Rock Climbing Company

 

 

A classic rock climb is one that by general agreement is deemed to be one of the best in the country - in climbing terminology these are 3 star routes.

Almost inevitably they are situated in a beautiful enviroment and have sustained, interesting climbing with loads of exposure. Classic routes tend to have a rich history behind them; these were the cutting edge, break-through routes of their day and their ascents were often epic affairs involving iconic climbers.

North Wales and Snowdonia have a wealth of classic rock climbs and the diversity of climbing on offer is exceptional; the high, somber mountain buttresses of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, the extensive crags in the Llanberis and Ogwen Valleys, the rain shadow crags of Tremadog, the quick drying Slate in the Dinorwig quarries or the adventurous Gogarth sea cliffs on Anglesey.

These are the routes that most climbers aspire to climb and we are lucky enough to be surrounded by these famous and exciting climbs that have such a rich history behind them.

We can guide you to the most memorable climbs in the region or help you climb the routes that you have always wished to do.

Classic routes for those who have just started multi-pitch climbing often have an almost mountaineering feel, exploiting natural lines of weakness on the big, mountain crags that involve proper walk-ins. Routes could include:

• Tryfan (Ogwen Valley) - Grooved Arete: A magnificent expedition, arguably the best climb of its kind in North Wales. Graded Very Difficult, the route weaves up to the summit of the North Tower on Tryfan. Atmosphere and scale are tremendous throughout, and the climb subtly builds to a memorable climax high above the east face.

• Idwal (Ogwen Valley) - Hope, Lazarus, The Arête, Grey Slab: A superb link that provides one of Snowdonia's classic mountaineering outings that takes you from the floor of Idwal to the summit of Glyder Fawr.

• Lliwedd (Llanberis Pass) - Avalanche/Red Wall: The biggest mountain cliff in North Wales is a perfect location on a hot day and this route is one of the classic ways up the cliff. 12 pitches and almost 300m of climbing give the route an almost alpine character.

At intermediates level we could suggest routes such as:

• Dinas Mot (Llanberis Pass) - The Cracks: The Cracks is the classic of the crag; sparsely protected slabs, an intricate traverse, perfect cracks and a crux right at the top above a sheer 250ft drop. Awesome.

• Cyrn Las (Llanberis Pass) - Main Wall: Of all the classic climbs in North Wales, this is probably the one with the biggest reputation - this may well because it is hard for given HS grade and may be worth VS. Long and exposed, it is a fantastic climb that lives long in the memory of all those who do it.

• Dinas Cromlech (Llanberis Pass) - Cemetery Gates: Superb, strenuous climbing up a striking crack on good holds. A great route on perfect rock in an amazing position that was established by the legendary team Joe Brown and Don Whillans.

At a more advanced level we can help you climb such classic routes as Left Wall on the Cromlech, Gogarth on Main Cliff, Vector at Tremadog or ..

These are examples only; please let us know if you already have something in mind. We are often asked to guide clients on their dream routes that they are not yet ready to lead or where they would like to second the route first in order to gain confidence.

The concept of classic climbs was inspired by Ken Wilson's books Classic Rock, Hard Rock and Extreme Rock - there is good overview of these books on the excellent Needlesports site

The best selected guide for the region that includes all the classics at all grades is the GroundUp published North Wales Rock