After a good day at Pant Ifan on Tuesday, I decided to go back there with Ben and Charlotte. Today, however, I was better prepared, this time remembering to take all the essentials, including a pair of gloves. It was a cold day and this meant the rock friction was good again.
We initially dropped down to Two Face Buttress to take a look at ‘Helsinki Wall’, which turned out to be seeping in the lower half, mostly on the yellow-coloured slab. Because of the seepage, we decided against Helsinki Wall and instead scrambled back up to the upper tier and climbed there.
Ben began by leading ‘Myomancy’ HVS 5b, but before this he decided to solo most of the easy routes on the upper tier. The route of Myomancy was a good climb, which takes a devious line up the front of the buttress, probably being the most eliminate route on the upper tier. I then led ‘Gwynedd’ VS 4b, which was a good climb for the grade, despite a bold start.
After this Ben and I both led the upper tier test-piece ‘Meirionnydd’ E1 6a. The bottom-half of Meirionnydd requires friendly finger jamming, which contrasts markedly with the upper-half of the route, being slabby and technical. Meirionnydd also requires good footwork, which makes it a good route overall. For the finger jamming crack, peenuts and brass offsets may prove useful. After climbing the route twice, my fingertips felt like wood!
By the time we had packed away it was almost dark. Only when I got home did I realize that there is an easier start to Meirionnydd, which is named ‘Tu’Shae’ and has a technical grade of 5a. This is a route to maybe try next time. I am looking forward to getting out with Ben and Charlotte again and hopefully we will get on some good routes this year.
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| Charlotte climbing Myomancy HVS 5b |