UKH

Hi there, 

I'm taking my 4 daughters (and wife!) to North Wales in a couple of weeks and wondered where would be a good place to take them climbing? 

They're all fairly new to it (ages 6,9,10&12) I've done some top roping in Derbyshire and some indoor stuff with them, and I wondered if there were any family friendly places we could go? We've got all the kit, we just need a venue! 

Advice would be much appreciated! 

Little Tryfan would be ideal but can be very crowded. 

Tryfan Bach is not ideal for young kids as the pitches are long and its very busy. It's possible to set up short top-ropes from the left end of the ledge right of Crack 4 or the from the lowish recess between cracks 2 & 3 that won't be too much in the way and where communication and any assistance will be easy.

One obvious answer is the Upper Tier of Craig Pant Ifan at Tremadog. It's a bit like a small but pleasant gritstone edge - 10 or so metres, accessible grades, decent walkoff, flat grassy area at the bottom with no major hazards... there's normally an in-situ Plas y Brenin group but in my experience they tend to be scrupulously polite about not getting in anyone's way. 

If you want to try Tryfan Bach (Little Tryfan) then a good bet is to go to "Even Littler Tryfan" first. It is a smaller set of easy angled slabs about 150 m in front of the main slab of Tryfan Bach (same general approach). Although not formally described in a guidebook, the short routes here are very good for gaining confidence and ideal for kids. Very easy to set up top ropes and you can climb pretty much all over the slab. The climbs are about 12-15 m high and the grades are about Diff to Severe at most; just pick a line. If you get on OK with this mini venue, it is only 2 minutes back to the main slab of Tryfan Bach. I would not recommend climbing the main slab as group of 4 or 5 but if you are confident at leading easy routes and have a 60-70 m rope you can just about get up the main slab in one pitch (make a judgement call on whether they are ready for it, even though the climbing is easy).

Another popular venue with short single pitch climbs at easy grades is Lion Rocks, which is only 5 mins from a small car park/layby on the minor road that skirts the northern end of Llyn Padarn. you can easily set up a top rope and there are about 10 "routes".

Lion Rocks

Why all this top-roping ? - I'd much prefer to give the children  a real mountaineering experience in Snowdonia by leading a pair of them  on an easy safe climb on little Tryfan with a big  belay ledge halfway and a good walk off. What a memory for them !

Maybe because that seemed to be what the OP wanted and the experience is for the kids not the ego of the leader. I've seen too many kids panic on anything from simple scrambles where they clearly shouldn't have been, to some tough indoor tests whilst their parents humiliated them for not trying hard enough. These experiences seemed highly negatively and weirdly vicarious in intent to me... what memories indeed! On the other hand I've known a few kids introduced well and who had subsequently came to love climbing,  started trad at their own pace and could  lead better than me.

Short top ropes are a very good place for kids to start new games (at least for above bouldering heights); I agree they are not the only way.

Good little scramble for kids here: Senior's Gully (Grade-1)

Maybe quite easy for your daughters (bearing in mind their ages) but can be combined with Senior's Ridge and Devil's Kitchen descent for a good adventurous day walk.

Enjoy!

Barmouth slabs would be ideal if not too far away for you.

Slightly off the wall suggestion but the Cromlech Boulders are a really good place to play. There are small boulders and big ones, the holds are especially friendly to small hands!

As someone has already said, Barmouth Slabs would be ideal.

Capel Pinnacles, just across the road from Joe Brown's in Capel Curig should fit the bill. My dad took me there when I was a nipper and I took my youngest there when he was little. Called  Y Pincin (The Pinnacles) in the logbooks.

Lockwood's Chimney for a memorable experience.  No top rope needed!  You can daisy chain your followers together  with short lengths of the rope(s).  Just the first bit will be tricky (but should be ok after all this dry weather).

Try Milestone Buttress for mods such as Rowan Tree route, Pulpit route etc.

Maybe there are short routes in the Moelwyns?  Haven't been there for a while but it's interesting for historic / cultural reasons.

