UKC

Any ideas for good places to take beginners in Wales, ideally North Wales? My friend has done a reasonable amount of indoor climbing at walls, and we're going away for a weekend for his first time climbing outdoors. I know a few places where the climbing is easy (eg tryfan fach, Clogwyn yr Oen) but most of them are a couple of pitches, and I wondered if there were any short crags that were single pitch? For complicated reasons we might only have a 35m rope, as my other half is taking our 50m rope that weekend... maybe it is buy a new rope time, but that's a bit of an investment for something we'll hardly ever use!

In reply to sally_v:

Carreg Y Foel Gron near Blaenau ffestiniog?

In reply to sally_v:

tremadog upper section
betws-y-coed crags http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=872
carnedd y filiast


plenty more in either selected guide books or comprehensives

In reply to ow arm:

Oh, that looks great! Some really easy stuff in the 10 - 20m mark. Thank you!

[I am rubbish at leaps from pinnacles, so it'd be good for me too ]

In reply to lithos:

Thank you! I don't know carnedd y filiast - do you mean this crag? http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=499 I got confused because some of them were 180m (which won't really work with my 35m rope ) but then there are some that are more 15-20m, which are just what I'm looking for!

In reply to sally_v:

oops meant this one (i looked for waved slab) the other one is big long easy slabs
but not really suitable.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=2045

funnily enough on sunday we were sat at cafe (road junction great cake)
looking at Carreg Y Foel Gron wondering what was on it !

barmouth looks good (never been)
http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=3116

In reply to lithos:

Ha ha - there are lots of wavey slabs Thanks for the good ideas!

In reply to sally_v:

Other than what already been suggested

Castle Inn is the obvious place if you are happy with sport.
Holyhead mountain has some good easy trad in a nice setting.
Most of the stuff in snowdonia tends to be longer single or muli-pitch but if you are keen to get into the mountains this crag has a number of short easy routes. http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=12173

Issues is that these are only really in definitive guidebooks. Some routes on Holyhead are in the north Wales rock guide as are some at Castle Inn but not the grade 4's and below).

Be aware that with Clogwyn Cyrau there's only a few climbs in the North Wales classics select guide. The definite guide is the Meirionnydd one which is a somewhat esoteric area to buy an expensive guide for and is perhaps not popular enough for you to rock up and expect others to be there with guides.

I would suggest getting on some easy classic multi-pitch instead!

In reply to sally_v:

Lion Rocks?

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=8790

In reply to sheelba:


Yes, this modern obsession with single-pitch climbing is most depressing. It seems the sport has gone steadily backwards over the last 30 years.

In reply to sheelba:


Yeah, that's definitely worth thinking about. IME most easy multi-pitch routes in North Wales have belay ledges you could play football on anyway, so it's not like you're going to have to dangle your mate off a dodgy hanging belay or anything.

In reply to sally_v:

I'd say a trip to Llangollen and Clwyd limestone is probably in order. Bags of short routes right next to each other, potential for easy top rope setting on trees, and a wide spread of grades. It's not as impressive as Snowdonia but it is perfect for what you're after.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:


AT the risk of sounding fogeyish I agree with you! Muti-pitch on my second time out - never looked back...or down!

In reply to Bulls Crack:

I can't see what the (big?) deal is - single pitch routes are almost always more dangerous than multi-pitch, so once people have learnt how to belay properly just why don't they get on with it? Like you, as soon as we knew what to do, in c.1967, we just got on with the real thing.

In reply to sally_v:

Some useful suggestions above, but I'd give another vote for Holyhead mountain. I did my first ever outdoor climb there and it's a great little spot.

Mike.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:


Why?

In reply to sally_v:

Meirionydd book is good for easy Single Pitch.
Look at:
*Craig y tonnau (nr Dolwyddelan - I was there today on the way back from some multi pitch at the Moelwyns - usually quiet and dries very quickly after rain)
*Clogwyn cyrrau (Betws y coed; bit damp in the woods, but varied routes either single or 2 pitches; close to Cotswold's shop if you decide to buy that longer rope after all.....)
*Carreg y Foel Gron (NE of Ffestiniog)
*Barmouth Slabs (Barmouth; lots of easy lines with wonderful views but often clogged with centre groups)

Also consider:
*Upper tier at Tremadog (Tremadoc guide)
*Holyhead mountain (Often good weather even when the rest of North wales is soaked; Gogarth guide)
*Craig caseg ffraith, and
*Dyffryn Mymbyr (both in Ogwen guide)

In reply to Sl@te Head:


Because on a single pitch route you can hit the ground in worst case scenario. I can't remember how many falls I've held when leader has fallen off second or higher pitch and fallen past the belay over the pitch below without sustaining any injury whatever.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Mustn't take any risks so will have to climb multi pitch from now on ;-0

In reply to Ron Rees Davies:

But just why all this fiddling about, when there's such a wealth of good long mountain rock climbs in Snowdonia for virtual beginners?

In reply to Ron Rees Davies:

PS. We're in the year 2014 ffs !!! What you're talking about would have seemed very timid and narrow-minded in 1914, I suspect.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

>>But why......

Because the OP only has a 35 metre rope available, and has specifically asked for easy short single pitch crags in North Wales.

AND because single pitches can be top roped as an easy introduction to outdoors and confidence boost for "indoor" climbers before moving on to bigger, better but more daunting things

AND because a single pitch can be a quick easy option if you only have an hour or so to spare (and can be fun!).

In reply to Ron Rees Davies:



Why?


There are plenty of places to top-rope outside of the mountains. We all did that. But Snowdonia is not at all suitable for this, and to do single-pitch in Snowdonia would be extremely dispiriting, I would imagine, once you realised what you had missed. I was taken up Spiral Stairs and Flying Buttress on about my third day of real rock-climbing.


God almighty! As if the world has got tougher, and you need 'quick easy options'! WTF are you on about??

I don't think climbing can never be reduced to 'fun', pure and simple. There's that thing called gravity, for a start off.

In reply to Ron Rees Davies:


If you've driven all the way into the mountains, how can you have only 'an hour or two to spare'? For years climbers have driven to the mountains for weekends (if affluent), or long weekends, or several weeks (if less affluent), to climb, so there's never been a problem with time.

Give people more money and easier access, and they're bleating about lack of time!

Thank you to everyone for the good suggestions - really appreciate it.