Welsh Winter Sunshine on Clogwyn y Wenallt

When I suggested a day out rock climbing, the friendly response was 'very keen - as long as it's sheltered and in the sunshine'. It was wise advice, as there was a hard frost last night; the day started with beautiful blue skies, not a breath of wind and a temperature well below zero. A total stunner to be out and about, but freezing cold in the shade. After setting off for south facing cliffs of Tremadog, we stopped en-route at Clogwyn y Wenallt in the Gywnant Valley after noticing that it was in full sunshine. There was not a ripple on the water.

Down by the lake, even though the sunlight had reached the car park, it was still rather icy underfoot!

 

But up on the sheltered sunny cliffs, the rock was warm and the sun felt great on our backs as we climbed. We did a combination of the two most popular routes; called Oxo and Bovine. The first, (known as Oxine), climbs the first pitch of Oxo and the second of Bovine and is a great route. It's very steep, but there is alway a good sized handhold after the first awkward move.

 

From the belay half way up the cliff, you could see the frost still holding on in the shade of the trees and hedges below.

 

After walking back to the bags, we relaxed in the sunshine and ate lunch, while consulting the guidebook. After some deliberation, we climbed the steeper first pitch of Bovine, then the top of Oxo. This meant that we'd climbed all the classic pitches, but in a more 'straight up' fashion, without the short, weird traverses inbetween. It turned out to be another great route, but half way up, some clouds blew in and the temperatures dived.

 

As I came up the last pitch, we passed by this huge birds nest. Thankfully no one was home.

 

Up at the top the view to the east was perfect...

 

Over in the west, the low sun began to disappear into the building clouds. We just had time to get back to the bags and along to the car before it got too cold. Luckily, a friend of Tim's lived nearby, so we called in for a post climb pot of tea to round the day off!

Clogwyn y Wenallt:
- Oxine, VS (4c)***
- Bovine, HVS (5b)**