Grading traverses I

Converting bouldering grades

From what I can read on the Short Span's message board Glendo has been fairly busy for the new year. A new area has been developed and documented: the Holiday boulders are located about 10 mins beyond the Fin area until the path levels off and a big sandpile can be seen. The area is downstream from the sand pile on the opposite side of the river just off the old miners track. There are 9 problems documented by Dave Ayton, included the very good looking Hugh.

Michael Duffy seems to have been there too. Although some of us expected some news soon enough about the Big Squeeze, he apparently focused on another line: Leftism is the full line of Rhythm and Stealth. Michael says: "It’s a really really good link up (16 moves) with a tricky section at the bottom into the airy and fluffable top section above. Start sitting in the cave with your bum on the little bloc at the obvious big layaway. Pull on and trend leftwards and up the arete to finish. 3 stars, lovely moves and pumpy." I would not be surprised if that came as a warm-up.

I personally feel sorry to have missed these interesting looking sessions but I also have been busy preparing my moving to Scotland and I hadn't got much time for bouldering since November. Surprisingly enough, I felt much stronger during every session that I had since the beginning of December. Maybe this is a sign that I am on that famous "peak" of the training curve. Maybe this is a sign that the conditions have never been that good. Maybe I have been going for Quality rather than Quantity. Anyway this was particularly enjoyable on Stephen's day, as I managed to send two of my own projects.

The French Connection II
I have been trying that line nearly every time I was in Clare since last January. It's a loop traverse around the roof of the Toit du cul de Clare. None of the moves is harder than 6c but this requires a little stamina for the boulderer that I am: true, the full line is approximately 40 moves, enough to constitute a route on its own. It starts with a cool deadpoint that leads to the lip of the roof and then traverses that lip on rather good jugs till it reaches the other side of the roof: there one must drop down to the mantelshelf/ledge below using a couple of crimps. This is awkward, particularly after a few tries, but if one manages to get a foot on the ledge below then it gets easier. The finish is an easy traverse of that ledge to link back to the deadpoint start of Cold Turkey.


I recently got another traverse link in Portrane ( I also wanted to call it the French Connection, but I later found out that Michael O'Dwyer had got the first ascent) that made me ask the same grading question: how can a 40 moves link traverse be graded the same way as a 1 move wonder? Well, I was first told that traverses are longer than boulder problems and are therefore easier. In fact we even had a bouldering grades chart that looked like this:

Old bouldering grades conversion chart

I suppose at that time The Wheel of life (Grampians, Australia, V16, 60 moves, Dai Koyamada FA) was still unclimbed. Basically what this table meant was that traverses should be graded like sport routes because they use more stamina and less explosive power. Problem is, later came the likes of Sharma, Hirayama, Rouhling or more recently a little midget called Adam Ondra, and they can use explosive power as a stamina basis....

So where one use to say "the hardest move of this traverse is 6a, the grade should therefore be 6c" they now say "this traverse is the hardest ever. But it cannot be as hard as the hardest route".

There is actually a good arithmetic system developed on the Australian bouldering website: that can be resumed as following:

V9 + V6 = V9,
V9 + V7 = V10,
V9 + V8 = V10,
V9 + V9 = V11,
V9 + V10 = V11,
V9 + V11 = V12,
V9 + V12 = V12

So anyway, this time I sent the French Connection II on my second attempt. So at 1 o'clock, I had nothing more to climb except a couple of projects that needed a bit of cleaning. And because I was not in the mood for gardening, I decided to drive to Doolin and try to tick off Fireworks, a cool problem opened by Gregor Florek a couple of years ago. Unfortunately every time I am around, so is the sea.

The Egg

So I retreated to the base camp and instead I tried another couple of lines on my tick list. The first one is an awesome overhang that was created by the cracking of one of the boulders during the last big storm. I already had a look at it back in March when Nigel Callender was trying it, but it felt impossible. Although this time I could do most of the moves, I was nowhere near getting the last slap from the undercut (which is obviously the actual problem).

So instead of trashing myself, I moved on to my own little project: an egg sit-start that stands literally right of Hider. This little gem does not look like much, but it is probably the second hardest line I have climbed after The Nose in the White bog (OK it's still nowhere near an 8a but hey, I'll be an old daddy soon!). From a sit-start on the tiny crimp right hand, one must slap to a "pinch" hold left and move up to an obvious sloper. If you can hold that, the rest gets easier.

