Llanberis Enchainment - The Cracks, Main Wall and keep going

Midge issues at 5:30am

Of course, having a tick list shouldn’t blinker you from the other great possibilities around you. So for our next visit to The Pass, being midsummer, we planned a lengthy enchainment of crags from road to summit, incorporating 2 Classic Rock routes.

The original version of the day saw a sensible breakfast time, safe in the knowledge that we could climb until 10:30pm if we needed to; no great rush. In the run up to the trip, the met office couldn’t agree for more than half a day what the weekend was going to look like, but the final forecast before Saturday looked good….. until about 3pm! Did we want to be climbing Main Wall in drizzle or even a potential thunderstorm? No, an alpine start seemed to be calling.

Sleeping in the car has its downsides but a big advantage is not having to find a parking space. Others were already pulling up in the layby while we were pushing in our porridge and double brew at 4:30am. What time do you need to arrive to get a space?

The Cracks

The Cracks - Dinas Mot

A route with plenty of character and a tiny walk-in, we were barely awake and warmed up when having to pull out 4c technical moves, but the early morning summer sun and pleasant temperatures made the route a joy that was swiftly despatched.

I forgot until looking back at the photos how grim the midges were while we trying to do breakfast and flake ropes out etc. We were both fighting to take first lead just to get moving and climb out of the midge cloud.

Slow Ledge Climb - Dinas Mot

SLC doesn’t get a great write up; ok maybe that’s because it means a proper walk off the top rather than an ab down the gully. And you have to traverse a grim, grassy terrace which could be quite necky if damp. Obviously mine is only one opinion and coming from a big route mindset, but it would seem ridiculous to climb a route on the nose section but not finish off the crag and the Slow Ledge is a fantastic route on the top section.

Slab pitch of Main Wall

Main Wall - Cyrn Las

Main Wall, the main event, a route we’d both been looking forward to for years. Great respect is due to the pioneers on this face, finding such a superb and continuous line amongst some seriously imposing terrain. We used the word “spooky” a number of times to describe the route, from the loose flakes, unlikely looking changes of direction and also the slowly rising wisps of cloud ascending from the valley floor as the day warmed. All this led to a great finale of a 5th pitch, the “out-there slab” - perfect. Perfect in the same way as the Inn Pinn on Skye; the climbing isn’t too technical but the exposure demands a careful, respectful approach, while the setting inspires absolute climbing pleasure. If you don’t enjoy this pitch then you should probably give up climbing. The customary mangled jam sandwiches were a joyous and welcome reward at this stage of the day.

Our enchainment was completed by moving together up the Parson’s Nose and Clogwyn Y Person Arete to reach Garnedd Ugain summit, often taking a more challenging line than necessary, just for the pure enjoyment of a climbing day we didn’t want to end.

We toyed with the idea of Reade’s Route on Crib Goch but imminent drizzle and lack of a topo put us off. Also the sense that it would have been an artificial extension to an otherwise fantastically flowing continuation dampened our enthusiasm just as damper air was arriving.

A reminder of the seriousness of climbing high in the mountains, the descent through cloud via Crib Goch and it’s North Ridge required concentration despite our wearying bodies and minds, which were by now dreaming of pub dinners and rest. As the easiest graded part of the day, it was natural for a couple of climbers to stride quite casually across the knife edge past less experienced bum-shufflers (we’ve all been there) but the final part of the way down even saw a compass emerge from the bag briefly to give that last 10% confidence to follow a sloping terrace round back to the car.

By the way, the Cromlech layby was full by 5:30am that morning.