Thanks to all who came out to Moorhill Quarry last weekend. Good session and many routes climbed. We soon warmed up and the sun even appeared for a bit. Old hands were getting back into the swing of things and newer faces were getting some of their first trad climbs/leads/abseils in. There were also some impressive bat-hangs on display. Hopefully get a few more sessions like this over the next few months.
2022 Membership Year
Intro
Whilst the evenings may be darkening there’s certainly not anything dark about this time of year. Mountaineering Ireland has once again allowed early sign up so that you get more bang for your buck. Likewise, Belfast Climbing Club has matched that offer and if you sign up now you’ll get 1 year, 1 month and 7 days for the price of 12 months 0 days (expiries on 31/10/2022). Bargain. As the honest chap I am, I didn’t calculate that, I had to google it.
If that sounds better than a buy one get one free on a family pack of Tayto and you just want to sign up, click the button below. If you’re unsure and want more details? Read on.
What’s in it for you?
Well, aside from the free belays, banter and copious uses of the word ‘nice’, ‘go on’ and ‘you’ve got this’ whilst you’re twisting your hips in ways you never felt possible, we feel that we’ve quite a lot to offer:
Belfast Climbing Club Benefits
Access to a large (we had the strongest member count ever this year!), varied and friendly community of climbers of all abilities and backgrounds
Belfast Climbing Club branded clothing (and umbrellas, if you want, I got one)
Access to Henry’s Cottage in the Mournes at a discounted rate for members (£5 pmpn)
Member only WhatsApp group
A club backed by an enthusiastic member first committee (look at those smiles!)
Stickers for your car, helmet, notebook, you name it
Mountaineering Ireland Benefits
The Irish Mountain Log, delivered by post to your home address
Discounts in all good outdoor shops and a variety of other related retailers
Civil Liability and Limited Personal Accident cover insurance policy
A personalised membership card
A committed staff team to provide advice and information
Access to training schemes and awards for hillwalkers and climbers
Access to Mountaineering Ireland Training Grant schemes
More here
So, what’s the craic?
We have three membership types on offer, so if you have your own insurance we have a spot for you! They are:
All In
This membership type comprises all of the benefits outlined above, best of both worlds if you will, from Belfast Climbing Club and Mountaineering Ireland. We’ll even do all of the hard work for you, we’ll complete your affiliation with Mountaineering Ireland on your behalf.
Existing MI
Ah, you’ve already signed up with another club with Mountaineering Ireland? Don’t worry, even if we’re not you’re number one we’d still love you to be a part of our community. With this membership type you’re already a part of Mountaineering Ireland thus we’ll sign you up as a direct Belfast Climbing Club member so that you can avail of our benefits and link your MI account with BCC!
Bring Your Own
So you already have insurance that you want to make the most of but still want to be a part of Belfast Climbing Club? Well, you can! If you have insurance with a recognised external mountaineering body such as AAC or BMC etc then why don’t you sign up?
Let’s talk money
Belfast Climbing Club’s membership fee is £10 and dependent on the membership type applicable to you and your age will vary the price you pay. The information below outlines the ins and outs. Unfortunately due to Pound/Euro fluctuations, prices are subject to change for All In membership type.
| Type | Age | Belfast Climbing Club | Mountaineering Ireland | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All In | Under 23 | £10 | £18.45 | £28.45 |
| Over 23 | £31.50 | £41.50 | ||
| Existing MI |
Under 23 | N/A | £10 | |
| Over 23 | ||||
| Bring Your Own | Under 23 | |||
| Over 23 |
Please note that we can only accept memberships from individuals over the age of 18. Not to worry, we have a sister club, Belfast Youth Climbing Club, and they can be contacted here.
You drive a hard bargain but I’m in!
Awesome, that’s exactly what we like to hear! Head on over to join.belfastclimbingclub.co.uk and follow the prompts. The form will guide you and dependent on your answers it’ll direct you to the membership type that’s suitable for you. That’s all there is to it, we’ll take care of the rest.
Interested in knowing the nitty gritty? Here’s the process in the fine detail.
Once you sign up we will be notified that you want to become a member (yay!) and to standby for your payment
You will receive an email confirming how much you owe and the details by which to transfer your payment
Once your payment has been received, for your membership type, we will:
All in
Add your details to the Mountaineering Ireland member portal
Transfer the portion relating to the affiliation cost of your membership to Mountaineering Ireland
Once your membership card is received post it out to you
Existing MI
Add you as an associate member to BCC in the Mountaineering Ireland member portal
Bring your own
Verify the membership evidence you provided as part of your registration
Update your membership outlining you’re the best Belfast Climbing Club member
I’m still unsure
Not to worry, don’t hesitate to reach out on membership@belfastclimbingclub.co.uk.
