The Mournes

I finally made my 1st trip up to The Mournes in county Down. Ming was looking for a partner so we quickly formed a plan for a camping trip to The Lower Cove crag. I didn't really have any expectations about the climbing, I was pleasantly surprised, it was some of the finest granite I have had to pleasure to interact with. Lots of slopey ledges, long juggy lay back cracks, smeary footwork on the best friction I have ever come across, just really nice, technical and well portected climbing in a beautiful  rocky mountain setting. There are crags left, right and center !! The midge here are a most formidable foe, waiting for any slight break in the wind to feast upon your face and get stuck in your eyeballs, I recommend a bee-keeper's suit for midgey belays.

Mournes Magic

 The walk in was very tough. I was carrying a full camping load and the walk was very long, never very steep but a good few kilometers of good rolling trail. It was taking it's toll on my legs and body, thankfully Ming offered to carry one of my ropes, thanks dude. When we got to the crag we quickly set up camp and got straight down to business. Ming hopped on the classic easy line Pillar Variant S for a warm up, it was a nice long pitch of juggy flakes and slopey ledges in a fine position, a must do for any climber operating at this grade.

Next I hopped on First Corner HS, a similar but slightly harder climb, I was feeling good after a weeks rest from climbing and I was starting to enjoy the style and movement of the rock, it is quite similar to the granite of the Three Rock tors in Dublin. Next up Ming hopped on  a great 3 star E2 around the corner. Ming is great little trad climber, highly efficient and a good decision maker, he spent the day dancing up E2s onsight and I had a blast following him up them. Of the 2 E2s we did first  I got 1 of them clean which I was delighted with, Meat Grinder E2. The second one was Overdue E2 and I would have had that one too only the crux reachy move was a little too fingery for my injured finger and I was afraid of causing another strain / tear. We took hardly any photos all day as there was only the two of us and we were far too busy climbing.

Ming With The Guidebook Out Crags All About



My goal for the trip was to onsight a HVS. I picked out a savage looking crack line, 30 meters pitch with a steep start. Gynocrat HVS 3 stars. Just as I was about to get up on it the rains moved in, so we waited it out in a little cave and after it stopped it took no time at all to dry up. I racked up and hopped on, I got really pumped trying to sort out gear at the start, the crack was flared and wouldn't take a good nut, so  I had to back climb with difficulty to a nice heel rest ledge and get Ming to throw up his black diamond mini cams so that I could place those and move foward past the overhangs to the sweet juggy lay back crack above. After this was a nice cruxy move and onto some easier nicely protected climbing. The finish to the route was a class traverse, leaving the gear well behind, moving rightwards on flatty holds and smears. It was a brilliant line and I was delighted with meself for the onsight.

I was knackered after this climb and I flailed my way up the last E2 of the day Les Jeunes Filles En Jupes D'Etat E2. It was a steep wall full of jugs and pockets on a gorgeous golden / orange overhanging wall, The East Face, a sublime intimidating piece of granite goodness. A totally different style to what we had been climbing all day, I couldn't believe that granite could provide such a line, it looked and felt like a limestone sports route from Thailand !! I quickly passed out in the tent exhausted and we woke up to find our tent surrounded by a battalion of midge and then it started to rain so we packed up and legged it. It was a quality days climbing at a fantastic crag in a gorgeous quaint mountain setting with excellent varied styles of climbing and I will surely go back for more :) Happy climbing folks !!