Ogwen/Conwy climbing

Crag: Braich y Ddeugwm, Ogwen
Routes: Hollt (VD:led), Recess Left (HS 4a:led), Hollt Lydan (S 4a:led), Grisiau (S:led)
Crag: Penmaenbach Quarry, Conwy
Routes: Kato (f5+:led), National Disaster (f6a:led)
Another Friday in 'instructor' mode, this time with Steve T. All very enjoyable, however: I selected the outcrop style crag above the farm in Ogwen as an ideal starting point and rather enjoyed the short undistinguished climbs, despite the fact that my last Snowdonian climb was uber-classic Diagonal a month ago! The weather was disappointing, but the rain had stopped by the time I led the short VD on the left of the crag, demonstrating gear placements. Recess Left was an overgraded HS with a steep initial move leading to an easy groove, while Hollt Lydan was a longer route on the clean slabs further right. It has a rather tricky crux step right to gain a wider crack. After Grisiau, a polished staircase which leads to a smooth groove, the rain began in earnest (even though it had seemed to be clearing) so we evacuated and headed to the coast in search of sunshine. I tried to take the steep and vegetated walk up to Penmaenbach Quarry (on the side of Conwy mountain) as slowly as possible, mindful of saving energy for tomorrow's Race the Train. I have only climbed up here once before, and a fair amount of rebolting and cleaning has gone on since then. Kato is now a nice clip-up, rather 'slate-like' with neat edging up to an enjoyable flake. Probably no more than f5. National Disaster is trickier than it looks, on sloping holds with two technical moves round mild overlaps. Again, somewhat reminiscent of the slate quarries. Steve was satisfied with this, and I was still tired after the Rhinogs, so we settled for a short day. Probably worth a return trip to sample the longer routes on the upper levels.