Rainbow Walls

Crag: Rainbow Walls, Llanberis
Routes: Taken Over by Department C (f6a:led)
After such a productive and enjoyable Skye trip, squeezing a lot into a short time, I was due a failure and this was it. The plan was ambitious: an afternoon trip to the slate with a stop off in Conwy for an attempt at the f6b on Noticeboard crag I have been looking at for a while. Conditions were perfect, I was fresh, and the route was well-bolted and excellent - superb rhyolite - but I could not quite commit to the move above the fourth bolt to the obvious ledge. I pledged to Steve that I would only have one ground-up onsight attempt, which was not a good idea! I kept to the pledge, and lowered off, tail between my legs. Slate was even less successful. We tried to walk to Rainbow Walls from Dinorwic in perfect weather, fluffy clouds and a cooling breeze. I'd been down before to the Bela Lugosi area, but couldn't remember the way. We ended up descending all the way to Padarn, then re-ascending via the correct, but complex, route from the bottom. This all took ages, of course. Eventually, I led the unusual f6a on the Cig-Arete walls. It goes up a dolerite seam with unusual and thought-provoking moves to a crux pull on to the upper slab via small holds. The upper slab is a real surprise - gently inclined but quite technical and delicate, and moss-covered (albeit dry after recent weather). I then failed again, on Gwion's Groove, for exactly the same reason at exactly the same grade. I made the high first clip, then did the crux up the strenuous lay-backed mini-arete, but did not want to commit to the final run-out. An utterly inefficient, time-wasting afternoon out!