OP Lockwood's Chimney

April 15

After a late start and a morning rain shower, the weather cleared up. Sally informed us of the adventure that awaited us. Instead of the normal rock climbing, because of the rain, we were going to do a covered climb so we wouldn’t have to climb a wet rock face. The description sounded like we would have a good day. We gathered our gear quickly because we had quite a drive ahead of us. Once on site near Pen Y Pass, it took us a while to find the car park, as it has been a few years since Sally last climbed Lockwood’s Chimney. We walked along the base of the mountain until we arrived at the location of our ascent.
The weather was much nicer than anticipated, so we ended up peeling off several layers. After a bit of a climb, we paused to put on our harnesses and tie our cow tails while Sally set the ropes for the next bit. It seemed like we spent a lot of time waiting. From the spot where we geared up until we reached the top, we had to sit and wait at several different points. It would have been nice to have an even smaller group today. I became a little frustrated when we had to stop between each segment so we didn’t get too spread out. I liked indoor climbing because we could have several people climbing at a time. While waiting for others at the base of the chimney, Korey decided he would rather not have a helmet. The sound of it rolling down the hill was enough to spike Sally’s heart rate.
Even after watching the entire group struggle their way to the top, I thought I would be able to ascend without any trouble. I was wrong. The opening was too narrow and smooth to climb, but too wide to jam. Following a bit of struggling I arrived at the top, numb fingered and out of breath. The walking boots made it difficult to find and footholds on the smooth walls. I think we may have had more success with climbing shoes.
Up next was a tight squeeze through a tunnel followed by a short scramble leading out of the mountain. From there it was smooth sailing. The climb to the upper ledge was aided by several natural handholds. At the top, we spotted a large intimidating rain cloud and hustled back to the minibus to avoid getting rained on.