[James Malloch]

I'm staying near Pwllheli this weekend for 3 nights and hope to get a day or so of bouldering in. Obvious local contenders are Porth Ysgo or somewhere in the Pass but given the forecast I'm not sure what's best.

The other choice is the cave (though my girlfriend may be less keen) providing it's held up to the recent rain.

Any thoughts on where might be best for quick drying hits? I guess the pass has the great backup of Pete's eats which is always handy.

[tomtom]

Ysgo Ysgo Ysgo Ysgo.... check the tides... dries super fast - it can be raining a couple of miles inland but be dry on the coast.

[James Malloch]

Ysgo Ysgo Ysgo Ysgo.... check the tides... dries super fast - it can be raining a couple of miles inland but be dry on the coast.

That was my initial thought - it looks great and I've never been. Tides look good for an afternoon hit (10am high tide for Llandudno).

I've only got Boulder Britain for Wales which seems to cover about 30 problems. You don't happen to know if there's a more complete topo available anywhere do you?

Thanks TT!

[nai]

Cave was all dry, yesterday.  But ysgo beats it hands down. Go to ysgo. Coast has pretty much been the saviour for me over the last few days, Pass has been very changeable.

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[nai]

Repeat delete

[tomtom]

If there's not a high swell (big waves) then most stuff at the top of the beach is fine towards high(er) tide...

Shame the NWB guide won't be in V12 on Friday - else you could have grabbed a copy. There is also Talfarach (never been) which is the headland to the East of Ysgo. Three topo's for there on here http://www.northwalesbouldering.com/topocat1.asp?pdfcategoryid=4 but I understand its the place where you need loads of pads for landings etc.. (more so than Ysgo). Same great rock. Also Rhiw (again never been but want to - and topo on above link) sort of above and before Ysgo - you drive up and over a headland before getting there from Abersoch..

Plenty of people on here know far more than me about this - but theres loads there for a few days... Lots of great beaches/places to explore on the Llynn too..

[James Malloch]

Cheers again TT & Nai.

I'll be sure to check out Ysgo then, sounds like a winner. Might try to pop into the cave on the way home to try a few old projects if I can convince my girlfriend to have a detour.

We've only got 2.5 pads, would that be enough for Ysgo or should I try to grab another from a friend?

I'd like to hire a surfboard for the day on one of the Llynn beaches though it looks pretty bad surf. Though perhaps that'll be good for me as one of the few of us who has never tried it before...

[nai]

2.5 pads will be fine, you'll be boulder hopping over sometimes slippery terrain so don't want to be too weighed down.

If you want to try surfing and the forecast is poor there's always https://surfsnowdonia.com/. Not cheap and a long way from Pwllheli but guaranteed waves.

[sxrxg]

You could try Moel y Gest near Porthmadog, should only be about 20 minutes drive from Pwllheli. Caveat is i have never been and have no idea if it will be seeping after all this rain.See below for the free topo from NWB:

http://www.northwalesbouldering.com/upload/members/Moel%20y%20Gest%20topo2.pdf

[Coops_13]

You could try Moel y Gest near Porthmadog, should only be about 20 minutes drive from Pwllheli. Caveat is i have never been and have no idea if it will be seeping after all this rain.See below for the free topo from NWB:

http://www.northwalesbouldering.com/upload/members/Moel%20y%20Gest%20topo2.pdf

It's a good venue and definitely worth a (one) visit, I can imagine it'd be quite quick-drying as it's almost like Slate (and I don't think it seeps). The only downside is it's quite a long walk-in and not one I'd want to do unless I knew it was going to be dry...

[Falling Down]

If you're staying on the Criccieth side of Pwhelli then there's a small bouldering cave on the beach at Criccieth on the Western side of the headland below the castle.  The sand/pebble level varies a lot and it's not worth going out of your way for but it's worth a visit if your passing or want to climb a bit whilst family are on the beach. 

There's also a venue between Hells Mouth and Abersoch that Simon developed with a Topo on NWB.

[fatneck]

Talfarach is well worth a shout, landings are a bit worse than Ysgo but there's not that much difference. Both are as quick drying crags as I've ever known. Porth ty Mawr (I think the venue Ben kindly hints at above) would be worth a shout if you had been on the gabbro before but given that you haven't, Ysgo and Talfarach are considerably better! Also, a chance of porpoises and dolphins and loads of choughs about at the moment make it a no brainier for me!

[James Malloch]

I thought I'd give an update after a great weekend in North Wales.

We drove over Friday morning which took 5 hours due to traffic - eurgh. Our friends were on the beach so we joined and spend the day swimming, body surfing (which is incredibly fun) and having a few beers.

Saturday morning was a wet one so we went to Abersoch, had lunch/coffee and a wander around the beach. We made it over to Porth Ysgo in the afternoon later than planned so only had a short session. The walk in was awful (we definitely went down the wrong way) but the climbing was delightful. Lots of good problems and an amazing setting - it's definitely up there the with best venues I've visited. The main focus was Popcorn Party which I intended to try and flash and then got spanked. Dropped the last move a number of times but ended up feeling weak and burnt out. 2/3 weeks of minimal climbing and training seemed to take leave me feeling empty!

Sunday was a washout so we went to Llanberis and got the new NWB Guide (which is ace) and sat in Pete's Eats. Can't complain really.

Thanks for all the recommendations - I'm looking forward to a return visit. Especially now I know where the nicest approaches are...