Chris Pollard has developed a steep boulder just outside Capel Curig close to the old road running back up the Ogwen Valley. This area of broken crags is known as Creigiau Gelli, and the boulder, which can actually be seen from the nearby A5, is located at Grid Ref. 717 586.

Various people have looked at this boulder over the years; indeed Graham Sutton gave the editor of NWB.com a photograph of it circa 2001. Graham had climbed the jagged crack feature (which goes at about V2/Font 5+ from a sitter), but left the harder lines untouched. When Chris arrived earlier this year there were also brush marks on a desperate looking line on the left. The perpetrator of this optimistic cleaning is unknown.

Gelli Arete V4/Font 6b starts sitting on the stone wall, before moving up and traversing the top of the block, exiting through the top of the crack.

Crack The Ripper V6/7/Font 7a/+ goes from a standing start matched in the obvious head height vertical crack just left of the main crack feature; make a hard move up with your right to a very insecure finger jam/pinch thing, choose a foot hold and pop hopefully to the lip.

Chris also climbed an eliminate version of the crack avoiding the two jammed blocks, and using the right arête of the boulder. Blockless rates V4/Font 6b.

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