Give that man a job!

I was meant to publish the above video ages ago but time flies and I hardly find any time to look after the blog. Anyway judging by the number of posts, you must have read that excuse at least 16 times last year so I'll try to stop writing it and talk only about what is relevant.

Very relevant indeed is this video that Michael Duffy sent me a few months ago at the end of the summer. 2009 has been a bad year for young architects, but for strong climbers it is another story. Having recently moved to Bray, we can only hope that it will make it more difficult for the Dublin man to complete the first ascent of the Arch. Michael has worked out all the moves including the last one on the dodgy top jug, but as the video shows, he has failed to link the most famous line in Portrane.

He wisely hasn't mentioned any grade but we can reasonably assume that this long standing line must not be far from the magical 8 figure, although I've been told it isn't about magic, it's all about will, organisation and power. Anyway, being recently responsible for Switch, Leftism, and Contact, respectively 8a, 7c and 8a+ Michael's unemployment has given him the opportunity to deal with a lot of unfinished business and I would not be surprised if more hard lines like the Wow prow or the Big Squeeze SS were falling before the end of the winter.

Michael is also a talented young architect. Someone, please, give him a job!

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.

Portrane - The Arch

I hope everyone enjoyed the good sunshine over the bank holiday. I spent the Monday afternoon in a crowded Portrane with Chris Rooney and Michael Duffy. Michael cleaned the upper part of the Arch, and gave it a good few attempts: he has worked out most of the moves to the high brown stone jug. What would make it an ultimate line would be a top out to the left, although this would require some good spotting and a few mats. Definitly one of the best lines in Ireland.

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.

"Summer" bouldering at Portrane Beach

"Met Éireann confirmed the worst suspicions of umbrella sellers yesterday when it declared last month to be one of the warmest, sunniest and driest Aprils on record."
The Irish Times, Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Summer? What summer? The three following months probably broke some rainfall record. (By the way, I cannot bear that "me-and-my-umbrella" song anymore, can you?) True, summer this year started in mid April and finished in mid May. As a result our usual evening summer sessions in Portrane seriously started only a couple of weeks ago, and will be over in another couple of weeks as the days are getting shorter. It is hard to get motivated in these conditions. My Shot down in Flames project is laughing at me....

I do not know if it is the climate or the economical context but most of the locals are leaving: do you really think that Squamish or Font could beat Portrane? Seriously lads!
So for those about to rock, here's a little video of Portrane:

The Arch

Kevin Cooper and I introduced Harry Fogg to Portrane last Monday evening. We headed to the Arch sector where, as expected, Harry ran up most of the easy lines. Xmen remains unflashed, although Harry nearly got it footless on his first go. The rock was bone dry and the tide was completly out, which was prefect for trying the Arch (the line itself). But it seems that it will take me another couple of sessions this year.

Shot Down in Flames

After having done most of the easy lines, I was already getting bored this summer in Portrane. So I decided to explore the rest of the place.

I had already spotted a nasty high and scary line in the cave at the back of the Arch. The fact that a few solid looking holds were pointing throughout was quite appealing and one could already imaging himself working his way up. A few shy tries had me gone up a big ledge, deadpointing through a overhanging face to catch a good flake above it. To finish it was a matter of rocking on the foot to gain a high crack on the left leading to the top.
One could quote The Magnificent Seven here:

"Vin: Reminds me of that fellow back home that fell off a ten story building.
Chris: What about him?
Vin: Well, as he was falling people on each floor kept hearing him say, "So far, so good. Tch...So far, so good!"

My right hand poped off. The landing was painful. The line is still standing.

For the time being I have called it Shot down in Flames. But one day...