Rockfax Description
A route that is steeped in history, and the classic of the buttress, but it is frequently the scene of benightments! Start below the right-hand end of Heather Shelf.
1) 20m. Follow the groove to Heather Shelf.
2) 30m. Climb diagonally rightwards rounding two ribs. Just round the second, climb upwards to belay 4m left of a prominent spike, level with a dog-leg in the corner to the right.
3) 15m. Climb up to belay left of a quartz band.
4) 25m. Move right and climb the quartz band. The groove above is tricky and leads to moves rightwards to some ledges. Move onto the right-hand side of the rib to the right and climb it to a spike belay.
5) 33m. A vegetated groove up and right leads to a tall, thin plank-like block.
6) 33m. Scramble up rightwards to reach the Great Terrace - a large grassy shelf - and belay to the right of this below and left of a red wall with 'RW' etched in the base.
WARNING! - If time is running out you can easily escape left onto Terminal Arete, or face possible benightment as you are still six pitches from the top and three of them are harder than those below, with the crux being the final one!
7) 4a, 24m. (The start of Red Wall). Move rightwards to a grassy groove. Climb this to a hard move right onto a rib leading to some good ledges. Belay at the bottom of a deep groove pointing towards the top of Terminal Arete.
8) 4a, 30m. Climb up a rib, passing a pinnacle on the right to a ledge. Climb the short wall via a tricky few moves to the Green Gallery.
9) 10m. Walk right to belay about 10m left of the huge gully.
10) 25m. (The start of Longland's Continuation). Climb the left arete of a steep face to a hollow. A jammed block leads rightwards to a slab. Climb the slab, trending rightwards after 6m and pass another slab to belay in a grassy slot.
11) 30m. Follow a rib on the right to belay beneath a steep slab.
12) 4b, 15m. The final pitch is the crux slab! The chances are you will have developed a crowd of onlookers descending Lliwedd, if you make it look good or are soloing it you may even get a standing ovation! The slab can be climbed direct or by trending left at half-height. © Rockfax
Ticklists
Classic Rock , North Wales Rock Graded List , UK's best Diffs and V.diffs , Mountain Rock (big mid grade summit routes on rock!) , Best Multi-pitch Severe and Hard Severe , CUMC Ticklist , North wales road to ruins HVS , 2016 Targets , The Big Easys , George's Ultimate Easy to Mid-Grade North Wales Trad Ticklist , Mountain Rock , Dougs 2020 ToDo List , 2021 , Snowdonia and The Lakes Classic Rock Summer Challenge , Joes North Wales VS spaff attack , Welsh Classic Rock Challenge , Llidberis , North Wales , Martin’s 1980’s Ticklist
Feedback
| User | Date | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mmd | 5 Jun, 2023 |
Show βeta
βeta: Both the R fax - Ground Up and Original guide are wrong ref rope lengths for 5-6. Its a total of 80m - 90m at least. After pitch 8, ignore the misleading info about walking right. The next pitch is more or less above you. See the niche with the small hanging block in it, leaning to the right, this is above ( 4-5m ) the quartz type band just above the ledge. Plenty of runners on the climb, but not enough if you like lots just keep looking and searching for them. Offests I wonder why DMM made these for cragging in NW, they are well useful. The grassy grove on P7 someone has mentioned is well scary, that will be due to them being off route by sounds of it, as the traverse out right is all on rock and so is going up after the crux move on this section. | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Both the R fax - Ground Up and Original guide are wrong ref rope lengths for 5-6. Its a total of 80m - 90m at least. After pitch 8, ignore the misleading info about walking right. The next pitch is more or less above you. See the niche with the small hanging block in it, leaning to the right, this is above ( 4-5m ) the quartz type band just above the ledge. Plenty of runners on the climb, but not enough if you like lots just keep looking and searching for them. Offests I wonder why DMM made these for cragging in NW, they are well useful. The grassy grove on P7 someone has mentioned is well scary, that will be due to them being off route by sounds of it, as the traverse out right is all on rock and so is going up after the crux move on this section. |
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| kingjam | 28 May, 2023 |
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βeta: One of the best top outs in the Uk | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: One of the best top outs in the Uk |
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| RMiller | 27 Aug, 2022 |
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βeta: Lots of loose rock on P7 (start of redwall) - be very careful on this section :) | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Lots of loose rock on P7 (start of redwall) - be very careful on this section :) |
