Bouldering Ireland

Meet poster

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:17:00 +0000

Bouldering Meet 9/10/11th March

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:34:00 +0000

The hut is booked for the bouldering meet on the 9/10/11th March. Spread the word. Pint to anyone who can name every one in the photo above. Hint: from 2005.

Glenmalure

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:42:00 +0000

Went to Glenmalure to try the project. Spent about 2 hours on it, made some progress but not to hit the fingerboard I think.

Checked out some boulders near the carpark at the end of the road. There is a stream coming down from Fraughan that looked like it made a bit of a gorge with a few rounded blocks in it. Bushwacked up to it and everything was too small. Beautiful, pale and very smooth granite though.

Then went to the carpark at Ballinasfushogue, where the waterfall boulder is, and headed up the hillside to the left, after about 10 minutes and some more bushwacking I hit the boulders visible from the road, they are all pretty shite, easy, high outcrops with bad landings. But above the outcrops if one nice boulder right beside a massive pine tree. The steep face has a holdless corner that would be great if it's climable. The rock is quite smooth and there are no holds but plenty of shapes.To the right of it was an interesting schist wall, slightly overhanging with lots of small horizontal edges. And above this again was a quartz wall. Unusual to have three rock types in that close proximity.

Trailer for new bouldering film - Life on Hold

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Life On Hold - Trailer 2 from Outcrop Films on Vimeo

Check out Outcrop Films.

Johnny Dawes interview

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:54:00 +0000

The brilliant, mad, articlulate Johnny Dawes talks to the Guardian. He has some interesting stuff to say and there are some good clips of his running jumping antics.

Unclimbed projects

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Following on from article from 2004 listing some of the best projects in Wicklow here is a list of a few worthwhile unclimbed lines. All of the below are good lines on nice rock, there are no SS or variations or extensions. They are King Lines if you will. I know of more some that I'm seflishly hoarding from myself (they easy ones), so this list isn't exhaustive.

1. Split boulder, Electric Mountain

This line is on the hillside to the left of the Electric Mountain forest. There is a big buttress split vertically by a fared chimney. The first move is a big throw from some small edges to the big slopey ledge and then a highball finish. There is an easier project to the right as well.

2. Flicking the Bean boulder, Mall Hill

The slopey arete on the Flicking the Bean boulder isn't probably that hard. The landing is awkward as it slopes away but there are plenty of branches to build a level platform. Might be a sit start, on the day that photo was taken I pulled a flake off from below the nose on the right, it was rotten and very loose so was no lose.

3 Art's Boulder arete, near Glanekeera

High, hard and remote. Great line though.

4. Line right of Wow Prow, Glenmac

The Wow Prow is the arete in the middle. The other line is the right arete. Very steep very slopey compression from a SS. Very much the modern style. There is a line of seepage in the middle of the face that might interfere.

5. Dyno right of Boat 66, Glenmac

Dyno up the middle of the face. Starts on a shit hold and goes along way to the lip to a good jug I think. Rocky landing. Borderline impossible ie. very hard I think.

6. Nemesis Boulder right arete, Glenmac

Just noticed this one when going through my photos. Looks like hard clamping up the steep nose. Mightn't be that impressive in person.

7. Roof below crag, Lough Dan

Long roof traverse. Maybe 15m long. Would stay dryish in the rain. Lovely rock, great holds. Not even that hard. Why am I mentioning this one?

8. White Elephant, Glenamlure

High. Very blank arete. Oh and at least 1.5 hours from the road. Good luck with that.

9. Steep side of Gullyblock

Left arete. Steep. Might be a few holds on the face.

10. Forest boulder, Mall Hill

Deep in the forest above and left of Living the Dream is a nice rounded boulder. The centre of the face doesn't look like much in the crappy photo but it is beautiful. A few decent holds to start and then some very slopey moves on the bald pate. Beautiful. Did I mention the dappled light?

Well that's all I can think of for the moment. If you know of anything else worth mentioning leave a comment. Note nothing in Glendo.

