Slate Fun

Sorry, I seem to have been rather slack in posting anything new of late, mainly as I have actually been doing some work, have had an interview for jobs for next year, and have been playing in the snow. Before that though I had a fun weekend of adventures in North Wales. Although it was nothing new, it was good fun, and I finally have replaced my camera, so there should be pictures from now on.

As you might have guessed from the title, my weekend involved some of the old slate workings that litter the landscape in north Wales. If you've never been, they're quite a surreal mix of industry and nature, and although they can appear as huge grey scars on the sides of mountains, they are also a part of our history and can be strangely beautiful.

Saturday saw us head to the huge Dinorwig slate quarries above Llanberis, which apart from being an exciting tunnel-filled place to wander around is also a major climbing area. There are some historic routes on huge faces and tiny holds, as well as a lot of recent sport development. Combined with the very specific climbing style of slate, all this makes it one of my favourite places for sport climbing and fun. We spent a very cold, windy day winding our way up the multiple tiers of the Australia sector with pitches from F5+-F6b on A Grand Day Out, although the hardest bit was the first 4m - a really thin slab. After a lot of shivering and a couple of amazing pitches (including one where I was struggling to stay on due to the strong wind), we were rewarded with a view from close to the top of the quarries and a fun walk down where the main aim was not to shower the person below you with sharp slabs of slate the size of table tops.

Part-way up A Grand Day Out with old quarry buildings and tunnels.

Typical left-over ironwork with mountains in the background.

On the Sunday, we decided to go underground and do the SUMC favourite Croesor-Rhosydd through trip. For those not in the know, this is a fairly serious (albeit well-equipped) trip through two old slate quarries/mines which were abandoned in the early-mid 20th century, along with a lot of the slate workings in north Wales. I had done this before, about 5years ago, so was nominated navigator. Thankfully all the fixed gear was in even better condition than the last time I was there - including the addition of a zipline! I won't give a blow-by-blow account of the trip, but a guide can be found here http://ukcaving.com/wiki/index.php/Croesor_Rhosydd_Through_Trip Thankfully I managed to locate the various abseils and bridges without getting very lost. Unlike standard caving, there was barely any bending down and squeezing through tiny gaps, the main challenges were technical - with the first half being a bit like underground via ferrata. The highlight of the whole thing is the huge, flooded underground chamber where you abseil into a boat and get pulled into the darkness. Since my last visit, someone has managed to get a rigid 2-man canoe into the lake, which is no mean feat, and is less nerve-racking than the previous inflatable dingies.

My little camera struggled in the cave, but did take a couple of accidentally cool photos.

Gramps abbing down into the in-situ canoe

Whilst we were in the cave, it had been steadily snowing, which gave the effect of coming out of the other side of the cave into a completely different place, which was pretty cool. All in all, it was a fun weekend of slate adventures. It is pretty amazing that we can play in these former industrial sites (I'm sure my parents told me not to play in these places), but its also pretty humbling to think that people used to make a living risking their lives working in these places in horrific conditions.

All Change

Life seems to be going in distinct one-month blocks currently. November - locuming, December - climbing, and now January is the month of sorting. Currently the next month seems pretty scary - lots to get sorted and not very much time; combined with the fact that trying to actually organise working in South Sudan requires the use of what I shall call "non-definitive arrangements" which is one of many ways that I will avoid actually admitting that I have no idea what's going on. The future is more than a little hazy at present (more of a full-on fog). But a month is enough time to get everything sorted, and as always, it will be fine (this philosophy requires a liberal view of what constitutes "fine").

Well, as theres only so long I can ramble on about how I have no idea what is going on, I think I'll write about my climbing trips and Christmas instead. Over the last month, I've thought of lots of interesting things that I thought I should write in here, but never really got round to it. Don't worry, I won't  bore you with too much. I've been really lucky to have been on 3 climbing trips over December, each quite different, but all enjoyable. After writing about how much I like to improve and push myself in climbing, I have also realised how fun it is to climb things that are completely in my comfort zone and just enjoy the climbing, rather than feeling any pressure (internal or external) to push myself in terms of difficulty.

Apart from the climbing, I've also had the opportunity to catch up with old friends, spend more time with existing ones, and make new friends, which has been as good as the climbing itself. I finally was able to return to the Costa Blanca in Spain and climb a few routes that had been on my mind since my first outdoor lead climb there in 2005. I found myself leading a couple of climbs that I had tried the last time I was there, which I had struggled up on toprope, thinking that the people who led the climbs were super-heroes. It was a surreal moment when I realised this halfway through the delicate, technical crux, feeling pretty comfortable.

My month of sorting is progressing slowly, probably not helped by disappearing off to Snowdonia for adventures this weekend, but some offers are too good to turn down - places I love, with amazing people.