You know it is going to be a good day when you are driving towards the mountains with clear blue skies and then Oasis 'Go Let It Out' comes on the radio - Rock ‘n’ Roll, the summer is here. Today I’ve been climbing with Mark Earnshaw on Craig Ddu in Llanberis Pass. Our initial plan was to climb on Dinas Cromlech which was soon overturned when we couldn’t find a parking space, so instead we had to settle for Craig Ddu, and even then we were lucky by finding the last car parking space.
I've climbed on Craig Ddu in the past (Zig Zag and
Rift Wall) and was glad to get back there.
There was some seepage on Craig Ddu, which restricted what we could climb, but we opted for ‘Yellow Groove’, which lies on the right-hand side of the crag. Pitch 2 of Yellow Groove is a steep and exposed line with good holds. From the bottom of ‘Yellow Groove’, if you look directly up, there is a large boulder, which looks like it is about to detach itself from the crag (see photograph below).
After Yellow Groove we climbed ‘
Rib and Slab’ which was also a neat little climb. There is not much gear to place on either the rib or the slab, but the climbing is easy. Mark and I were consolidating skills in a mult-pitch setting and I think we both took something from the day. Good Times.
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| Craig Ddu (Right-Hand Side), Yellow Wall Area |
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| The block which looks like it is about to detach itself |
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| Mark Earnshaw, pitch 2, Yellow Groove |
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| Llanberis Pass viewed from the top of Craig Ddu |
