The Sunny South-East

(by Gerry Moss, June 2012)
A pleasant day’s climbing at Ardmore.

With the weathermen giving the thumbs down for climbing on Saturday in Glendalough, and having already made our contribution on the first beginners’ weekend, we decided to escape the east coast and head down to Ardmore in Waterford, where more favourable conditions were promised. Mind you, driving down through the steady rain early Saturday morning, it looked like we were pushing our luck.

But Ardmore came through, as per usual, with the rain clearing off just before we arrived, and it turned into a very pleasant day, with such good sunny spells that one could almost be lulled into thinking that summer had arrived at last.

We abbed in to the foot of Ardmore Head and did a few routes, and Joe, on his first visit to this particular spot, added another one to the pot – a nice, delicate slab climb.

Although the winds were light, the sea, in the aftermath of two stormy days, was running a heavy swell, leading to some spectacular sights and sounds as the waves thundered against the cliffs. But the rock below the Tea Flag was dry as snuff, a pleasure to climb on, and Niamh took advantage of the good conditions to notch up a few leads.

A grand day out, and no rainwear needed.
Far from the Madding Crowd …

(by Gerry Moss, May 2010)
A day on the sandstone sea-cliffs of Ardmore.

Having sampled the delights of the Mournes the previous Saturday, this time we elected for a trip down south to the seacliffs of Ardmore.

For Barry and Padraic it was a first taste of the delights of these sandstone cliffs, so we concentrated on some of our favourite areas. The violent seastorms of last November had swept away a couple of climbs but, thankfully, the delectable corner of "By Memory Inspired" was still intact and as enjoyable as ever.

Then, it was on to Basecamp Buttress, where Padraic tackled the delicate traverse on "The Mason’s Apron" with poise and aplomb.

We watched with bated breath as he made the airy moves, and the tension can be judged by the way Joe is clutching nervously at his nuts.

Every cripple has his own way of walking, and every climber his or her own way of proceeding. But it has to be admitted that being on the short side can sometimes make life more difficult.

Finally, we visited The Capstone Buttress, an area that can be approached either by abseil or back-climbing, two skills essential for would-be alpinists.

With the Lake District Meet drawing ever nearer, everyone was keen to get in a few leads, and why not?

Finally, I’m happy to report that, unlike last week, the boring job of checking participants for clean underwear before allowing them back into the car went without incident.
Headmasters

(by Gerry Moss, February 2010)
A day of climbing (with some new routes) at Helvick Head, Co. Waterford.

"When the wind blows from the east, it’s good for neither man nor beast".

And when it blows from the northeast it’s even worser! So, last Saturday, in an effort to escape from the cruel winds, we headed down south to Helvick Head, just beyond Dungarvan. We, in this case, being those two doyens of academia, Joe and Herbert, plus muggins. With the new Waterford by-pass in operation, our journey was that much simpler (six minutes from Rhu Glen Hotel on the New Ross side of the city, to where the old road is joined, just beyond Kilmeaden, on the Dungarvan side of things).

While we didn’t shake off the winds entirely (now and then a keen blast would come sneaking around the headland), we had pleasant sunshine and dry, solid rock.

These two lads are around long enough now to be let loose on the sharp end, so we polished off a few routes to get the feel of the place (it was Joe’s first visit, Herbert’s second). Here’s Joe on Pippin, VS 4b:

And here’s Herbert on Young, Free and Single, V. Diff:

It was then agreed that it was high time for the two of them to get their names on the scoreboard, so we went scouting for possible new routes.

Here’s Joe on Chickie’s Lament, HS 4b:

And this is Herbert on Pre-Valentine, M.Severe:

Two good additions, and there is room for more.

All in all a good day’s work.

Lady Elizabeth’s Cove (aka The Pier) – Bouldering Guide

(by Jade O’Connor, December 2008)
Bouldering at Tramore, Co. Waterford.

Directions

Coming from Waterford City, follow the main road into Tramore, leaving the beach to your left, and continue straight through the town climbing steadily. After approx 1km from the beach you will come to a tiny roundabout surrounded by retail. Turn left here onto Cliff Road.

Continue for a few metres on Cliff Road before veering left to a small slip road. Follow this (Pier Road) downhill to the cove.

Parking by RNLI / Cliff Rescue Centre or on the pier itself. As you walk to the right pier wall you will notice a few steps cut into the cliff. Climb these over the sea wall and descend to the beach and bouldering.

Location notes

The bouldering here is tidal, and generally accessible upto an hour or so either side of high tide under average tides and calm sea conditions. Please be aware of your environment and make educated decisions on the day’s suitability for this location.

