The hillside on the opposite side of the valley to RAC has some little known boulders which deserve a wider audience. A photograph of the major problem here, Bingo Wings (V7/7A+ from a crouching start), has sat unexplained on the guidebook page of this site for the last 7 years.

It was left out of the guide after a request from the landowner, who to be fair had no problem with low key visits, but was less keen on anything more intensive. The land was subsequently designated open access following the implementation of the CROW act and occasionally an email request for info would land at NWB.com headquarters; what and where is that sweet looking boulder? I would send out the details and over the years I’m sure quite a few folk have been delighted by this remarkable boulder and its neighbours.

Now it has fallen under the magnifying glass of the BotM feature it is officially public; go to it Big G:

Dear NWB.com readers,

I bring you more secrets from the Dyffryn Mymbyr:

The Beached Whale of Creigiau'r Garth (along with The Bartstone and The Dead Sheep Roof)

As the broken flanks of Moel Siabod merge into the Dyffryn Mymbyr, small edges and rocks surface to create a forgotten wonderland of quality rock.

The place is best approached heading west from Plas y Brenin, forest soon giving way to more open ground. Pick your way through the fledgling boulders and continue through a patch of knee-high dwarf willow. These strange little trees give one the uplifting sensation of being a giant.

Two streams act as markers now - the sacred stones being found between them. Cross the first, then just before the second, ascend through butterworts and delicious deep marsh to the Beached Whale. No richer slopers may be traversed or even touched. (GR 705 567)

A little higher a small edge of rock seems to have been caught in the act of tipping itself from the hillside. Due to the corpse beneath, the Dead Sheep Roof may not come into condition for quite some time. But it is immaculate along with its challenging right-hand variant.

The most visually breathtaking item here is the much caressed Bartstone (GR 706 567), with its famous Bingo Wings on the west face. Bouldered on by Breninites and then forgotten in the mists that roll down from the morbid summit ridge, it assumes an almost regal stance perched as it is on the edge of a spacious ledge (good landings). It is almost as if it were trying to shuffle north, or communicate in some way with the gently honking geese of Llynnau Mymbyr.

It has been developed by explorers such as Dyer, Perkins and Houghoughi, stomping up the hillside secure in the knowledge that nothing much would have been accomplished by the professional mountaineering community!

Beware trench foot,

G



NB. The Bingo Wings block will be featured in the next edition of the North Wales Bouldering guide (to be published in 2012); there will also be mention of the other beauties that Big G has found, plus a further excellent boulder not shown here but developed by Danny Cattell back in 2003.

This block lies approximately 300m up and right of Bingo Wings block just below the fridd fence on the slopes of Moel Siabod. It sits behind a small hillock and consequently cannot be seen from below. The 2 main problems are Stealth V7/7A+ and Rhythm V8/7B. Both start from the obvious pair of side pulls, but the former takes the prominent crimp above with the right hand, before moving out left to side pulls, whilst the latter takes the crimp with the left hand, thereafter utilising tiny crimps to finish.

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