The Ordinary Route, Idwal Slabs, The Glyders, Snowdonia
Difficult
Many climbers get their first taste of multi-pitch rock climbing on the
Idwal Slabs at the back of Cwm Idwal in Snowdonia. At 150m the routes are
long but there are many easy routes for the novice and stances are
generally obvious and spacious. Years of use have worn many of the gear
placements to a pale creamy colour and they're particularly easy to spot.
Four routes on the slabs receive all the attention: Tennis Shoe (HS) on
the left-hand side and the three VDiffs of Faith, Hope and Charity. Tennis
Shoe is a superb route first climbed by Noel Odell who went on to lead the
1924 British Everest Expedition on which Mallory and Irvine were lost.
Faith, Hope and Charity are lovely climbs but get very busy. If the rest
of the slab is crawling with people it's often worth nipping up The
Ordinary Route, the original route of the slabs.
The Ordinary Route takes the line of the wide crack on the left-hand
side of the slabs and offers a great introduction to climbing on the
slabs. Twenty metres of easy climbing from the ground lands you at a
restricted but good stance with small wire anchors. Another 20m takes you
to a cosy niche with the rock steepening behind. The hardest bit of
climbing on the route comes next and it's easiest to take the crack that
slants right behind the stance. Move back left on small but positive holds
to regain the crack and romp up to the next stance above. Think about
minimising rope drag on this pitch as it does end up wandering a bit. As
with all routes on the slabs, height is rewarded with a great view of the
Ogwen Valley and by now you're well into your stride. All the way up the
route there are plenty of good wire and hex placements and it's a great
place to practice placing gear after a winter in the climbing wall. It's
very sociable climbing as you can look across and get a good view of
Faith, Hope and Charity and spy future lines. Towards the top of the route
you're presented with a number of options. Most will choose to climb to
the top of the crack before heading slightly right through slightly
vegetated ground. The holds that you need are all clean and a mixture of
excellent rock and blocky quartz holds. The quartz can be particularly
slippy so it's worth taking your time this far off the deck. After a long
pitch you arrive on a good, wide ledge at the top of the slabs. This ledge
can also be reached more direct by climbing straight up underneath the
large block on the ledge itself (steeper but good climbing).
It's not over yet! From the ledge you can choose to descend or continue
up Holly Tree Wall which goes up from the ledge. Descent from here
requires care. The route follows a complicated series of ledges around the
east side of the face before breaching suicide wall at a very bad step.
It's worth noting that the standard descent involves climbing down the
hardest part of a grade 2 scramble (Direct Approach to Senior's Ridge).
This can be avoided with an abseil. Novices benefit from the security of a
rope on the descent, and it's a good idea to go with someone who's
familiar with the route. The easiest route on Holly Tree Wall behind is
Lazarus (S) which is a great route on steeper rock than the slabs
below.
Be aware that all these routes are long and descents are time
consuming. It's worth getting an early start to bag your chosen route and
give yourself enough time to descend.
|
