 |
| Golden Wall Area | Craig Dorys. The adjoining twin pillars (center) was our objective. Please do not stare too hard as they may fall down. |
“It was a pilgrimage to a femme fatale crag!” Craig Dorys (cited as "Dorys" hereinafter) is said to be a notorious Lleyn Crag. Charlotte, Ben, and I went to investigate further in the hope of unearthing some ‘climbing esoterica’. We were not disappointed.
[Apparently a climber on the Lleyn will be revelling in some of the finest coastal scenery and wildlife habitats in North Wales. Indeed, the rock-climbing on the Lleyn Peninsula is said to have started with those intrepid cragsmen, the bird-egg collectors. The wide range of ornithological species inhabiting the coast of the Lleyn would have provided a supplement to their diet in hard times. The nomenclature ‘Lleyn’ progressed through the ages from Laigen who were an Irish tribe that occupied the area for a time.]
Can it be said with certainty that "Dorys" is a notorious Lleyn Crag? For me, climbing at Dorys provided an experience that cannot be described, which was mostly good, but in an unusual way. I now have great respect for the climbing on the Lleyn, not least, but perhaps most, the climbing on "Dorys".
Apparently the route that we initially intended to climb has only had two ascents in twenty years! (see UKClimbing). Due to the nature of the rock, however, we incorporated three routes into one climb (Friendless, The Faltering Hand, & Carf Crack). In the recent Climbers' Club Lleyn supplement 'Faltering Hand' has been given the grade E1, which is dependent upon the state of the pebbles at the time. Thus, collectively, the climb we did was a rare ascent of something that may have already fallen down.
 |
| Andy McQue tackling a bold run-out on his first Lleyn climb |