Not The Pinch, my nemesis!

The Elephants Arse, Behind Braichmelyn. I was raised in Mynydd Llandegai and love the sport available in that area.

I hadn’t considered asking people which is their least favourite problem 😂

Mynydd Llandegai is lovely, as it Braichmelyn. The only Elephant’s Arse I’ve done (so to speak) is the ‘classic’ Severe route over on Holyhead Mountain. Idwal Squeeze would be perfect prep for that 😂

In retrospect we should have sacked off the rest of the problems and focussed solely on this 😂

When I went to Arapiles I really wanted to do this, but a week or two I arrived someone got stuck in it and had to get rescued, which - if the rumours around the Pines were true - involved them pouring oil down upon them to lube them up, making them easier to pull out. Perhaps unsurprisingly I found this quite off-putting, but for reasons I can’t quite understand it didn’t put me off trying Mr Chicken. I then proceeded to have ‘an experience’ in that, getting close to squeezing out into Watchtower Crack, but not quite making it and having to reverse the whole way out instead. I was wearing a vest and shorts and both had rubbed so badly I had sores all the way up my back and worse of all - inside my bum crack (don’t ask me how). I’m aware you didn’t ask for all this information but it felt cathartic imparting it, so thank for listening 😅

@ukclimbingofficial That was a classic read 🤣 Your totally correct about the oil situation at the Squeeze test , I saw the mess at the boulder the following weekend 👌 Great effort attempting Mr Chicken 👌 That's one Arapiles adventure most people would never attempt 😳

@ukclimbingofficial ps ! There was a high angle rescue at the Rap's today 🫣 Haven't heard what happened yet 👌

This is the one you want: www.ukclimbing.com/gear/publications/guidebooks/north_wales_bouldering_3rd_edition-13542

Dartmoor is brutal 😂 hand slashing crystals and tough grading on old school problems... Try a trip to Burbage valley in the peak or stanage, it's cliche but you'll find a lot of easier problems to get you hooked!

As the person above has said, don’t underestimate the difficulty of a Dartmoor V1 - they’re desperate (and sharp)!! Burbage in the Peak would be a great place to start, although there’s plenty of other places.

Sick! next trip planned - thanks for the advice :)

If you're after any other recommendations it'd be worth posting a quick question on the Forums. There's a wealth of information out there and usually some helpful answers.

Most people get spanked on their first trip outdoors. Give it a few more goes and you should notice a big improvement as you learn to read the rock and become more accustomed to the smaller foot holds

Funnily enough, Xa said "I'm going to be pulled up for not doing the sit, aren't I" 😂 We would have added in the grade for the stand, but I couldn't find anything recorded, which is a shame as it's a nice, easy-ish problem that's well worth doing. The sit is pretty unpleasant/awkward in comparison (or at least it is in my opinion).

The sit is bloody desperate

@@Josephmccartymccartycouk It really is isn't it?!?

I ended up managing the sit in the end (don't think it was filmed). Xa actually managed all the hard moves but I think we moved on before he had a chance to link it together. A bit of an unpleasant start!

If it wasn't filmed, did it really happen 😉

Funnily enough I deliberating saying that, but (rightly or wrongly) didn't. I lived in North Wales for 10 years, so know what the Welsh language means to people, but in this instance opted for 'valley' simply because that's the word that will be understood by the majority of our audience.

@@ukclimbingofficial I get it, just felt like it would have been worth a mention at the beginning.

Having seen your post I’m now kicking myself. To compensate, I've just pinned a question asking people what their favourite problem is in Dyffryn Ogwen 🙂