Emma Twyford adds Olwen (E9 6c) to her tick list
- Monday 22nd July 2024
Emma Twyford continues to succeed on the Welsh E9s with a repeat of Olwen at Rhoscolyn.
Having made the second female ascent of Mission Impossible (E9 7a/F8b) in the Ogwen Valley earlier this summer (click here for that report), Emma Twyford’s good run of form continues the second female ascent, of Olwen on Painted Wall at Rhoscolyn, Anglesey.
Whilst both Mission Impossible and Olwen are graded E9 the breakdown and the skill sets required are quite different. Considered a reasonably well-protected sport-like route, MI is often referred to as F8b. Whilst Olwen starts up Easel-EE (E7 6c) and clips the first few glued-in pegs on that route, it then follows a direct line with two very spicy run-outs, the first of which might entail a ground-fall from the last moves before some good, and much-needed, gear placements.
The double whammy at Painted Wall is that successful ascents require two specific aspects to combine - good conditions and a positive mindset. Emma’s first attempt at leading the Olwen ended largely as a result of bad conditions which, sadly, persisted into the autumn as she explains:
“The first time I tried to lead it in the heat was a pretty terrifying experience of slippy holds and over-gripping. I was way too pumped and close to the edge of it going wrong. So the game of patience ensued for a dry day with cloud cover - not asking for much!
In September last year, I had a quick look at this route but the end was wet, I returned a few more times only to find the route becoming more unclimbable due to seepage or seal pups being too close to the crag.”
Returning this year, Emma sacked off another possible lead attempt, again due to poor conditions. However, a week ago Emma returned and committed albeit it didn’t go as well as she would clearly have hoped:
“A further return visit with Harriet and the first time I decided it was too hot and slippy to lead, I didn’t want a repeat terrifying experience. But on Saturday we returned and I made the decision it was time, it didn’t go super smooth, the gear didn’t go in quickly on the serious bit and a foothold crumbled on me just before the thank god gear but I held it together and arrived less pumped into the crux. From here, I could just try hard and have fun knowing that a fall could be big at the end but ok. I think part of the seriousness of this route is the crumbly nature of Rhoscolyn so I approached this route with caution and respect.”
Since James Taylor’s first ascent of Olwen in May 2023 (report here) it’s had a total of four further ascents by Jim Pope, Caroline Ciavaldini (report here), James Pearson (report here) and now Emma Twyford. To date, only James hasn’t top-rope inspected Olwen prior to leading it. James opted – as he has on other routes in the past – to try the route ground-up using Caroline’s beta to try to flash the route; on that occasion, he dropped his flash attempt but succeeded on his second attempt.