Report by Eva Kočicová
The autumn trip to Glendalough is surely becoming a classic for Belfast Climbing Club, with this weekend marking its third anniversary. While choosing to go in the middle of October sounds like a recipe for a cold and wet fiasco, the club kept up a positive spirit and were rewarded with some stunning weather.
Walking in to Glendalough (photo: Owen)
On Saturday, we decided to make the most of the sunny weather by leaving the hut early. Aimee and Niall opted for a walk up Lugnaquilla, while the rest of us headed towards Glendalough. Andrew and Eoin decided to go bouldering and Alistair, Eva, Jamie, Kyle and Owen continued toward the main face. Eva (seconded by Alistair) led pitch 1 and 2 of Prelude, finishing on Scimitar Crack (HVS 5a), after getting slightly lost and diverting from their originally intended VS variation. Meanwhile Owen and Jamie did alternate leads of Sarcophagus (HVS 5a). Jamie and Owen than continued to the Expectancy slab, where Owen led Lassitude (VS 4c) and Jamie did Stray dog (E1 5b). Kyle and Eva did alternate leads of the Spillikin Ridge, with Kyle leading the (E3 5c) second pitch. As the sun started setting and the t-shirts started coming back on, we made our way back to the cottage.
Kyle on Sarcophagus (photo:Owen)
Once the fire was lit and whisky poured, it was time to start telling stories. A cold autumn wind was rattling the windows, bringing to mind the thoughts of Halloween. Eoin then regaled us with the tale of his encounter with the Phantom of Glendalough. Below is the full story as witnessed by Eoin.
“After a productive morning bouldering, pitting skin, chalk and dignity against foes such as ‘Big Jim’ and ‘that other really slabbly one’ the call of adventure welled up within us. Myself and my companion Kenny stashed our bouldering mat and embarked on an epic journey to conquer the hills of Wicklow. As we were nearing the top of the Spinc, we realised that it would be quite a long walk back to the mat, so we cut our journey short and started to return from whence we came.
As we turned, something on the other side of the valley caught my eye. At first, I wasn’t sure of my own eyes, but I could feel some strange force compelling me to look closer. I thought to myself it must be a cave, a shadow, or a rock. But no. Upon further examination, the figure started to move back and forth slightly. There was no way a living human could be standing on a moderately steep slope, in the middle of Ireland’s premier bouldering area. And then in moments the figure was gone. I only had time to take one blurry pixelated photo with my phone, but it was all the proof I needed to convince the world of the existence of the Phantom of Glendalough!”
However, as none of us were quite convinced by Eoin’s low-resolution picture evidence or his arguments about the improbability of a living person standing half way up a cliff (which is what some of us literally did earlier that day), we could go to sleep without worrying too much about being spooked.
Sunday was slightly too wet for climbing, but ideal for a lazy morning of biscuits, tea and coffee, followed by a scenic walk around Glendalough. Altogether, it was a relaxed weekend in a great company, and I am sure that we will be back again next year.
Eva topping out (photo: Owen)
Glendalough (photo: Alistair)