South Wales sport climbing venues for winter days 

Facing a long, cold winter can be daunting for those used to a steady diet of lovely South Wales sport climbing but all is not lost. The weather may be even colder, wetter, and grimmer than usual but there are still plenty of places you can get some winter rock in this area. It’s not always necessary to run away to a warm, sunny Spanish crag to get your fix.

Let’s start with the don’ts. Of all South Wales crags, The Gap probably has the worst reputation for winter chill. It’s the place to be on hot summer days but definitely not a good winter pick. Even on sunny days it’s icy up there. Unfortunately the same goes for Navigation Quarry (a personal favourite during the warmer months) and many of the other high hill venues. I can personally vouch for freezing temperatures at Gilwern on winter days.

In general the more forested of South Wales sport climbing venues are also not a great bet in the winter as they tend to get green and rarely out fully. The exception is Dinas Rock- it might be cold but it’s often unexpectedly dry.

The winners are south facing, open to the sun but sheltered from the wind, and reasonably low in altitude. There are a couple of South Wales crags that match those criteria. Tirpentwys is one of the best, along with Mount Pleasant. Last winter, one surprisingly good day saw climbers in t-shirts at Tirpentwys despite 2 inches of snow on the ground. Taff’s Well also catches the sun, so the rock can be pleasantly warm as long as there is sunshine and not too much wind.  

 
This article was contributed by Jess Spate, local sports climber and editor of Outdoor Equipment Online, a climbing equipment price comparison website.

Ice Climbing.

If your up for it a number of ice climbing venues exist around S.Wales Valleys and Beacons. The promising start to this winter has seen routes in condition at Craig y Lynn, Torpantau and Virgin Falls at Blaencwm. Although lean at the moment, the wet Autumn promises plenty of recharge as the freeze thaw cycle prolongs. Tha accident at Torpantau last weekend serves to remind of of the different dangers to consider with ice so take it easy. All eyes on the weather between now and Xmas. For more info checkout the bolt fund Ice climbing topo for some of the most popular selected ice climbs.  Availible at Up and Under or email us. 0-812-10  

GOWER- Oxwich has seen a huge rockfall near Redwall sector, see photos page. Some routes are now on the beach!

Meanwhile elswhere the team of volunteers have been busy disposing of the fruits of your donations;

The technical wizardry of John Bullock has brought Roy's old drill back to life and it rests in its base Dynamic Rock in the hope that one day soon one of you Swansea chaps will dust it off and use it to replace something old and rusty with the nice shiny bolts handed over to local activists who have also ordered in new glue -ins for the Gower crags and will be seeking sorcerers assistants as they weave magic on the likes of PIONEERS OF THE HYPNOTIC GROOVE and other tired Foxhole classics.

Over the christmas period SWMC and others transformed RAMS TOR on Gower. The bolts and glue were bought by the SWMC under the guidance of  Chris Wyatt. Well done,lets hope the SWBF can do a similar job at foxhole.(topos soon)

Below: Check out new Cilfynydd/Navigation Qaurry Topo courtesy of Al at SWMC, they have revamped routes and replaced bolts and lower offs, photo Owl and Antelope:

Above: New bolts your money has bought...

Below: Belay replacement work at Oxwich, Gower. Phasing out use of fabric and single point lower-offs