We were not expecting the crag (Craig y Castell) to be wet and so a change of plan was our only option. We decided to drop the grade and climb something easier by starting on ‘Creagh Dhu Wall’. The bottom of the route was seeping, but I was optimistic it would be drier once I got up higher on the more exposed area of the buttress. I had just reached the slanting crack before the step right around the arête on the first pitch of ‘Creagh Dhu Wall’, when a bird suddenly flew out of the crevice just missing the top of my head. I wobbled a bit, but did not fall. Phew, that was lucky! The second pitch was less dramatic and turned out to be dry in most places.
After climbing Creagh Dhu Wall the sun began to burn through the clouds and it turned into a pleasant day. We decided to climb ‘Mensor’ next, which turned out to be good route. Imagine how frustrating it would be if you never took that next move or that next step.
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| Dan on the foot traverse, pitch 1, 'Creagh Ddu Wall' |
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| Dan on pitch 2 of 'Mensor', Craig y Castell |