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Another superb boulder has been discovered in the depths of Beddgelert Forest; The White Rhino block is a very special find, a deliciously slopey affair; its rounded off, leaning form just the stuff that bouldering dreams are made of.
Given its hidden position, guarded by dense forest, its initial discovery is something of a miracle, and for that we can thank Noel Craine. Noel was out on a fell run and while dropping down the ridge from the summit of Y Gyrn he found himself off route thrashing through an unknown section of the forest looking for a main path. So dense was the undergrowth that Noel was forced to crawl on his hands and knees, until suddenly he bumped into a large block of dolerite. Noel immediately recognised the importance of what he had found and made plans to return, noting the number 36 on the nearby marker post on the path which lay below.
Finding the boulder again proved to be somewhat tricky, even with prior knowledge Noel spent much time peering up into the forest until he spotted the elusive White Rhino. With the location tagged, Noel called in the troops for a wet day clean up session during which Noel completed the inaugural line The White Rhino V1/Font 5 up the central crack/flake feature.
Martin Crook was the next to come back in drier conditions climbing the left aręte from a head high hang on the slopey nose to give Rhinosaw.
A few days later Si Panton and George Smith returned with Martin to find the boulder nicely dried out. First off Si fired off the slappy Rhinosaw sds V5/6Cish, a brilliant piece of climbing. Si used the same start to complete the obvious left-to-right traverse of the block with a finish up The White Rhino. The White Rhino Traverse V6/7A is a wonderful example of the slopey genre with sustained difficuly/interest.
Next for Si was Match of the Day V4/6B+, a leftward exit from the Rhinosaw sds with a very unlikely match and leftward lock from a poor sloper to reach a hanging groove.
Si then flashed the obvious right-to-left line from a sitting start at the base of The White Rhino, finishing into the top of Rhinosaw sds. Rhinohorny rates V5/6C.
And lastly George climbed the bulge right of Rhinosaw from a high step on at V4/6Bish.
The approach is as follows if walking: from the usual Rhyd Ddu side entrance follow the track directly into the forest as if going to the original area. Just before that area is reached and the track curves round to the left, take the rough path leading diagonally rightwards. Follow this up until a horizontal track is reached with a marker post bearing the number 36 (OS grid ref: 557 509). Walk left for 30m and look up through the trees and you should just glimpse the White Rhino about 30m up hill in the dense woodland.
If approaching on a bike it is better to take one of the less steep alternative tracks which come into the horizontal track from either side.
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