Well folks, this post is probably the last one about Ireland before a long time. I have been fairly busy in the last few weeks as I am finally moving to Scotland. Not that I was looking forward to it (although from judging by the work of John Watson or Dave McLeod, Scotland is definitely a great location for bouldering), but I knew this would have to happen eventually and I am just moving sooner than expected.
By the way, 13 years ago I started as a "falaisiste", but the British call it a "sports climber" AKA a "French sissy" or more simply a "wuss". I only really got sucked into bouldering when I moved to Ireland. Therefore I would like to thank those who brought me to appreciate Ireland and its bouldering potential, particularly: Kevin Cooper, Seamus Crowley and Andy Robinson; those who were (nearly) always up for an early session: Michael Nicholson, Declan Tormey and Tim Chapman, and of course the rest of the Irish bouldering crew. And no, bouldering is generally not an "extreme" sport. But neither is that trad climbing thing, "a good deal of creative frigging, resting on protection, sneaky side runner, preplaced gear, and the introduction of prepracticed ascents" as Simon Panton once described it.
Finally I cannot resist to share with you a nice picture that I have recently received. I am not allowed to say where, what or who but I can tell you one thing: there's some serious potential for exploration in Ireland!

Portrane Update

Although the last weekend was probably the wettest of the last 2000 years in Dublin, the overall summer has not been as bad as last year, and I am sure most Dublin boulderers enjoyed at least a couple good sessions in Portrane over the last few months.

Firstly I wish to mention the visit of two Austrian climbers, Connie and Alex, who had decided to start their bouldering trip around Ireland by staying a week in Portrane. I must say we were quite puzzled when they mentioned it and we advised them to shorten their stay in Portrane and quickly move to the West. And for anyone else planning to visit Ireland, I reiterate my advice: although Portrane has a good bit of bouldering, it is clearly not your main destination and does not deserve a full week of your time. Donegal, Connemara and Kerry have much more to offer in term of rock quality and variety of landscape!


Two new problems were added at the Arch: I personally finally sent an old project linking Girls on film / Planet Earth to the Ear via the Arch. (See previous post) Although none of the moves is harder than 6c, it constitutes a long sustained traverse which I named the French Connection. This will have hopefully got me fitter and my traverse project in Clare should soon enough become the French Connection II. (For those who have never seen these films, go and rent the DVDs, they are much more entertaining than any climbing video). Michael Duffy added a new problem to the left of Planet Earth / Girls on Film: Sit-start under the roof using a small side pull left hand and the stone ledge for your feet (sometimes buried in the sand). Slap over the lip of the roof to an edge and go up left to a catchy in-cut.
Michael also succeeded where many others had previously failed: he managed to flash X-men, the tricky roof problem that was once described by the Portrane bouldering guru Kevin Cooper as the un-flashable problem. However it was not clearly established if Michael's foot freded* the ground or not. Moreover Michael seems to have climbed X-men using his knee, a method that, although that is perfectly acceptable, can be considered as terribly ugly among proper climbers. Kevin advised Michael to shape up a bit and climbed the line the properly. I managed to take a little video on my phone:

It should however be mentioned that Michael was probably tired from the hard work he has put on the Arch: As I mentioned in a previous post Michael has cleaned the upper part of the Arch and has worked out most of the moves to the top brown jug. So if Mr Weather finally decides to settle down a bit, it should not be long before that stunning line gets linked. By the way Michael has also climbed a new 8a in the Scalp called Switch. He said that the first move is the hardest, (a tough far slap) but the rest gets easier... I cannot but agree with him!

In the Alley, I added a sit-start just left of Andy's Problem: from a low undercut , deadpoint to the top end of the ramp and top out to the left as per the ramp. For the bolder finish, go straight up through the high overhang (spotter highly recommended).

There was also a good few sessions in the Pit to try the sit-start to Mr Topsy Turvy. This is the low roof indicated has a project in the guide. That problem has actually been done by both Michael Duffy and Rob Hunter and is clearly harder than 7a when you start with both hands on the roof undercut. And for those who feel really strong, there is an even harder project to the right: starting under the roof as well, use two wrongly oriented sharp hold and slap really far out to the right to link onto the big ledge of Mr Silly.
Finally I spent an evening Clogerhead back in June: I found a nice traverse not far from Alice in Crimperland. The Spine follows a long spiky break line from the left to the right. I also found a nice vertical wall with a few crystal crimps. I climbed a couple of problems on it but they do not top out as the wall is fairly high. They would definitely be better climbed as some little routes or alternatively deep water solos (although I have not checked the waterline at high tide.)*to fred: this term intends to refer to Swiss climber Fred Nicole who claimed a first ascent although this FA climb got clearly affected by the fact that he had been involuntary "pushed" by one of his spotters. Anyone who knows the exact story, please do not hesitate to stick it in the comments.

