We unexpectedly had a few more hours free than we’d planned for today, so took the opportunity to hike up and over to Craig yr Ysfa to climb the long classic mountaineering route of Amphitheatre Buttress.

Temperatures were much cooler of late, although it did stay dry. Having hiked over to the base of the ridge, we could see into the gully and cliffs on the other side, where we spotted a couple of friends on the steeper routes (zoom in on the bottom of the RH cliff face).

We roped up and moved together, putting in belays as and when suited. The rock is actually a little polished at the start, but of great quality and we plenty of gear when needed. As we followed the crest of our buttress, we were able to watch Tarquin and Karl, making steady progress on the other side of the gully – a route that held a few memories for me as it’s one I climbed while working at Longtown!

We made quick work of the lower section and were able to enjoyed the climbing, views and sense of exposure as we got higher.

As the rock was dry and the winds light, we decided to go up and over all the ‘gendarmes’ rather than skirt around them as I’m often tempted to do!

Zoom in on the photo below and you can just see me waving, from half way along the ridge! It was taken by our friends climbing on the far side and sent to me later…

The higher we climbed the better the weather got. We had a good picnic at one stance, but kept things moving, mindful that Clare had to be back in the office for a meeting, mid-afternoon!

From the top, the path back to the valley was clear!

An hour or so later, we’d made it back to The Cottage, for showers, a second lunch and a well earned lie down after the 9km round trip with 688m of ascent and a 300 rock climb!