UKC

Shadrach (VS 4c) Craig Bwlch y Moch (Tremadog)

BMC has been warned of a very large unstable and dangerous block on the route Shadrach at Craig Bwlch y Moch, Tremadog. It is strongly advised that the routes Shadrach and Brothers are not climbed.

Instructors from the National Outdoor Centre at Plas y Brenin have identified a very large loose block below the pinnacle on pitch 2 of the route Shadrach at Craig Bwlch y Moch, Tremadog. This is also shared with the other classic VS route, The Brothers.  It's highly likely that the reported large loose block may be the the support for the even larger pinnacle of Shadrach. 

Until this report and the rock is formally inspected it is strongly advised that climbers avoid these two routes.  

Elfyn Jones

BMC Access & conservation Officer (Wales)

That large block on Shadrach going would be quite alarming if you were stood on it! (I have no intention of going out and testing exactly how alarming I hasten to add!)

It's highly likely that the reported large loose block may be the the support for the even larger pinnacle of Shadrach. 

Gulp!,

As the first pitches of Grim Wall and Meshach both start quite close, although not directly under the pinnacle of Shadrach, should they too be considered in any danger from the trajectory of the loose block or indeed, the pinnacle.

They are, were, on my tick list for next month.  

Considering the size of that pinnacle, I'd be avoiding the whole wall, if not the crag. 

By far the most likely cause of the blocks falling would be the weight of climbers pulling or standing on them, if nobody is climbing them then the chances of them spontaneoulsy falling would be much smaller.

It would almost certainly need some other external factor to tip the blocks into a sufficiently unstable state to fall on their own, freeze thaw or heavy rainfall, possibly thermal expansion but these are either unlikely at this time of year or you'd know about them (because it would be freezing or p*ssing down!).

That said, I haven't seen the blocks recently so you'd have to make your own judgement on site, don't blame me if they fall on you!

You could aalways climb the first pitch of Grim Wall Direct, soft touch and a great first E1

The thought had crossed my mind, and It would be a good start to the season for me too. Not led many E1s for a while. And I've seen rockfall caused by heavy rain in the past.

I was stood on top of that thing on Friday. Yikes!

A quick update on this  following a visual inspection today. The main pinnacle appears to be unchanged or affected by the loose block. The loose block is approximately 2m wide by about 1.5m high and about 30cm deep at its thickest, so possibly approaching a ton in weight. It's resting on some thin slices or "plates" of rock, themselves on a tilted shelf. The loose block can be rocked or made to move quite alarmingly with only one hand. It is however highly unlikely to spontaneously fall. The concern is that if or rather when it falls, as it does so, it would catch the bottom of the large Shadrach pinnacle that is directly above and separated by less than 10cm, causing a significant rockfall.  

The Pinnacle is not resting directly on the loose block (but having said that, on close inspection, I'm not quite sure what is actually holding the Shadrach pinnacle in place!). 

The BMC still strongly advise people not to climb the routes that make use of this pinnacle until we've had a professional opinion and possibly some rock-scaling carried out by trained competent personnel.  All of Tremadog is a naturally eroding escarpment with numerous blocks that fall each year. No block or rock can be guaranteed to be "safe"  and every climber needs to be aware of the natural risks here and use sound judgement when deciding on which blocks or rocks to use, especially as belays or for critical runners. 

Elfyn

Wise advice, no more than you would expect from someone who soloed Fingerlicker in his youth...

There’s a really wobbly fair sized block as you pass the stack heading up to the top wall on Mesach too. The final big block can be rocked with 1 hand, and it’s big. Still regularly see people sling it! I’ve not had a proper look, but maybe it’s keyed in with a few other rocks?