11th March 2010
Porthgwarra Buttress and Hella Point

Dowser’s RoutE/Porthgwarra Face – V Diff – Lead
Games Surfers Play (variation finish – very variation) – S 4a – Lead

The last time I was at Porthgwarra I did Porthgwarra Chimney, an excellent route so I thought it was time to try a few others.

With the sun shining we dropped down into the gulley with a view to doing Dowser’s Route. As usual, locating the precise start of the climb was tricky. With this being Pete’s first outing since Bosi I wanted to keep the climbs in the V Diff/Severe range. This proved more tricky than expected. We started slightly to the left of the proper start in a tricky vertical crack, but moved back onto the route proper after the first ledge.

However we took a slight detour around the top arete, going right onto the outside face. Although airy and a little crunchy, this had big juggy holds after turning the arete. Still it was a good finish if lacking in protection.

Then came a mission to explore Hella point and find Helluva slab. The guidebook indicates you can descend without an abseil, but we didnt find it. After an exciting scramble up to the top we gave up when the wind increased and it got decidedly colder. The moving boulders add a different dimension to the whole adventure. The first 80 ton block which moved was freaky. The second boulder, about 4 times as big, which rocked sent nerves jangling and we retreated back to find easier ground on Panda Buttress.

This too proved tricky. I wanted to try the Chimney routes, but the bottom of the gulley ends on a ledge with no obvious route to the slabs below unless you traverse. The traverse was pitch 1 of Games Surfers Play. This proved excellent. Good holds, with small ledges for your feet enabled us to get onto the main slabs. Looking at the continuation of GSP I decided to move up to the platform via the slabs which were bathed in sunshine. This resulted in a lead up the top pitch of Panda Wall the HVS. The climbing is smeary on small finger holds, but not hard, although it is committing because there is only one gear placement for a small Cam.

Once on the ledge and with the sun dipping we went up the easier chimney to finish. Good job really because as the sun went out, the temperature dropped like a stone.

A really adventurous day in the end. Slightly more difficult climbing than I had intended but Pete dealt with everything really well. Has to go down as a bonus day and I will return to have a crack at Helluva Slab. The rest of the photos are here.