It’s been a shocking winter season so far. In my wildest dreams I couldn’t even begin to contemplate the wide spectrum of moisture types that have affected British boulders in the last four weeks: snow, sleet, drizzle, mist, fog, condensation and rain have fallen, stifling any ambitions or hopes to send over the holiday season.
The two week school Christmas holiday began with a nationwide dump of snow which precipitated a cycle of freeze, thaw and fog that tried the emotional resources of even the most patient of boulderers. However, fortune favours the brave and I managed to play out once or twice on local sandstone in Merseyside. I must admit though, sliding my way up an icy hill to pull on rough, crimpy eliminates in conditions of minus seven did little to credit my psyche bank. My dog’s reaction to being dragged out on this Baltic adventure in the snow fields of Northern England, was simply a mixture of pity and hatred; I must admit I can’t blame him.
In the midst of this climbing misery, signs of pure desperation began to appear within our usually friendly national climbing community. On UK Bouldering’s conditions reports something new came into being. Rather than the standard ‘Caley Conditions’ or ‘Eastern Edges’ threads, ‘Where in the country is dry today………..?’ appeared. The collective hopes of a bouldering nation seemed to seep into the words of this thread. Could the actions of a few motivated individuals lead us from our murky, mince pie-laden morass? As the results came in day after day the depressive sighs of peers seemed to echo from the computer screen, words like ‘gopping’ and ‘minging’ have never seemed so significant before.
Porth Ysgo is a two and a half hour drive from Liverpool. The five hour round trip really places this crag outside the ‘local venue’ category (it really doesn’t even sneak into the ‘Good day trip Venue’ category either). So when I intercepted a text message from my mate Fatneck looking to tempt me with the delights that lie at the tip of the Llyn, I must admit the very idea was met with derision. The UK was covered in a thick, depressive fog. Five hours of driving to be met with wet rock? He was having a laugh......or was he?
Fatneck the Visionary, cranking at Ysgo - picture Fatneck collection
Ysgo has a magical quality; mention it as a venue choice and you instantly dismiss it on account of the distance- then it plays on your mind, it wears you down. Once that suggestion has been made, that seed has been sown in your grey matter, you begin to remember all the previous gambles; trips made through driving rain, sleet and snow to be met with warm, dry conditions the other side. Legends of the Llyn Peninsula’s ever-dry micro climate become less miraculous and more factual in your mind.... worth a punt? I couldn’t join Fatneck on his quest for dry rock as I was climbing the day after his session, however he was sent off with strict instructions to report on conditions. In the meantime I went back to the forums- somewhere would be dry!
If my laptop had feelings, it would have been suicidal by the time I had finished my trawl through conditions threads and forums. The language that little plastic box of keys and pixels had to endure would have broken even the most well- adjusted of inanimate objects.
- Is two and a half hours of driving to the Llyn really that bad?
The expeditionary force that had been sent to Parisella’s cave (our ‘more sensible’ venue of choice), had been beaten back to Liverpool, repelled by moisture. Options were narrowing.
- The gabbro at Porth Ysgo has amazing friction!
I rang Mike. The crags in the east around his place are always dry- surely a session was to be had? Mike’s response was negative. Fog had taken hold of his beloved magnesium carbonate, the only meteorological condition that can stop play on those holds.
- Ysgo is North Wales’ best venue, with loads to go at.
Another frantic look at the forums lead to nought. Sopping gritstone and dripping lime were the order of the day. I cursed the bastard laptop. I had fed it with power and warmth for years and this is how it repaid me!
- In aesthetic terms, climbing on a beach like Porth Ysgo really is the best form of bouldering.
Weather websites did nothing to help my fragile mental state. I was seriously considering dousing myself in petrol, lighting a match and then running around the streets of Liverpool; well it was either that or go for yet another soul destroying indoor session. And then Fatneck rang……………
Desperation is an interesting phenomenon. It can motivate like nothing else and make the ridiculous seem sensible. I rang Mike and told him the news. His reaction was predictable; when it comes to climbing his insane streak can be a lot wider than mine. Ysgo was dry- which meant we MUST go! This decision would lead to five hours of driving for me (and an extra three to four hours on top for Mike). Lunacy you might think on one of the shortest days of the year. We would only get five hours of climbing at best. However, sense and perspective are highly over-rated. In this case, the real experience of climbing for the day on the coast whilst the rest of the country drowned in its own juices was a prize worth far more than the hardship of all that travelling.
Mike crushing on a previous trip to Ysgo - Pictures taken by Oz Fry.
Mike was at my house by 8am (his day of travelling started at six). The Hoppo Lads joined our merry brigade and we wound our (possibly misguided) way to the coast. Was it dry? Did we climb? Well- yes it was and yes we did! It was as brilliant as it always is. Ysgo had woven its magic once again. To quote Simon Panton (in my case for the thousandth time),‘Porth Ysgo just keeps on giving’.
Porth Ysgo Bouldering from Owen McShane on Vimeo.
It seems this video has caused quite a stir, particularly the credits and grades, I will re edit these. Suffice to say Dolly Rocker is climbed from a crouching start and the video does not show the second acent of this problem. This post is simply about mates going out for a day of Bouldering, whilst all around was shut down by snow.
Cheers Owen
Nice post O. Shame we didn't get a Hoppo cameo on film ;)
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