2021 AGM nominations and Constitution Changes
The BCC is due to elect a new committee for the upcoming club year (October 21-September 22). The 2021 AGM date is yet to be confirmed, however it is time to start with nominations.
Please use this link for nominations: https://docs.google.com/.../1nKgarw2RImciR5M8CO3b.../edit...
Who can vote? Any (paying) BCC member can nominate & vote
Who can be nominated? Anyone (although climbing experience is welcome :)). Nominees do not have to be current BCC members (but are expected to be fully paid members when taking on Committee roles).
Can I nominate more people? Absolutely. Nominate as many as you like. You can also nominate yourself (this is more than welcome).
I don't really know what roles are there. There are currently 8 "core" roles plus ordinary committees (the number of these is not restricted)., Have a look here for more info (or just ask me): https://www.belfastclimbingclub.co.uk/committee
All roles are voluntary and require some level of time commitment and enthusiasm. You'll be rewarded with a free access to top belaying partners, unfiltered banter on Discord, and the warm fuzzy feeling you get after a good climbing day out with the BCC. What's not to like!
Constitution Changes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YiLi3YSRdZKoP5-iuTWouQkztY4vPpsF/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103013502169131412064&rtpof=true&sd=true
The following link has proposed changes to the BCC constitution (in red at 5.2), which will be voted on at the AGM. These changes are to do with the nomination and voting structure of Committee positions.
BYCC Youth Climbing Taster Day, Altnadue Quarry
Youth Climbing Taster Day, Altnadue Quarry
Are you a family who currently climbs or would be keen to take part in climbing and would like to be part of a club in order to meet like-minded families and develop your participation in the sport?
Belfast Youth Climbing Club is a family friendly club which aims to facilitate and encourage children and young people from the greater Belfast area to participate safely in climbing. Club Membership is open to young people aged 7 to 17 and their parents/carers. At least one parent/carer must join along with their child(ren).
Membership is £11.50 per child and £35 per climbing adult. Reduced rates are available for non-climbing adults and/or those with existing MI membership. (KF to finalies)
As a newly established club we wish to invite families from the greater Belfast area who are interested in joining the club to our taster day on Sunday 26th Sept at Altnadue Quarry, Castlewellan 2-4pm. We will have fully qualified rock climbing instructors with us and there are climbing routes suitable for everyone so even if you have never climbed before why not come along, meet the Committee members and have a go at some outdoor climbing too?
Participants must register prior to attendance by following the link below.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/taster-day-altnadue-quarry-tickets-168811693319
Places are limited and available on a first come first serve basis*.
Please come ready for a few hours outdoors.
The event is free and climbing equipment is also provided.
*Should you reserve a place and then discover you cannot attend, please notify the Club in order to make the space available for others.
Mourne Mountain Climbfest
When MI contacted BCC at the start of 2021, asking if we wanted to host a meet in the Mourne Mountains, we were thrilled at the opportunity to showcase the climbing in this rugged landscape. We had been keen to show off our granite crags since shortly after the inception of the club in 2017, however, events had conspired against us. Then I realised as meets secretary it was probably my job to plan it! Thankfully our President, Jamie and Cottage Secretary Rónán stepped in and suggested we team up and share the work between the three of us.
Our first thought for our base for the meet was the BCC cottage aka “Henry’s Cottage”.We then thought that 30 or more campers might quickly become a little too cosy, not to mention social distancing…We found a local farmer, Gerard Sloan, who was happy to loan us the use of a field with a water supply beside it; we had found our campsite.
The Campsite on Gerard Sloan’s Farm
We had 2 great days of climbing - almost. On Saturday we went to Lower Cove where the rain kept trying to wash us off, however we persisted. Unfortunately, it also persisted and most of us called it a day by 4 pm. Most of the attendees choose to come to Lower Cove with us on the Saturday, however, a contingent from the Colmcille Climbers ran a casual half marathon through the mountains. As we arrived at Lower Cove with a group from Dublin, we saw the early birds already climbing at Second Corner (Damien on the most neon ropes I have ever seen) and First Corner (Nicky, touring around Ireland in her van for 6 weeks, for some reason…) on some of the classics - Gynocrat and First Corner. My climbing partner Eva, and I, decided to head to Second Corner and warm up on a 3 pitch route called Cumulus (VS), however, after the second pitch the rock was starting to feel rather damp and we called it a day.
