Lockwood's Chimney - 'An Adventure'

Last weekend I was away with university climbing club (LUMC) in Snowdonia. Unfortunately as the week progressed the forecast progressively got worse and worse. The MWIS one issued on the Friday afternoon as we left bounced about triple digit wind speed figures and phrases like 'mobility will be all but impossible on all levels'. Not to mention significant levels of precipitation.

Usually its quite easy to find something to do in poor weather in wales, there's lots of ridges, easy climbs and scrambling. With the forecast most of my usual choices seemed a bit ambitious though so I did some thinking and remember being told about Lockwood's Chimney, a so called adventure route on Clogwyn y Bustach, just below Pen y Pas. I think 'adventure route' is a good phrase as to call this a 'climb' would be an injustice - whether this would be to the route itself or to all other climbs I'll let you decide once you've done it!

Naomi entering the chimney, below the chockstone crux.

To approach the route you park at the farm on the NE edge of Llyn Gwynant and walk down through the campsite crossing the river, and heading north along the river bank until you eventually wind your way up through some lightely forested boulder fields to the base of the crag. Its about 1.5km and takes 20-30 minutes. The start of the route is located to the right of 'the marble arch' a large natural arch of rock that has formed and provides some shelter in wet weather.

We climbed a long first pitch, combining the two written in the guidebook into one. This involves a steep wet crack first followed by another steep wall. This was pretty dire in the wet as a waterfall was running down it, and right down my sleaves pooling at my elbows! You can avoid this a scrambling line up some ledges to the left. After this the real meat of the route begins with the chimney itself. It think its best to do this in two pitches, the first going into the chimney and passing the chockstone which is the crux. Some websites and guides moot that this is about 4a - have no idea really, all I know is that it was very wet and polished and my boots didn't seem to find many edges to stand on so I resorted to back-knee chimeny'ing maneuver to get over it (one of the leaders in the latter parties fell on this and took a slide back down to the bottom of the chimney!). From here you move deeper into the mountain on a horizontal section, barely wide enough for you to turn around in, before climbing the easier ground at the back on the cave which leads you abruptly back to the outside world near the top of the crag. There is another scrambling pitch above this which leads to the top of the crag but we chose to make use of the in-situ tat and make the wonderful 50m free-hanging abseil back to the marble arch, just to add to the adventure. I was climbing with Naomi and Jade and they were both excellent seconds.

Myself squirming deeper into the chimney.

In true university mountaineering club style, only two of the six parties that attempted the route got to the top, with people having issues abseiling, getting ropes stuck, having to have lines dropped to them etc. I think I've grown to accept this now though, and quite enjoy the shut-eye I catch while lay on the back seats on minibuses waiting for them. Several asked how hard I thought the route was as it was only Diff; I never really thought it was hard as such, just a struggle, a horrible moist struggle. But it was awesome, and it was an adventure, top choice for a really bad day in Wales.

Photos copyright of Jade Jauquet.