On the plus side the tide only laps the face of the rock and the beach drops steadily away from the cliff meaning it’s dry and ready to climb quicker than you’d expect. Although all the problems here are of low grades I think this is a reflection of my ability rather than the rock itself and I’m quite sure a good boulderer will add many harder lines.

Moving from right to left, Sector One provides the best of the bouldering with excellent quality overhanging rock and super smooth limestone slab under golden sand. It’s also the first area to be affected by the tide so a good place to start.

Sector One left

1	Myxomatosis	f4+	One foot on the sidewall and jug your way to the top.
2	Lady Lunge	f5+	Match hands on triangular flake and move up till under overhanging block.
3	–	P	Follow vertical seam to triangular incut and possible jug finish.
4	–	P	Obvious crimp/side pull mid-way up, but where next?
5	Motion Carried	f6A	Work the corner crack till you can move left, reset your feet and match hands on ledge to complete. (Possible SS to this problem)

Sector One right

1	The Silk Run	f5	(Eliminate) Start on open sloping ledge, climb and mantle using only hand holds on left of golden marks.
2	–	P	Start and continue up most left vertical white seam line and top out.
3	Waterfall	f6A	Start to the left of the white line described above, move up in the corner on slabby ledges and finish on the top arête (avoid the lower jug on the left or use it and downgrade the problem to f5?)

Sector Two left

1	Queen’s Seat	f3	Series of pulls on obvious flakes to top.
2	Disrememberized	f4+	Start at most undercut point, find your feet and easy Egyptian, continue to higher ground.

To the right of these problems there’s a heavily-featured slab of easy (ungradeable) climbing.

Mini cave

Of the two small caves in sector two, this one is in the middle, the smallest and set furthest back from the sea.

Cave

f6B

SS, match hands on undercling, feet on right wall, then reverse a bit on big jugs and move up the outer lip carefully to easier vertical ground. A superb problem.

Sector Two right

1a	Should I, Could I, Would I?	f4+	SS using free-standing fin on left to start, and top out on triangular point.
1b	–	P	SS same problem eliminating left fin.
2	In Your Face	f5	SS and layback off obvious crack and mantle.
3	White Spider Actually	f5+/6A	Start in middle of wall and climb vertically through large incut jug (short but nice sharp holds).

The Cave right

There’s some more potential problems here but beware of friable rock.

Steps

As you come down the steps off the pier there’s a manmade project literally under your feet, a small barrel section jugged and ready to go for the strong and willing (photo above).

Jade working her problem – Lady Lunge f5+ (left) and Motion Carried f6A (right)

Dany working his problem – Waterfall f6A (left), Cave f6B (right)

Guide notes

This is my first attempt at grading problems and compiling such a guide so please take it all with a pinch of salt and make up your own minds. Having said that, my reason for putting this out is to hopefully save you some of the hours I’ve spent driving around searching for decent rock and hopefully start a worthwhile resource in the South East. If you have an opinion about the problems listed or others to add please email me that we may build on this starting point.

Many thanks to Dany Sekyra, Katarina, Tim Sacklin, Laura Harper and Conor Doherty.

Jade O’Connor. December 08. v2.0
jadearama@gmail.com

Find the PDF version here.

Catch as Catch Can

(by Gerry Moss, May 2009)
Climbing on the sea-cliffs at Ardmore, Co. Waterford.

A wet and windy May fills the barns full of hay, so it’s not all bad news then. With the weathermen promising iffy weather almost everywhere, we heeded their advice and headed for the sunny south-east – the sea-cliffs of Ardmore in Co. Waterford to be exact.

Having to abseil down overhanging rock to reach the foot of the climbs always adds a little frisson of excitement to the proceedings, and a brisk wind, making for a lively sea, further enhanced the situation.

The rich hues, rough texture, and jumbled architecture of the sandstone sea-cliffs all combine to produce some very atmospheric routes.

While the rock is generally sound, storms can wreak changes to all cliffs exposed to the onslaught of the waves, so caution and careful attention is always needed. An incoming, boistrous tide added a sense of urgency to matters as the day wore on, particularly for the second.

The sea-pink and kidney vetch were in full bloom; the upper rocks covered in vivid patches of lichens; we were surveyed by seals, serenaded by choughs and entertained by the aerobatics of the gannets. We had no rain and even espied some patches of blue sky.

All-in-all, a very pleasant day.

The Sunny South-East

Far from the Madding Crowd …

Headmasters