DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - The Mountaineering Council of Ireland have organised the Spring Meet once again, and it’s being hosted on the 17th and 18th of May in Glendalough Wicklow.

The all important bit is what’s arranged:

Saturday
Arrival (Glendalough International Youth Hostel) and Registration 09am to 10:30am
A range of all-day Hillwalks departing 10:30am
Climbing (for experienced climbers only, information on where to climb available at registration)
Dinner in Glendalough International Hostel from 6.30pm
Night Walk 9pm

Sunday
Dawn Chorus in association with Wicklow Mountains National Park and Birdwatch Ireland 5am – 6.30 am
Leave No Trace Awareness Workshop 10am - 1pm
Introduction to Climbing 10am - 1pm
GPS Training 10am – 1pm

Registration has to be in by 2nd May and all details can be found on the MCI website here.

As part of this, they’ve also organised a Youth Meet.

This is to offer young people a chance to go hillwalking, climbing or bouldering.
The event is aimed at young people who have some experience already, but would like to build on their skills. There will be experienced MCI volunteers on-hand throughout the day to give advice and guidance.

The meet is aimed at young people aged 15-18, and is also open to under 15’s who are accompanied by an adult.

to book onto this, check out the MCI page here.

Image Credit: Andy Kelly on the boulders of Glendalough.

- Neal :) -

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - Last weekend saw an invasion, not from those Welsh rugger types, but in the form of 100+ climbers who descended on Dublin for the Irish Climbing Intervarsities. This year the competition was hosted by DCU, with the bouldering element taking place at their college wall and the leading section in Westwood Sports Centre in Clontarf.

The route setters certainly made things interesting for the first day by putting together some tough problems. The competition followed the format of the Irish Bouldering League but one problem broke from this by allowing as many tries as the competitors desired. This longer problem proved very popular, only seeing one clean ascent on the easier beginners version and another close miss on the advanced version. The day ended with good point separation between the females and with the points very close for the males with the leaders in Male A, Female A, Male B and Female B being John Orr, Joan Mulloy, Jason Slevin and Deirdre Cormican respectively.

The leading competition started a bit behind schedule, partly due to everyone feeling a little ropey (yes I did just say that!) after the mandatory night out in the Turks Head the night before. John Orr started the second day off with an impressive clean ascent of what turned out to be the hardest route for the day, a feat no one else would manage to achieve. Jane Gallwey missed the first day but after a great performance on her two leads pulled herself up into 3rd place in Female A. The four routes for the day were enjoyed by all, with many people eager for a second try once the competition finished. The two advanced categories top three were left with comfortable leads once the final scores were added up, with the beginners categories still being close.

After the first day QUBC were ahead in the overall club scores and on the second day they managed to slightly increase their lead to win the Irish Climbing Intervasities for the second year running. They received the first prize of a boulder mat along with the trophy/gravestone which I’m sure they’ll enjoy having to carry back up to Belfast, although there was some complaints from the members that had to carry it down on Friday.

Overall the competition was a success and everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves. We’re all looking forward to next year in Limerick! Of course none of this would have been possible without our sponsors Berghaus, Patagonia, Specsavers, Great Outdoors, 53 Degrees North and Brennan’s Bread. We would also like to thank all our route setters and our volunteers from Westwood Fitness Club who put in a lot of their own time to make this competition possible.

Of course no report would be complete without the results so I’ve added them below. The complete results are available here.
For anyone who was involved and wants to get involved in a discussion on the event, don’t forget TGU boards, or else hit the forum on said topic on climbing.ie!

• Male A - 1. John Orr (QUBC), Damien O’Sullivan (TCD), 3. Richie Sandes (DIT)
• Female A - 1. Joan Molloy (NUIG), 2. Mary Moloney (GMIT Castlebar), 3. Jane Gallwey (TCD)
• Male B - 1. Jason Slevin (QUBC), 2. Colm Shannon (UL), 3. Owen Largey (QUBC)
• Female B - 1. Deirdre Cormican (GMIT), 2. Jade O’Mahony (NUIG), 3.Barbara Bracko (DCU)”

- Stephen McGowan & Ailish Grennan -

(Image Credit: Jonathon Mullen & Nicole Quinn)

KILDARE, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) -
I’ve been holding out on this post for as long as I could, mainly so that the final news would be of a completed wall!

UPDATE: If anyone is interested in the development of a new, large wall here in Dublin, Ireland, do let me know in the comments below, or comment in this forum on climbing.ie….

In short, an post and email was sent out in early January by Michael Duffy. I could write it myself but the words themselves say it all:

As you already know the lack of decent indoor bouldering facilities in Ireland is appalling. Until decent training facilities exist it will be impossible for people to achieve the high climbing standards seen in other countries. In Wicklow alone there are countless high calibre problems still to go, and to be blunt, we do not have the standard of climbers (as there are no facilities) to climb them. Over the years numerous home boards have come and gone, with the only reliable facilities being the universities, and these are a joke. As is our weather. I did more indoor training last summer than I climbed outside. Training is a year round thing.

