Whilst in Dublin for the weekend, Sarah and myself headed to Wicklow in search of some warm rock. We decided to avoid Glendalough due to inevitable bank holiday madness that would come with the great weather. Dave Flanaghan’s Ireland guidebook only lists a single route in Glenmalure, but it sounded like a good one, so we were all set.

Despite a treacherous approach through near vertical heather, the route is a great day out. Great Gully Ridge is 5 enjoyable pitches (could be done in 3 probably) on great rock, in a great situation above Glenmalure. Pitches 2 and 4 are more of a scramble, but the other pitches provide nice climbing, no harder than HS. An adventurous route with great views, highly recommended!

Andy

Kevin McGee, Geoff, George and myself met at the car park at the upper end of Glenveigh for some climbing at Ballaghageeha Buttress on Sunday.

With three of us having never climbed there before, Kevin assumed the role of local guide and crag expert.

Although the sun was making a good attempt to stay out, the crag was in the shade and the wind was blowing, making things pretty chilly…

Fittingly, George started with Patagonian Summer (HVS 5a), cruising it despite the frozen fingers. Meanwhile Kevin led The Mistress (currently HVS 5a), seconded by Geoff.

Myself and Geoff then both led Pebbles (HS), a decent route but without much gear and some serious run-outs… As someone later said ‘the gear is only there to stop your corpse from rolling down the face’.

The sun finally made it around to the front of the crag as George reached the top of The Mistress, followed with difficulty by myself. A cracking route, the difficult sections are interspersed with only marginally less difficult sections. In my opinion the route should be upgraded to E1 5b, as the difficulty is a step up from any HVS 5a I have climbed recently.

Kevin was on Tooth Fairy at this point, which appeared harder than anything else climbed that day, but still graded HVS(?). While the rest of us stood around in the sun taking pictures, Patrick and Adam Tinney arrived, fresh from attempting some other hard routes in a nearby gully. When Kevin reached the belay, we realised that someone needed to second him… Geoff wasn’t feeling keen, so George took up the challenge.

The Tinneys were starting on Patagonian Summer and George was making Tooth Fairy look easy as I left for the trip back to Belfast.

A good day’s climbing on a great crag that doesn’t see much traffic.

Andy

With the forecasted rain/sleet failing to materialise in Dublin on Saturday, and Sunday morning still being dry, Sarah and I shook off our hangovers and headed out to Dalkey Quarry for a couple of routes on Sunday afternoon (as we happened to be the neighbourhood..).

We started off with Yorkshire Pudding (HS 4b), to clear out the cobwebs. We were then joined by some former UCD Mountaineering Club pals, Aoife, Dermot and John.

It was chilly enough with a stiff breeze blowing off the sea, so belay jackets were staying firmly on for climbing. Sarah and myself then did Fang** (HVS 5a), while Dermot led Oggie (S 4a).

After realising that the other side of the valley was in the sun, and would be sheltered from the wind, we headed across, and both parties led Street Fighter** (VS 4c) in much more pleasant conditions. After the UCD contingent did something else on the Eliminates Wall we decided that was enough excitement, and retired to Glasthule for coffee.

A fortuitous afternoon’s climbing considering the horrendous forecast for the weekend! Dalkey is a great spot, definitely worth a trip down the road for those located in Belfast, especially since you can escape easily to any number of climbing walls, gear shops or pubs if you get rained off!

Andy