Tower Gully

After my recent success soloing Central Trinity on the Clogwyn Y Garnedd face of Snowdon the day before, and a clear but windy forecast for the weekend, I was keen to try and get out and keep the winter route snowball rolling as long as I could. With Jo tucked up in bed with the flu, Tadams, Tom and I made plans to meet at Ogwen Cottage at half 7 on Saturday morning with the idea of heading up to Cwn Cniefion and seeing what looked in nick.
 

I have to say, rolling out of bed at half 6 that morning was tough, but with my kit already packed I crawled into the car and made my way through the darkness of Snowdonia and into the Ogwen Valley. When I arrived, I was pleased to see an empty car park but for Toms Fiesta, meaning that we would have most groups behind us and hopefully the best pickings in terms of routes.
 

As we made our way up the path towards Cwm Idwal I walked of the stiffness of the previous days solo, and as the sun lit up the Cwm it was great to see both Idwal and Cniefion looking great with a decent covering of snow and ice. The previous weeks cold temperatures had frozen the Llyn and even though none of the major ice routes in Cwm Idwal were formed, if the cold temperatures continued on for another few days there could be definite potential. As we carried on, we passed through the kissing gate and then forked left up the valley towards Cwm Cniefion, always trying to keep a good pace to keep ahead of the crowds.

Once in the Cwm, we had a quick look around and with time our sides decided that if we climbed our first route swiftly, more than one route could be done whilst the ice remained solid in the early part of the day. With that thought in mind and with a quick look in the guidebook, Golden Girl Ali was our route of choice. Working up the left side of the Cwm and starting up the first pitch of Tower Gully, the route then snakes off up the left and up a buttress of rock with what looked like good mix climbing. At grade IV it would be our hardest climb of the winter so far, but all feeling confident we were soon racking up at the base of Tower Gully and looking forward to the climbing ahead.



Tom and Tom checking out what looks good in Cwm Cneifon.

Tadams quickly set off on the lead with Tom and I each tied into the end of one double rope, our thinking that once a belay was built, both the seconds could quickly follow the leader. The climbing was good and ice solid, with progress only being slowed by a few steeper ice steps that kept the climbing interesting and varied. However, as we gained height and true to the forecast the wind speed had picked up to a level where it was nearly impossible to communicate as we made our way up the pitch.

Tadams leading the first pitch of Tower Gully.

With the first pitch ending just before the crux of Tower Gully, Tadams built a belay and Tom and I quickly climbed up to meet him. At this point we took time to chat and dig out goggles from our rucksacks to protect our eyes from the ice and snow now flying at us a 50mph. With the start of Golden Girl Ali up to our left and following the line of the steep and exposed buttress, we took time to chat and weigh up our options.

After a few minutes of discussion, it was decided that going for the route would be slightly too much for us in the current conditions, and with the superb Tower Gully continuing above us we still had the chance to climb on brilliant ground on what is a classic route.

Feeling like we had made a sensible decision, Tadams again moved away from the belay and towards the crux of Tower Gully, a 6 foot section of off vertical ice that he climbing without a worry. From there the ground was easy and he continued quickly with only a few pauses to place gear. Once again I was on the move swiftly, with none of the moves feeling too hard or strenuous. As I was moving up each axe swing landed on good ice and each kick step was solid, and with the large Golden Girl Ali buttress hanging over the left hand side of the gully and the wind and snow buffeting us, it gave the route a 'real winter climbing' feel.

Once again the three of us met at the belay and took a minute to soak up the atmosphere and discuss our options. With the majority of Tower Gully now climbed and the ground starting to ease up in angle, Tom suggested we had a go a climbing the upper reaches of the buttress we intended to climb from the base. It seemed like a good idea and once again we kept moving to avoid getting too cold. Whilst it was only a short pitch, it provided fun mixed climbing as a nice contrast to the ice we had climbed on the previous two pitches. The line Tom chose had a mix of good hooks and foot placements and gave us a little insight into what climbing Golden Girl Ali would have been like from the start.

Tadams off exploring on the Goldern Girl Ali buttress. 

Once climbed, we each took our turn to pull up and over onto the top of the buttress, instantly being struck by the relentless wind that was battering the upper slopes of Glyder Fawr. Looking around we quickly found a boulder to shelter behind and made a dash for it before we could be blown off our feet. Now in the lee of the rock, we took our time to have a bite to eat, take a celebratory photo and discuss what to do next.

Topping out after climbing Tower Gully.

After a quarter of a hour or so, we decided the best plan of action would be to head back down into Cwm Cniefion and rather than take the grade I Easy Route towards the base of the Cwm, we would head for the top of Hidden Gully. We could then down climb, hoping that the sheltered nature of the gully would make for interesting and fairly comfortable descent. Luckily enough for us, once moving we didn’t meet anyone coming up the route and we made quickly progress towards the base of Clogwyn Du. Once there, Tadams and Tom had their sights set on climbing Cleft Gully, a grade V route following a line of weakness up the main crag and towards the summit of Glyder Fawr.

At this point, I decided that with winter routing plans already made for the following day, the route would be too much for me and I would leave them too it. So with a quick exchange, I lent the boys my ice screws and made my way towards Cwm Idwal and the lower slopes of the Glyders. Later on that day, Tadams and Tom dropped by my house to bring back my gear and have a chat about the route. From what they said Cleft Gully turned out to be a fantastic, sustained route on good quality, steep ice. Well done boys and a good days winter climbing had by all.