A space has become available in South Dublin which is ideal for housing a bouldering venue. Taking the School Room in Sheffield as an example, a group of people share responsibility for what is essentially their wall. A co-op, where everyone has an input.

With the aim to “achieve the high climbing standards seen in other countries”, this venue would be open to 25 climbers (first-come-first-served basis) to join and use. Well, since then, all I can say is a) thankfully I’m one of the original members, and b) the wall has exceeded all expectations in setup!

Wall info and setup:

Just to give an idea of the setup and organisation, this is just a piece of the design plans. Yep, architect’s drawings of what, even on paper, looked like a serious bouldering wall.

To give an idea of the setup, the wall currently (more on this later) four different (all overhanging) angled walls: a 10-degree, 20-degree, 45-degree and a 20-to-60-degree curved barrel. The wall is about 4.3 metres high and each wall is two panels wide (almost 5 metres wide).

Two photos that might help give an idea of size (it’s big!):

I mentioned the ‘current’ setup. Future plans also include a campus board and the addition of a a roof. This will be about 70-80-degrees overhanging and about 5 metres tall. It basically runs the length of the roof up in the loft at the end of a room (can’t be seen in the photos). Wow.

For anyone with time and interested to see photos of the build, here’s a great time-lapse video of the construction by Tony Rooney:

Also, check out photos here (by Fatboy) here (by post author, Neal), and here (photos by Steve McMullen).

Costs:
Steve McMullen puts it well

Yeah we had holds donated for use from a few folk and we bought some really nice stuff off Pat Nolan/King Kong Climbing Walls.

The budget for this little project for the first year of operation between rent on the building and materials is approx €17500 so that gives you an indication of what level of commitment the members have and that doesn’t do justice to the innovation of the couple of folk who came up with the ideas and momentum in the first place or the bloody hard work of the folk who spent the long hours building it.

Finally
My own thoughts on this? Honestly, this is one of the best things to happen in Dublin regarding climbing in years. Fair enough, it’s only a wall but it’s a serious location for training and inspired by the Schoolroom (link to Moonclimbing - Ben Moon being one of the climbers that seems to have benefited hugely from the facility) bouldering wall of Sheffield which also seems to have played a part in the increase in standards in the UK. It can only push the boundaries and standards of Irish climbing levels. I personally, am expecting to see big improvements from the use of this! From the group of people turning up also, I know I’m in for a serious ass-kicking as my primary focus in route climbing so am well off the strength levels of the boulderers!
On a side note, having seen the interest in this wall, any arguments about the room for a full-scale private wall in Dublin have been negated. To say that there were only 25 people interested would be seriously wide of the mark!

UPDATE: If anyone is interested in the development of a new, large wall here in Dublin, Ireland, do let me know in the comments below, or comment in this forum on climbing.ie….

Image Credit:
Upper photo by Tony Rooney, copyrighted. Collection from here.
Photo of architect’s drawings taken by post author.

- Neal :) -

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - Keep an eye on The Short Span for details of the Irish Bouldering Meet 2008. The Fifth Annual Irish Bouldering Meet will be on the weekend of Friday 29th Febuary to Sunday 2th March based in the I.M.C Hut in Glendasan Country Wicklow.

This is a fantastic weekend for new & international climbers to meet the regulars in the Irish scene. I always look forward to the photography after these meets. Excellent photos always seem to keep coming from Dave Flanagan.

Also see Beardown Productions video of their visit from the UK to the 2005 meet and The Short Span’s Bouldering Guide to Ireland (PDF).

-Robin.

(Image Credit: Three Sponge Bob Square pants walk in on a dinger of a day. Photo by Dave Flanagan.)

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - Neal McQuaid (TGU Blogger) has started a new climbing coaching company IrishClimbingCoching.ie with Nigel Callender.

We are Irelands first and only dedicated Climbing Coaching provider, combining our own experience of top-level climbing with the science of performance and training.

They have a website in the form of a blog and Nige has done a fantastic piece of writing about the delicate balance of motivation. Worth the read to see what a few misplaced words can do…

What is motivation?

Motivation is something very personal and may not always make much sense to anyone other than the individual concerned. In a global sense it’s something that stirs the soul and sends excited shivers through your body, sometimes it’s so powerful that it consumes you - every unoccupied moment is spent dreaming.

At a climbing comp as Junior, Nige “foolishly” revealed a major personal climbing dream route to a well known and respected older climber…

I was told I was being unrealistic and the word ‘never’ was actually used, but I didn’t have the confidence to tell them exactly where to go and so shrugged it off. This one, small and careless comment had other plans however. It stuck fast in my mind and soon - I was consumed, it burned like a fire inside of me.

