Clogwyn Du’r Arddu, by Calum Muskett

NOTE: This poster is by Calum Muskett and not a part of Mont Blanc Lines.

Few cliffs have experienced such enduring popularity as Clogwyn Du'r Arddu. In a sense, it was the birthplace of British climbing in 1798, when the Reverends W. Bingley and P. Williams set off on a botanical quest, working their way up the vegetated walls of the Eastern Terrace, finding alpine plants in the rock alcoves, not to mention a little adventure in between. Between the wars, development continued at a frenetic pace with “Cloggy”, as it became affectionately known, becoming 'the' cliff in Wales, where tales of daring first ascents were later immortalised in Pete Crew's seminal book, The Black Cliff (1971). Clogwyn Du'r Arddu remained at the forefront of development into the 1980s, its history a chronicle of the most famous names of their day in climbing, from Longland to Harding, Brown to Crew and Redhead to Dawes, all adding to the history and mythology of this expansive brooding cliff situated on the northern slopes of Yr Wyddfa.

This topo presents the cliff from the Far East to the West Buttress showcasing the many historic and contemporary lines that have been climbed from 1798 to 2023.