Dave Noden has kicked off developments at the Moel y Gest Quarry, near Porthmadog. Within this old dolerite quarry there is a host of bouldering opportunities. Several large blocks lie adjacent to the back wall of the right hand bay; there are also a number of overhanging walls at the base of the crag which provide further potential bouldering lines.

Although there are some old and very neglected routes in the quarry it has never been developed as a bouldering venue. Andy Godber paid a visit this last winter and immediately recognised its potential. It was also scoped out by a few other people, including Si Panton, and soon enough the grapevine began to tingle with talk of an important new bouldering crag.

Upon hearing the news Dave Noden dived straight in and started ticking off a series of classic problems, including Beatitude Kiss V11/8A and Cruiser Weight sds V10/7C+. Dave was then joined by Chris Davies and Jon Ratcliffe, who both left their mark. Chris with his signature move: an excruciatingly fingery slap: Drag Racer V11/8A, and Jon with the superb and slightly highball, Chummer’s Wall V6/7/7A/+.

Developments are ongoing and there are still some very eye catching lines left to go, plus some impressive highballs. Ground Up Productions has produced an interim topo, available as a pdf download. Click here to view it.

Ray Wood snapped some good pics of Dave this week; go to dmmclimbing.com to see them.

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