Keeping Busy Not Climbing

On the weekend I went to Dalkey early Saturday morning for the first of two days training for the S.P.A (Single Pitch Award), a rock climbing instructor qualification recognized at every single pitch crag and indoor wall in Ireland and the U.K. It was a fun weekend, I found it very informative, it re-inforced things I already knew and I also picked up many skills and tricks I had not already come across. Jane Carney was the instructor for the course and she was dead sound and really helpful. The training cost 180 euro. I recommend the course to anybody who is relatively new to climbing, it is much safer, in my opinion to learn the basics of rock climbing rope skills from a professional than to pick up random pieces of  second hand information every time you go to the crag.

Everyone Busy Learning Anchor Techniques

Now that the training is complete, I have to gather experience for a minimum of 6 months logging 50 or more climbs and 20 or more observational sessions with other S.P.A holders,l after logging all of these climbs and sessions I can go for my 2 day assesment. The weather was gorgeous in Dalkey on the Sunday. The bushes were ripe with plump blackberries. When the course was over I strolled around in the sun gathering a big bag of the fruit for smoothies ... mmm bushcraft smoothies :)

Blackers

On Tuesday I headed over to Connemara to visit my good buddy Calliam who works at The Killary Adventure Center. That is one beautiful part of the country. We went for a paddle in the sea-kayaks around Ireland's only fjord. It was lashing rain and the rain hitting the sea water was trippy looking. We saw a huge jellyfish floating along. Sea kayaking is very relaxing and I want to do more of it. In the evening we went for pints of guiness in Leenane. Good craic was had !!

Killary



The next day we went for a drive to Assleigh Falls. Great big salmon were leaping from the river heading up stream to breed, A few fishermen were out and about skillfully casting their lines. I caugth a glimpse of Carrot Ridge, Seventh Heaven on Ben Chorr, two fine mountaineering routes I hope to climb soon, they look absolutely amazing. As we drove around the valleys the mountains were savage looking, Calliam told me tales of hikes where he has spotted potential huge boulder fields off in the distance. I would be very surprised if there wasn't a big hidden bouldering area around somewhere. The sooner I get back to Connemara the better :) Happy climbing folks !!

Fisherman Chillin' Like A Villain