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| Larry Benoy | 13 Jul, 2022 |
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βeta: Be careful with loose rock. Some incredibly suspect and huge blocks lying around | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Be careful with loose rock. Some incredibly suspect and huge blocks lying around |
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| Freddie Moorhead | 15 Aug, 2021 |
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βeta: Route finding is very hard with the topo in the Rockfax guidebook definitely being wrong. Ended up on a dodgy belay at the end of the second pitch... Just accept you will go off route and have fun. | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Route finding is very hard with the topo in the Rockfax guidebook definitely being wrong. Ended up on a dodgy belay at the end of the second pitch... Just accept you will go off route and have fun. |
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| Martin Hore | 19 Jul, 2021 |
Show βeta
βeta: I touched a large poised block in a small gully, which is the obvious finish to the final pitch, 2m from the top of the climb. This is well beyond the slab itself. The block moved alarmingly but just about stayed in place. It's now even more precariously balanced and would fall very close to the belayer if it went. Please be very careful here. | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: I touched a large poised block in a small gully, which is the obvious finish to the final pitch, 2m from the top of the climb. This is well beyond the slab itself. The block moved alarmingly but just about stayed in place. It's now even more precariously balanced and would fall very close to the belayer if it went. Please be very careful here. |
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| David Coley | 3 Jun, 2021 |
Show βeta
βeta: Great route. Largely untamed by modern equipment. On the opening pitches you are climbing V Diff as I guess V Diff was in 1907 - just the odd sling, some loose rock and complex route finding. To be honest, it might be best if you are okay soloing V Diff, because you almost will be. | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Great route. Largely untamed by modern equipment. On the opening pitches you are climbing V Diff as I guess V Diff was in 1907 - just the odd sling, some loose rock and complex route finding. To be honest, it might be best if you are okay soloing V Diff, because you almost will be. |
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| Andy Moles | 28 Apr, 2021 |
Show βeta
βeta: There has been a bit of rockfall out of the groove above the quartz band on P4, still some loose bits here. This section felt trickier than some of the pitches given 4a above. | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: There has been a bit of rockfall out of the groove above the quartz band on P4, still some loose bits here. This section felt trickier than some of the pitches given 4a above. |
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| SuperLee1985 | 17 Jul, 2019 |
Show βeta
βeta: BEWARE there is an enormous spike on P4 of avalanche that is frighteningly lose (it moves significantly with light fingertip pressure). There is also a lot of lose rock generally on the route to treat every hold with suspicion. The grassy groove on p7 is disgustingly muddy and a frightening and unpleasant experience on lead. | ||
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Show beta
βeta: BEWARE there is an enormous spike on P4 of avalanche that is frighteningly lose (it moves significantly with light fingertip pressure). There is also a lot of lose rock generally on the route to treat every hold with suspicion. The grassy groove on p7 is disgustingly muddy and a frightening and unpleasant experience on lead. |
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| Josh Bratchley | 12 May, 2019 |
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βeta: Rockfax guide could be clearer, first pitch of longlands, the jammed boulder is clearly visible on the left of the wall. Climb here. | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Rockfax guide could be clearer, first pitch of longlands, the jammed boulder is clearly visible on the left of the wall. Climb here. |
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| Joshua.Brunning | 21 Apr, 2019 |
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βeta: 6 pitches very broken ground, great day out in the sun, 4 hour accent! | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: 6 pitches very broken ground, great day out in the sun, 4 hour accent! |
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Logged Ascents
Guidebooks for Y Lliwedd
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The Insomniacs Traverse
Grade: S 4a ***
(Tryfan Fach [Little Tryfan])