Javelin Blade | E1 Trad climb at Idwal Slabs

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One of the hardest pieces of climbing in Wales for a long time. Mark Reeves writes:

There are many routes that have gained infamy for being the first of their grade, often the most notable are because they occurred long before that grade was ever firmly established. As such those routes have often remained total sandbags for years until eventually, the grades settled out to what they should be and the truth about the outstanding futuristic nature of the first ascent becomes known to those that take the time to look in the back of a guidebook.

Javelin Blade is one such route, it sits high above the Idwal Slabs in the Ogwen Valley, an airy E1 climbed back in 1930 when VS was considered the cutting edge. The first time I climbed it I was as unaware as Jack Longland was on the first ascent to the significance of this route. [1]

References

[1] https://www.climber.co.uk/outdoor/jack-longland-the-accidental-hero/