Indian Face | E9 Trad climb at Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (Cloggy)

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First ascent. Belayed by Nick Dixon.

I went for the crux, the motion startling me like a car unexpectedly in gear in a crowded parking lot. I swarm through the roundness of the bulge to a crank on a brittle spike for a cluster of three crystals on the right; each finger crucial and separate like the keys for a piano chord. I change feet three times to rest my lower legs, each time having to jump my foot out to put the other in. The finger-holds are too poor to hang on should the toes catch on each other. All those foot-changing mistakes on easy moves by runners come to mind. There is no resting. I must go and climb for the top. I swarm up towards the sunlight, gasping for air. A brittle hold stays under mistreatment and then I really blow it. Fearful of a smear on now-non-sticky boots I use an edge and move up, a fall fatal, but the automaton stabs back through, wobbling, but giving its all and I grasp a large sidepull and tube upward. The ropes dangle uselessly from my waist. Arthur Birtwistle on Diagonal, I grasp incuts and the tight movement swerves to a glide as gravity swings skyward ...

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMX4NAw0NSE

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNb5_PYRhQA

[3] Photos from the first ascent by Jonathan Reti. Jonathan was the only person at the crag that day with a camera. Later pictures of Johnny in white vest were not of the actual ascent. https://www.flickr.com/photos/30814373@N02/albums/72157712866661618/

That top crux was difficult for him and his method was pretty snatchy, which is why I moved out of the fall line in case he fluffed it. Shockingly bold.

Second ascent.

There's one move where I got a left hand sidepull and my right hand was on some nobbles and I came out of my head space because I realised that I couldn't move from that position as freely as planned and pre-practiced as I hadn't accounted for the rope drag. I had to snatch for the next hold, some pebbles. There were about three seconds where I lost my calm a little bit and I had to collect myself. I think Neil had far more of a worry on it. [1]

-

It's like an HVS, only with smaller holds. [2]

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/nick_dixon_-_indian_face_the_first_repeat-5756

[2] Colin Wells. Who's who in British Climbing: Bite-sized Biographies of Dead Climbers - and Some that are Still Alive. United Kingdom: Climbing Company, 2008.

Third ascent. Belayed by Airlie Anderson.

Just days after Nick Dixon made the second ascent.

I was locked in this world and the only way I could release myself was by climbing this route.

...

The reason it was particularly fatalistic was Airlie [Anderson] was coming over to North Wales to belay me, and it was obvious it was gearing up towards her belaying me on the route when I did it, which she did. She was with Rachel [Farmer] when she died, and we never really discussed this and I don't know why it played out this way, but in the end I went for the lead and she was belaying me and I really sketched. I was not steady on it. I started really shaking on the crux part, and I can remember hearing her in tears belaying me, because if you fall off that top part that's almost certainly it. You're like 100ft up and you've got an RP2 that's miles below you and that's probably going to rip. And Airlie lost it, she was in tears, and I was fighting for my life climbing up this thing. [1]

References

[1] https://open.spotify.com/episode/5cac0uPMB1TYDaUF8XN06f?

Fourth ascent.

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2010/06/dave_macleod_repeats_indian_face-56039

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ7oYTRdj5I

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2013/07/ullrich_and_muskett_climb_the_indian_face-68213

[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/george_ullrich_talks_about_indian_face-5787

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2013/07/ullrich_and_muskett_climb_the_indian_face-68213

Belayed by George Ulrich. 1 session.

References

[1] http://www.jamesmchaffie.com/caffs-blog/the-indian-face

[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2013/07/indian_face_e9_for_james_mchaffie-68205

[3] https://www.instagram.com/p/CoMouAtN-GE/

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2018/07/indian_face_e9_6c_by_angus_kille-71634

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQP7nqwaEog

To my horror, just as I stood up on the crux, I discovered the seepage had drained much lower than anticipated; and the last twenty feet of hard climbing was damp at best, and soaking in parts. At this point I was beyond committed, and falling off was undoubtedly off the table, so I rubbed my palms on the upcoming footholds to try to dry them out. With my heart pounding I began moving up precariously. A few moments later I latched onto the jug - exhilarated, but very much aware that I'd danced with death. [1]

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2023/08/morus_sanderson_climbs_indian_face_e9_6c-73423

John put in a solid ground up effort before taking a big fall. He then put in a bolt at his high point and named it The Tormented Ejaculation.

John pulled a flake off the route after Johnny Dawes had made the first ascent, he then painted a piece on the rock scar. This angered Johnny who then scraped the painting off.