Climbs

A rather harrowing E6 5c!

A slate off-width in Gideon Quarry, Llanberis. It's not clear to what extent the route was bolted, if at all. It fell down a few months after Stevie Haston's first ascent, in 1987.

1992 Slate guide:

THE LAND THAT GOD FORGOT The right hand side of the quarry, when one emerges from the first tunnel, was once the location of a steep prow, cleft by an overhanging crack. This was the location of the Lost Castle of my Desires, an intriguing test piece in off-width climbing, sadly(?) the many tons of debris strewn across the floor of the quarry are a testament to its demise. [1]

Haston:

Without doubt the most shag nasty, brutal mind fucking crack around. [2]

Described in an interview as:

a 2 to 9 inch, 40 degree overhanging crack in the Llanberis slate quarries. It was 80 foot long and weighed in about F8a+. It never got a second ascent as it fell down. Shame as the route and name were brilliant. [3]

References

[1] Slate, Iwan Arfon Jones, Andy Newton, Leigh McGinley, 1992.

[2] Llanberis Slate, Ground Up, 2011.

[3] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2009/12/stevie_haston_crushes_greenspit-50641

Originally climbed with 2 pegs at ~E7. Duncan Critchley later added a third which brought the route to it's current grade.

Duncan Critchley:

I worked with Andy and Martin Corbett in a climbing shop in Bristol in 1981/82 and we all climbed together a reasonable amount. Andy had a love-hate relationship with climbing and the Bristol climbing scene. He was a controversial figure for his tactic of repeatedly TRing routes before leading and also as he had 'stolen' both routes and girlfriends from other locals. He was a great natural athlete, had an enviable power-weight ratio, and was able to give up completely for a couple of years then get back into shape and onto hard routes relatively quickly. Very annoying for someone like me that has always had to work hard to maintain any kind of climbing fitness!

For one of his come-backs he chose the line that became Lost Illusions and TR soloed it almost daily for several months. He got back his fitness and had the route completely wired. He placed two pegs and led it on a single half rope with me or Steve Findlay belaying. Very modern tactics. He didn't name or claim the route, as this was against the prevailing ethics at the time (1981), thus neatly side-stepped the shitstorm that would have ensued had he done so.

The other locals may not have approved of the tactics but were wary of trying a route that was obviously hard and poorly protected and, unusually, it had no interest for a couple of years. Andy was proud of Lost Illusions and really like the climbing however he realised it was unlikely to get another ascent in the two peg form any time soon. He encouraged me to place in a third peg and I found a small cam placement he didn't use. With this extra protection I lead it 'ground-up' (in Lexicon style 😉 as in not practising the moves [a reference to James Pearson's ascent where he abseiled the line and felt some holds]) in 1983 and gave it the name. My mate Paul Smith flashed it impressively shortly after, to throw down a gauntlet to a watching Martin Crocker!

As far as I know this was Andy's last ever route as he dropped out of climbing.

The climb is so named because there must be no looking back! Exceedingly severe and exposed; leader requires rubbers and 100 feet of rope, or preferably line, also strength and confidence.

The climb lies on the West side of the great wall which bounds the middle part of the Direct Route, and it overlooks the Chasm, from near the foot of which it starts; it consists of a very steep right-angled groove with an overhanging crack at the top, and a short narrow chimney.

(i) 90 feet. The first fifty feet are climbed, facing right, with much more than ordinary "very" severity, then the vertical wall of the Chasm is taken to and climbed with extreme difficulty until it is possible to step back into the groove and follow it to an uncomfortable resting-place below the overhang. The last twenty feet are extremely severe. After the struggle with the initial overhang, the human limit is almost reached in the desperate bridging above, where the climber is exposed above a 200-feet drop. Above there is a good stance and a fine belay.

(ii) 20 feet. A fairly difficult crack or chimney on the right leads to easy rocks below the terrace from which starts the final crack on the Direct Route; this crack may be taken as a suitable finish if the climber has any energy left!

References

[1] Climbers' Club 1929 Journal (1929)

An extensions of Ron Kauk's classic line Peace which adds a third pitch, taking it to a belay ledge on the Bachar-Yerian.