Snakes and Ladders

Snakes and Ladders – A climber’s tale (July 2016)

The original plan this weekend was to continue working our way through the 100 classic climbs of North Wales; however, Mother Nature had other plans for us. As the rain bucketed we decided to revert to plan B – we were about to embark on an epic slate adventure, known as the infamous snakes and ladders (and tunnels).

Dali’s hole and California

It was about eleven o clock before the four of us rocked up at Bus Stop quarry; head to toe in Goretex we set off into the slate quarries for the beginning of our slate odyssey. A short walk led us to our first landmark a surreal place named Dali’s hole – from here we navigate through a couple of tunnels and into California where we had our first glimpse of the long iron chain that hung from the tunnel above. A lengthy silence from all in the group suggested there were no immediate volunteers for the first lead, but then up steps Jack for the challenge. So without further ado, let battle commence…. 40 minutes later and all in one piece we complete the climb and stand at the entrance to the tunnel feeling pretty elated.

Tasmania and Australia

At the end of the tunnel we abseil from a birch tree down a soaked, slippery slate wall and begin the search in Tasmania for a concealed tunnel. With four pairs of eyes on the job we quickly discover it – remove our rucksacks – squeeze ourselves in and stumble our way through an obstacle course that is ankle deep in water. We arrive into Australia with a few bumps and bruises and are faced with two options to get us up to the next level, both of which look equally unappealing. Therefore, we unanimously decide to head right and scramble over the loose slate, which was interesting to say the least, especially as the rain persisted. Eventually we arrive at a grassy terrace area where we come across the first ladder, which is notably now seriously out of commission. A quick alternative scramble over shiny, wet slate boulders has us up on the next level and ready for the next ladder – half a dozen rusty iron ladders later see’s us at the top section of the slate mines, which contain a number of interesting old disused buildings. We stop here for a well-deserved brew and to take brief shelter from the rain.

The Lost World

Next stop is to find the Lost World; admittedly this was quite a challenge and was a little time consuming. However, eventually we stumble across it and find the abseil point on the right hand side overlooked by the Dinorwig unconquerable E3, 5C. A couple of abseils, followed by a series of down climb ladders finds us at ground level of the Lost World jungle. Here we take a quick look around this amazing place and then it’s time to exit via another tunnel into the infamous Mordor.

Mordor

At this point in the day the two paper guides I had brought along for directions were no longer legible, as the endless torrent of rain had resulted in them forming into paper Mache in my pocket. As a result, we mistakenly decide to down climb the three ladders of Mordor and wander knee deep in water through the only tunnel for approximately a quarter of a mile… until we reach a dead end! After several attempts of trying to squeeze through, we agree this is not the way out. We begin to feel a little claustrophobic, but then the mood is quickly lightened by Dave suggesting that, “perhaps next time we should laminate the guide”! It was then, as we stood in the cold, wet, darkness we remember that when we first entered Mordor (which seemed like hours ago) there was another ladder heading up. So without further ado we make a hasty retreat back out of the tunnel, by now our feet and socks soaked, and climb the three ladders to the entrance level. We then skirt the quarry and climb the great ladder, taking care not to fall to the depths below.

Khyber Pass

At this stage, the general consensus is to get out of the rain and head to the sanctuary of Pete’s Eats, a few minor details such as the perilous steps from one incomplete wobbly ladder to another is not going to hinder us. As we reach the top of the last ladder, or so we think, there’s another ancient, slippery, rusty iron ladder waiting to be climbed; finally we emerge at the Khyber Pass. From here we take a short walk to the collapsed ‘bridge of death’ – skirt around the re-entrant to the other side on some loose slate – stop to snap a few photos and contemplate the journey, whilst all secretly feeling quite pleased that the ‘bridge of death’ had collapsed as I don’t think any of us was up for that one.

By now the homing pigeon in us had taken over and we quickly scramble over some scree – hop over a couple of fences – walk down an old railway track and back onto the safety of the footpath with the next challenge in mind. Do I go for Big Jim’s or the Monster omelette and chips????

Cheers to Dave, Giles and Jack for joining me on this epic adventure, I’m sure we’ll be back one day in the dry….