Cul de Claire 2 – Frenchy 0

Yep, there was no connection made this weekend at the Cul de Claire, whether it would be French or not. The windy conditions which probably affected the sea spray in Doolin were perfect for inland bouldering. No excuse here. The place, usually quiet, was crowded with foreigners: me and Dawid Nowak. So for once I had a spotter, I will not even have an excuse for not getting that full roof traverse project. After having spent a couple of hours working the crux moves (translation: a bit of banter, a lot of smoking on the mat in the comfy warmth of the fleece and a couple of easy warm-ups), I made a couple of proper but unsuccessful attempts. This is what I love about projects; you just keep coming back and never get bored.
We also had a look around, as Dawid wanted to inspect the small crag. In a few places it looked like some cleaning had been done: some of the ivy had been cut and taken down: are there any routes being done there? There was definitely a path at the bottom of the crag but the sheep could have done this. More surprisingly in one of the smallest and easiest parts to climb we found this:
Is the Cul de Claire one of the oldest climbing venues in Ireland? Can anyone ask Calvin about this? He probably is the only one who can answer that.
Probably some pictures soon on Dawid’s gallery.

NEW YEAR IN CLARE (part 2)

Bouldering in Le toit du cul de Clare, Co. Clare

A small PDF bouldering guide to Le Toit du cul de Clare is available.

The rule no.1 for enjoying a peaceful married life is to make sure you please both mothers-in-law (unless you have successfully managed to disguise a murder into an accident). Mine being from County Clare, I usually spend Christmas in France and the New Year in Clare and the opposite the following year. This is a good way of enjoying all the good stuff from Christmas time, from Christmas pudding to foie gras. And this way I also get a chance to send my problems at the Toit du Cul de Claire (although that trickle cake can have a terrible effect on my belly weight). The place is only 15 minutes away, so I usually manage 2 or 3 sessions at Christmas.
This time I did not do any gardening, although there is probably another 3 or 4 lines that could be developed. I would also like to get rid of some of the small bushes covering the top edge: some of the lines could definitely do with a nice top out. But one has to get some climbing done sometimes to keep some motivation.

This time I decided that I would focus on the full traverse loop around the roof, linking Cold Turkey and the Grand Slam traverse. After a few tries it definitely came clear that the easiest way was to start on Cold Turkey because the deadpoint is easier going up than going down. After that there are a few jugs to campus along the roof lip. These lead you to the corner around which stands Munster rules (Grand Slam left). Campusing back down should bring me back on the long mantel traverse below the roof. I say "should" because the entire line is approximately 40 moves and I will need a little bit more stamina. But I am back there next weekend and hopefully I will have that line called the "French connection" by Monday. Video here:

I also did a bit of exploration in the Arra Mountains between Lough Derg and Nenagh. This time I had pre-checked on the aerial views from both google Earth and the OSI, and although some very interesting spots looked particularly similar to those of Glenmacnass, the place proved to be as beautiful and as boulder-free as the Slieve Bearnagh in East Clare. Next stop is the Silvermines Mountains in Co. Tipperary. If anyone has already checked the place, please do not tell me. I love a thrill of long boggy walks in the misty fog. It is the best way to enjoy a nice hot whisky by the range...

PORTRANE UPDATE

Declan Tormey added two little deadpoints below the lip of Wave washed in the Alley (lines 1 & 2). Although they were more than certainly climbed by Michael O'Dwyer back in 2001, there was no mention of them in the original information. They both are sit-start deadpoints from small crimps, probably 6b.


Line 3 is a variation of problem 16 in the alley: instead of going into the groove, one goes left on the blankish face with a nice top out on jugs (but hard to reach). 6b/c

Problem 4 is a old project of Kevin Cooper. It starts into Planet Earth, bridge back onto the arch, drop around the bottom of the Arch to finish onto the Ear. Probably ranging at 6c/7a.

There was a gap between Planet Earth and Stick it. This was filled up during the summer with a sit start to the big ledge. From there you can either akwardly climbed into the mini cave or dyno to the top jug above. 6a

Paul Harrington also mentionned a traverse (5+/6a) at the back of the arch. Again, these lines have probably been climbed before, but there was no mention in the original guide.

Finally it is worth noticing that the rock at Ground Zero is more dirty and polished than ever.