sea cliffs of Gogarth, situated on the western tip of Anglesey, provide an impressive range of exciting traditional routes. Nowhere else in the UK will you find such a concentration of classic and adventurous climbs.

Jay hiding from the wind in the small chimney. Plenty of extenders and slings required for this pitch Gogarth North Wales Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve in Llandudno has ranked as the UK’s most picturesque nature reserve for wildlife watching. Belayed on solid spikes up to the right of the normal belay (approximately level with the top of the flake/blade, 6 feet to the right) which reduced rope drag and communication issues. Finally under the cave roof we were offered some shelter from wind and rain. The final pitch was an absolute delight to climb, hopping and walking around huge features, gently balanced on perfectly positioned (although often soaking wet) holds throughout. Well worth the hype, all the other climbers who bailed are clearly soft!

Up to and through the overhang to the short corner. Climb this and swing out left, easier than it looks, then move up left to ledges. Go up a short steep corner to a large sloping ledge (First belay, Big Groove). Belay at the right hand end of the ledge beneath a steep quartzy corner. b) 6a. In the spirit of the original: Continue 10’ further up the wall from the juggy spikes. Move round the arête, level with an obvious rugosity, into the disconcertingly holdless groove. Unexpectedly on-off for a couple of moves. A full length eliminate climbing the steep and soapy initial wall to the right of Zeus P1, before following a long direct line up the slab right of Wen. Access from the Dream abseil to sea level. Ffynnon Tudno. Situated beyond the road, near the northeast corner of St Tudno's Church, ffynnon Tudno was, together with ffynnon Rufeining, a principal source of water for the community settled around the church. High tide start. Mark lead 1st 2 pitches , I got the last. Under pressure to finish as heavy rain was imminent,topped out just as rain started.mark did a grand job on the last pitch in wet conditions. Excellent climb, been on the list for years.

Rap (VS 4c) VS 4c, Castell Helen – Fine open wall climbing on the friendliest of the big sea cliffs. The guide has been extensively researched by the Ground Up team which consists of Simon Panton (editor), Simon Marsh, Graham Desroy, Rob Wilson, Al Leary, Adam Wainwright, Martin Crook, George Smith, Pete Robins and James McHaffie. Specification Another common choice is to stay in the Llanberis area on the main land and make day trips over to Gogarth if (or when) the weather craps out in the mountains. With the new A55 road you can make it across the island in roughly half an hour. Four years ago, Simon Panton produced a guidebook to bouldering in North Wales. It was a landmark publication. Both in the dark, austerity of its design - and in granting parity of esteem to the English and Welsh languages - Panton was throwing down a pof rag to the ancien regime of guidebook writers.Head injuries are common in climbing and abseiling accidents, so it seems sensible that all climbers, whatever grade they climb, should consider wearing a helmet, especially on the type of sea cliffs that you find at Gogarth. In 1826 the summit of the Great Orme was chosen as the location for one of the 11 optical semaphore stations that would form an unbroken 80mi (130km) chain from Liverpool to Holyhead. The original semaphore station on the Orme, which consisted of small building with living accommodation, used a 15m (49ft) ship's mast with three pairs of moveable arms to send messages to either Puffin Island 7mi (11km) to the west or 8.5mi (13.7km) to Llysfaen in the east. Skilled telegraphers could send semaphore messages between Liverpool and Holyhead in under a minute. Red Wall (E2 5b) E2 5b, Red Wall – Deeply memorable experience on a mesmerising and challenging cliff.

Do yourself a favour and steer well clear of Gogarth South, both the book and the place. The end. Still here? Well, I warned you. The problem with this guidebook is the problem with all good guidebooks:they remind us that there are too many routes and not enough time. Gogarth South is an excellent guide that makes plain that I – and probably you - haven’t spent enough time climbing above the Irish Sea. Step down and teeter left along the obvious ledge into a groove (on Mammoth) and up this to a small ledge. Go left across the steep wall on the obvious line of holds, or down and left (indirect, but a little easier) into Citadel. Up this to small ledges on the left. Across these and up a short corner ( Graduation Ceremony) then move left across a very sloping ledge, around an outside corner to a large sloping ledge and belay. Aris, Mary (1996). Historic Landscapes of the Great Orme. Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst Wales. ISBN 0-86381-357-7. Freezing cold and frustrated, I spent an age trying to resolve my self-inflicted torture. It started to rain which only added to the feeling of impending doom. Eventually, I was free from the monster knot and ready to second the pitch, but I had no feeling in my fingers or toes, let alone the rest of me. As someone who has climbed on many of the most beautiful cliffs in the world, I naturally have several favourites. You can probably guess which ones. Ceuse, Grand Capucin, the Tre Cime, and Gogarth, to mention just a few of the usual suspects. Each in its own way perfect and complete.Sometime during all this struggle, the other climbers watching and waiting for their turn decided today clearly wasn’t the day to climb this route and promptly bailed, leaving us alone as we approached the final pitch. A pleasant route up the RHS of the slab. Start from a boulder below a steep groove, capped by an overhang, to the right of the first chimney of Wen.