It was one of those warm blue sky days in early summer. Fifteen minutes after leaving the car I was covered in sweat. By the time Iain and myself were gearing up at the base of the Pencoed Pillar, half of my water bottle was empty.

The Pencoed Pillar is a classic rock climb on Cadair Idris, one of the principal mountains of southern Snowdonia. We had chosen a dry day and just as importantly, it had been dry for some time. Although classic, this climb is renowned for its copious vegetation. Any moisture present would make the route worryingly slippy.

A narrow ledge leads to the first pitch which Iain competently led up. Then it was my turn to wade through chest deep vegetation for a rope length. A slippery chimney then leads to a small ledge. From this point on the route steepens into a good rock climb. A steep crack is climbed at about severe standard but with a step left to finish on steep vegetation. This was the most worrying part of the climb, with all four points of contact on the green stuff.