Nov 6, 2017
Every generation of climbers looks to improve on the
performances of the last. The saga of the Great Wall on Clogwyn
Du'r Arddu provides one of the best examples of this in British
climbing.The climbers looked to improve the style and the
difficulty of the lines: Joe Brown abandoned his efforts with a peg
at his high point. Pete Crew surpassed it using pebbles for aid in
the thin cracks of the top pitch. A young John Allen freed the line
in 1974.
In the early 80s the eyes of the best were drawn a little
rightwards - The new line would eventually become Dawes masterpiece
the Indian Face, but before that John Redhead famously tumbled from
its upper reaches. He marked his highpoint with a bolt.
Jerry Moffatt was making a name for himself as a bold and
strong climber at the time. He inspected the line and, offended by
the bolt, chopped it and headed rightwards to create Master's Wall,
one of the boldest and hardest routes around. The next step in this
progression? To onsight the line. In 2000 a 19-year-old James
McHaffie attempted the feat. It's an experience which has lived
with him ever since.
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Music credits:
Dark Fog Kevin MacLeod
(incompetech.com)
Spirit of the Girl Kevin MacLeod
(incompetech.com)
Night of the Owl Kevin MacLeod
(incompetech.com)
Very Low Note Kevin MacLeod
(incompetech.com)
Aftermath Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Morning Walk Lee Rosemere
Brooks Kai Engel
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.