For an entire week, I had been eyeing a jagged rock edge visible from my temporary home. It loomed darkly on the brow of the hill, and after the storms of the past few days finally passed, only a fierce wind remained to dry the rock perfectly.
Exploring Carn Ffoi
I had never visited Carn Ffoi before, but I had always wanted to explore the broken tors dotting the hills of Carningli Common. Below them, the sandy Trefdraeth Bay opens its arms to the Irish Sea and its changing moods. The gorse, still singed from last year's fires, gives way to scrub and close-cropped grass. The view of the endless, rugged coast promised to be extraordinary.
Preparing for the Climb
As I shouldered my bouldering pad, it caught the wind like a jib. I left my phone behind, and the small booklet of climbs I brought instead, with its hand-drawn routes, proved indecipherable. Most climbers go out to repeat the feats of others, but without this foreknowledge, I found myself rooting around in the bracken for rocks.
I searched for a possible path—a pure line—up my chosen boulder and found a contender on the lee side. I warmed up my fingers, exploring the surface of the overhanging block, pulling this way and that, climbing it in my mind.
The Ascent
Nestled under the roof among the ferns, I pulled on and reached the edge. It was sharp. The geology here is volcanic, rough as old bark. I moved another hand and made my body rigid, then hooked a foot into a dark crevice, hands reaching up to the light. Tiring arms told me it was time to go. Body swinging, I threw a leg up high to heave myself over, grunting, to the top.
I lay awhile, basking, catching my breath. There was a light haze, and I could see for miles out to sea, where small fishing boats braved the wind. To the west, a brother tor, Carn Enoch, watched over Dinas Cross.
An Unexpected Encounter
As I left, I stumbled upon another sun lover: a pale male adder, fresh from its moult, minding its business on a stone of its own. We regarded each other for a second before we both slithered off.
Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024, is available now.
