Trip report compiled by Josh T with contributions from Mike M, Ashley L, Jamie R and Michael B.
Trip participants: Josh T, Vicky W, Ashley L, Louisa S, Jamie R, Manfei Y, Michael B, Callum Y, Sevan H, Stephanie B, Liam D, Kyle S, Mike M.
17th-19th May
Friday Evening at Muckross Head - Josh T
With a surprisingly dry forecast for the weekend, Sevan and I raced out of work on Friday to meet Callum for a few evening routes at Muckross Head. Despite a chilly breeze Callum and Sevan capably dispatched leads of Morning Glory (HS 4b) and Boho Dance (S 4a) before a less successful attempt of Cois Farraige (VS 4c) from myself (I’d be back…). Louisa and Ashley joined to soak in the sunset, bringing leftover chips from Killybegs which were extremely gratefully received! As the light faded we headed back to the lovely Derrylahan Hostel to meet the rest of the crew.
Josh on his nemesis, Cois Farriage Photo credits: Callum.
Saturday at Malinbeg - Mike M
‘Right, so up at 7am then and away at 7:30’, I suggested. In hindsight, I think because I was only there for one day I was afraid I would not get enough climbing done. How wrong was I? In any event my 07:00 breakfast got negotiated down a bit though I think we were on the road by 8:30.
Left: Mike leading Carrig Una. Right: Sevan on Calvin’s Corner. Photo credits: Josh.
We soon arrived at Malinbeg and made the rather short walk to the one of the many climbing areas - Neptune’s wall. I led Carrig Una, a 2-star Diff., hard for the grade in the opinion of the UKC voters. Solid, great warm-up, confidence building. It was fantastic to see Ashley do her first outdoor trad lead on it straight after. Smooth and confident, she smashed it. We jumped on The Bosun’s Ladder next, a 3-star S 4a classic that I had spotted the last time I was there. I thought it was too wet and slippy that day. Not this time. This proved to be a great wee climb, not sure its memorable enough to give 3 stars but it was fun. Sevan and Josh were climbing close by on Shaky Rigging and looking anything but shaky. They cruised by while waited on the ledge for Sevan to get well above. Another wee run up Carrig Una on second and it was time for a snack and then round the corner to the Hulk Wall. I really enjoyed this climb, climbing on excellent holds with tiny gear and a strenuous final move over the top. Fab! After a couple more similar routes on this wall, myself and my climbing partners were starting to get tired and decided to head over to join the rest of the gang at Muckross. The guidebook sums up my experience of Malinbeg perfectly: “The sea cliffs at Malin Beg provide a very attractive combination of good clean rock, easy access, and as this corner of the county sits far out into the rain shadow it sees a lot less rain than the uplands of Donegal. The routes are short, mainly in the lower grades and consequently a rather relaxed atmosphere prevails”.
Saturday at Muckross - Michael B
Left: Some bad rope management by Vicky on Headland Right: Jamie on E2?. Photo credits: Louisa & Callum.
The day began with a cool and cloudy morning, perfect for an invigorating start to our climbing adventures. Upon arrival at the sea cliffs, we were greeted by a pod of dolphins, a delightful start to our day at Muckross. An exciting addition was the presence of the Coastguard, who welcomed Callum and Michael at the top of their first climb, ‘Froth’. Michael and Callum enjoyed watching Jamie and Kyle tackle some challenging moves on an E2 5c route called ‘The Cabbage’. Inspired by this, Callum and Michael took on Micky Mouse, an E1 5b, with Callum leading and breezing to the top.
As the afternoon progressed, the rest of the group joined us and we continued the day under the beautifully warm sun. Sevan almost earned a new nickname, ‘Mad Dog’, for contemplating a swim in the Atlantic, though he ultimately decided against it. Perhaps the name ‘Mad Dog’ should go to the local climber who down-soloed ‘Flake Out’, a 13m Severe, on which Sevan and Mike were topped out. Apparently, for him, this was the ‘easiest way down’!
The successes of the day included Manfei’s first lead on ‘Definitely the Beach’ with Vicky seconding. Callum, on his 5th or 6th climb, sent his first E2 , “The Importance of Being Elvis” [editor's note: malicious rumours of it being E1 are unfounded], and completed 8 routes in total.Other highlights from the afternoon include Louisa’s superb effort seconding up ‘Nuts and Berries’, an HVS 5a route and then Josh’s return to tackle and successfully lead ‘Cois Farraige’, an 18m VS, which had eluded him the day before.