First Corner at Lower Cove
Kyle from BCC spent a lot of time falling off Short, Sharp, Shocked (E4, Second Corner), I believe he was experiencing a different climate to the rest of us. Shane from Dublin did Agag’s Wall (HS, Third Corner). There were climbers everywhere, it was a nightmare for a girl to pee…
We had a relaxed evening on Saturday night. Alistair lit a fire in his BBQ and Marie and Shane from Dublin produced marshmallows and skewers and we happily toasted marshmallows. Eva, from the Czech Republic, had never experienced this before, so we taught her how to perfectly toast a marshmallow. There were some conflicting opinions on this matter, ranging from setting it on fire then blowing it out, to melting it, eating a bit then returning it to the heat to melt some more.
Left: Kyle enjoying… something. Right: Shane on Agag’s Wall
On Sunday we sent Alistair as a vanguard to Meelmore Lodge to have words and sort us out with some prime parking spots. We proceeded up the Trassey Valley, making a few stops. The first stop was Spellack where Forest View Buttress was a popular choice. Nothing to do with the 20-ish minute walk-in, I’m sure! The second stop was the Bearnagh slabs, where Rónán and I and the Colmcille climbers had decided to spend the day. After doing 2 routes and scaring the pants off ourselves on a VS called Peter de Bernac we thought that was quite enough and headed back to Meelmore Lodge for coffee and buns!
The group at Forest View Buttress were enjoying the sunny weather and slightly less slabby routes of this area. Although it seems like the Mournes granite is a fickle mistress and ‘interesting’, as a result, similarly productive days were had by many.
Forest View Buttress at Spellack
Altogether the meet was a success, despite the weather’s best attempts to dampen our spirits. On behalf of BCC I would like to thank everyone who joined us at the meet, it was wonderful to meet so many new people and share our love for climbing in the Mourne Mountains. See you all in 2022. I would also like to thank the Volunteers: Alistair, Rowan, Nicholas, Seamus, Robyn, Eva, John and Kyle and Damien from MI for his support and bringing Guidebooks. Finally, this would not have been possible without Jamie doing the IT work and Rónán, who knows a guy for everything!
Ozone Club Times are Restarting!!!
Yes, you read that right, we are finally coming to be commencing the Thursday Ozone sessions again, after over a year of not doing them! (for reference my hair was still short then). However, you will have to pre-book a session and pay for it online. There is a max of 20 people per slot and they are at 90mins each. For our usual club time, there are 2 slots that run over these times:
1845 - 2015
2015 - 2145
First you will need to download their app and create an account, this website has a link to download it and instructions how to register an account:
Figure 1
If, like me, you don’t have membership with Ozone you can just create an account as a non-member. Once you have done that, leave your ‘Profile’ section and go back to the Ozone’s ‘page’, it looks Figure 1. You can then click ‘Book climb wall’ and select your time slot. Once you have done that, it will take you to a check out page, at this point I entered the barcode on the back of the card that Ozone give you for signing in and it allowed me to proceed with the payment and everything. Now the system might be dodgy because they apparently updated their system so I don’t know what this is going to be like for everyone. You should receive an email confirming your booking and a barcode within it.
With that done you turn up to Ozone and scan the barcode within your email and they will check you have booked in. Sounds straight forward, probably is gonna be a bunch of issues at first for a lot of us.
Hopefully this helps and we can climb indoors with ropes again!
Gola 2021 - club trips are back!
Club trips are back!
Gola, with Errigal in the background. Photo: Robyn Scott
For the first time since November 2019 we were able to do a multi-day club trip. And where better than the spiritual home of Belfast climbing but Oileann Ghabhla (Gola Island), Donegal - a one-mile-square lump of pink granite steeped in history situated off the coast of Bunbeg, Gaoth Dobhair. On what other Atlantic island will you find a Marian shrine, a 9/11 memorial, a memorial to the Irish Revolution, and a Suzuki Jimny with the keys left in it that the owner allows you to use?
Although the last permanent residents left Gola in 1970, the island has quite a lot of life about it in the summer these days with summer camps, daytrippers, climbers and walkers. There is freshwater piped from the mianland and the holiday homes even mave mains electricity.
Gola was were we held the very first club trip in 2017 and is a very special place to a lot of club members, some of whom have been going there for more than 10 years.
