Tryfan climbing

Crag/Peak: Tryfan, Eryri
Routes: Pinnacle Rib Route (D:led p.1,3), Thompson's Chimney (HS 4b:led)
Thick clag all day, which failed to clear, contrary to the forecast. After the slog up to the Terrace,  led the first pitch of the obscure Northern Rib, looking for the very few little pitches I haven't done on the East Face. Sadly, it is obscure for a reason: disjointed and pointless. So we moved left to the original Pinnacle Rib (having repeated Overlapping Rib fairly recently). Perhaps my third time up the original route, an easy classic. I merged the first pitch to take the pleasant slanting slab then the easy groove to a ledge - 100ft of delightfully simple climbing. Steve led up the steeper groove to broken ground, and I led through picking out the choice bits until the Yellow Slab. I'd led this last September, so Steve led it and continued up the curving flakes above. With mist swirling round, we decided to finish up Thompson's. I last led this in the snow in March 1992, at the time it had the comedy grade of VD. It is quite a thrutch. The initial wall is tricky, then the main chimney was wet - it has a very awkward move up the crack to gain better holds on the right wall, and a flake higher up. It is very atmospheric, though, and finishes as close to the summit as you can get. We descended in thick clag, and then rescued a lost couple from the grassy bowl above North Gully (completely disoriented, they thought they were on the west face), leading them to safety down Little Gully - a day they definitely won't forget in a hurry. Jogged back to the car for an easy finish: useful mountaineering shakedown in advance of our Alps trip.

Carneddau run

Peaks: Pen y Castell, Drum, Carnedd y Ddelw
Area: Carneddau, Eryri
A pronounced dip in form: possibly allergies again (although the muscle damage after my downhill relay leg didn't help). Struggled up from Tal y Bont, maximising the climbing again, up the steep road beyond Llanbedr y Cennin to the old hillfort (memories of taking E up here when she was very young). Pen y Castell is one of Snowdonia's most obscure hills, and the paths up are tenuous to say the least. It was sunny, for the most part, but very windy; and the long haul up Drum was tough - very windy on the summit, as it often is. I lay down in the cairn for a rest, then pelted over Carnedd y Ddelw for the long descent on the road.

Welsh Castles Relay

Race: Welsh Castles Relay, Stage 15 Epynt-Brecon (12.8m)
Time/Position: 1.19.51 (13th from 64)
Given my current training regime, this was perhaps the worst possible leg for me - mainly downhill, all on tarmac. That said, my run at the Beast on Wednesday had come as a surprise and gave some cause for optimism - although ultimately I have done nothing on road for months, and certainly not a half-marathon. I was reliant on the muscle memory from 40+ half marathons in the past, and just kept a pace ticking over that I knew I could sustain. I requested a different leg from last year, in my endless search for novelty, and really enjoyed the drive down and car bivouac. I arrived at the Epynt 'visitor centre' (a derelict house) several hours before the stage, and relaxed in its very tranquil atmosphere (the middle of nowhere, on the edge of the Sennybridge military land). Then the castles charabanc starts to come through - what the event is all about - and the stage begins. An initial climb leads to inspiring views of the Beacons, then a long downhill section through Upper Chapel, before it levels off for undulations through Lower Chapel and Llandefaelog Fach. A detour west up a steep hill to Cradoc was tough but allowed me to gain a couple more places as quick starters began to suffer. Some more hills on this detour section before a downhill finish right next to the river in Brecon. I finished first from the 10 veteran teams in the race (this is not the same as being first veteran!): as with last year, it was nice to be involved and to help the team. We finished a very creditable second Vet team overall, behind Les Croupiers, and I sampled some of the atmosphere on the Sunday, driving down to Cardiff for the finish, and staying overnight.

Beast fell race

Race: Up the Beast, Bryn Alyn
Time/Position: 41.29 (6th from 116 [2nd V40])
I've almost forgotten what proper racing feels like with all the long, slow stuff, so this was a welcome way to jog the memory. I started out mid-pack, genuinely expecting to stay there, but was somewhat amazed to feel quite good, just like old times. I've done every 'Beast' race since it started (apart from last year), so don't have too many excuses, and always enjoy the course. I kept it slow and steady through the woods, then upped the pace a bit for the climb through the limestone outcrops to the top of Bryn Alyn, passing a few of the quick starters. I descended reasonably well, given lack of road speed, and managed to keep it going for the climb back up Bryn Alyn which is always the crux (although it was cooler than usual this evening after a showery day). Then came a grand old battle with Simon on the run in through the woods back to Maeshafn, which is all a lot longer and harder than it used to be.

