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Ben mid crux on the 'sans resin' version 8C, photos: Si Panton


...and eyeing the finishing jugs on the new finish.

Ben Bransby has been busy in the Bwa Gwyn cave at Rhoscolyn. Firstly he added a proper finish to Big Leviathan, stopping on the high juggy block. The new section of climbing rates around 7A+ in isolation. It was already pretty amazing but this makes it into a proper world class line with an obvious start and finish.

Ben was reluctant to shift from his original assessment of 8B, however yesterday he managed to do the full line without using the glued resin hold and was moved to offer a bigger grade for the ‘sans resin’ version:

”Gonna stick my neck out and say 8C I think, unless I have second thoughts and go for B+... figure this will be my only chance of a big 8C and it can always get downgraded. I'll be honest I've lost all understanding of grades on that bit of rock now. It was a decent fight on it."

Adjacent to Big Leviathan there are a few other recent additions at more approachable grades. The undercut feature and leaning groove on the left is now Apollo (7B+) courtesy of Pete Robins. Pinch and Roll (7A+) tackles the broad prow to the right from a sds [James Taylor], while the obvious diagonal line sweeping up on the left from an good undercut sds to the same finish is Cerdded Crancod (7B+) by Tim Blake.

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