Indian Face

Indian Face is a 45-metre (148 ft) traditional climbing route on the rhyolite "Great Wall" of the East Buttress of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, in Wales.

Clogwyn Du'r Arddu has long been considered a "crucible" of British traditional climbing, with many of Britain's leading climbers creating notable routes on its buttresses.

[10] In 1983, British climber Jerry Moffatt chopped the bolt while abseiling; he then climbed past it but avoided the blanker groove to the left (what would later become Indian Face),[11] veering right to create Master's Wall,[b] which he graded E7 6b.

[16] In 1984, Redhead freed Margins of the Mind (E8 6c),[17] further left of Master's Wall, which is considered the second-ever E8-grade in Britain after Dave Cuthbertson's 1983 ascent of Requiem in Scotland.

[16][18] On 4 October 1986, Johnny Dawes followed up the first half of Master's Wall, but before the (then removed) bolt of Tormented Ejaculation, he entered the lefthand groove to make the first free ascent of Indian Face, the first-ever E9-graded rock climb in Britain.

[5] Dawes's ascent of Indian Face was considered to be the hardest and most dangerous traditional route in the world, and his feat was reported by the wider non-climbing media.

[15] Dawes was unwilling to undertake the intensive plyometric training techniques (e.g. the campus board) that Moffatt and Moon adopted,[25] but he would still free further notable traditional climbs, such as Gaia (E8 6c), End of the Affair (E8 6c) and The Quarryman (E8 7a).