North Wales—rugged, raw, and etched into the very bedrock of climbing history. Here, beneath the ever-watchful eye of Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon of Wales, a new breed of climbers took shape. The Dinorwic and Llanberis quarries, scarred by centuries of slate mining, stand as crucibles where the “Rock Cats” were forged—agile, bold, and fiercely determined.
Unlike wild crags with a no-bolt ethic, the quarries embraced bolts as practical solutions on brittle slate. Gear placement was a dark art—wires threaded through impossibly narrow cracks, cams wedged behind delicate flakes, a skill to impress Merlin himself. At the heart was community: a scruffy notebook of new routes passed hand to hand in a local café, fueled by pint-sized teas and chip butties.
Stone Monkey’s “Y Ddraig Goch” tank top is more than gear. It’s a banner of respect, worn in the fiery spirit of the dragon and the gritty legacy of North Wales climbing. Whether on slate or the towering cliffs of Cloggy or Tremadog, you carry that heritage—bold, enduring, alive.
Wear the dragon’s fire. Carry the legacy.