Nige’s efforts focused on this mere 6 move bouldering problem.

3 moves in I met what was to become my Nemesis… I fell from that move somewhere in the region of 400-500 times.

7 years later and Nige was “locked into” into his long-term project. Success was not far away.

I gave everything to holding the swing, reaching the heelhook and sketching my way to the top of my own Nemesis. The pressure instantly lifted, but this felt different, there were the usual shouts of success etc. but something was missing. Unfortunately motivation is a hugely complex beast. There was no lasting elation, only a feeling of relief.

Video of Nige on Decoy Ploy V9/10 (first ascent) in the Ogwen Valley, North Wales.

Best of luck to both of you, I look forward to hearing the first stories come through.

-Robin-

Amazing climbing, great -and professional - footage, well worth a watch!

Review of King Lines DVD
Rated as 4/5 on Jan 17 2008 by Neal McQuaid



O.k., so it’s Rampage #2 on a global scale. I know I shouldn’t describe it as this, but with another movie from BigUpProductions showing just how good Chris Sharma is on rock, you just get that nagging feeling that no-one would’ve really minded if that’s what it had been called :)
Update: Apologies - for those who don’t climb, Rampage was the first of the movies released by BigUpProductions and for anyone starting climbing in the late 90’s, the seminal movie to inspire for climbing!
So, how goes it? Well, the climbing is outrageous containing footage from super-hard deep water soloing lines in Mallorca, to bouldering in South America, to the hardest routes at Ceuse (involving 3 full dynos!!), to the what-will-be the hardest sports climb in America if not the world. In short you won’t be feeling like you got shortchanged. The footage was all recorded in high definition and with the help of another of the well known climbing-movie producers, Peter Mortimer, it means that the whole film has got a seriously professional and polished feel to it. Seriously, it’s almost too well made - especially as the previous movie I’d seen had been the seat-of-your-pants, UnderDeveloped which has a great home-grown feeling to it.
the movie is essentially a documentary on the life and lifestyle of Sharma - who 10 year non-stop climbing trip doesn’t look like it’s coming an end anytime soon. I suppose we all should feel jealous and miffed towards the guy, but as comes across in the film (and a compliment to the makers), you can’t but not admire what he’s done.

anyway, in short, what did I think of it overall? Well, the climbing footage is outstanding and genuinely inspiring and you won’t be short of motivation after seeing it. Seriously, some of the climbing looks seriously hard - and as usual Sharma is making it look like he’s walking down a path. You won’t be disappointed.
But, and it’s an interesting but, it hasn’t drawn me back to watching it repeatedly like my previous and first experience of Rampage - my original video of this is worn out from use. I can’t explain it but it doesn’t seem to draw me back as willingly as previously. It could be that I’m also out of university now so have more things to be doing that sitting around watching climbing movies all the time ;) Maybe that’s a good thing as it means the DVD might actually last!

- Neal :) -

For anyone looking to pick up yet another quality movie, check this out.

LouderVoice Review Tags: climbing, Chris Sharma, DVD, bouldering

Rate this review at LouderVoice



]]> http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2008/01/review-king-lines-dvd.html/feed http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2008/01/irish-bouldering-league-round-3-20072008-dcu.html http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2008/01/irish-bouldering-league-round-3-20072008-dcu.html#comments Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:55:39 +0000 Neal McQuaid http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2008/01/irish-bouldering-league-round-3-20072008-dcu.html

KILDARE, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - And so the final round of the Irish Bouldering League finished up with a hot final round. Not hot due to the pressure on the competitors, but mainly due to the inability to turn off the heating in the room! :) Still though, with a stunning turn-out (150 people handed in their cards, but there was more there taking part), it was always going to be hot and stuffy . Not that anyone seemed to mind however, as with competitors turning up from 9:15am onwards (the comp didn’t officially start until 10am!), people seemed seriously motivated for a good day.



As it happened, nothing was going to stop Open A leader, Harry Fogg, from romping home to victory with a successful first go on every problem to finish with maximum points - much to the disappointment of the route setters who hoped that he might even slip up once :) Still though, it was a close finish for everyone else with only narrow points separating the rest of the competitors of the Open A league.
In the Female’s, Joan Mulloy, also put in another strong showing to take the final honors. With a successful completion of 12 of the Open A problems (there was two levels of difficulties for each problem - double point going for completion of the harder variation), that’s a top 15 finish in the Open A’s. Guys, you have been warned!
Special mention also has to to go the Juniors who were putting us all to shame with their technical ability. Andrew Colligan lead home the pack, but I think everyone was in awe to see the younger (and much smaller) climbers tick off some of the hard problems with ease.

