Elidir Revisited

Tim Josephy

This visit to the crags and article were inspired by Arthur Evans’ article in the last journal
 
“The indignities hang like smoke over a battlefield”. So says Tom Leppert in the Ogwen Guide, of the CEGB road and dam that intrude upon the peace of Cwm Marchlyn Mawr. Yet it takes more than these to spoil such a wild and beautiful place. The elegant curve of Bwlch Marchlyn and the towering presence of Elidir itself are indestructible – and of course there is the Pillar.

From where we stood at the dam, the Pillar blended into the hillside, looking like no more than a buttress, steeper than the surrounding slabs. We started traversing in across scree and broken rocks but soon abandoned this for a sheep track near the lake shore. As we rounded the toe of the Pillar, Corrugated Cracks became visible stuck high on the east face and looking suspiciously innocuous. Only the top 30 feet or so could be seen and that looked easy. The guidebook tales of “mortifying struggles” and “intimidating chimneys” were obviously an exaggeration!

The first pitch from a platform one third of the way up the Pillar looked easy. A gently curving corner, it is easy, but not totally so – slightly off balance and sloping the wrong way.

So, you have to stop, concentrate and do it properly. The climb has given you a gentle cuff on the head and told you to pay attention. Chastened we climbed on to belay at the foot of Crack itself We gazed up at its full 80 feet rising in four storeys to the summit of the Pillar. Rippled rather than corrugated, the crack is body sized (a sideways body, that is) and conspicuously holdless; we began to wonder if perhaps the guidebook had it right. I had already laid claim to leading this pitch, so there was no backing down now. A couple of small holds out on the right got me launched, then it was a case of thrutching in the traditional manner. Standing on the first ledge was the next problem – it was big enough, but the rock above was bulging and holdless – an ungainly sprawl was the best I could manage. The next tier was the hardest. Completely holdless, violent caterpillar contractions and extensions seemed the only way to reach a wonderfully sharp edged chockstone at the top. Above, the crack soared – wider now and certainly imposing. Starting it required some commitment, but soon small holds appeared, enabling the fine situation to be enjoyed in comfort. Exhilarating climbing landed me on the Pillar summit where I could bask in the sunshine and enjoy the sounds of my second being “mortified” in the chimney. Descent was by a rift in the bowels of the Pillar (where we got lost in true YRC caving tradition) to the breche, followed by an abseil down the East Gully.

Next on the agenda was Janos, the route that A.W. Evans nearly did. The slabs are up on the right of the pillar, steep, quartz streaked and liberally sprinkled with overhangs. The route starts where all routes should – at the very bottom of the crag and goes pretty much straight up to the top, dodging the overhangs on the way. The climbing is superb, the rock excellent, the protection and belays virtually non existent. Although never really hard, the climbing is sustained and exposed, needing a steady lead and plenty of confidence. We took a belay at 25 feet after the initial delicate slab (the globe flowers are still there) and after that we only found one belay and a couple of decent runners in the remaining 250 feet. To have led 150 feet of it, found no belay and then reversed it must have required a cool head and a lot of skill. A.W.E., we stand in awe!

The routes:

CORRUGATED CRACKS 150 ft hard severe first ascent A.W. Evans & P. Smith 31.7.1937
JANOS 270 ft very severe first full ascent A.J.J. Moulam & C.T. Jones 1967.