Possibly 7th Ascent? Seconded by Rick Newcombe.
"Retreat beyond the crux is uninviting and the ground below is nasty to land on"

Hello Frank,
I led The Thing on a cold December day in 1961 ( a Golden annivesary !! ) when the Pass was absolutely deserted - I was with Ron James.
It was along time ago, but nothing on your photo is familiar - where does the route go from this point ?

A hell of a good tick in 1961 and '66! I seconded Jim Erickson on it, in 1974. It was only my second Extreme, the Gates being the first, an hour previously. Both of us got a no-hands rest in the groove. After that, it was a steep, sustained crack (to the left of Frank?) Both of us felt that the route was outrageous for when it was done. I think that it's one of those routes where the earlier the ascent the (exponentially) greater the kudos. Doing it with 1960s gear (a decade later, we had wires) must have been really something.

Hi Cam, Mick's right, it follows the groove up to the left: current Ground-Up guide has "Undercut up past a hanging flake and move quickly past a pumpy section to gain a sapling". This sapling can be seen in the photo. Looking at a blown-up high-res version I can see the lower runner on the right rope is in fact two separate nuts in the same crack, and the top runner on the left rope is also two placements, so protection actualy looks quite good. It was then of course graded "Exceptionally Severe" so a massive tick!

Hello again Frank,
I was so intrigued that I looked up the picture in "Welsh Rock" and I can see it now - where the leader is I remember pulling over the overhang using a fist jamb in a sharp sided crack. The angle of your photo and the fact that you are stood a little to the right of the line confused me.
Regards, Cam

Geoff Birtles told me he seconded Al Harris on it, in 1964. Birtles was 16, Harris a little older. Afterwards they ran down, caught the bus back to Beris, raced upstairs and put their feet up on the rail. Bliss!