… and all of a sudden, it was summer! After the washout-that-wasn’t on Gower we headed further west to Pembroke to meet up with Jake and Leah for the weekend.

No firing to contend with on a Saturday, no rain, no swell to speak of and a fairly amenable tide. Of all the usual headaches associated with Pembroke climbing, it was only the birds that were a constraint, and even some of those bans have been lifted early. We checked in at the Range West gatehouse to find that it was all clear to climb on a decent chunk of Western Walls (there’s actually some confusion between the definitive CC guide and the Wired guide so best to check the BMC RAD.)

Still feel a bit smug and very privileged every time we’re issued with a key to the Gupton Gate…

… and plenty of reminders it’s a live firing range!

Long plod along the beach, avoiding the Ringed Plovers

Christmas Chasm Wall is a big expanse of stratified rock tilted at an amenable angle giving some relatively easy routes in a very adventurous setting. The eponymous Chasm, centre of the photo below, gives a 3* VDiff adventure!

… and the adjacent Bellringer, Severe, is even better!

A hundred metres metres further north, Gem Wall has a few Gems too. Wire Gobbler is excellent (the groove to the right of the ab line).

Here’s Richard leading it later.

We were less impressed with Gem, supposedly HS. Either something has fallen off or we strayed onto the adjacent HVS.

Next day, Helen felt she’d earned a rest and Jake was keen. We hadn’t really got a fixed plan, and were a bit blighted by high tide around noon, but wandering west into the Range from St Govans we stopped to admire Stennis Ford and decided to do Mysteries, E3 5c 5b, on impulse.

A docile sea made for easy access despite the high tide and I generously let Jake lead the cruxy first 5c pitch. Amazing how I retained a dim memory of the moves from my previous ascent 30 years before. They haven’t got any easier!

Pitch two is sustained rather than desperate, but there’s a lot of climbing as it wends it’s way leftwards…

… saving some tricky moves for near the end. Thanks to Leah for some great pics.

The conditions were primo, with no seepage or smegginess, and a perfect climbing temperature once the sun had left the crag – a fact that hadn’t escaped Jake’s attention. Our rap line had taken us down Ghost Train, E6 6b, a legendary route he’d had his eye on for a number of years.

A quick peek on abseil suggested that the climbing (generally felt to be 7a+/7b sport equivalent) shouldn’t present too much of a problem, but the runout from around 1/3 height to almost 2/3 height gives meaning to the name. Even with a very attentive belayer you wouldn’t want to fall off!

The lower third isn’t trivial and the gear and rock quality aren’t totally reassuring, but Jake got a hands-free rest at the first pair of substantial threads. Deep breath…

I’ve no doubt I was more anxious of the next part of the route than Jake was, but most of the difficulties arrive not far above the threads, followed by easing but still very steep moves to the sanctuary of the second thread. You get an idea of the angle from the ab line in the picture below. When I came to second the crux, and inevitably failed, I ended up in space, congratulating myself on the forethought to carry a micro-traxion!

Meanwhile, kayakers came and went, blissfully unaware of the high stakes drama unfolding above.

Here’s Jake’s logbook entry:

Wanted to do this since I was about 15, always thought I’d onsight it when I was older and better. Now I’m a fair bit older, only a little bit better, and much less bold than I was then! Hadn’t even planned to do it today but it caught my eye on the ab down to do Mysteries. Couldn’t justify the risk of the onsight to myself, did one run on toprope to clean and make sure there were no nasty surprises, then lead first go placing gear. Still plenty gripping for me! With Dad

If that had been me we’d have downed tools and headed straight for a celebratory cream tea at Ma Weston’s, but Jake was keen for more. Any journey down into the Leap is to be savoured so who was I to argue?

Pondering options…

… and settled on Strap Up, E3 5c, up the striking steep corner in the pic below.

Not a bad day – shame that England couldn’t quite summon a win in the Euros that evening.

We sat out a day of steady rain the following day on the promise of a couple of fine days beyond that, and for once the forecasters were spot on. Helen and I headed back to the same vicinity, exploring Newton Head (with fine views into Stennis Ford…

… and across to Stennis Head (team on Bludgeon)

It’s not one of the most famous Range East crags – in almost four decades of Pembroke climbing we’d always walked straight past – but it’s just 5mins from the car park and has some amenable routes which can be accessed at all states of tide with a bit of care. Splashdown Buttress had some lingering dampness so we switched to Thunderwave Buttress…

… to do the eponymous VS (tricky start)…

and Broadwalk, Severe.

We also explored the Upper Tier. An outcrop sized walk-in mini sector with half a dozen routes from VDiff to VS. Handy for a short visit either at high tide or with a less experienced team. More or less ticked the crag, with Twin Cracks maybe the pick of the bunch.

Another sunny day and another new (to us) crag – Blockhouse Buttress – situated out beyond The Castle, near Space Buttress. Routes up to around 40m, though the top pitches (easily combined) are a bit broken.

There’s a large tilted ledge at the bottom but it is cut off by the tide.

With a bit of care and cunning you can access a non-tidal ledge to the right of the huge central cave / chimney. Panoramic shot below so a bit distorted.

We did the 2* route of the crag, Sheer Delight, HS, and Chopping Block, VS.

With the immaculate weather, we decided on “just one more route” despite the prospect of a long drive home that evening. A quick dip into Saddle Head fitted the bill…

… for Helen to lead Flake Quake, Severe.

Fab trip to this seaside paradise, which just keeps giving. Hard to believe we’re still exploring new crags after all these years, with even more in prospect when we hopefully return in August with the bird bans lifted.