Three Cliffs Bay

by Adam Walker

With the sense of adventure running high, due to the previous night spent watching epic climbing films, we gathered at the usual spot. It quickly transpired that some of us were a little too keen;  (Matt, Bartek and I) had forgotten our shoes - a vital bit of equipment. With a slight detour for Matt we sped off keen to make the most of the day.

After an eventful walk in of cows, muddy paths and sandy slopes, we reached the bottom of Three Cliffs Bay. But something was different… it was sunny ?! It seemed that even though it was the end of November the climbing gods had graced us with summer weather. ‘Tops off’ was declared and we quickly removed the mountain of layers we had arrived in, expecting the usual Swansea weather.

The climbing started with Betty, Laura, Florian, Zara, Brodie and I going to Pobbles East, with the rest remaining at Three Cliffs. I warmed up on The Groove (Mod) with Florian and Brodie, while Betty opted for Slab Route (S). With our warm up complete it was onto the main event - Limpet Route (VS 5b). After a chalk up, Brodie, Florian, Betty and I all successfully soloed it. Florian then had to drag Brodie and I away from creating bouldering problems to continue leading three more routes; Corner Groove (Mod), Twin Crack Slab (Mod) and Jagged Edge (VDiff 4c). Zara fought hard to lead Smalt (VS 4c) an interesting climb with only limpets for foot holds. After I raced up Blue Grass (HVS 4c) we decided it was about time to meet back up with the others.

Meanwhile over at three cliffs everything was going amiss, with Tim creating anchors without any knots. Alex decided to multi-pitch Wall Climb (Diff), but faffy rope work lead to El Presidente having to lend a helping hand. The top out wasn’t much better with a helmet being dropped off the top and a rope being saved by Osian and Enfys. Bartek failed to let his lack of shoes ruin his day by following Matt and Hugo up Arch Slab (VS 4C) barefoot.

After a brief stop for lunch the climbing continued with Hugo, Emily and Laura all doing their first outdoor leads. Some alpine practice was also undertaken by me, Matt, Alex, Brod ie, Florian and Tim. Good preparation for what is sure to be an epic Amphitheatre Buttress ascent. With the tide fast approaching we high tailed it out of there any way we could. Around, over and under the mountain were all used to keep dry and make it safely to pub on the pond.