Symphony Crack (V.Diff), Rhoscolyn

There was a long pause, followed eventually by 'well it's certainly rather breezy; a 50/50 kind of day'. That was the response from local climbing legend, George Smith in answer to our questioning about the conditions at Rhoscolyn this afternoon. We had just arrived and he and his partner were about the leave. A tiny window of weather opportunity had arrived and we had decided to dash out to the coast to make the most of it. We pressed on up to the cliff tops, with a classic 'Mackerel Sky' above us - which as the saying goes, means 'will it be wet, or will it be dry?' We scurried on; time would tell.

The cliffs had been blown dry by the strong winds, which was good, but the strong winds were also sending big waves up the cliff faces, which was bad!

It was super windy, but surprisingly warm. After assessing the sanity of our proposed adventure, we declared it 'safe-ish', so togged up and scrambled down to a point just above where the waves were splashing.

The first job was to traverse into the corner of Symphony Crack. With the seas booming and wind blowing, we roped up to add a bit of security and reassurance.

Once established on a hanging belay, Clare led past and up the climb.

I was left hanging from a few wires, hoping that the waves wouldn't get any bigger. A few wisps of spray made it as high as my ankles, but otherwise, it was a rather comfy perch.

Surprisingly, the guidebooks make no mention of the tiny hole at the top of the climb and suggests instead, that the climb is finished by moving left around the blocks.

As with previous ascents, we decided to ignore such a recommendation and head up and through the squeeze directly. I only became slightly concerned when slender Clare only just made it though.

It was a much slower process for me!

But after a minor tussle, I also eventually, made it though after removing a few bits off my harness!

It was fun finish and we walked away exhilerated and pleased that we had managed to sneak a climb in, when we could see that it was raining both out to sea and inland too.

We kept the holiday vibe alive with some apres climbing resfreshments in the nearby and most splendid 'White Eagle'. We sat by the big window watching the sea as the light faded, grinning at each other.