Tim Neill Guiding

Reade’s Route, Crib Goch on an MIA assessment.
Photo Rob Johnson

So, from just after mid September ’til now, on balance,  it’s been a good autumn here in N Wales. Bar a week or so, the weather has been mild and mostly dry and by early December the crags that’ve been warm enough to climb are still really dry. Until a couple of weeks ago it’s all been MIA courses at work for me after a week or so on the BMG Rock tests … everything from classic extremes at South Stack to mountain routes like the one in the photo above.

Last of the Summer Wine, Red Walls.
Photo Tom Grant

And in the course of re visiting these old classics I was reminded of some of the routes I hadn’t yet done … like the ones above and below. The Maze in particular is a true Ed Drummond totally unhinged classic adventure!

The Maze, Red Walls girdle

Rudders on Ramshaw Crack, Staffs Nose attempt

A quick visit to the Staffordshire edges to attempt to climb all the Joe Brown and Don Whillans routes was thwarted by drizzle and green rock but Dave and I managed 2/3rds on a short winters day… so we’ll have to go back in the spring.

Lou posing her way up a little new E4 in the quarries

John catching sun in the depths of Mordor quarry

After our extravagant weekend up the Matterhorn I’ve been attempting to offset a little by climbing as much as possible near home .. the short days and cold sunny days have pushed us into the quarries and towards Tremadog … trying to climb a few tricky things with varying degrees of success and managing a few new lines too! A couple of small highlights were the less travelled “Listening and the Dancing”… a testing E5 6b/c … AKA “Trev’s Wall” near the mighty Rainbow Slab….and the scrittly “Yukan II”…a classic E6 at the very inspiring sandstone quarry of Nesscliffe.

December at Tremadog on Cadiac Arete

John swinging out on Gritstone Gorilla

Bouldering at a newly developed beach on the Lleyn

Fluking my way up the Nesscliffe classic…Yukan11

Soon I’ll be back in the Alps briefly and by late January up North in Scotland for a long winter .. it’s all looking busy and it’s started snowing … so fingers crossed.

Esme enjoying December sun near home