Old article - Nine of the best unclimbed problems in Wicklow

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:34:00 +0000

This is an article I wrote in early 2004 that was never published. I have added updated information in red.

Nine of the best unclimbed problems in Wicklow

This is a list of some of the best unclimbed boulder problems in Wicklow. All are hard most are very hard. That the majority are in Glenmacnass will be no surprise to those who have been there. Only one problem listed is in Glendalough the reason is that this list about the unknown rather than the known and Glendalough is very much the known. All styles of problem are represented long, short, safe, slappy, crimpy and fingery. This list used to be a top ten but John Gaskins climbed the tenth problem (see the news item Darkness before the Dawn) just before Christmas.

1. Glendalough – The Hidden groove project

About a hundred meters above the Fin is a large boulder on the uphill side of which is the groove.

It’s about 16 foot high, the landing is a mixture of rock and grass which will require many pads to make it safe. The start is easy but the top out will be the crux with very technical insecure stemming on marginal holds. One to headpoint maybe?

I believe Dave Ayton did the first ascent of this shortly afterwards. He gave it around 6b I think. It's more scary than hard. A good few pads and a bit of patioing would make it quite safe. I saw Harry Fogg do it quite causually one day.

2. Glenmacnass - Wow Prow

Photo by Dom Green

Maybe not quite as strong a line as the original wow prow in Bishop, California (now named the Mandala by Chris Sharma the first ascentist) but nice none the less. About three fingery deadpoints should see the top in hand. If you prefer steeper more powerful problems there is a very overhanging rib with only the vaguest sidepulls to the right.

Wow Prow was probably over stating it slightly. I'ts a nice line and looks great from a distance but the holds are small and sharp. I think John Gaskins did all the moves ones day but never linked it video on youtube. Other wads have looked at it but weren't captivated. Still someone should get it done. Now the line to its right is a different story, very hard and in the modern style of compression on slopey holds.

3. Glenmacnass - groove left of the Wow Prow

Not that hard as the rest of the problems in the list but a great line. The top section needs a good clean probably from a rope. The first move is a hard fingery slap from sharp crystals to a good hold, a bold upper section leads to a very good jug to on the lip. The landing is quite good though there is a few holes worth avoiding.

Andy Robinson did this a few years after. Called it the Shroud, it's around 6b. Bit highball and the crux is a long reach.

4. Glenmacnass - No Dice

Photo by Dom Green

Not an obvious feature as the most obvious feature is the lack of features. There is one small crimp for the left hand and a vague slopey rib for the right hand and foot. The difficulty lies not in discovering what to do but doing it.

John Gaskins put a bit of work into this one to no avail. I heard a rumour that Barry O'Dwyer hit the top. Very elegant minimalist line but with quite defined holds.Video of John trying it on youtube.

5. Glenmacnass – Andre’s arete

In a bend of Glenmacnass river about five kilometers above the waterfall is a large granite boulder, the Riverside boulder. This large rectangular block with a heather hat has a perfect vertical arete. It’s oft admired as it is prominent from everywhere in the upper valley. Apparently this arete was climbed in the early fifties by a Polish climber who was living in Ireland at that time called Andre Kopczinski. Apparently he didn't even use climbing shoes (this was a long time before sticky rubber or anything similar) just a thick pair of woollen socks. If so this would have been one of the hardest ascents in the world at that time. For the moment though lets consider it unclimbed until we are sure of otherwise.

World famous now as Solidarity. Andy Robinson picked this plum and then fecked off to Canada. You can see the extent of the pool under it before Andy came along with his shovel. Andy was rightly worried that the line would be robbed at the boulder meet and get it done just in time. As for Andre, well it's a nice idea.

6. Glenmacnass - Nemesis

High, hard, long and complicated. The landing is good but boulder is high (20 feet). It will take a particular type of person to get excited about this project as it will take a lot of figuring out the moves, cleaning holds etc. The first move is a tricky slap to a relatively good hold after that there not a huge amount to aim for just the slopey lip and the odd crystal for the feet.

