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northfacejohn |
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Re: Emply Crag at Glendo |
19 Jun 2012 18:25
# 3 |
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Sunday was a great day in Glendalough – warm, with some blue skies and no rain. The absence of midges would have made it a perfect day. Though, I guess, machismo rock climbers who are prepared to risk life and limb dangling from a few wires over never-ending precipices shouldn’t be too concerned about a few midges out on their Sunday picnic.
Again, John [Duignan] was the perfect mentor and climbing partner.
I led my first Glendo climb, by leading ‘Expectancy’. It felt like Dalkey’s ‘Paradise Lost’ in technique but the mountains setting gave it an extra dimension of thrill and fear.
Next, John D led ‘Cracks on the Garden of Eden’ with the fluidity of an Olympic gymnast. This route is characterised by cracks, off-balance stances to leverage the cracks and some very committing dynamic moves. The pitches on this route consist of hanging belays. For newcomers, a hanging belay, as the name suggests, is when you are literally hanging by a few anchors on the side of a rock face while belaying your partner.
This route was at the top end of my comfort zone, and I couldn’t imagine leading it myself. “I would be surprised if you weren’t leading this next year,” says John D. I doubt it very much, but still, this is the type of encouragement and motivation that I really appreciate and that what makes climbing with someone like John D such a positive experience.
We finished the day on Lassitude. “You’re going to love this one”, says John D. Looking up from the ground, this route looks really formidable. The main route is straightforward enough, but the last meter is an overhanging rock, which has to be climbed by some maneuver that I haven’t encountered before.
With John’s guidance it was actually a lot easier than it looked. There is a dynamic move technique at the top, which once committed to, does work a charm.
This route is one that I feel I could have a go at leading, maybe before the end of the summer and maybe with a few more practice sessions at “Gravity climbing wall”.
Overall it was a great day. I had a great motivational partner, did my first Glendo lead, seconded technical interesting routes, and did some hanging belays. What more could one want.
Is there anything that I would change? In the future, I think I would bring a good insect repellent with me. I’ve been told that a body lotion product called “Avon Skin So Soft” is a little known secret that works wonders for keeping the midges at bay.
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http://northfacejohn.com/
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Re: Emply Crag at Glendo 
