UKC

Hiya,

I maybe living in Dolgellau for a few months. What's the climbing like? What's it like in winter?

wet

Good mountain crags in Dry summer but generally too low for any reliable winter climbing.  Some esoteric cragging in the Rhinogs and Bird rock is worth a visit.

Esoteric but there’s a hell of a lot of it! Cader is probably more esoteric.

Walking in the hills is excellent in all directions.........

Careful. Didn't a certain Mrs May have a brainwave to hold a general election whilst walking in them thar hills?

There's always Barmouth Barmouth Slabs#maps

Barmouth Quarry#maps

never climbed there 

Better off whizzing up the Trawsfynydd road (which is very whizzable) and going to Tremadoc.

Yeah Tremadog is only half hour from you as is Tan y Grisiau, lots of good low grade multi pitch and bouldering. Cader has some good routes; gwern pillar, cyfwry, obsession, gwyderin but probably not in the winter. Craig y merched  is very close, 15 mins, for some good grit cragging S-E1. Not too much winter-wise unless it gets very cold then there’s quite a few good ice routes locally. The rhinogs are nice for walk/explore. I’d say the climbing is hard won and can be not worth the effort, but we’ve done things like wilderness grit and rock steady which are as good as any at the grade in the uk, in an amazing setting. WG dries fast and is clean, worth a look if you fancy a classic rhinog e2/e3 that’s safe. Good mountain biking at coed y Brenin, maybe the odd bit of surf Barmouth or Tywyn. There’s good paddling around?! Winters a bit long in these parts....

That would be why you're recommending it. The slabs are beginner group paradise, and the quarry is an acquired taste (it's superficially loose but bolted).

To the OP: I've lived in Aberystywyth for most of the past 8 years, and "whizz up"* to North Snowdonia - Tremadog, The Pass, Ogwen, Gogarth, The Orme, Ysgo et al. far more often than I stop on route to climb something else. Same summer or winter. As others have said, decent bouldering at Tan-y-grisiau and Traws if you want to keep more local.

Anyone who tells you that the Rhinogyau is grit is lying, it's a coarse sandstone and whilst not unlike Peak/Yorkshire Grit is definitely not the same. Bits of nice cragging though.

If you want a partner for sport/trad/bouldering, drop me an email. Generally can't be bothered with trad over the winter though as it's too cold. Logbook on here is mostly up to date.

*proportional to Mansell Davies lorries, caravans, and general slow bastards

The Rhinogau are grit, just a different age (older) than Millstone Grit. Nicer to climb on in my opinion as the holds are more positive!

To the OP: I think the climbing in the area is great, a little obscure, but a lot quieter than further north, and in some wonderfully tranquil locations, free of the traffic noise of the Pass and Ogwen. Climbing on the mountain crags of Cader or the Arans is likely to be out during the winter months (though I have climbed on the north face of Cyfrwy in March), but the Rhinogau has a large number of quick drying crags - of particular note is the Craig Y Merched area, though getting information on the newer additions (of which there are many) can be tricky - your best resource is to go to the new routes section of the Climber's Club website. As other's have said, it's also a pretty quick trip up the Tremadog area, or the Moelwyn's for that matter.

Have done a few winter routes years ago in the area - generally a good freeze is required. There are some fine waterfall climbs in the Arans, which benefit from being a bit further from the coast hence marginally colder. Most are fairly low down though

Fantastic area with lots to do as well as climbing. Great walking and Mountain biking. Dolgellau Parkrun is one of my favourites. Cafe in the old hardware shop is very fine.