One of the best bits of this
summer was climbing a recent new addition at Gogarth, called Stonemasonry. James
McHaffie and Oli Grounsel first climbed the pitch earlier this year and were
raving about it. Safe, non-tidal, fun knee bars, French 8a… sounded good. I
first went to check it out with Charlie Woodburn and Ben Brasby in pretty damp
conditions and got shut down. I didn’t even manage to dog my way to the top! It
seemed very hard indeed, for E7?!
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| Muskett getting psyched |
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| Pete Robbins on Stonemasonry |
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I headed back some months later
with Pete Robbins and Calum Muskett who were keen to try it, Caff even turned
up to heckle. With better conditions, knee pads and prior knowledge I managed
to scrape my way up it, by the skin of my teeth. It’s a totally class route
with about 20 knee bars on it and a lot of hanging upside down. It’s really
steep and feels like roof climbing. Ludicrous at E7 though – in my opinion –
more like E8. It’s tucked away in a sea cave on the headland south of Porth Dafarch.
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| It's steep |
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| Very steep |
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