BBC - Weather Centre - Forecast for Llandudno, United Kingdom

Thursday 24 September 2009

Ladies and Gentleman i give you.....the Diamond!


Any man who has had a good look through 1997 Rockfax North Wales Limestone guide will have noticed on page 127 a photo of North Wales climbing legend Steve Mayers on a spectacular looking project up a seriously overhanging piece of limestone. I for one certainly did! The crag was called the Diamond, a fairly well known but rarely visited cliff on the impressive Little Orme. On this cliff were a collection of existing routes which were very impressive in their own right. George Smith and Mayers left a series of testpieces here up to 8a+ but the development came to an end in 1991. Steve had got close to the project shown in the photo but injury prevented him from finishing it. I was always intrigued by this cliff and so i made a few visits about 5 years ago, walking in at low tide and marvelling at this bit of wall. The existing routes impressed but the projects were what took my eye and the Mayers one in particular stood out as as being fantastic. I was inspired! I returned to have a closer look with Danny and Mule. I dogged up the old bolts for a quick look. Jesus it was steep, i wasn't used to such consistent steepness. Anyway the seed was planted. I returned a while later with Neil Dyer and Miles Perkins and with the petrol drill in tow we re-equipped the line. I came back to try the moves on the route a further 3 times. The most successful of these was with Si Panton when i managed to work out and do the crux, a fingery long stretch followed by a hard cut loose. Not long ago when i was climbing strong and at my lightest i returned with Inspector Mawson but was perplexed when neither of us could manage the crux sequence again. On the way out our dingy sunk and we had to swim to shore. And this was the problem with this crag. At low tide you would get maybe an hour if you were lucky walking in and out. It also had to be a low tide (spring for example). This gave you a few days a month to climb there, just not long enough to complete stuff at your limit. Then enter stage left came the motivational machine that is Pete Harrison. The man who rebolted LPT set about establishing a Via Ferrata into the crag making it a similar deal to LPT (say 3 hours before and after low tide). Pete showed me his masterpiece and i was buzzing with excitement, maybe now my dream of climbing this route could finally be realised. Getting to the crag was no longer an issue! Another pain in the arse fact about this place is that its bird banned from 1 March through to mid August. This means the Diamond season is short, effectively from August until it gets to cold to climb. So yes a pain in the arse it is but is it worth it? yes is the answer. Left of my project are two more lines which both look in the 8c/9a region and both are stunning. When you think how worked out every other crag in Britain basically is there must be scope for more development here. I have now managed to have my first full proper sessions on my project. Its going well, each time the links are getting longer. I'm buzzing off this route right now. Climbing on that wall is a joy. The best sport route in North Wales? Myself, Tommy and Pete H have also rebolted Boat People 7c, Never Get out of the Boat 8a and Skip of Fools 8a+. The rest of the climbs could do with being re-equipped and i'm sure they will be as people start going there. I would like to take this opportunity to ask Steve Mcclure or anyone else for that matter not to do my proj. I've put the hours in (and bolts and resin) and i want to finish it. Thanks. Exciting times! From here on in i will be on a strict regime which will be based on making as much progress as i can on this line. Tommy has bolted up the yellow wall proj and Pete has bolted the cool diagonal line. Please respect these projects too as many hours of time and effort were put in to equipping them. Information on the Via Ferrata will soon be up on the limestone Wiki here: wiki

Tommy on Boat People:


My proj



Tommy bolting the yellow wall:

Pete Robins checking out a 8c/9a proj,this line only has one bolt in it thus far, mega:

Pete Harrisons project:

The approach:


12 comments:

Jasper said...

Fucking hell. I'd heard The Diamond was impressive but those photos are amazing.

Doylo said...

you better belive it Jasp! They were took on my phone!!!

mark reeves said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Stuart Littlefair said...

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

I've always wondered if this crag would ever be re-discovered. Mused about it a couple of times, but the boat ride and seemed like too much of a mission.

I can't wait to get there!!!!

Doylo said...

I'll give you the tour Stu, will be mega when everything gets re-equipped!

Doylo said...

Would be cool to get Wall of Evening light (50 metre 7b+ on jugs) and the Shining 50 metre 8a sorted!

bonjoy said...

Splendid effort all round!! I've been hoping for this place to get sorted out for years. I'm very psyched.

Doylo said...

Now is the Diamond season so pull your fingers out! You have been mentioning this for years Bonjoy. Also worth planning your trips for a bit later in the day cos its often too wet and greasy in the morning. I have been climbing there in the autunmnal afternoon sun recently and its been so mint.

Fiend said...

Well done guys, looks a very worthy crag to revamp.

Dave Redpath said...

I bolted a proj right of Boat People ages ago starting from a small cave (mix of hangers and resins). Anyone been on it yet? The start was hard and prob worth a split grade given the beach level can change by several meters! Noticed thats why most of the routes of the day started from beach level boulders.

Doylo said...

Hi Dave, think i know the proj you mean. Yeah me and Tommy tried to boulder it out, very hard start (font 8a/+??). Looks doable after that though. You need a rock to reach the starting undercut if the pebbles are low, this seems to be the case with a few of the routes here.

Dave Redpath said...

I bolted that route on a choppy Feb day on the wrong side of the tide. Spent a few hours on the ledge watching some BIG waves pound the Diamond. Most of that beach gets lifted up and battered off the bottom. Prob explains why the holds keep disappearing.