Stupid problem really, don't think it had seen any attention. The arete to the right is the excellent Smokey and Bandit.

7. Glenmacnass – Dice slap

It’s just one hard slap off a reasonable edge to a small crimp with no footholds worth mentioning. Easy if you’re strong enough, impossible otherwise. Not as impressive a line to look at as the others but a cool move.

Visted Welsh was Chris Davies did this at the 2005 meet. Called it Monkey Burger which is one of the worst names I could imagine. There is now a similar problem to the left also.

8. Glenmacnass – The Full Rasher Traverse

This will be a fine endurance outing without any particularly hard moves but lots of them. The Rasher is the traverse of the lip facing the river that looks vaguely like a rasher on its side. The complete traverse starts right on the other side of the boulder going up (and across) one arete down another (a fine problem in itself) and finally across the Rasher itself. The holds are always slopey and never good enough to get a good shake out. One to try after a holiday clipping bolts.

Probably been done by now. Compelling line if you like stamina stuff I suppose. You can see in this video Gaskins causually traverses it before dropping off at the mantle.

9. Glendasan - prow of the Tank

The prow of the Tank boulder above the mining village in Glendasan is formed where the two overhanging faces meet. To the right is 'Darkness before dawn' John Gaskins 8a+ and the hardest problem in Ireland. John used a camming device placed under the boulder to hold his mat in place on Darkness this would be worth doing on the prow as the landing below the sitstart is rocky. A very steep sitstart on some slopey holds leads to the lip after which there is still a good bit of work to do. There are also another two unclimbed problems on this boulder (the face to the left and the crack just to the right).

John did this one at 7c. Great line.

So of the 9 6 are done. The two really worthwhile ones left are the prow right of Wow Prow and the Dice Rib.

Projects: open or closed?

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:07:00 +0000

For years I have been on the look on for the prefect project in Wicklow. I wanted something that would inspire me to train and try and get stronger. So it needed to be steep and powerful, on edges rather than slopers so it wasn't too condition dependent. It needed to be unclimbed as that is what blows my skirt up. It needed to be a few moves which could be worked in isolation as it gets old fast falling off the same move day in day out.

I expected to find it in the Glendo but never saw exactly what I was looking for. Last summer I found it in Glenmalure. Every box ticked. I have sorted the landing, cleaned the holds and tried the moves. And now I'm trying to get a bit stronger before the siege starts.

I'm deeply motivated by it and would love to go on and on about it and share all the photos I have. But something holds me back, I'm afraid that if I told the world that someone would go and climb it. And I want it all for myself.

My attitude to projects always has been that no one owns the rock and if you don't want anyone to climb your project don't tell anyone.

Photo courtsey of Joe Kinder joekindkid.com

In sport climbing there is the principle of the red tag. A climber would clean and bolt a line. While working it she would leave a red tag on the first bolt to indicate that it's a work in progress and other climbers should stay off. Considering the time and expense of equipping a sport route this seems fair enough. The question is: how long is the equipper entitled to before she has to open the route up to others?
Red tagging seems to be accepted practise but sometime even the heros get into trouble over it. Deadpointmag offered a $1000 bounty on a route Chris Sharma was working. Chris asked them not to. Shortly afterwards a can of worms opened. Read the Deadpoint original piece and then the embarrassing apology.

Josh's defence that as Chris didn't literally put a red tag on his projects or that they were never "officially open" or "officially closed." is bullshit.

"Chris had put the better part of two years projecting the line, and his request for Ethan to stay off it, was between gentlemen"

"...When he realized that Nalle had flown in from Finland on a mission to try the route, he asked Nalle to give him some time to complete it first..."

Anyway. Boulder problems usually require only a small amount of work to prepare them (though there are exceptions) so the issue of finances doesn't come into it. So is it right for anyone to claim a project as their own? One very strong boulderer I know said that if he heard someone was working a problem he would give them a year to get it done before trying it.

