Seven Super Severe Rock Climbs in Eryri / Snowdonia

• Thursday 4th April 2024

Mark Reeves describes seven of his favourite rock climbs graded at Severe in the Eryri / Snowdonia area of north Wales.

Hidden in the backs of guidebooks is the history of our great sport, like the edited highlights of new route books, climbing club journals, climbing literature and mythology, all separated and segmented into specific routes, areas and eras. Many climbers will choose to forget that history and instead opt to make their own on the routes, whilst others bathe in it like vertical historians without the tweed jackets and leather elbow pads. The grade of Severe is a grade that has been climbed for over 100 years, as the first ascent of a few of the routes chosen testifies. The grade itself was an early extension to the three earliest grades; Easy, Moderate and Difficult. With the addition of extremely, very, hard and now numbers, we Brits have formed a fantastic system that is somewhat baffling to the uninitiated.

To choose just seven great routes from just one geographic area and grade should not have been hard. There must be hundreds, right? Wrong, in fact there are surprisingly few routes at this grade that warrant three stars in north Wales. Natural forces have made it all rather too easy as the best are few and far between but those that we have are timeless classics. Routes that I get to climb time and again in the course of my work, are as much a joy to climb now as the first time I made my way up them. When it came to writing about each route, it dawned on me that my most memorable moments had been when I soloed all but one of the routes. I don’t recommend you solo these routes, take a rack, a rope and enjoy them as they are intended, as you’ll see soloing can backfire. So instead I have tried to capture the essence of the climb that anyone can enjoy and some history.

1. Christmas Curry, Bwlch y Moch, Tremadog

F.A. A J Moulam J M Barr 25/12/1953

The route was a Christmas present to Moulam, although whether he gave it to himself or Barr had reconnoitered the line for him who knows? It was a frantic time on the cliffs of Tremadog. Just six days previously Moulam had climbed Scratch, another classic route at VS. A day later and Geoff Sutton had put up the route that narrowly missed out on being in this super seven, when he climbed Poor Man’s Peuterey. Whilst no doubt the crag had been climbed on previously, Christmas Curry was one of the first routes on Bwlch y Moch and Moulam would go on to steal some of the best easy classics that are the bread and butter of any modern trad climbers apprenticeship including Oberon and Merlin.

Like many Tremadog routes the climbing on Christmas Curry below the trees is rather scrappy, unless you find the slab start, but as soon as you break through the canopy of the trees you are greeted more often than not by the sun and stunning views across towards south Eryri/Snowdonia. The initial climbing up to the first ledge is never desperate and instead, the majority of the work comes from your feet. There is a final crack and groove which can appear difficult, however, the trick is to use the interesting and juggy gaseous pockets out on the right wall.

At a thin ledge that cuts across half of Plum Buttress you face a choice, do you take the original route at Severe or the Micah Eliminate, yet another triple star route that heads straight up a steeper wall via a groove and thin crack before traversing onto the final epic arête of The Plum via an alarmingly wobbly jug. Where to traverse is often the scene of epics as it is easier to traverse to the arête lower down, however, you then have to contend with the E1 5b crux of The Plum. Most people head up the original which has a few hard moves interspersed with small ledges to get to another large ledge. From there the route heads left and rounds a corner making it a lonely lead out of eye and, usually, earshot of your belayer.

2. Crackstone Rib, Carreg Wastad, Llanberis Pass

F.A. JM Edwards, JB Joyce 14/7/1935

The first ascensionist of this route, John Menlove Edwards, was a complex character, one who courted much controversy during his life. An objector to the Second World War and a man who was homosexual at a time when it was illegal. He tried to name one of his routes, a V Diff on Dinas y Gromlech, Sodom, and The Climbers' Club at the time forced him to rename it Flying Buttress. Again like Moulam, Menlove Edwards was to clear up in the Llanberis Pass climbing many of its classics including Parchment Passage, Shadow Wall, Dives, Spiral Stairs and Nea; all total classics that are VS or easier.

