[Stubbs]

Heading over to N. Wales this weekend and i want to get my trad on in between the extended bouldering sessions.  Having never sampled the Wales slate, i think it's about time, so hit me up with your route reccomendations, up to E2 please.

Thanks

Tim

[LJ]

Not done that much, but Last Tango in Paris is brilliant at E1

[dave]

Irate da slate - but i never did as much as i'd want to.

seamstress (VS) and seams the same (E1) are classics by virtue of being accessable and fairly well suited to first time slateheads. another quick and easy one is Gnat attack E1 in busstop. extremely incut crimps, safe providing you don't fall off the 30foot Mod section to get to the first bolt. The other busstop routes look good but the middle one (E2 massambula) always tends to be wet. Another on what i've done is red and yellow and pink adn green, purple and orange and blue on the rainbow slab (E1 5a?). its all piss ledge mantling with no gear up to a big ledge, gear behind a block, the leaving the ledge the crux is protected by slinging an iron spike that droops downwards like a cock so you have to clove-hitch it. good route the easiest on the slab. Another lazy one is mental lentils in the bottom of vivian, 2 bolt cruxy HVS. if you want a really atmospheric experience go and do calafornia arete (E1 4c). you have to walk through some tunnels from the back of dali's hole to get to it. its a 40m wavy arete with no gear whatsoever and no landing either. sounds like a nightmare but the crux is low down and I didnt find any loose rock until the piss ledgy top section. its  great route and the seriousness of it makes it a really intense experience, feels like you have to hold your breath for the whole thing. then from the top to get down you have to traverse a grassy ledge system, go through a tunnel and walk down where and you eventually end up over the back of neverland or somewhere. Its great cos you get to walk round a bit of the quarry that you woulnd't otherwise see.

another one i've not done but taken photos of a mate on is german schoolgirl E2 its a 90deg corner, ab in, hard start then sustained to top i think, good gear. theres a goodlooking bolt route on the left wall there anall.

I love the slate quarries, i love the way its a really atmposheric industrial wasteland with unique climbing. plus if it rains you're never that far from a sheepshit lined slate hut to shelter in. man the hours we used to spend in them waiting for it to stop pissing it down....

All the routes i've described here are in the williams snowdonia guide. have a good time.

[Pantontino]

Rob Wilson (V12 Outdoor manager) who is writing the slate section for the new N Wales selected guide sent me a suggested list; these are some of the easier recs he made (I 've climbed most of these myself, but it was a few years back). If you want specfic beta, just pop in the shop and talk to Rob.

Fool's Gold E1 5c

Gnat Attack E1 5b

Massambula E2 5b

Zambesi VS 4c

Launching Pad E1 5b

Holy, holy, holy E2 5c

Looning the tube E1 5b

California Arete E1 4c

Seamstress VS 4c

Seams the Same E1 5b

Slippery People E2 5c

Bella Lugosi is Dead E1 5b

Red and Yellow, etc E1 5a R.O.Y finish E2 5b

Pull My Daisy E2 5c

Mental Lentils HVS 5b

The Monster Kitten E1 5c

Last Tango in Paris E2 5c

[Stubbs]

Awesome, cheers Dave and Panto, that's certainly enough to keep me going for a day!

Need to pop into V12 anyway to pick up some new shoes - don't think my vision slippers are gonna be much cop on those little edges - time to invest in something stiffer!

[SA Chris]

Check Holy Holy Holy is fully dry before you set off, laybacking wet slate is not fun.

Panto, you realise I will now have the baseline from "Bella Lugosi" in my head for the rest of the day.

[a dense loner]

i thought bus stop was log, everywhere else is much better

[Bonjoy]

I like slate but the routes are often coated in a thick film of Uni climbing club types. BusStop is particularly bad for this, but the routes are pretty good, Geordy Warcry and Scarlett Runner are great.

[Fiend]

I love the slate quarries, i love the way its a really atmposheric industrial wasteland with unique climbing.

Word.


Panto's list is spot on, out of that lot my favourites would be:

Slippery People - this has great, technical moves with just enough bolts.

Pull My Daisy - very nice route, good balance of technical climbing and boldness.

Seamstress - steady, fun climbing and a good introduction to slate. Fun one-handed too.

Massambula - great slab climbing with a good bold feel.

Have fun  :wink:

[hongkongstuey]

Theres a nice E2 slab at the back of the lower wall of Vivian (i.e. facing you as you walk in) - can't for the life of me remember the name but the climbing sticks out in my mind as good

Everyone else has already pretty much covered the other stuff I've climbed in there in that grade range so can't offer many more suggestions i'm afraid

[Andy F]

That E2 in Vivian is Psycotherapy. It's got 2 bolts, the crux is just after the first one and then it's a path to the belay. Remeber to take some gear, like I didn't....
 :roll:

[hongkongstuey]

That E2 in Vivian is Psycotherapy.

That's the fella

[Stubbs]

Another weekend in Wales without managing to convince any of my friends to go to the slate - damn it. :cry:

Ended up at Rhoscolyn instead, which was awesome, but i can't imagine anywhere farther from the slate in aesthetic terms.

Got to check out the Sheep Pen boulders as well - awesome venue. Very much enjoyed Klem's arete, Dog Shooter and Toe Dragon, although Gnasher looks nails! Ran out of time before getting on The Pinch, but i think i will be making the trek up that hillside again in the near future....

[dobbin]

Years ago I dropped Rob Wilson (V12 Outdoor manager) the length of Rubicon wall. He was on Let the tribe increase. Sigh.

[Houdini]

Here are my obscure/"well I never" recommendations.


Check out the route that climbs the narrow end-face of the Bathtime Wall.  This is "Blades of Green Tara" which kinda snakes it's way up the obvious S-ness to what I reckon is one of the best 5c moves in the quarries, right at the top - an ace solo.

Then there is "Jugs Mawr"  again, a hidden gem and pretty unpopular.  This is an cool single pitcher on the dolorite that you occassionally find in the quarries.  No bolts but great gear, everyone that climbs it likes the route.