A Day In The Bog

Blessington Lakes

No doubt about it lads, no matter what they say, there isn't a better day out than a day in the bog !! Ther's lads jettin' off to places, jettin' off boulderin' to the likes of Fontainebleau and Albarracin ... they'd be better off boulderin' in the bog lads !!

Seductive Shadow

Meself and J had ourselves a day in the bog, it was November 1st and extremely oddly it was a summers day, blue skies all about and the temps were up to 20 degrees celcius, I never seen the likes of it !! We spotted a boulder in the distance that looked like it might be the new Rebel Wall, a dark shadow formed by an overhanging block in the middle of a jumble of boulders seduced me into a 35min uphill hike ... upon arrival the stone was too small :(

Glendasan

''What will we do now ?'' says I, ''Go to Glendo I suppose'' ... nah, it was too hot and we felt like a new adventure and some more exploration so we decided to trudge bogward to an isolated boulder rumoured to have a classic techy dyno on it. The boulder looked too small and insignificant to have a decent problem on it, until we got closer ...

Astral Glide 6C+ ??

When we squelched our way up close enough to the lonely boulder we were pleasantly surprised and found a neglected classic of a problem, Astral Glide, the top holds were covered in lichen, we set about dusting off the old gem so we could get stuck in ...

J-Mo dusting off an aul forgotten classic

Beautiful Wicklow Bog Landscape

We tried the problem for well over 2 hours, it was tough and definitely not 6B as it was originally recorded, its a class technical dyno, you take a decent crimp in your right hand, step on small footholds and reach up to a slopey pinch high on the arete, its hard to hang this hold so ya try to squeeze the juice out of it, then you paste your feet up on nothings and leap for the top, which is a slopey dome and its a far ways away !! A beautiful line in a stunning Wicklow bog location, we reckon its about 6C or 6C+ and we can't wait to get back to it ...

Bros / Beasts

We got some other mileage done at Glendasan, J quickly repeated So It Goes 6C the classic dyno and So It Goes Right 6C+ and I did Cold Feet 6B+ for the first time, a lovely squeeze, compression fridge, a classic at the grade and well worth seeking out. I had a lovely mileage day with Joaquin too, we warmed up on the starting block, did the lovley unamed crimpy 6A+ on it, then we strolled over to the King's boulder to do Christ's Crux of Friction 5+ and The King's Arete 6A+ and we finished off on the mega-classic St. Kevin's Slab 6A+. The problems in Glendasan are all spread out but they are all beautiful unique things, it's a class area !! :) We are still waiting for the cold weather to arrive and its mid-November ... madness !! 

Cold Feet 6B+