Long easy mountain routes, scrambles etc.

[Stephen McMullan]

http://routes.climbing.ie/viewroutes.php?crag=Glenmalure

Route no 22

Is nobody gonna go climbing with me? I'll shut down this site. That'll show yis. Bastards.....

[John Goodall]

I'm free on sunday, going to try convince the missus to let me away to the mournes.

Might go somewhere more local for a one day-er, where suits you? 

[Evil Phil]

I'm happy to climb it next week after monday.

[johnhealy]

I'd like to retract my note of optimism about climbing finding it's roots.
GPS to find the bottom of the route? You'll find shrapnel on the ground at the bottom 'cause the british navy could find it with a shell from ten miles!!
Where is Baravore? Guidebook, map, common sense !! You'll have to walk over rough ground to get there by the way, hope it's not too inconvenient....
Access roads to avoid a 'difficult' stretcher carry from Dalkey quarry to roadside?
Topo's for scrambles, ever increasing top-ropes, empty mountain crags ....

john

[John Goodall]

Some of us have no guide, or previous experience of the area, or a British naval gun crew. 



 

[Stephen McMullan]

I'm free on sunday, going to try convince the missus to let me away to the mournes.

Might go somewhere more local for a one day-er, where suits you? 

I think I'm going to stick with Wicklow this weekend but I'll be in touch over future "projects".

Cheers, Stephen

[John Goodall]

Sunday 'should' be dry in Wicklow...

Might join you on great gully.

[Cearbhall]

Great Gulley on the radio...Demot Somers with some ould lad who used to ride a bike 
Check out November 1 - (Real Player required)
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/friendsinhighplaces/1068508.html

[Stephen McMullan]

I did Great Gully on Sunday with a mate from my diving club. The walk in nearly killed me. I couldn't do the opening moves on the route so decided to scramble up some vertical heather to join the route. I got confused by the routefinding on the last wall. Thankfully Joe Purser and Ruairi Blair showed up to save the day. I scrambled my way up the last pitches grabbing a couple of pieces of gear "French style" as Joe calls it. We then walked off the top over Benleagh and down to the table track following a stream. Its a fantastic route in a great position, value for the grade all right and a grand day out despite me being out of shape and out of practice.

By the way - you see the route description for Great Gully - well I recommend doing variant pitch 4a. I tried to locate pitch 4 as described but just ended up in a green wilderness. Has anyone done the original finish recently? I made the mistake of leaving the cams at home but bring a friend 3.5 for the wide crack on pitch 4a and a couple of 2/2.5 friends for general use.

[Cearbhall]

Did Great Gulley earlier this year.
The short crack in Pitch 1 was damp and greasy but only for one move.
Exactly the same route finding problems as Stephen on Pitch 4. Straight ahead was overhanging and didn't look anything like Severe(an overhanging offwidth crack is also mentioned in 4a description, so 4 must be right of this)?. I went right into increasingly desperate grassy crap before giving up.
Went left instead to what is obviously 4a which is fine apart from rope drag as it was a bit of a traverse.
Picture is looking up pitch-4.


We actually did 7 pitches which was probably more than necessary not to mention the night navigation after walking off northwards in the twilight
1   S (start was awkward as the crack was wet)
2   M
3.1 S (4b crux, but I thought the start was harder )
3.2 M (Took a belay after the crux wall before this scrambling section)
4.1 D (Took a belay after having retreated from grass to try and figure out the route)
4.2 S (wanders a bit leftwards)
4.3 D (wanders a bit rightwards, took a belay before this because of rope drag)

Incredible weather for February...Great day out

[angela carlin]

Does anyone climb on the crag (Slieve Beg?) that has 'Wabash Cannonball' and 'Burden of Dreams' these days?

Kieran O' Hara from Tollymore and Ian Rea have been up on beg last year and I think this spring- climbing, new routing, cleaning (old and new routes as far as I know). It doesn't see a lot of traffic though, so maybe get in touch with them before coming up.

there's also virgo on pigeon, but despite it's 'classic' status, its totally overgrown, and I'm afraid to say that the vegetation outweighted the positives for me...

[shayoh]

I know lots of people who have failed to find the original pitch 4 and nobody who has found it. We put up pitch 4a when we were looking for an escape and thought it was quite a nice find.

The description should say to belay at the left end of the ledge with a friend in the 2nd wide crack.

The first pitch is best climbed off the ledge and facing the right wall and then moving into the groove via a letterbox in the horizontal break.

[Stephen McMullan]

I think you'd have to abseil off the chain on top and swing about a bit to find where the first ascentionist climbed pitch 4 back in the day - its probably overgrown and chossy. I tried traversing right from where the climber is pictured and also traversing right above his belay only to hightail it back in a hurry.

I thought the line out via pitch 4a is brilliant - well done. Tricky too for the grade (I thought it more demanding than the 4b crux) but I was pretty tired at that point. I essentially fell off the bit where the peg is and grabbed the draw on the way off which immediately became an aid point but I missed obvious holds to be honest.

Yeah that move on the first pitch stopped me - it was greasy but it was just a lack of confidence due to lack of match practice.

[Stephen McMullan]

By the way I'll be up in Strangford on Sat diving all day - I'm free Sunday and could stay up if anyone fancies doing something in the Mournes. Gimme a shout if interested.

[Dec C]

HI Steve,

delighted you tried Great Gully and found it to your liking. Lots more business needed on the routes up there.

Regards

Dec