Area: Llanberis Slate
A unique (mild) adventure and a wonderful tour of the most obscure and fascinating areas of the quarries, some of which I had never visited before. I wasn't really expecting to do it this afternoon, as the weather wasn't very nice and my companions had done it on their previous hut visit. But after the morning bike loop and a spot of lunch we ventured out from the hut and walked up to the quarries in persistent drizzle, emerging at Dali's Hole. Normally, I object to English names in Eryri. However, I make something of an exception for the quarries for several reasons: first, the quarrymen gave some of the areas 'English' names anyway (like Australia); second, lots of the rock features may not have been named; and finally, many of the climbers names are inventive and/or funny. We hopped the fence by the hole (a blue lagoon with surreal dead trees when the water is lower). This used to be a sports climbing area, on which I have done some good routes, but all the bolts have been chopped. We walked round the top then entered the lower tunnel which leads into California, a giant bowl of slate preceded by a steep atmospheric traverse around a pit. Snakes and Ladders then begins in earnest, with the hardest section. Three via ferrata rungs lead to a hanging chain of thick iron rungs. It is too heavy to pull on and too awkward to haul up, especially with the rock soaked by the rain (slate being notoriously frictionless in the wet). Vic led, and Steve and I followed, me hauling upwards until I could grab three protruding giant iron spikes. Above easier ground leads to another haul on the chain, then a tunnel that leads to an ab station. This first short abseil leads back to the terrace above Dali's Hole. A contrived but essential start to the full experience! Vic had already found the Tunnel of Love, which is invisible until you spy a tiny crevice. We slid through this, almost a caving squeeze, into a wet tunnel with daylight at the end, which led into the vast expanse of Australia. I have climbed on all the lefthand levels but have never been down to the base before. It is a spectacular spot, which evokes a kind of industrial glacier, a wasteland of slate boulders, which some of the names reflect. Tricky route finding and awkward terrain along the base, then we picked a steep route to left of the 'rognon' which eventually gained the Salt Pans, a level, boggy plateau. Some old buildings are reached, and then the first ladder, a solid affair which leads to the next level on the East Face of Australia. It was so wet that I protected the top section with makeshift via ferrata gear, clipping the rungs. Then an exposed terrace leads rightwards to a double ladder (a transition is made from one to the other, which I protected as the second ladder starts in space). Then we reached the atmospheric Pen Garret hut (possibly a caban, not sure) where some quarrymen's boots are still present, along with the Hogiau Pen Garret signatures. All of this had huge personal resonance and a very strong connection for me. Even though Taid didn't work the Llanberis quarries, the life and culture a few valleys away was the same. I'd heard of Pen Garret before but never been up this far (although again we were now looking across Australia to the upper tier on the West side, which I have climbed numerous routes on). From here, we moved right again, back above California, then dropped down a scree path to a grassy plateau, and then leftwards along a grassy corridor with a misty Yr Wyddfa ahead. Then begins the most memorable section, all new terrain, all hidden to the casual visitor. It started raining in earnest, wind howled through the gap, and we approached the lip of the 'Lost World', another giant chasm. Two abseils lead via a shelf to an easy chain and then the base of the Lost World, an incredible place, slowly being reclaimed by nature. It was a relief to be out of the wind, as it was getting quite cold, but the oppressive weather made it even more atmospheric. There is one escape, over boulders to another tunnel which leads through a huge rock wall into Mordor, an even more remarkable and hidden corner. In this case, the enormous walls are ringed by a circular plateau, with a pit dropping still further to the bowls of the earth. Instead of descending this, however, an escape is possible, by traversing above the pit to a final set of ladders. These are the longest and most intimidating of all, with some missing rungs and rope attachments. One leads to a step to the next, after which a little plateau gains two shorter ladders and the 'Khyber Pass' at the top of the quarries. This is the end of the action, and our descent led pleasantly down the quarrymen's steps to eventually regain the main track which leads gently down to the hut and another gastronomic extravaganza, this time with a Middle Eastern theme.
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