Jamming weekend!

Following the nothingness of the past week I was expecting a nothing weekend, but thanks to some psyched friends, reinstalled immune system and some good weather it ended up being action packed! Saturday dawned super lovely and I headed to the Cromlech with Sophie and Jonny, where we explored its lesser known reaches. We warmed up up the Thing and then scrambled to the top to abseil in to Grond and the Monster.



Mount Marshmallow towers over Llanberis




Jonny takes on the Thing




Sophie preparing mentally physically and emotionally for Grond, possibly the most undergraded route on the Cromlech for the non-American?



After wibbling up Grond after Soph, I didn't really fancy my chances at the other mid-grade offering - the monster, it being a tech grade harder. However, after having a look, it didn't look anything like Grond and it turned out to be a whole whack easier. Despite having a definite jamming element it had other useful features such as footholds and the odd jug to aid progress.



The Monster - fab position!

It was pretty nice to escape the crowds up the top, but we had left our sandwiches down at the bottom so we couldn't stay up there forever... Next it was on to Ivy Sepulchre and then Sophie did Foil to finish, demonstrating how hard the top is for the short - I'm so glad I can reach the top from the good holds!

Inspired by the jamming efforts of the previous day on Sunday me and Ruth went up to Cloggy to try  Pigott's Climb. The rain radar was looking ominous so we started early, although not quite as early as intended, as I had accidentally spread my rack all over Llanberis. By the time we were at the top of the first pitch, the sunshine had deteriorated into cloud, but as there seemed to be insitu ab stations on every belay we decided to carry on regardless. The route is great, with some lovely climbing on every pitch, culminating in another energy sapping jamming corner. I must admit to finding this pitch particularly tricky, doing lots of wobbling, getting feet stuck and even sitting on my gear. Despite this I would still thouroughly recommend it, it was a fun fight. 2 hand size cams are very useful!



Ruth about to go for the fish finger and guacamole sandwich



The last metres of the climb, udge for glory!




Gorrillas in the mist

 Timing was almost pefect with the rain only appearing on the walk out, but it did feel pretty dark and wintery by the time we got back to the village. Maybe the mountains can squeeze out another dry day for us this season?