one of the best that midwales has to offer : between Tywyn and LLwyngwril , sea washed stone that demands lots of slapping!
Bouldering Cae Du
Another sea coast gem tucked away in south Meirionnydd is the sea cliff below the farm and small camping site of Cae Du on the Llwyngwril –Tywyn road. Sea washed rock , clean , solid and sunlit is accessible 5 hours either side of low tide and the car park in the camping site at the top of the cliff is only 500 metres away ( though costs £1.50 to park ).
A favorite with outdoor centres who have left many belay spikes at the cliff top the main feature is the scope for a long days bouldering. Visited by generations of climbers ( since the 1950s army incursions ) the rocks bear no trace as the sea ‘s daily routine wash takes away the chalk and friction marks left by rubber soles . It always appears fresh. One of the odd things about a sea cliff bouldering venue is the alerations in difficulty and access depending on the level of the pebble beach . This is particulary true of sit starts . As the cliffs are up to 12 metres high there are some high ball routes but most finish quickly and give easy descents.
click here for cae du main section north end link link
click here for middle section topolinklink
click here for south section link
August 2009 Tim Banton on his new V7 left hand start to Cae du crack
The areas are divided into two far north boulders by the washroom beach , a mid area solitary boulder and the main area next south .
FAR NORTH : ( washroom boulders )
The mushroom shaped black topped collection of large boulders has several good problems some direct the others pumpy traverses on the rounded top .Worth a visit at low tide on the way to the main area .
Tucked away below the pebble cliff is a short sharp boulder with well defined problems : see topo ( “far north “)
Solitary boulder : a rounded 2 m high fun boulder with an unclimbed NE rib.
Main area is divided into three sections for the tops , the north , the middle and the south .New variations and more importantly new problems are still arriving and the topos should reflect this .
NEW PROBLEMS
Soapstone ( No 18 on topo ): land side traverse from south to north is V8 using slaps , heel hooks and body tension as there are no holds for feet or hands !
The Boss ( No 14 ) : is only V3 when the right hand crack is used but the direct i.e starting from directly below the big pocket is V6.
Problem 15 : rising traverse form right to left is V1, direct therough centre is V2 but best of al lthe small prow boulder opposite now has a V4 ( sitting start on south side ) .
more topos to follow
