Llanberis slate climbs

Crag: Llanberis Slate
Routes: Solstice (HVS 5a:led), Septuagenarian (f5+/6a:led), Fool's Gold (E1 5c:sec), Tomb Raider (f6a,f3,f6a:led p.1,3), Horse Latitudes (f6a+:led), The Horsin' Around Finish (f6a+:led), Bela Lugosi is Dead (E1 5b:sec)
Heavy rain in the night, the first for weeks, meant we had to change our plans for the day. I'd planned to head into the hills, but quick-drying slate was the obvious safe option. Began, predictably enough, with a lead of Solstice, which takes the obvious line of hollow flakes left of Equinox (which I led many years ago). A very polished and rather awkward move, with little for the feet, gains a good hold before big flakes lead out right to an easy finish. We spied a line of new bolts on the descent. It looked quite a nice line, so I nipped up it. A short slab leads to good moves up and over a bulge before a traverse right leads to a good finish up a delicate slab. This is apparently given f6a but is 5+ at most. Nice climbing though, when compared to some of the scrappy bolted lines hereabouts. Because it was quiet we also nipped up Fool's Gold, a slate classic with one hard 5c move to gain the upper crack. The rest is quite straightforward but excellent throughout. After lunch, we enjoyed the novelty of a multi-pitch slate route in Never Never Land. Tomb Raider goes up a line of bolts on a short slab to a series of mantelshelves, which get progressively easier. Alwyn ambled right on the easy second pitch, before I led a nice final pitch around a small, fun overhang and up the obvious corner. Enjoyable, but again overgraded: 5+ at most. Then came a long but fascinating walk down through the quarries - new territory for me - looking for Horse Latitudes. This recently retro-bolted line used to weigh in at E3 5c but is now a superb 'easy' sports climb, in my view one of the best of its kind in Wales. It takes a vein of dolerite running up the arete on the left of a 30m high slab. Superb delicate climbing, quite technical and sustained but never particularly hard, leads up to a ledge. I then took the obvious Horsin' Around finish, which moves right round the upper arete to regain the dolerite. Up this steeply on small holds to the top. A great pitch with great moves, long enough to satisfy, as is the established classic Bela Lugosi to its right. Lovely climbing up the obvious slim, positive crack to a wider crack and a polished finale. Finished with a run through the quarries to Nant Peris, via the remarkable Twll Mawr, one of the wonders of Wales.