IMC visit to Malin Head September 2024

The forecast was poor to dire. Even worse, there was a 2 day  Rave at the Seaview, so no climbing and no sleep either.

Margaret Quinn and I joined them on Saturday, at Port a Doris.  It rained on the way down but miraculously stayed dry pretty much all day, though it was windy.  We did a route on Toby Jug Wall, then Crack a Toa.  The exit still isn’t nice on this jem of a route, and consensus is that a bolted lower- off, (maybe 2 to cover the other routes) would be the answer.  Also, beware old abseil stakes, one of which fell to bits at the top of Toby Jug Wall.  There are Titanium bolts there now.  A welcome pint in Rosatos Moville followed.

On Sunday the forecast was better. At Malin Head David Walsh(Snr) had already put up ab ropes, so climbers were already active when I arrived at 10.30.  I was teamed up with Elaine by Phillip, and did Carbolic Crack, then Cutting Edge, but the seas were so big we didn’t ab down to the bottom.  The 100m ab rope had got washed into the sea and jammed, so it has been abandoned by the IMC, and we can have it.  It needs an ab to the bottom cut the rope and retrieve the rest.  Good condition, so it is!

We went to Malin Laundry East, where I volunteered Elaine to lead Niamh’s Route.  It was lethally slippy, and fair play to her for getting up it.  Niamh’s vengeance? All the routes here were wet and greasy from the sea spray.  We had coffee at the van and the parting of the ways.  All seemed happy with the weekend.

On Friday, Jack and I climbed Ballyharry Buoy.  Needed a bit of a clean for a photoshoot