The advantage of closed projects is that

It reduces the need for secrecy, people will share information more freely if they aren't worrried someone will go along and do their project.
It encourages people to get out and look for new problems of their own.

Disadvantages

Not all climbers are going to agree with and respect the idea of closed projects and this could cause friction. Also how do you know a project is closed?
It can cause stagnation. There is nothing like the fear of your project getting 'robbed' to motivate you. Plus it means problems wait years before getting done as people drift away from climbing leaving a trail of closed projects behind them.

The best solution is probably one of compromise. The Irish bouldering scene is pretty friendly and most of the active boulderers know each other and the way it seems to work at the moment is that you keen quiet about a project but you expect people to give you some breathing space anyway.

Back of the Rasher

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:42:00 +0000

A very large, wet cave in Sligo

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:44:00 +0000

In 2004 we checked out this huge cave in Sligo, it's near Aughrish Head, I can't remember exactly where but could probably figure it out. The cave was huge, I think you could fit a few double decker buses in it but it was soaking wet. It was clear though that the rock was incredible smooth and rounded limestone, the walls where step banded with slopey breaks. If (and it's a big if) it ever dried it would be amazing, probably bigger than Gravity with beautiful rock and a perfect sandy landing. Photos are Kev Cooper's.

2011 review

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:13:00 +0000

Stephen McMullan posted a good retrospective of the Irish climbing year on climbing.ie.

From a personal point of view my highlight was finishing the guide in January and it selling well. I have a small pile left and it sold loads more than I had expected/hoped. For the first few months I barely dared look at it for fear of finding mistakes and only focusing on the elements that could have been better. But with the passage of time I can now happily leaf throught it with considerable satisfaction. The icing on the cake was probably getting shortlisted for Banff. Thanks to all who bought it and to those who haven't what are you waiting for?

The guide and the arrival of Gravity must be the two biggest events on the bouldering scene. Gravity seems to be doing great business and must surely breed a whole new crop of boulderers/climbers. It's definitely going to have a huge effect on the competitive climbing scene, starting kids climbing young and getting them strong. How all this will translate to rock climbing remains to be seen.

My goal for the year was to concentrate on new problems which worked out pretty well. The exploring on the Wicklow coast fed the rat somewhat but it is probably destined to be a estoreic enough bouldering area however next summer might see some route development I suspect. A few visits to the Upper Glanekeera valley yielded some excellent finds which add to make a decent remote area. Must get a few things climbed and then do a topo. (posts 1,2,3). Also finally explorded Camaderry properly, I now have a pretty good idea where the really good stuff is.

The standard of Irish bouldering definitely rose this year. Partly due to the co-ops and partly just a younger generation. I would suspect more > 8a's (I know the ' is technically wrong but I think it's clearer than 8as) were climbed in Ireland this year than ever before.

The cave in howth was in great nick for a lot of the summer and loads of new links were done. John Howard also ticked the whole cave which must be one of the most impressive feats of the year. See below for the updated topo - of course it's not as simple when you actually stand there and try and find a problem.

One of the very last parts of the guide I wrote was the outro. It got me thinking about how much bouldering there is out there, I have always believed that there are some major areas to be found. But a day in the pissing rain in Caha Mountains pretty much convinced me I won't find it in the Cork/Kerry mountains.

Anyway. Thanks for reading and keep commenting. Will write a post tomorrow about plans for the year.

Blog future

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:45:00 +0000

Not sure what the future for this blog is. I have been trying to post general interest irish bouldering stuff and keen away from logbook style things. Trish's blog which seems to be very popular is logbook style but its done well so maybe I could do some of that stuff but try and do it well. Or should I start another blog for that?

I have recently embedded it on the theshortspan as a temporary measure while I figure out what to do. I would like to update theshortspan more next year with news and short articles and maybe keep the more niche personal stuff on the blog.

Would be very keen to hear suggestions on how to do it?

Yoga

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:38:00 +0000

I don't even really believe in yoga.

Glendo on Christmas Eve

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:24:00 +0000


Jeff wearing a right arm chicken wing, left arm palm and a double knee bar. Fleece models own.

