home »
  news archive »
  guidebook »
  topos & stuff »
  gallery »
  links »
  search »
  contact »
     
  v12outdoor »

 

Photos: Big G


.

This month Big G escapes the snow and ice which blights his mountainside home and heads south to the Ysgo for some sun-kissed rock and the bold challenge of a peculiar erratic block stuck half way up an overhanging mud cliff. I do have photos of him trying this epic line but somehow it seems wrong to actually show anybody climbing in a Boulder of the Month feature, so you’ll have to fill in the gaps with your imagination.

Dear NWB.com readers I bring you: The Glued Diamond of Porth Ysgo.

For too long now the bouldering heaven of Porth Ysgo has been dominated by the activities of over-muscled young men powering their way up rounded blobs of rock no higher than their waiflike selves; a spectacle fit to baffle anglers and sea-bathers alike.

But for those who seek a little more than those clinical two-move scrapes on dimpled perfection there is an alternative...

Yes; from the west end of the beach, lift up thine eyes unto the crap above. There it is; lodged in the looseness; the glued object of our desires. The rock that never fell to earth hangs scoffing in the face of erosion.

Here a challenge is provided like no other. Regardless of one’s gifts; boldness of brute power, the thing could still peel off and deposit you in an unpleasant eye-popping scenario below. The rocks lower defences can be taken from the right or more easily from the left leading to great handfuls of arête but no-one yet has hung that chest-beating summit.

Be careful. A mountaineering accident at Porth Ysgo would be a bit difficult to explain.

[N.B.Tidal Effects: Though a large number of problems have been recorded in this area, making it a very significant venue, many more remain obscure. This is caused by the tide. Those visitors who have timed their visits badly find themselves having to wait considerable periods for the waters to recede. This is obviously a particular problem if the desired rocks occupy the very lowest reaches. Those caught by this natural delay have often been tempted to pass the time using soft drugs. Consequently although a great deal of work has been carried out on these more distant blocks details of the problems and their precise whereabouts are not always recorded successfully.]

Blessed are the lucky.

For they shall not be squashed.

Love, Big G

Relevant links: