Climbs

Allan Austin:

One startling development of this period, beginning with Whillans' lead of the Sloth, was the conquest of some of the great ceilings. These overhangs or nebs are characteristic of gritstone and most edges abound in them. Perhaps the way of future development lies here? The most impressive of all is the great barrier of the Roaches. A ten foot overhang stretching across the top of the Great Slab, this barrier is crossed in only one place by a green crack, the way of the Sloth. The Sloth, a route of fantastic exposure, must be one of the best and most spectacular routes on gritstone. Surprisingly, it is neither very difficult nor unusually strenuous; but it is an incredibly fierce lead and enjoys a unique and unrivalled status in gritstone climbing. [1]

References

[1] Climbers' Club Journal (1958) /library/7430/climbers-club-1958-journal

One of the first climbs to break the Brown-Whillans monopoly on new routing on Cloggy, climbed in the dry summer of 1959 when the aura of the Rock and Ice routes was starting to fade.

"Hugh (Banner)'s finest achievement was Troach on Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, an extremely blank-looking wall in the modern idiom. The name was that of a peculiarly adhesive kind of northern toffee, and typified Banner's performance". [1]

References

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jul/04/guardianobituaries.obituaries

Originally given 8A but very morpho, with the name referring to Dan Varian who found and tried the line before the FA.

Chipped and now 8A+