Odyssey Round Up - Day 5
Two days in Northumberland allowed us to visit three
northern crags and tick off some quality sandstone lines of varying grades.
Bowden Doors, Back Bowden and Great Wanney gave some good climbing and filming
opportunities. Caroline is getting more and more confident placing gear, though
her technical climbing ability means she can power through the hardest
sequences without much fear of falling. Seeing Caro climb ‘The Tube’ at Back
Bowden while being given gear placement lessons from the ground was
entertaining for all. James, Hansjorg and Hazel were all going for it and
showing how bold and fearless they can be with a handful of E6 and E7 on sights
on marginal gear.
So on Monday we landed in North Wales and the camp was
re-established above Llanberis. We were greeted with dramatic views of the
valley and a beautiful sunset on the first night. However, excitement was
somewhat dampened by the weather as the showers rolled in the following day. A
team set off to Gogarth on Tuesday to get rigged for an afternoon climbing on
the sea cliffs. As is often the case the weather looked brighter on the coast
than in the valley and we were blessed with a brilliant on sight ascent of ‘The
Cad’ on North Stack Wall by Hazel.
On our second day in Wales we set out early with one target
- Strawberries. James was feeling strong and ready for an on sight ascent, Caro
and Hazel were keen for a flash attempt and Hansjorg was beyond psyched! He sat
quietly behind a rock, out of sight while everyone else got on route. Like so
many who have tried James powered through the hard bottom sequence, getting
within five metres of the top out before taking a massive lob that took him
right back down to the belay. James got back on route and topped out second go.
Caro and Hazel fought till the very end showing amazing stamina but not quite
making the top out. Hansjorg abbed in to the belay and set off as we set our
cameras rolling and crossed our fingers. With amazing style and some calm,
controlled climbing he read the route perfectly and topped out wooping and
hollering all the way.
Today we hauled huge bags into Vivian, excited about getting
to the slate. We got some good filming done on some classic routes, but the
clouds were hovering and the climbers were getting to grips with the strange
frictionless rock. We have a few little objectives in North Wales tomorrow
morning but the rain may be coming, so we are thinking of heading south. Whilst
waiting for an interview with Hansjorg Matt Pycroft took some time to work his
new Vivian boulder problem. Footage below.
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