A winter climb up Pen y Fan's Central Gully
On Wednesday evening, after seeing Gethin to bed, I drove off to the Brecon Beacons for a night in the van - The Cold Hotel.
I was supposed to be climbing with Dave Linnett, but Dave ended up busy at home, so I was able to get Choire Horobin on board. As I settled into the back of my van around 9:30pm, it didn't take long until the thermometer was reading -4. Wrapping up well, I got some sleep. The following morning temperatures had dropped to -7 and I quickly got a brew on. Choire eventually arrived and we set off up over Corn Du and over to Pen y Fan's North Face. It was a stunning day, the ground was frozen like a rock. After a cool descending traverse of the N Face, we found ourselves at the bottom of Central Gully. The ice that was covering parts of the crux steps was thin but climbable and the turf made for excellent placements, with no damage inflicted. Six pitches to the top and some interesting sections to have fun on. Great adventure for the day in a beautiful setting... Cheers for coming Choire.