Good session in an almost mint Glendo. Lots of people around. Warmed up on Big Jim in the wind. Did a good problem on the uphill arete of the riverside. Starting just R of the top of Barry's Crack move left on lovely slopers and either slap up - what I did - or reach into the top of the sidepull problem.

Went to try Squamish but I had to conceed to the damp. Diarmuid was showing us his pet problem Midge Too Far (best thing about it is the name) and Jeff - the genius man - spotted that the classic chimney offer potential for a horrific journey into the through it bowels. We immediatly got stuck in, I think you can safely say we, literally got stuck in. The archaic and deviant world of chimney and slot bouldering is one that appeals to my dark side. It's truely 3D climbing, using your whole body to best effect, and its also a style where determination and fight really count. After 3 goes I was goosed. Knees were skinned. This is a body pump quite unlike the class in Westwood on Saturday morning that my friend Paddy is such a fan of. Jeff and fought hard but lost to a technical knockout. Jeff who lives in Italia 90 won't be back for a while but I will. Once I fashion some neato knee pads.

For the record the sequeeze goes something like this bridge, squeeze, painful knee bar, sore arm bar then chicken wing, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar,painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, good slopey foothold, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, painful knee bar, ear then who knows but probably something involving painful knee bars to the top.

On the way out we saw a beautiful dead trout lying beside the river.
Then I made the lads go home.

May 2010 - Inishmore photos

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:09:00 +0000

Went to Inishmore for the May 2010 bank holiday. Got great weather and got to visit The Wormhole and do some exploring. My goal was to get a few shots for the guide note the lines. Was going through the photos again today and thought it would be worth posting up a few that didn't make the guide.

Poll na Peiste is a great little bouldering spot. As clean lines as you will find anywhere. The rock is pretty smooth for limestone but still have some friction. The landings are perfect.

Shortest day of the year over

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:41:00 +0000

The shortest day of the year is just about over, finishing in some style with a good sunset. So every day from now on we get about a minute of extra light.

Scalp

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:44:00 +0000

Went to the Scalp this morning with Tim. Was good conditions, cold and a breeze. My skin was crap and I remember that the climbing in the Scalp while powerful is very sequency and beta intensive, its quite possible to NEARLY do problems sub optimally. Warmed up on the arete beside Plank Arete. Powerful. Then on to Gen Tilly which is a fine problem. We then walked to the garage and got coffe which we brought up to Switch and drank before trying the left arete. Must be the only crag where you can get coffee between problems?

Glanekeera part 3

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:22:00 +0000

Revisited Glanekeera today with Michael and Chris. I was hoping for sunny and cold but it was more damp, icy and cold. The wind was strong and cold in the Wicklow Gap carpark and I wasn't that optimistic about getting much done. Which was a pity as the last two visits (1 and 2) were more focused on exploring and this time I wanted to climb a few problems.

Went straight to the tire boulder which was sheltered from the wind but damp and icy. Michael cleaned the hard line on the back and him and Chris tried it but conditions were crap. I tried the warm up that I had trouble with last time but it was manky - didn't stop the lads though. Then did a pointless variation. Checked out and cleaned another boulder and then went to the big fella.

Michael had added and cleaned a line on the left a week or two ago and we build a little landing and he got to work. It looked very nice and very hard and I think we where all a little surprised when he did it in about 6 goes. It took a few goes to figure out the reach over the bulge to a bad sloper and a few more sloper moves and a dicey mantle lead to the top. Its a great problem on great holds up a massive big boulder. Chris videod it but missed the start. Grade is around 7b/7c I'd say but conditons where bad so it would be hard to say.

Glanekeera is a nice spot. Remote but not too far a walk. The rock isn't the cleanest but there is a good few nice new problems to be done.

Updated blog

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:51:00 +0000

I updated the blog and have embedded it onto theshortspan.com.
Let me know if you think that was a clever idea?

Article about Gravity in the Sunday Business Post

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:52:00 +0000

I wrote an article for the SBP about Gravity.