We wrapped up the day's climbing around 20:30, close to sunset. After packing up our gear, we headed back to our hostel for a well-deserved rest and more planning for the following day.
Sunday at Malinbeg - Ashley
After a nice lie in, the second day at Malin beg started with a lot more sunshine! While Michael and Manfei chatted to the local farmer about our climbs, the rest of the group wandered south of the tower to the keel slabs. While there were some nice V diffs to practice leading, the abseil in looked very committing, and we would’ve needed to have a hanging belay. This would’ve been quite intense for our group of newbie trad climbers, so we decided to head back to the main crag.
Multiple ascents Photo credit: Louisa.
Michael started the day off strong with his lead of the Bosuns Ladder, with Kyle racing him on the route just to the left-Shaky Rigging. Manfei ticked off her second trad lead with ‘The Hulk’. Still looking to get a few climbs in after her run up Sliabh Liag, Vicky jumped on ‘Jib’, a VS with a daring overhang but with spectacular views. Stephanie managed to avoid the green puddle below ‘David Banner’ to a finish with a strenuous pull up to the top. Ashley got her first Severe lead with Anger Management, the start was a breeze but the last few metres were barren for any gear placement. As our day was slowly coming to an end, a friendly rock pipit followed Louisa up Bosuns ladder.
Sunday at Sail Rock - Jamie
The sun rose in Donegal, and the climbers with it, a few hours later of course. Due to Sail rock being a small crag with only two doable routes, the Sail rock team was small and originally included Kyle until I expressed my interest in going and changed to me, who was now the responsible one for the group…joy. In addition to me, Callum, Josh, and Sevan were also heading to sample the magnificent climbing of Sail rock, also Vicky wanted a lift to run or something.
Left: Sevan abbing into Sail Rock. Right: Jamie leading Roaring Forties. Photo credits: Jamie and Callum.
Callum and Josh decided to tackle Main Mast (E2 5b/c), while me and Sevan decided to do Roaring Forties (VS 4c). The rock was f**king baking, with no clouds in sight. Sevan had brought a small bag down with him, which I was most grateful for since drinking water made the 3-pitch route in the sun a lot more bearable. I was in shorts and a shirt, of course Sevan was shirtless. To Vicky and Kyle (I know you are reading), after now doing the actual first two pitches of Roaring Forties, I can say it is a lovely climb, unlike the dumpster fire we originally did, f**k that shit. Sevan led the last pitch (the best part and hardest pitch of the route) and considering it was his first VS lead, I was very impressed. We both eventually got to the top and met (a very dehydrated) Callum topping out of Main Mast, another very impressive lead being Callum’s first ‘proper’ E2 lead (shut up Kyle, it isn’t E1) and Josh (also dehydrated) followed suit soon afterwards. I don’t know if the plan was originally to just do one route and then head home at a reasonable time, but everyone non-verbally decided to do each other’s routes.
We all abseiled down to the incredible basin of Sail rock, Callum and Josh setting off up Roaring Forties, and me and Sevan deciding it best to wait in the sun while another other party was progressing up Main Mast. Talking to Sevan, I learned that he has a life threatening allergy to wasp stings, to which I replied, ‘glad I know that’, to which Sevan said, ‘I thought I already told you about it?’ and I uttered, ‘probably, but I’m glad I know it again’. After baking in the sun for too long, we made our way up Main Mast (lovely and shady now), while Callum and Josh got up Roaring Forties (still in the sun). All tired and satisfied, we started packing up for the journey home, except for our local Mad Dog (Sevan), who seemed more hyper than when we started, decided to walk to the viewpoint (further up from the carpark than the crag), then came back shirtless, and then decided he wanted to run back to the visitors’ carpark instead of driving down. Never I have I meant someone with so much energy.
Anyway, we got back to cars and headed back to Belfast and arrived at about 2300, work was not fun the next day. Interestingly, Sevan never did meet us back at the visitors’ carpark and we didn’t see him again. I’ve heard people say that on a clear night, when there is a full moon, you can sometimes see a Mad Dog running across the hills of Donegal, never stopping.
Video credit: Concerned member of the public.