The wrath of the midge

'Glenmalure it is' read the text I received this morning -

Met Paul Hynds and Barry about an hour later and we headed to 'Ballinafunshogue Boulder' - Barry talked it up in the car and I thought - how good can this boulder actually be?!

When we arrived, and only seconds from the car, I was met with the sight of an epic block that looked like it might have been plucked from Fairhead - There is a picture of the boulder in the guide, however it's difficult to decipher the sheer scale of the block from it... so here it is - in context!

Three mega problems -

Big Boots (5+)

The Scratcher ss (6c)

Kinky Reggae (6c)

Big Boots (5+) is the weirdest problem I ever did - so utterly imbalanced and on the edge and yet is probably correct in it's grade despite spitting us all off a good few times!!

Barry did it with a crank from his left hand on this little hold and then a rock over - I did it with my right hand on that hold and turned my left hand to a mantle and rocked over from there -

Paul on 'Big Boots' (5+) ... The weirdest problem ever!

We moved on around the corner to The Scratcher (6c) and Barry sent the stand start first go - the sitter was over grown mostly with ferns. Paul looked comfortable and sent it a few attempts later, however the mechanics of it didn't come naturally to me and I was left a bit stumped as to what the big issue was!!

Barry took a go at Kinky Reggae (6c) and pieced together the moves nicely - He took a quick rest and I hopped back on The Scratcher - Barry gave me a little extra beta about foot placement in the opening sequence and it worked - sent the problem and was chuffed!

Second attempt at Kinky Reggae and Barry sent the line. Having watched him on it, I couldn't wait to give it a go - it's epic!

The moves are at ranges I'm not used to - especially this reach far out left to a gaston- type crimp I couldn't really see - the move from there is super tenuous - especially in today's heat and though I stuck it a few times, moving my right foot up to the next hold was too much of an ask and I came peeling off over and over again -

Barry doled out beta for the next 2 hours or so while myself and Paul worked the problem, but the same move over and over again left my shoulder in ribbons - and Barry suggested I try the end moves.

What a head trip! - I didn't think of the fall while doing the moves the first time, I pulled on, moved up left and crossed through, but was at a loss as to what to do next and came careering off the top and made a good chunk of the hill fall away as I fell down onto the boulder pads below!!

Hit by an insane rush of adrenaline I couldn't wait to get back on it - however, though it didn't occur to me when I was trying it for the second time, that fall must have been playing on my mind cause there was instant regression and I was happy enough to walk away!

What an epic boulder in the prettiest of settings, a couple of yards from the car!!

It should be noted that the wrath of the Wicklow midge was up full throttle today... We had taken measures against them using Barry's repellent, however the stuff was only applied to my face neck and arms ... The first thing I did after I put on my boots... rolled up the ends of my trousers... Those airborn irritants may have destroyed my ankles, but they didn't take anything from this perfect day.