Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (, translates as the "black cliff of the black height"), or "Cloggy", is a north-facing

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

set of cliffs located on the northern flank of

Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...

mountain. Cloggy is considered to be one of the best

traditional climbing Traditional climbing (or Trad climbing) is a style of rock climbing in which the climber places all the necessary protection gear required to arrest any falls as they are climbing, and then removes it when the pitch is complete (often done ...

areas in Britain, and has been called "The shrine of British climbing", and a "crucible for the development of most of the finest climbers in Britain and the scene of many of their finest achievements".

Structure

Cloggy is north-facing and a comparatively remote mountain crag, that requires a long walk-in to access from

Llanberis (; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...

. The cliff is broken into several large buttresses, most notably: ''East Buttress'', ''The Pinnacle'' (lies above the ''East Buttress''), ''West Buttress'', and ''Far West Buttress''. The cliff's circa in height and mountain elevation, combined with the steepness and quality of rock, gives it the feel of a face on an alpine mountain.

Climbing history

The first recorded climb was the 1798 ascent of the ''Eastern Terrace'' by

Peter Bailey Williams Peter Bayley Williams (August 1763 – 22 November 1836) was a Welsh Anglican priest and amateur antiquarian. It is also claimed that he led the first rock climb recorded in the United Kingdom. Life Williams was the son of Peter Williams, one o ...

and

William Bingley William Bingley (January 1774 – 11 March 1823) was an English cleric, naturalist and writer. Life Bingley was born at Doncaster, and left an orphan at an early age. In 1795 he entered Peterhouse, Cambridge, and took the degree of B.A. in 1799, a ...

, both botanists looking for alpine plants. However, it was not until the 1920s, that British rock climbers began to scale the main buttresses, starting with the ''East Buttress'' in 1927 (

Fred Pigott Alfred Sefton "Fred" Pigott (1895 – 28 July 1979) was a leading English rock climber of the 1920s and 1930s. Personal life Fred Pigott attended Manchester Grammar School and in World War I joined the Royal Fusiliers. While serving as a sniper ...

with ''Pigott's Climb'', 4 pitches 83-metres at HVS 5a), and the ''West Buttress'' in 1928 (

Jack Longland Sir John Laurence Longland (26 June 1905 – 29 November 1993) was an educator, mountain climber, and broadcaster. After a brilliant student career Longland became a don at Durham University in the 1930s. He formed a lifelong concern for the we ...

, with ''Longland's Climb'', 5 pitches 126-metres at VS 4c). Since these early ascents, the cliff came to attract leading British rock climbers of every era including:

Colin Kirkus Colin Fletcher Kirkus (18 September 1910 – 14 September 1942 was a British rock climber. He climbed extensively in Wales and elsewhere, such as the Alps and the Himalaya. He wrote the instruction book ''Let's Go Climbing!'' which inspired Joe ...

(''Great Slab'' 1930, and ''Chimney Route'' 1931 with J. Edwards, ''Curving Crack'' 1932), Joe Brown (''The Boulder'' 1951, ''Llithrig'' 1952, ''The Corner'' 1952, ''Shrike'' 1952, ''November'' 1957),

Don Whillans Donald Desbrow Whillans (18 May 1933 – 4 August 1985) was an English rock climber and mountaineer. He climbed with Joe Brown and Chris Bonington on many new routes, and was considered the technical equal of both. Early life Born and brought ...

(''Vember'' 1951, with J. Brown), and

John Menlove Edwards John Menlove Edwards was born at Ainsdale, near Liverpool, England, on 18 June 1910, the son of a politically radical vicar, George Zachery Edwards, and his wife Helen. His father's cousin was Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral. John Me ...

(''Chimney Route'' 1931 with C. Kirkus, and ''Bow Slab'' 1941). During the mid-1980s, it became the focus of the leading British rock climbers of the day, particularly

Jerry Moffatt Jerry Moffatt (born 18 March 1963), is a British rock climber and climbing author who is widely considered as being the best British rock climber from the early-1980s to the early-1990s, and was arguably the best rock climber in the world in the ...

(''Master's Wall'' 1983), John Readhead (''Womb Bits'' 1984), and

Johnny Dawes Johnny Dawes (born 9 May 1964) is a British rock climber and author, known for a dynamic climbing style and for establishing bold traditional climbing routes. This included the first ascent of ''The Indian Face'', the first-ever route at the E9 ...

, who were striving to free up the main face of the Great Wall (or Master's Wall), in the middle of the ''East Buttress'', culminating with Dawes' October 1986 climb of ''Indian Face'', which at a grade of E9 6c, was considered on the most dangerous and difficult rock climbs in the world. While the cliff contains routes of all difficulties, few other crags in Britain contain such a concentration of routes above the extreme E7-grade.

Filmography

* Documentary:

Bibliography

*''North Wales Classics'' (Jack Geldard), 2010, Rockfax. . *''North Wales Climbs'' (Mark Reeves, Jack Geldard, Mark Glaister), 2013, Rockfax. . *''The Black Cliff: The history of rock climbing on Clogwyn du'r Arddu'' (Peter Crew, Jack Soper, Ken Wilson), 1971, Kaye & Ward .

References

External links

Clogwyn Du'r Arddu (Cloggy)
''UKClimbing'' Crag Guide (2022)

''PlanetMountain'' Crag Guide (2022) Betws Garmon Llanberis Cliffs of Gwynedd Cliffs of Snowdonia Rock formations of Gwynedd Rock formations of Snowdonia Climbing areas of Wales