Glenmalura explora

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:55:00 +0000

Spent the day in Glenmalure. Revisted the line I found during the summer. Often these things aren't as impressive on second viewing but this was. Its a great line. Quite indoor in style, 25 to 15 degrees over on quite distinct holds either incut edges, large sloper or slopey edges, around 12 hand moves so quite long. I did a bit of patio-ing, cleaned the holds, tried the moves and then chalked the shit out of it to try and clean it. Going to leave it for a month or two, keeping training then come back, ideally with a spotter and another pad or two.

Checked out a huge roof clearly visible from the road. Impressive but too tall to be a problem and a bit scrappy to be a route.

Then went up the valley to check out some very white looking blocks. Long walk up but I had Sherlock Holmes for company. There are about 6 boulders with potential only one was of interest but it was pretty nice. Furthest from the road. Best way to approach would be on a bike but it won't be easy. Tried a few problems on it, will be 2 easy ones, a lovely tricky traverse, a nice medium problem, a v hard line and an amazing dyno. On perfect Mall Hill rock.

Spotted a few other boulders on the walk but left them till next time. One of them was your standard granite blob but it had a very thin diving board, about 6+ foot long jutting out of one side, mild bushwack. Oh and a large, overgrown but also overhanging crag!

The perfect boulder problem?

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:13:00 +0000

From www.westcoastbouldering.com

For my money Spectre in Bishop may well be the perfect bouldering problem. Having said this I think there no such thing as a perfect boulder problem, and as such the only problem with Spectre is that it is 8b instead of 6b.

Only line up a huge boulder. Steep hard start on beautiful slopers up an smooth wall. Tricky moves to turn the lip and highball finish. All you could ever want.

Check out the vid. Bit of an ad for 5.10 but shows the problem well.

Where is the adventure in bouldering?

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:43:00 +0000

My climbing is moving focus at the moment. Though I'm still very interested in bouldering I think I will start doing more routes especially multi-pitch i.e. the kind of climbing that would be considered adventurous.

Climbing isn't fundamentally adventurous. No activity is. Take driving a car, at one end of the spectrum there is nipping to the shops, at the other, I don't know, driving across siberia in my piece of shit Polo. Or in climbing terms toproping Paradise Lost versus soloing a new route on a big wall in Antartica.

I looked up the definition of adventure cause thats what you do. Here it is

"An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome."

Not very satisfactory for me its lacking something about pioneering or isolation. Adventure isn't just about risk taking nor novelty. Anyway.

With the world mapped and well enough trod there is no new, only new to you. Which should be enough for most people. I link bouldering and exploring/searching for new boulders unextractably. The physical side of it holds less for me but I do get it. Walking around wondering what around the corner, hidden in the hollow or over the ridge is exciting. Usually turns into disappointment but that's just the way it is.

I suppose adventure is wandering around outdoors and whether you have a pad or rope or kayak on your back is secondary. So if you don't think there is any adventure in bouldering you are just doing it wrong.

A few more photos from Gravity

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 10:03:00 +0000

Gravity Climbing Centre is OPEN

noreply@blogger.com (davo) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:52:00 +0000

Visited Gravity today. Its incredible, absolutely massive, cavernous really. Huge variety of angle and lots of beautiful little details such as tapering undercut running across the change of angle in the slab and walls with multiple triangular platforms. When I think of the time that was spend bouldering on the steep board in UCD, it seems a bit ridiculous. Those days are over now though.

I hope that Gravity will turn into bouldering HQ and it will be a great place for climbers to climb and socalise. It feels more like a bouldering venue rather than a wall, the potential is great problems is staggering. Its also really tall so it going to suit climber looking to get a stamina edge as well.

The purpose of the visit was to talk to Angela and get some information for an article in the Sunday Business Post, they sent out a photographer and we got some savagely cheesy staged photos.

I haven't been to a climbing wall for just over 2 years but I had no hesitation joining up there and then. See you there.

I took a video to show what I'm talking about.