Climbing in Cwm Idwal - cold rock

Walking to Ogwen cottage on a frosty morning

North Wales, a weekend in mid-January. I was here with a group of people to celebrate Burns Night with haggis, poetry, and plenty of climbing. On saturday we headed to Ogwen. The mountains here are quickly accessed from the road - we would be able to get up high despite the limited daylight hours.  

We arrived at Ogwen Cottage early in the morning, ready for a day of climbing. Jason and Jamie were keen to climb ice, snow, and frozen turf, while Andy and myself were hoping for some dry, ice-free rock.

Cwm Idwal

Frost and ice covered the ground and there was snow in gullies and on the tops; the sun was shining, but there were scraps of mist in the hollows. We walked up to Cwm Idwal - a north facing bowl containing jagged rocks and steep cliffs that are great for climbing. The cwm is also a nature reserve where one can find some interesting plants, including Snowdonia Hawkweed, which is only found here. This appeals to my ecologist background, although winter is not the best time for finding plants.

Ordinary Route, Idwal Slabs

The Idwal slabs are huge sheets of rock, made of igneous rhyolite, on the Eastern side of Cwm Idwal. Upon reaching the slabs, Jamie and Jason left us to head further up the Cwm to Idwal Stream, which was frozen, while Andy and I got ready to climb. We had come to the slabs with the intention of climbing the Ordinary Route - a rock climbing line up a crack in the slabs. Although long, the climb is easy - this meant that we could do it in warm boots and gloves. It was very cold and unprotected hands and feet quickly went numb.

Pen yr Ole Wen and Cwm Idwal

The Ordinary Route divides into three long pitches. I climbed the first - 45 metre - pitch, following the crack until my ropes ran out. On reaching the belay, I turned, looking over Cwm Idwal to see the peak of Pen yr Ole Wen bathed in sunlight, and a tongue of cloud creeping up the valley from Bethesda.

Climber on Ordinary Route, Idwal Slabs

Andy led the second pitch. He is new to leading multi-pitch rock climbs, so he took plenty of time and care building his belay. The slabs were in the shade and I had been sitting at the first belay for some time before Andy was ready for me to follow him up. I was cold, the rock was cold, and my hands quickly went numb. It was not the nicest climbing.

Looking down the Idwal Slabs

I climbed past Andy at the top of pitch two, carrying on to lead the final pitch. As I warmed up from the exertion of climbing, feeling returned to my hands and I started to enjoy myself. It was a long, puzzling pitch; sheets of ice covered the best lines and rope drag was a problem towards the end. I reached the top, set up a belay, and Andy followed me up. I watched him climb with the backdrop of Cwm Idwal floor a hundred metres below.

Cwm Idwal as the cloud moves in

By now the sun had disappeared and cloud blanketed the valley. From the top of the climb we walked northwards to find an abseil point - the safest way down from the top of the Idwal Slabs. The route to the abseil point tracks Suicide Wall on the northern edge of the slabs. It is important to abseil from the correct place - attempt to abseil too near the top of the Idwal Slabs, and you could find yourself halfway down Suicide Wall; in this situation I guess the best escape option would be a miserable prussic ascent back up the rope - not something we wanted to try! We found the abseil point, descended, and followed a stream back to the base of the Idwal Slabs. With cloud coming in and the temperature dropping we decided to head back to Ogwen Cottage for tea, food, and to await the return of Jason and Jamie, then home to feast on haggis.