Last weekend was the Llanberis Tradfest – a celebration of traditional climbing based in North Wales’ Llanberis Pass. The event was laid on through a collaboration between DMM, The Climbers’ Club, and V12 with additional support from Scarpa and The North Face. The all-inclusive weekend itinerary was packed with activities and entertainment including:
- A quiz on Friday night to welcome people to the venue in Nant Peris;
- A goodie-bag of festival items (a special event DMM carabiner, a Tradfest t-shirt, and CC guidebook);
- An informal talk from the talented Hazel Findlay;
- Climbing on Saturday;
- A yummy hog-roast (ably spit-roasted by the CC’s Iain & Bob Peters), washed down with a couple of pints of pale ale;
- Loads of opportunity to socialise and catch up with friends;
- A highly entertaining presentation by Nick Bullock; and
- More climbing on Sunday.
In fact the only negative was that the entire population of Welsh midges had also heard about the party and hog-roast! The field the marquee was in had the densest concentration of midges I have ever experienced. Far worse even than anything I’ve endured in Scotland! Being eaten alive was narrowly avoided by liberal application of 100% deet repellent, keeping exposed skin to a minimum (hence people’s hoods being up in the pictures despite the summer temperatures), and staying inside the marquee whenever possible.
Saturday kicked off with light drizzle so many opted for a little retail-therapy by taking advantage of the incredible discounts (e.g. 40% off clothing) available to Tradfesters at V12. However, by lunchtime it was dry and we could see that out west on Anglesey it was very likely sunny. So we headed out to Llawder cliff at Rhoscolyn.
On Sunday we were a little weary (Tish has been working very hard recently, and too much beer at the festival had its price) so we couldn’t face a walk to a mountain crag despite the awesome weather – wall-to-wall sunshine. So we opted to visit the Llanberis slate quarries for some intensive climbing action in a venue unlike anything we have back home in the Lakes.
Here are a few pictures from Saturday’s climbing at Rhoscolyn, the hog-roast, and the slate quarries on Sunday…