Crackstone Rib is so good that if the weather is sunny and dry, you can almost guarantee that there will be a queue at a weekend. I have seen people wait for hours to climb this, perhaps one of the most photogenic routes in the Pass. Its popularity as a climbing picture comes, in the main, from the ease with which you can take a picture from the ground looking down the Pass. It is that view that makes this route what it is. Starting up one side of a rib, you climb with blinkers on until you round the arête on some of the most worn holds anywhere in Eryri/Snowdonia. As you swing onto the prow the whole situation is revealed and most people become giddy with the exposure as they climb onto the belay.

3. Avalanche/Red Wall and Longland's Continuation, Lliwedd

F.A. J Longland and party Easter 1929

Jack Longland was one of the finest climbers of his generation, although it should be noted that a party climbed the first seven pitches of the route at V Diff in 1907. It would take Jack and his team to add the obvious and committing final few crux pitches to this route. A year later Jack would get off route near the next route in the list (in Cwm Idwal) and climb a route that today is given E1 (Javelin Blade). Lliwedd, if you have never climbed there is huge, a cliff on an almost Alpine scale. You can climb the first three pitches and the top is no nearer, and after a few more pitches the ground seems to have stopped moving away yet the top is still as far away as it looked before. Only when you make it to the Great Terrace do you feel the route is in the bag as the top starts to close in. Don’t be deceived, there are still five pitches to go and three are the hardest and the last is the crux.

A couple of years ago I was working in the café at Pen y Pass, I had a split shift with four hours off. So I put on my running shoes and off I went. All went well until the second pitch when I got hopelessly lost and committed in a place where I definitely shouldn’t have been. Bridged out on two good holds I looked down at the irreversible move I had just made and looked up at the continuing challenge. I faced a choice, die of embarrassment by calling the rescue team from my precarious perch or simply push on and possibly die. I pushed on and survived, quickly re-finding the polish on Avalanche, the six-pitch approach to Red Wall and Longland’s Continuation. As I soloed up, I re-entered the zone, as arms, legs and mind hit autopilot and with an iPod providing a soundtrack I soon synced with the tempo. I was in my own world as I topped out only to be brought back to earth with a round of applause from a gathering of walkers who had spotted me as I made my ‘death-defying climb’. “Hey, you're like that French spiderman nutter!” I ran down and returned to serving them coffee and cake, they didn’t recognize me again though.

4. Hope/Lazarus/Groove Above, Cwm Idwal

F.A. circa 1922 Unknown

I could not possibly make a list of Severes without including something in the Ogwen Valley. However, there aren’t any that stand out on their own. However, there is a classic link-up on and above the Idwal Slabs where the top pitches offer one out-there route and one that will stop most Severe climbers in their tracks. First off you need to climb the Idwal Slabs, any of the classics will suffice. Whilst Tennis Shoe is HS its crux top pitch can be avoided reducing the overall grade to Severe, although either Faith, Hope or Charity offers a great way to approach the classic Severe of Lazarus.

Lazarus was once soloed by an early hero of mine, Colin Kirkus, who back in the 1920s got committed like I did on Lliwedd. With very few climbers in the 1920s and no mobile phones, there was no way to call for help so he pulled off one of his classic soloing tricks. Lassoing a distance spike he managed to use it to swarm up the harder section and live another day. If you climb the route try and work out where he was, soloing in hobnail boots when he lassoed the spike. Then thank modern ropes, racks and, most of all, rock boots for making all seem delightfully straightforward nowadays.

5. Kirkus's Climb Direct, Clogwyn yr Oen, Moelwyns

F.A. C F Kirkus, C G Kirkus 1928

A list like this was not going to be complete without a Kirkus story or three. His influence on climbing in the inter-war years when Severe and VS were at the cutting edge was quite impressive. There are Kirkus routes all over Eryri/Snowdonia, if they are called Kirkus's Route they are worth climbing, if they are not, they are still worth climbing. To go climbing he used to cycle from his office job in Liverpool before often soloing new routes on-sight and cycling home. So next time you worry about a few hours behind the wheel of a car, think about his three-hour cycle.

