so here’s the condensed version of the last month or so...
I’d been working a lot on the ropes and climbing a lot. Work was flat out but it was brilliant because energy and psyche were high and most days when we finished we we’re off to the Head or the Mournes for a bit of afternoon craggin. When I couldn’t get away to the crag, I trained.... It’s been a productive month...I’ve climbed a lot of routes. Severe’s to E8’s ...and they’ve all been brilliant....
Prime Mate E7 6c
I climbed a new route on the East Face of Lower Cove in the Mournes. It’s a link between The 5th Ape E5 and Sleazy Lover E8 - Prime Mate E7 6c. This wall still feels like a novelty for the Mournes. All the routes on this wall are safe and feel sporty. About 25m long gently overhanging. It’s like a granite sport wall but with out the bolts. The same day Andy ‘Ravestein’ Marshall flashed an E7 6b called Freshly Baked. It’s a route that me and Craigy opend a year ago. It’s got two distinct halves. A short cruxy section at the bottom then super run out wondery 6a climbing at the top. When I climbed it with Craigy I had abbed the lower section and inspected the gear for the bottom. I tried in good style and got about 15 feet from the top of the crag and had to get rescued.. I got a bit out of my depth with no gear that fitted any of the small cam placements at the top. I came back the next day with the right gear and climbed comfortably to the top. Andy was up for the flash.. He climbed it so well, he committed where he need to and was chill and smooth on the rest....until he got to the small cam placement near the top. I’d given him my beta and showed him the cam that I thought I remembered fitting perfectly in this rounded shallow seam. I made him lift a couple just in case. Andy got to the flat hold below the cam placement and looked super composed above a meaty run out. He went to put the cam in....and it didn’t fit.. He started to look less comfortable, I could see tension in this arms were before he was sagging on this flatty like it was a beautiful thing.....he was getting pumped...
“what cam is it??”
“the wee yellow one...” he tried it again.. then he tried a smaller one and tugged it straight out the bottom of the placement..he tried again with another small cam and then with another.... I was thinking “oh no, I’ve completely jipped him and he’s just going to have to jump off... I knew exactly what he was feeling...this is were I got rescued when I first tried this line. By this stage Andy was weighing up the options
try to climb back down and fall/jump off --not very appealing
pin it for the top. ----not really an option
It was a weird feeling for a me for a moment or two. I knew he wasn’t going to get hurt as long as he didn’t continue up, but i knew it would have been a wild fall if he dropped off. I was looking up feeling useless mumbling “ehhhhhh try the yellow one again mate..?..” Right in the middle of this slightly serious situation Glen (dog) walked right over to me and completely straddled one of the loops of slack rope running up to Andy. I had this mad mental image in my head of Andy flying down the crag and poor Glen getting the wegdy of his life.
Long story short Andy put the yellow on in again and for some reason it just fitted this time. He was pumped but spent a minute or two just focusing on relaxing again and a getting rid of the pump. He backed himself and climbed efficiently to the top. It was good to watch.
Andy Marshal flashing Freshly Baked E7 6b
I’ve not been on my projects too much this month. Only a few hours on various things. But progress each time. I’ve spent more time just climbing whatever I’ve felt like on that day. Friends have been about and so I spent lots of time just trad’in with them. Kev Sheilds and Di Gilbert were over from Scotland. I had some really funny days on Binnian with them. Kev’s been over a few time recently. He’s focused on achieving some of his goals on Binnian. I find it really easy to have good energy for climbing around Kev. It easy to see he loves climbing. The weather was a bit ming when they were over but we had fun.. Here’s a wee vid of a misty day in the Mournes...http://www.mournesclimbers.com/index.php
I had a wee visit to sunny Muckross and had a bit of head torch action with the Felixor of Life. The next day I belayed my hero (and ulitmate belayer)Ali Moles as climbed a new route which he called The Cannibalsitic Traits of Narcissus the Spider. Brilliant E5! The mans energy for climbing is an inspiration to me......
I’ve been at Fair Head more than anywhere else in the last month. I climbed some routes that have been newly opened with the Felixor. I repeated The Dark Side E8 6c. It’s a 50m wall that finishes on this amazing arete. Very very cool situation to climb into. Never too difficult but continually engaging. It’s a bit snappy in places (I asked Andy if it was ground up-able just after he opened it. I’m glad I didn’t try it in this style....I pulled a hold off it when I shunted it. The consequences of doing this on lead would have been bad - something which I know is common with this type of route at the head but i don’t feel that it takes away from the quality at all. It nearly adds to the feel of the route). You have to be gentle for most of the route then there’s a hard move across a blank section. The top arete feels wild on the lead. It was a joy to climb......
Most years I get away from Belfast for the 12th of July.. but I sorta got stuck this year. Andy and I went to the Head and opened a new route in the middle of the crag, near Baptism of Fire E5 (which is very dirty at the minute but an amazing line on a very quiet part of the crag.) The walls near Bird Hide Block are naturally very dirty, not much sunshine and have a completely different feel to them than the most of the other sections of the crag. Andy spent a lot of time cleaning the new line and it was so good to climb on it. First pitch is long 55m E3. The top pitch is brilliant! Steep crack/seam, too thin for you fingers but not steep enough to stop you. We were the only people at the crag..Andy did some Sharma power grunts with a set of nuts in his hand, then took a whipper near the top. Brilliant... I went shooting up off the belay when he fell. We laughed when he got back down to the belay to rest because he went for it right through most of the hard climbing then stopped to place gear in the middle of a move. He got a set of wires off his harness then put them straight back onto his harness and fell off! It was funny.. The next go he sent. Hard E5... hard to onsight I’d imagine. I really hope people go and climb on it, but i sorta know that it’ll probably not get much attention for a while like a lot of the routes in this area.
I’ve chilled out the last few days..my body needed some time without climbing.. I watched some footage on the internet of the riots in Belfast. It’s sobering to watch this go one not far from my house while knowing that I at that time was completely absorbed in something so fulfilling at Fair Head...It also puts perspective on a lot of things for me..
When it stops raining again I’m going to try some harder projects I’ve been climbing on.............
Ricky
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