Seams the Same - E1,5b

Even after a splendid sleep, I was in still in need of a bit of a chilled day. Ideally, something without much walking involved - a few mellow routes in the Llanberis Slate Quarry seemed like a good idea as I still felt like a bit of a zombie...

By the time we'd strolled in, the sun was fully out and the colours in the slate were as bright as the flowers in the paths...

'A few mellow routes', somehow turned into some of the hardest climbing we've done of late! Clare set the standard for the day, by floating up the classic E1 climb, 'Seams the Same' without hesitation. It was great to watch as she zoned into the climbing and made the whole thing look very easy.

Buoyed on by her 'flow-state ascent', we walked up to the next level to have a try on some climbs on Yellow Wall. Clare had climbed them previously, but I had not, so was keen to have a look.

After a bit of umming and erring, I decided that I probably wasn't in the greatest state of awakeness to go for the lead. The climbing looked ok, but the first bit of protection was a classic slate bolt - sportingly positioned at about 6 or 7 metres high. Higher than I fancied venturing without protection after only a few hours of sleep the previous night. So, to play it safe, Clare set up a rope so I could check out the moves. That's not something we ever really do, as it can take away the unknown/drama of the climb, but it meant that I could really enjoy the climbing and could concentrate on the athletic movements rather than my safety. Of course, it's easy to say this in hindsight, but I think I would have been fine to lead it! While the rope was up, Clare upped the anti again, by making a clean ascent of an E4,6a!

After that, my energy levels decided that it was ice cream time, so we popped into Llanberis, before heading back to The Cottage, where some friends came over and had dinner with us. It felt good to be home...

Llanberis Slate:

Serengetti:

- Seams the Same, E1,5b

Yellow Wall:

- The Great Curve, E2,5b (tr)

- Remain in Light, E4,6a (tr)