A day for all and unfinished business for me

As I pulled into the car park at Oggy Cott tea shack this morning ( 7.15 ) I did a double take. There were so many cars. This is great I thought,  a right hive of activity, climbers mad for some action. By the time I left ( 7.35 ) I counted 20 cars, with many climbers sorting their gear out hoping to grab the last of the current conditions.

Pete Harrison and I headed up to Glogwn Ddu not sure what to expect as it was in cloud. I had unfinished business with Blenderhead VII-8 from back in December 08 and Pete was keen to have a look at the first 2 pitches of the summer route Hebenwi ( E2 5a  5b  no winter ascent to date ) These two pitches lead up to the second pitch of Blenderhead  ( with this 2nd pitch being the 3rd pitch of Hebenwi 5a and the crux of Blenderhead ) When we arived at the crag it was apparent certain areas were covered in thin rime, others were not, even though they had snow on. Unfortuanlty Hebenwi was not really in so we opted for Blenderhead. Pete took the crux pitch and produced a fine effort with no falls, rest or aid. The crux was steep, pumpy and technical.

Pete on crux pitch



First Pitch

Lee, Chris, and a friend of theirs ( who had drove up from Coventry for the day )  were at the crag. Well they thought they were as it was so clagged in. They went and climbed the now uber classic El Mancho. First climbed by Si Panton and Leigh McGinley,  little did they know this would become a sought after a Welsh Classic.

On the way out of the corrie,  I met Olly and Keith from PYB with 2 teams who were on thier first day of a winter skills course. They all seemed in high spirits.

Berwyn took a friend Mark up Central Route III in Cwm Idwal ( see photo below ) and said he had a very damp and very windy day. At lunch time it was thawing heavily and the route had thinned by so many ascents. He doubts if it will be there on Sunday. Shame as you can see from the photo that there has been a fair amount of ice in Idwal

Gaz Davies was out in the Cwm and reported "we did a variety of routes with no names, linking sections of grade II and III/IV pitches together, all very nice " . Gaz was out with his partner Sarah, Davies Senior and friends,  Tom and Matt who were over from the Wirral for the day. 

( see pictures below ) He said it was all very wet when he left.

In the car park I met a few more friends, all having had a great day out and happy that they had managed to bag a route or two before it all goes. 

The day is to all of you who managed to get out climbing and escape that daily grind and have some of that magical ingredient. Welsh Winter. 

Personally, I think its all over for the time. Its very windy and warm outside. However, next time.