Just wondering if theres any bouldering at benllech, and what its like?

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I thought Drag and Merchant Man were both very hard for E1. Although both were greasy low down when we did them and this affected the lower hard section on Drag and the P1 crux on Merchant Man, nevertheless, the top hard bit on Drag and the 2nd pitch of Merchant Man were both dry and still felt hard (Drag pumpy, Merchant Man serious). Drag felt harder than any of the E2s I have done on the crag this year (Eternal Optimist, Heroin, Vend T) although Eternal Optimist felt nearly as hard.

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Climbed this with Tim Neil three days ago. Dont be fooled by the grade children, this was an absolutely horrific journey into the bottom of my soul, or did my soul fall out of my bottom when i looked up and saw the overhanging mud i was about to climb. One of the most serious routes ive done, or maybe i'm getting old and sensible! (call me a lightweight if you want Pete i dont care because ive done it now and will never have to do it again.)The first peg is pretty shoddy but a few bits of gear in the same rock are ok but once you have commited to the going right to the ledge youre on your own with no way to reverse and only a quartz block and a twenty five year old peg between you and a big yellow helicopter flight to the Bangor A+E. Scratch around in the mud in an attempt to find something other than the peg before climbing the overhanging mud groove. With relief craw left along the ledge above to a really good belay on the arete. This climb i'm sure should have an XS grade as it no way resembles anything like rock climbing and E5. I would suggest if you are having a really bad time and you have split up with your girlfriend going up this climb with a hammer and some big chunky pegs to replace at least the one before the overhanging mud groove.

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Climbed this with Caff a few weeks ago. A pumpy little number. The first half getting to the pegs on ME is really blind and the description should probably say climb the initial groove high, blindly pulling up to good holds. Squirm along a ledge before dropping down to the pegs from directly above not by a horizontal traverse. It did take me numerous journeys to discover this, by which time my arms were a tad weary and i fell off the "easy moves" of ME, which for anyone who has not climbed ME, are the crux! The gear is really good on this section though the pegs on ME are pretty shoddy. Caff bless him then pulled the ropes and led the whole pitch. A pretty awesome effort. Possibly the most extended ive seen him for a few years. The final groove is definately the crux, on crappy rock with shoddy gear. Thank f**k i fell when i did!

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A few summers back whilst visiting my parents I came across a small crag on the road through Penrtaeth forest. Remember that it wasn't too hard, routes in mainly Diff/V Diff range, but may be a few forced routes in slightly higher grades. There's very little potential but was good for a bit of soloing one afternoon. If I ever go back I'll post further details.

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Shag nesting on the 1st belay of Peepshow, think it's on eggs as it didn't want to move and seemed to be trying to puke in my face, so suggest staying away for while unless you move right and belay as for Penathol then rejoin the 2nd pitch by doing a small 'unmarked' link, up and left, rejoining the 2nd pitch below the block with tat on it; thus avoiding disturbing the bird.
This also affects Pentathol as climbing this line would mean climbing and trailing your ropes over the nest.
On the subject of Peepshow, Steaky and i thought spicey E2 5c for the 3rd pitch as opposed to E1, quite strenuous with interesting rock, classic Gogarth!

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Does anone else think this one a little bold at E2 6A? At this grade I expect gear above my head on the hard move, but the 6A move is up and right of some less than bombproof gear.

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Having just climbed this route with Caff i feel the need to vent a tad on the above grade, description and Neil's description of Isis below. On the grade, it is definately a whole lot more serious and sustained than ME, Ludwig, and (havent done it yet but will get on it in a week or so) The Drunk. I would say this climb in its entirety deserves its E7 grade, and bench mark at that. In comparison to other E6's at Gogarth, definately a whole grade more. I would agree that the climbing in the final groove is not 6c, rather sustained 6b... Oh, and to add a little fuel to the fire, didnt you fall off the last pitch Neil? And Dan then led it on your gear. Yes i know a hold broke, but this will suggest that the rock is other than perfect and so adds to the difficulty.

On the description and Neil's comments. The first pitch is serious, very dirty, very adventurous and commiting but it is an E7 after all. I went slightly wrong and climbed the corner to high, got commited and couldnt get any gear to make the swing right, to the groove i should have been, so i belayed on a grass ramp below the grass ramp i should have belayed on. Caff came up and made one steep pull on overhanging gop to put us back on track. The second pitch is well worth doing, similar to creepin lemma, sustained and quite pumpy. All of this climbing and suspense takes a lot out of your arms,(and head) making the final 2 pitches feel harder. My point being, you have not done this climb if you ab in and climb from the ramp. Are we now convenience climbing at Gogarth? Are we only cherry picking pitches? The whole of climbing is pointless if you look at it. Why bother climbing anything if we can just walk to the top? The first two pitches are not pointless, they are the climb as Haston and Kay first completed it and should not be dispelled. sorry, a rant, but hey...

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this quarry looks fairly large on a map, just wondering if there was scope for any other routes there?

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1) Whilst on the stance at the top of P1 of RW yesterday I spent some time trying to find the line of Fantasia. I'm not sure at which point should I brake out right of RW. Any obvious landmarks? It's not a place to end up in a cul-de-sac.
2) I could see two pegs on the edge of a compact dark red wall 15' right of the stance. I think the lower of the two (same level as the stance I was on) protects the traverse of Communication Breakdown. The upper peg (30' higher) protrudes a lot and is possibly on Doppelgangen. I can't find a description in the present guide climbing the excellent looking line between the two pegs. This compact piece of rock is an obvious feature when you look over from Castell Helen, I've looked at it a lot but never seen any chalk marks. Anybody know which route this is?

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