Lockwoods is a fine route, but does not really fit the OP's needs. I couldnt call it family friendly - more likely to put people off who are relatively new to our game. Multipitch venues are not really suitable for a group of 4 youngsters with very little experience...

I'd agree.  Its also not a great route for short people,

Lions rock? 

Craig Y Tonnau

More out of the way than the above suggestions and needs a bit more effort to find, but plenty of great easier pitches, with easy anchors at the top.

What a refreshing answer! Have a like.

I understand what you are saying, but you can be overcautious when introducing kids to climbing. And as I read it, it's not the ego of the OP that needs questioning here. Of course you have to be wise in your choice of routes, starting with some low grade but roped scrambling to see and judge how they react, but if their action is positive how much more satisfying it will be to get them into realising that climbing is not all about single pitch top roped routes, it's an experience of being in the mountains. We are always seeing posts on here from people asking for advice on how to get into outdoor climbing and multi pitch climbing. How much better would it be if they had started from scratch treating multi pitch as normal!

To my chagrin, I managed to put my daughter off climbing... Alison Rib (D) I thought would be a good introductory climb. She found it far too exposed and scary although she managed the actual climbing easily enough. Start with short routes and build up. 

Might be too far south, but we've had great fun with our lads at Cae Due (get tides right). Short routes, easy to set up top rope, not just bouldering.

Cae Du

Climbing, beach, swimming, rock pools (and great camping site).

If the OP were experienced enough to do that he wouldn't be asking questions here. I'd say TR is normal for many kids to get started and there is nothing at all wrong with that. It has the advantage that you can judge their movement quality with few problematic consequencies, and assess what are the next best steps to the most suitable trad. I worked with beginners in a Uni club for years and indoor top roping got rid of all the time-wasters so when we went outside on club trips we were a smaller keener group than many peer institutions, better able to service our main purpose.. the individualised development of mountaineers.  Many of the best trad climbers and mountaineers I know started on TRs (as kids or students). Britain is a trad obsessed country where despite a lot of hot air on the subject way too many climbers don't develop or progress and there is often terrible practice on view for those being introduced to the outdoors. I'm saying that as a trad climber and mountaineer.

As for dgp's refreshing answer: where are all these big belay ledges on Little Tryfan (the biggest being on the mod scramble on the left and the central cleft) and its very busy even where there there are even small half-way stances:  there are much better crags if you want to trad climb with kids at two pitch / multipitch. Someone else says Milestone Buttress routes or Lockwoods!.. its obvious they have never been there themselves with beginner kids (unless they were very lucky or blanked out the tears)..

Yep, not everything has to be Type 2 fun.  Especially with a 6 year old.

Hi

My husband and I regularly take our 9 year old to the upper tier at Tremadog, he's been going there since he was 5 or 6. . It's great for setting up top ropes, but it is a it of a walk in depending on how used to walking your children are. It takes us around 30 minutes with my 9 year old  but longer if we take our older teenage children! 

It's a really good place to take kids because it's flat and safe at the bottom of the crag. 

Someone else mentioned the crag at Capel Curig opposite Joe Brown's shop, we went there when my son was younger, its much shorter and very polished  but has a really easy walk in and loads of boulder / scrambling opportunities for children, if you walk around the back of the crag. It's a good place to spend a couple of hours.

I've just been looking at little tryfan for a multi pitch this summer, but didn't like theook of the belay ledges as a three, especially as I don't lead outdoors  so if you end up there I'd be interested to know how you go on. 

Hope you have a good time. 

Lou 

???

I took my nephews (6 and 9) to little Tryfan last week. We had been up a couple of hills in preceding days with easy scrambly bits which they managed easily and enjoyed. I soloed to the top, placed a few bits of gear to direct the rope a bit and they just unclipped the rope as they went. I kept them roped to me on the scramble off. I climbed with them one at a time while my dad amused the other. They found the climbing easy and enjoyed it. It seemed like a better and more real experience than top roping which has its’ own issues in terms of lowering. You would of course have to make a judgment call in terms of the abilities of your daughters and be prepared to abandon if they are not enjoying themselves. 