Orme/Penmaenbach climbing

Crag: St Tudno's, Great Orme
Routes: Pile Driver (f6a:led), Thankyou Johnny (f6a+:sec)
Crag: Penmaenbach, Conwy
Routes: A55 Hole Arete (f5:sec), Jack the Jeffer (f6a:led), Linking Crack (f6a:led), Grandad's Groove (f6a+:sec), Work-Life Balance (f6b+:sec*), Shezurrection 2 (f6a+:led)
More difficult decisions on this short trip. The best forecast of the week - but cloud was draped over central Snowdonia first thing, and a cold north-westerly wind was blowing. The two most feasible options were chalk and cheese: sports climbing around Llandudno, or a mountaineering route on the east face of Tryfan. We went for the former, dropping Kate off and heading round Marine Drive for the very short walk down to St Tudno's. I've never climbed at this crag before, although I've been near it, and some of the routes have recently been retro-bolted. It is just minutes from the car, and indeed the centre of Llandudno, but as with all the crags below Marine Drive, feels miles from anywhere with wonderful views of the sea. Conditions were poor - it was dry, but cold, sunless and very windy as I set off up Pile Driver. This takes a steep juggy groove to a tricky crux traversing left on small holds. This leads to better holds and an easier finish on flat holds up a vague groove further left. My fingers were numb with cold, which doesn't help at the Orme, where I have always found everything just a bit too hard! The 6a+ to the right seemed a tad easier - certainly more positive, up juggy flakes to a technical section at the top. Both quite good climbs, but that was enough - we needed sunshine and shelter, so scampered back to the cars and round to Sychnant. As ever, a lovely walk down to Penmaenbach in glorious clarity of light - but the wind stayed, nagging and persistently cold. We just couldn't escape it, so Steve did the easy arete and I did the more sheltered side slab of Jack the Jeffer at 6a. I did this last year - it has one or two delicate moves but is worthwhile. We then moved down to the middle tier, visited with Peter in April. This time, we made much more of an impact on it. Most of the routes look dire from immediately below, but better and more defined from a distance - and are OK, if not exactly classic, when actually climbing them. Linking Crack is scrappy at first, but a bulge leads to a clean upper wall and enjoyable sharp, slanting crack. This is fairly positive and simple, with hidden footholds, and leads to a steep final wall. A fairly long 22m pitch, as was Grandad's Groove, which has a few tough moves at the start up a steep wall and vague groove with good flakey holds leading to a slabbier section before a similar finish to Linking Crack. The slabby (relatively) wall further right is cleaner and better - and gives good climbing. Steve led the 6b+ without knowing the grade! It has a blank section at mid-height, which I found desperate in my dreadful new shoes - like clogs and not at all what was required. Neither of us did this cleanly. Shezurrection - a 6a+ to its left - was the best route I've done on this section. It takes a nice line up a very vague shallow groove. Generally positive holds and fairly sustained, although never excessively hard. It takes a bit of thought to get the right sequence, and stays interesting right to the top.

Hebog-Nantlle

Peaks: Bryn Bron Banog, Moel Hebog, Moel yr Ogof, Moel Lefn, Mynydd Bwlch y Ddwy Elor, Trum y Ddisgyl, Mynydd Drws y Coed, Y Garn
Area: Nantlle/Hebog, Eryri
Torn between two options this morning. I originally planned to do the Duddon fell race, but didn't fancy the long drive on my own. Instead, I opted for a longish Paddy reccie, recreating it by starting at 4am from home! I left Beddgelert at 6am in constant drizzle, totally unforecast, with hopes (soon to be dashed) that it would clear. There's not much point doing a reccie in thick clag, particularly as my plan was to concentrate on finding the best lines across the section of Eryri that I know least well. Indeed, I've never even been up Bryn Bron Banog - an obscure outlier of Moel Hebog. I jogged down the empty road through Aberglaslyn, looking across to Canyon Rib, an obscure climb which I did in 2011. Then a wet and humid trudge through the woods to emerge onto the open hill - somewhere above lay Bryn Bron Banog, but this was terra incognita for me. I followed my nose as well as the map, as the detail was insufficient, tracking walls upwards through bog and awkward terrain until I reached the windy summit - all very bleak, drizzle and thick mist - utterly pointless from a reconnaissance perspective. I ended up descending well to the north, right the way down to emerge from the clag above the hill farms, then contouring awkward terrain to pick up the Hebog race route at the bottom of the track. It is a long and draining climb from here, good training in a sense, and it looked like the clag was dissipating. A forlorn hope: at the summit, the mist was thick again. Nothing for it but to plod on, jogging down the steep slope to the col below the cleft that leads to Moel yr Ogof. I remember flying down this section, feeling very good, on one of the years I did the Cwm Pennant horseshoe race. Then over to Moel Lefn, an easy summit to miss, but not as easy as Gyrn to miss. I actually got the route bang on across the ridge, not easy in these conditions, and remembered the tortuous maze through the quarry workings around Bwlch y Ddwy Elor. Heavy rain started again, and the wind picked up. I found the climb up Trum y Ddisgyl utterly dispiriting. This was very discouraging given what I have been training for. No idea what the issue was, particularly as I have never found this route all that demanding before (indeed one year I had something of a flier up this climb on the Pennant race). At the ridge, I headed right along the narrowest and best section of the Nantlle ridge, which was wet, slippery and claggy throughout. At Y Garn, I just descended straight down to Rhyd Ddu, fed up, which meant a long run back to Beddgelert, over 10k to add to a fairly lengthy morning out. The road is too dangerous, so I took the weaving (and tiring) forest track and was back in time for lunch.