Idwal climbing

Crag: Cwm Idwal
Routes: Central Rib (HS 4b,4a,4b:led p.2,4), Wall Variations/Original Route (VS 5a:sec), Upper Staircase (D:led), Lava Slab Left Hand (VS 4b:led), Cneifion Arete (D:led p.1,3)
Another very enjoyable enchainement of routes up the slabs and walls of Cwm Idwal. I must have done six or seven of these big outings in the past, always deliberately choosing different variations and different routes up. For me, one of the most enjoyable days to be had in Eryri, especially if you move quickly. The morning had dawned sunny and relatively warm after weeks of unsettled, quite cold weather: and the weather stayed good. I thought I'd done all the routes on the slab many years ago, and had run out of 'different variations', but we found one gap - the line of Central Rib, which is slightly contrived but does concentrate on an obvious feature, the rib left of Hope (and right of the corner taken by Charity). Vic led a long first pitch which was quite delicate and entertaining in places. Slabby padding up the line of the rib led to a bulge which was taken on crystal holds and led to a belay on Hope. My second pitch traversed left to regain the rib, then a few more delicate moves to a crack. It then became impossible for anybody but the most fanatical purist to ignore the obvious thin crack shared with Hope - laced with beautiful nut slots! Vic's third pitch is without doubt the least polished stretch of rock on the Idwal Slabs! A surprisingly technical and delicate traverse gains the rib above the wet corner of Charity. This gives delightful slab climbing, absorbing and with good friction on unpolished rock: presumably the entire crag was once like this. I led an easy and wet fourth pitch up the quartz to the terrace. Vic then went for Wall Variations - an independent 5a eliminate on Original Route which straightens it out and basically gives a completely different route. Having done Original Route before, I think this is a better pitch: certainly more enjoyable with a massive sack on! A technical move right of the normal start, with a sidepull and small footholds gains a superb pocket, then another, and then the Crescent Slab shared with the original. Up this, then a traverse left avoids the thrutchy chimney. Instead a fun mantelshelf gains the easier but good upper groove. We were now in the sunshine, but continued upward progress, trying to move as quickly as possible Alpine-style. I led up the Upper Staircase, a simple Diff which takes the obvious stepped groove on big holds to the upper terrace. From here, prior knowledge allowed us to pick a very enjoyable scrambling line up and right, staying on rock almost the entire way and eventually bringing us out below the hard to find, very esoteric Lava Slab. Not easy to work out the two routes here, but a vague groove points to the two Lava Slab lines (further right, the slab is just too gentle to give proper climbs). I took the left hand line up superb bubbly holds, pockets and little pinnacles. Amazing friction, as these routes get hardly any traffic. Gear was notable only by its absence, a flake at half height gives the only meaningful placements. But the climbing is easy: VS 4a might be more appropriate. I brought Vic up in the sunshine and we walked a little way down Senior's Ridge to have lunch at a delightful lawn of soft grass overlooking all of Ogwen and Nant Francon. A fine morning's work. But we still had some time left, so took a short level amble along the base of sun-soaked Cwm Cneifion and romped up Cneifion Arete. I led the steeper first pitch, then Vic led through the groove, then we moved together up the pinnacles and slabs of the upper crest. I've probably done this route six or seven times in many different circumstances: always a delight. After 1,500ft of movement on rock, we jogged back to to the car in half an hour, branching down the path that leads above the Gribin Facet. Less than two hours from the top of the Gribin to my front door: in time to cook family dinner!