Cloggy Clowns

Clogwyn Du'r Arddu - the Black Cliff - the most majestic of mountain crags - the temple of British rock climbing to quote the guidebook. After living and working in North Wales for seven years I still had only climbed on Cloggy once and that was a mini - epic, the Joe Brown classic Vember in the rain, Mally and Janboy proved the entertainment on that occasion. Click here for more on that adventure! But now it was time to return - an email was sent, subject box:" Joe Brown Classics only - on Cloggy" - the seed was sown. Being self-employed it is easy to scam a day off - you just don't turn up for work - Mick being one who sips tea with small finger raised had to plan well in advance and so the weekend of the North Wales meet was chosen, we would drive up on the Thursday and walk in - camp out under the stars and climb like demons all day Friday. Okay - slight mistake - we meet at the Cromlech Boulders for a warm up - and then followed the trail of climbers to the Heights in Llanberis for a quick one before we walked up the railway line. Definition of a quick one is how many exactly?
Slightly under the influence we started walking up Snowdon around about closing time - the conversation something like: "Penny - get the map out" "Who need's a map Mick when you've got me - I lived here remember" 2 hours later and we haven't found that railway line and we are lying in our bags trying to watch the stars and work out which way is North - hey it's an adventure, right? Daylight arrives and we realise that I have led us over the hill just a little too far west - hey easy mistake it was dark okay...........	An hour later and we arrive at the foot of the Temple of climbing - awesome just does not describe Cloggy, there is a whole guidebook dedicated to this place. The chosen route is found as recommended by Mr Eric Jones himself, Llithrig, a classic Brown route with an added bonus of a pendulum as well. We gear up and Mick sets off - the route is a weaving line up the east buttress, amongst other greats like November, Vember and the Indian Face. (Mick wanted to crack that last one but I managed to talk him out of it!). Next pitch and I am out onto the face, through a smally overhang and clipping a dodgy looking sling for the swing over to the next stance. Sharp intake of breath as you let yourself go and trust a rather old piece of rock.

Mick swings across and "marvellous" is heard vibrating around the rock walls as he lands on the stance. Swap the gear around and Mick leads up a steep wall into a groove - not bad climbing for a man known as enthusiastic for his age. The top beckons and we sit on the grass at the top of east buttress, balanced on piles of loose rock as Mick's hobby for helicopter photography comes to light as we watch the RAF searching the rocks below. Practise only we hope. We decide to go and have a look at the Pinnacle East Gully Wall Face - big mistake trying to traverse around on 90-degree wet grass - no belays and just loose rock for comfort over 400 feet up. It takes us over an hour before we find a decent stance at the foot of next buttress. We decide on East Gully Groove - time is running short and we want to make it back to the pub - priorities right? Steep overhanging rock but with big chunky holds - classic - off we go again and I lead the way. I make the hanging stance - treated to the view of the route next to me; The Axe - a route soloed by Jimmy Jewel - from where I hang in my belay I have yet to see any part of the Axe that isn't overhanging; probably only a soft touch E4 then............ Mick leads off again up the final pitch - some tricky moves - especially with the exposure and lack of decent pro - he breaks out onto the spur of rock at the top of the buttress and into a beautiful mountain evening - the summit of Snowdon is only a half an hour away. We sort the kit and talk of other routes we have spotted and add them to the tick list. The list never seems to get any shorter - always longer for some reason? Rather than satisfy the urge for climbing at Cloggy we have only added fuel to the fire. It is truly a mountain crag of majestic properties - it is adventure climbing at it's best - to coin a well known phrase - marvellous.

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