James

I agree.

I started climbing when I was 6 or 7 and my own kids are now 5 and 7. They boulder a lot indoors and outside. Coincidentally we are on holiday in N Wales next week.

Whilst I was leading multi-pitch VS by the time I was 12, I wouldn't take my kids on a multi-pitch route yet as they're just too small and there's too much potential faff for them. Bouldering or short, single-pitch top roping for now. It's fun. Sitting on belay ledges is not fun for young kids.

Taking them top roping now doesn't mean they won't want to do multi-pitch in the future.

Yes, I'm cautious. They're kids.

Penmaenbach Quarry Last Butt One level is an excellent venue for beginners and families. There is a good selection of easy routes here both trad and sport with a substantial flat base and with good views over the Orme. Definitely family friendly and a pleasant walk in. The easier routes do not yet appear in a guide book but can be found here: Penmaenbach Quarry

Following with interest as we are off to N Wales in August.

We have a climbing-mad 13 year old. Looking for suggestions for easy to set up, top rope locations as near to the Llyn peninsula as possible. He’s not leading outdoors yet, I haven’t led for over 20 years and I’m not confident to start now!!!!!!

And ideally with a short walk in...... not because of our legs, but because we will have a 5 month old puppy with us!

Thanks in advance.

My Dad and I went to have a look at Capel Curig pinnacles very recently - old man's face itself is very polished and the top is overgrown (there's only maybe two lines you'd be able to get a top-rope on, and they're not looking decent quality (and certainly would be very difficult for the kids).  There might be other sections that are more accessible but when we were there we were hindered by a youth group abseiling.

Union rock (craig yr undeb) just outside Llanberis is perfect.  Loads of great anchor placements for top ropes, easy way up and down, about 10m high and loads of easy and fun lines.  Basically roadside too.  Next time I go to Wales I'll probably spend all day there.  

There are maybe three routes on Tryfan Bach with what could be described as a belay ledge, but otherwise you're effectively on hanging belays for a lot of it.  

I believe some of the first pitches on Clogwyn yr oen (Moelwyns) can be done in isolation and then escaped from, but the only one I remember doing this for definite on was Kirkus direct.  The angle on most of Yr oen is great for new climbers.  Steep can be pretty scary if you're not that strong.

We took the kids to Porth Ysgo at our clubs family meet last weekend. Great setting on the beach. To be honest the kids were more into the beach than climbing, but that's no bad thing and everyone had a great time. 

I realise that this doesn't answer your question, but maybe provides an idea for another day.  We've also done top roping at the Sidings in the slate quarries, and that might be another option.

You say that as if it's a bad thing, and I'm not sure what bit of it bothers you. That people want to get outdoors? That they need advice? That they ask for it?

Just to clarify, what's your experience level? Is that just what you've done specifically with them, or is top-roping the most you've done outdoors yourself? 

This isn't meant to sound dismissive -- I ask because obviously it affects what advice is appropriate. People can (hopefully) make more useful suggestions if they know what experience you've got.

Are you the family that went soloing that are being discussed in another thread?

Hi all, 

Thanks for all the advice - much appreciated. I myself have been climbing indoors and out for the last 30 years. Also, lots of mountaineering - Wales/ Alps etc. 

I was looking for the family friendly option, and I've now got a few suggestions. Flat bottoms are good, (also easier to keep an eye on the ones not climbing), Bouldering is a good shout too. Two of my girls will happily have a go at climbing anything I suggest, the other two are more cautious. 

I like the idea of a walk in to little Tryfan, and also will probably give Capel Pinnacles a go and maybe Union rock (craig yr undeb).

Many thanks again for all your suggestions! 

Matt 

Went to Capel Pinnacles in the end - totally perfect for what I wanted - no risk to the ones not climbing and there were trees/ boulders for them to play on too. Nice shaded area for the wife to read whilst I top-roped for the girls. 

Then resisted buying stuff in Joe Browns, and headed to the cafe for some grub - as I said  - Perfect!