The Moelwyns, where this route is located, are something of a forgotten backwater in Eryri/Snowdonia. Their inclusion and then exclusion from the Tremadog guide has led to a decline in their use although, just like Tremadog, you’ll often see a procession of instructors using the crags. Very few seem to use Kirkus's Climb Direct, as it is harder to manage and the climbing is somewhat of a maze although I suspect it is the initial three metres, a steep boulder problem type affair to reach a distinct easing, puts many off. The route goes on to wind up through pinnacles, grooves and slabs to get to a grassy ledge below the final arête. Looking up at it you’d think there is absolutely no way a Severe goes up there, and you’d be wrong. Hidden from below are large holds and good gear that lead you up the spectacular rib to arrive at a ledge where you have a commanding position over the area. The view is fantastic but I have to apply a mental airbrush to the scrapyard, plastic factory, hydro power station and disused nuclear reactor, and so will you now I have pointed them all out.

6. Pinnacle Wall, Craig yr Ysfa, Carneddau

F.A. C F Kirkus 21/6/1931

This is the only route on this list I have not soloed, yet Colin Kirkus did just that on the first ascent. Whilst most people access it from the Lower Amphitheatre Right Wall via Mur y Niwl, another fantastic VS, you can abseil in from the top to the bilberry ledge. A short ramp leads up to ‘Quartz Pavement’, although someone has tilted in the wrong way and you feel like you are being constantly pushed left into the gaping abyss as you essentially wander across it to the base of a groove/crack. Above the rock steepens but every move is rewarded with another jug or jam coming to hand. As you work your way upwards you can let yourself enjoy the position of this crag on a crag. Only when you reach the pinnacle does your heart sink as you see it taper away into a long thin shard and it dawns on you that you must stand on its slender tip to gain the slab above.

7. Main Wall, Cyrn Las, Llanberis Pass

F.A. P L Roberts, J K Cooke 27/7/1935

I know we said Severes but Main Wall is so good and, if you tick all of the routes on this list, you’d have the ability to climb it. Although be cautious, the hardest part of this climb is route finding. It has been the scene of some pretty nasty accidents over the years, followed by even more dramatic rescues. Nearly all of these have been the result of poor route finding or loose rock. My first ever time on the wall was one summer's day. Alone I made my way to the base of the wall and started up. Before long I caught up with a team of six, spread out across three pitches. I followed the last man up and they gave me a sling so I could join them on the belay. I don’t want to guess their combined age, but I knew them all from the wall or the pub. They were the old school, most still had their original Snowdon Mouldings helmets on and I vaguely remember a Troll Mk II harness. We hung out and chatted about the route. They could remember how many times they had climbed the route and I told them that this was my first time.

As they let me pass one said: "Enjoy the last pitch!" I moved on cautiously.

There was something about how he said it that I knew there was something special about this pitch. I had seen pictures, but nothing prepared me for the earth-shattering exposure as you rock up onto the final slabby arête. The whole face is lost from view and all you can see is the ground miles away in the distance. A fall would last forever but you would not. As I walked down I remember thinking back to my companions on this route. Six men, all retired, all out enjoying what can only be described as a true jewel in the crown of Eryri/Snowdonia. I stopped soloing as much soon after this, there seemed no need anymore. I had seen the future I wanted, which was to retire young and climb all these classics until I was too old to walk to the crags. As Joe Brown has said: "The climbs will be there tomorrow, the trick is making sure you are!"

So that is my list, of seven routes or what could be the best week's climbing of your life at Severe. Maybe you can squeeze them into a long weekend or, even better, a day. Above all, I hope that it inspires you to look into climbing these routes and maybe turn the guidebook over and read the history of our great and humble sport, where amongst other routes these were some of the first of their grade to be climbed at a time when participation was starting to proliferate beyond the well-to-do gentry.

This article was originally published in Climber magazine. Take out a great value subscription and read more articles like this by clicking here