Ten club members met up at the busy pier of Machaire Gathlán and boarded Sabba the ferryman's boat, loaded with provisions for 5 days off-grid. The crossing is short and Sabba made life easier again by offering us the use of his Suzuki to help transport kit to the campsite on the far side of the island, whereupon we set up camp and headed straight(ish) to the Inland crag to round out the first day.
A social day at Easter Wall
To the bemusement of some hardened Gola regulars who fully anticipated an authentic wilderness experience the island is now even equipped with portable loos which appear to be emptied on a regular basis. Much to the disdain of said old hands, this led some first-timers to eschew the delights of Gola's natural flushing loo situated at the end of the beach ("sh*t creek") and opt instead for the blue plastic opulent delights courtesy of PolyJohn of Indiana, USA.
Lisa at Machaire na nGall
The beach, with the campsite just out of view on the left. The “creek” is on the right hand end of the beach. Photo: Robyn Scott.
The weather was on the whole kind to us. Gola often remains dry while waves of cloud wash over the nearby mainland, butting up against Errigal and the Derryveagh Mountains before emptying on the good folk of Gaoth Dobhair. This famed microclimate leaves more opportunity for shredding your fingers on the unusual pink granite of these Donegal islands which manages to be both gripy and slippy at the same time, and always feels a bit greasy from the maritime humidity. This makes everything feel hard and gives climbers what they secretly most want - an excuse for subpar performance.
Rowan belaying at Gripple Wall
We had 5 days of exploring the sea-side and inland crags of Gola, one particularly highlight of which was a day where the full party climbed together in the sun at Easter Wall on the southern peninsula of Maol Mór. Evenings were spent running round the island, swimming in the sea, by the fireside and socialising with other climbers from Cork (who had been to Henry's Cottage recently), QUBMC and another ex-QUBMC-adjacent group from Belfast who have been to Gola every year since 2009. Mike told tales of his time as an English teacher in Siberia, Rónán quoted passages from a book about Gola he found on the shelf at home, Chris built an extravagant and popular cooking setup out of an old lobster pot and a hole in the ground, Chemie walked up routes that more experienced climbers struggled on, and everyone forgot about the virus thing for a while. Everyone agreed on an excellent trip, and we won't leave it 4 years until the next visit again.
Go raibh maith agat Gabhla - until next time.
Rónán on Asgard. Photo: Neil Dickson
Gabhla galánta. Photo: Robyn Scott
Birthday BBQ 2021 Trip report
The BBQ through the eyes of the first (un)official BCC crag dog:
They told me there were pigeons
Ha! I was on an adventure and it was AWESOME! My well trained human put me in the small moving thing which takes me to cool new places and so we went. I looked out the window and there were many interesting things happening, although for some reason I was not allowed to sit at the very front and get cuddles from someone who seemed to be controlling this moving thing. How rude.
Then the moving thing stopped and I heard something about pigeon, but I didn’t see any birds, just a big hill which was really fun to walk up.
On the top of this hill, there were many new humans with strange metal items and for reasons unknown to me, they were climbing up some rocks.
Waiting for the cuddles
She did not seem to like me but I liked her
I was attached to one of these rocks, which was pretty neat as I received many cuddles and one unsuspecting human even gave me her banana when I did the eye trick. Awesome. I heard much clinking and saw that my human was also climbing up this rock, which made me a bit worried so I barked a shouted at her to come back. She came back eventually but then she climbed the same rock again, which confirmed my opinion that humans are strange. There was also another dog but she did not want to be my friends. Anyways, other humans made all of this better with more cuddles.
Humans and their strange interests
My first sleep over
We then walked down the hill and back into the moving thing to a place with a nice garden and many funny smells. My human started a fire and then cooked a lot of food which wasn’t for me, so I decided to have a nap on the blanket and waited for her to wise up and finally feed me. Luckily, she also dropped a sausage on the grass and for some reason (???) did not want to eat that one, so it was handed to me in return for sits. Other humans ate all the food and then consumed some beverages, which made them smell funny and talk loudly. They were all very nice to me so I didn’t mind their loud noises and just used their laps as my human pillow. The humans then built some tiny houses and disappeared inside. I heard some scary noises, so I decided I must protec!!! But they did not like my barking and my human put me into our own little house, which I found very cozy.
