Carreg Mianog climbs

Crag: Carreg Mianog, Carneddau
Routes: Zip Wall (HS 4b:led), Zip Groove (VS 4c:sec), Cracked Arete (VS 4b:led), Biceps Wall (VS 4c:sec), Knee Cap (VS 4c:sec)
There aren't many decent crags in Snowdonia which are 30 minutes walk from a main road, yet remain completely quiet on a sunny summer Sunday. Carreg Mianog does, and was an excellent choice today after recent rain. It's a delightful place, with a remarkably isolated feel despite being close to the A5, and it has some nice, if rather short (30-40m) routes. I started by leading Zip Wall, which had yet to get the sun and so was rather wet. This made the initial steep wall tricky for the grade: wet footholds throughout. A few moves left gain a mantel to a ledge, followed by a pleasant arete and a fun (dry!) final crack. All much better than it looks from below. Vic then followed up with Zip Groove, a strong line, if a little vegetated. This route felt easier than Zip Wall despite the grade, and gave nice bridging on good holds up two distinct but linked grooves. We finished up the much harder crack left of the Zip Wall finish, for variety. This gave a couple of interesting 5b-ish layaway moves. I then led the classic of the crag before lunch. Cracked Arete is up there with the likes of Yellow Groove and Hawk's Nest Arete as the best single-pitch VS in Snowdonia: just delightful climbing throughout. Neat moves up the arete gain a juggy curving crack which leads to a spike and ledge in a great position. Then another curving crack, slightly harder, gains an easier and wider final crack. Immaculate, well-positioned low-end VS climbing with superb rock and protection throughout - what a shame it's not three times longer! After lunch, Vic led the meatier Biceps Wall at hardish VS. Another wet, almost bouldery start gains a niche via an awkward mantel. Then easier climbing leads to a distinct and unique crux - hard to describe the solution to this move, but it involves a trailing left leg and an awkward jam. The final wall is no pushover - fingery moves on small holds for the grade. We finished with Kneecap, a rather obscure route which was something of a sandbag. It takes the obvious green groove up the front edge of the east buttress. The bottom section below the overhang was very wet, and gave a physical, thrutchy struggle to gain a small ledge. The green groove was reasonable by comparison, and led to a ledge with a huge abandoned nest (raven or buzzard?). Above, the route stayed tough, with a steep flake crack leading to a final awkward mantel.