I woke up the next day and saw these humans walking around drinking steaming beverages from a cup. They put away their tiny houses and put me back in the moving thing to a place called spellack. I wasn’t sure what spellack was but was hoping it would be food. It was more rocks. My human escaped me in a vertical direction again, so I tried looking for her after wiggling the strange metal thing which held me in place. I tried climbing the same rock as she did but the attached leash and the metal nut shaped item held me back. Sadly a guy called Kyle run back to me and ended my adventure. This Kyle guy (followed by someone they called Jamie) then moved up another rock they called the War horse, but I’ve seen no horses about. Just some sheep. Being bored from the lack of food and horses, I went for a nap in the sun.
No horses about, just these guys Kyle and Jamie talking about some War horse (E4 6a).
My human then took me home and I slept a lot. Awesome adventure, just hope that next time my human will bring even more snacks and drops more food on the floor.
Lower Cove Trip Report
To celebrate the end of lockdown rules that stop us enjoying the outside as a club, the BCC headed off to Lower Cove, in the Mournes, as our second climbing trip of the year. It was very successful, with 15 people (and not a single person more) turning up to participate. We also had a good split of faces, ones I’m tired of seeing and some new ones that was a great pleasure to greet.
Lisa arranging gear before the crux of 'Kram'. Photo: J. Roberts
Our meeting time was at 1000 at the Carrick Little Carpark, and no one was totally late. After making sure we had all the gear we needed, since the hour long walk to crag was something I personally wasn’t going to do more than I needed to, we headed off and I’d forgotten how quickly the walk ins felt when there was a good bunch of people to talk to. Once we were next to the crag, Lisa (Meets sectary extraordinar) organised climbing partners, the more experienced partnered off with the less experienced at similar levels. Little did my (un)lucky climbing partner know that they were in for a hell of a day.
Two groups on ‘Half Corner’ (Left) and ‘Munching Mandy’ (Right). Photo: R. Scott
Rónán leading ‘Dot’s Delight’. Photo: M. Mccracken
Most of us decided to head to the first corner, where a lot of the good quality easier routes are at; however, I had forgotten much extra effort it was to get up there. After sweating through my base layer, I asked my climbing partner, Mike Mccracken, what his experience was and he said seconding at VS was the most he had done. To test his ability, and totally not for me to get used to climbing on Mournes granite again, we did the lovely VS ‘Kram’. To my surprise Mike cruised it easily, since it has quite a bouldery crux. Next we tried ‘Krammed’ the slightly harder and not well protected line next to Kram. Saying that I managed to protect the route very well with my biggest and smallest cam in parallel and even informed Rónán of this, who, after he’d climbed the route, politely let me know I was full of shit. Anyway, Mike struggled at first with the more technical crux, but once again got up. I later learnt I had misheard Mike and he had actually said the hardest he had LED was VS, which meant I knew I could push him a lot further! After we did ‘The Great Treacle Sponge Robbery’ (best name ever) I decided to get scared on ‘Left Arete’ (not as good as a name) and finally finished off Mike. Luckily he said he had had a great day out, so I didn’t have to feel guilty for essentially torturing a person.
That was my account, but we were all mostly climbing at the first corner and everyone looked like they were getting the most out of the day. We all left at separate times during the day and I ended in my car before it started pissing it down. Hopefully the people still at the crag didn’t get too wet; however, I never asked.
By Jamie Roberts
Lisa on something, busting a move. Photo: J. Lau
Kyle and Jenny topping out of ‘Aristocrat’, I assume. Photo: Chris Craig
Kyle and Jenny, also busting a move, on ‘First Corner’. Photo: R. Davison-Kernan
Rónán and Chris also on ‘First Corner’. Photo: J. Roberts
Rónán drawing his climbing strength from his surroundings. Photo: J. Roberts
Kyle leading ‘Meat Grinder’. Photo: J. Roberts
Climbing Trip Dates
With the easing of lockdown we are now delighted to announce some preliminary dates we have for climbing trips this year. These dates could vary due to weather/lockdown rules/etc, but hopefully they won’t! Currently, we have a cap of 15 people per trip and, as usual, we will have a sign up form, which will be posted here and the Facebook group nearer the time of the trips. So, without further ado, here are the dates:
-8th/9th May - Moorhill Quarry Day Trip
-22nd/23rd May - Lower Cove (Mournes) Day Trip
-12-13th June - BCC 4th Birthday (Mournes)
-10-12th July (The 12th Weekend) - Gola Island (Donegal)
-30th July-2nd August - Mourne Mountains Climbfest
-11-12th September - Fairhead Weekend Trip
-9-10th October - Mournes Weekend Trip
Also lookout for some improve day trips we might be having around these dates, hopefully the weather will be good!