And so, with only three events taking place this year, the final results were handed out also.
Overall
Open A: 1. Harry Fogg, 2. Ricky Young, 3. Peter O’Farrell
Female: 1. Joan Mulloy 2. Hannah Fogg 3. Anna Cronin
Juniors: 1. Ciaran Rogers 2. Colm Casey 3. Stephen Rogers

For official, and more detailed results, the DCU round results can be found here, and the overall results can be found here.

If you’re looking for photos, keep an eye on this thread on the climbing.ie forums.

Great going all!

Image Credit: 1. Rob Whelan contemplating how to make routes hard, but fair, while route setting for the DCU IBL. Photo by Author
2. The mob, sorry climbers, during the day, DCU IBL. Photo by author

- Neal :)

]]> http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2008/01/irish-bouldering-league-round-3-20072008-dcu.html/feed http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2008/01/irish-bouldering-meet-2008.html http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2008/01/irish-bouldering-meet-2008.html#comments Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:28:58 +0000 Neal McQuaid http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2008/01/irish-bouldering-meet-2008.html

KILDARE, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - Jeez, I feel like I’m just advertising climbing events all the time on this blog :) Anyone actually getting any climbing done at present? :)

UPDATE: Date has been changed to the original weekend, i.e. 29th February to 2nd March. I’ve updated the Google Calendar event to reflect this.

Still though, this might help get people motivated coming into the summer season. Get your bouldering mats, brushes and woolies out folks, and maybe get some training in, as the annual Irish Bouldering Meet for 2008 is taking place in it’s home of Glendalough. Preliminary news is only up but expect the usual rush of square-shaped people into Glendalough valley for two days of skin-shredding fun on the boulders.

More info will be posted on The Short Spanor the climbing.ie forums here, so keep an eye out there.



Image Credit: Andy Kelly and Rob Whelan on the boulders of Glendalough. Photo by author
- Neal :) -

]]> http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2008/01/irish-bouldering-meet-2008.html/feed http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2007/12/cork-irish-bouldering-league-2007.html http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2007/12/cork-irish-bouldering-league-2007.html#comments Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:13:03 +0000 Neal McQuaid http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2007/12/cork-irish-bouldering-league-2007.html

NEWBRIDGE, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - The 2nd round of the Irish Bouldering League took place last weekend at St. Colmans Secondary School (Google Maps), Midleton, Co. Cork.

With about an estimated 120 climbers competing, in one very cramped room, you can guarantee it made for a social and friendly encounter. Other than some ‘vague’ route grading - not my words! - from the route-setters, it seems no one could really find anything to complain about (unless you count being stiff and sore the next day as something to complain about :). Still though, with a decent spread of points at the top of each group, it meant that obviously the routes were difficult enough to challenge everybody. Unfortunately, I’m only getting over a shoulder injury so wasn’t competing but it looked like a great comp.

the full results can be found on climbing.ie here, but in short congrats to Harry Fogg in the Males, Joan Mulloy in the Females, and Ciaran Rogers in the Juniors. Solid climbing from it all from what I saw!

More photos can be found in my gallery here (or the slide-show below), and even more through the climbing.ie forums

Update: Image Credit: Damien O’Sullivan climbing one of the harder competition problems at Midleton, Co. Cork


]]> http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2007/12/cork-irish-bouldering-league-2007.html/feed http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2007/11/who-needs-ropes.html http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2007/11/who-needs-ropes.html#comments Sun, 18 Nov 2007 10:18:36 +0000 Dave Ayton http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2007/11/who-needs-ropes.html

NORTH WALES (Team Geared Up) - While checking up on all the current climbing news on the web i came across this innovation. We all thought of it, but now someone has finally gone and made it! The AirPad!



“HGB (in Sweden) in cooperation with www.8a.nu (Awesome website - check it out if you havn’t before!) has developed a gigantic inflatable Air Pad, 205X120X20 cm. Without air it fits in a rucksack and weighs about 8 kg. It takes four minutes to inflate the pad with a foot pump (although using a Kitesurf pump has already been suggested!). The Air Pad is INT.PAT.PEND and will probably change the bouldering scene in the future. With this new pad, high balls will be safe and it will be possible to work problems that used to be too dangerous. Consumer price is estimated to Euro 465. Distribution will start December 10th with a promotion price of 365 Euro for the first 20, including freight within Europe (maximum 4 per country)!”



8a.nu has during the last three months being testing different versions of inflatable Airpads. They soon realised the advantages of a larger pad since they don´t take too long to inflate. The reason for the pad´s stability is the structure, which comprise 20cm-long polyester threads. The surface is also very thick and durable, and the pad is impossible to puncture during normal bouldering. However, we recommend not to use it in extreme conditions, like on top of a big pointy sharp rock. The name of the Air Pad is 8A which will be printed on the cover.



The producer is HGB in Göteborg, Sweden, who is also the owner of the patent. They have 40 years experience in delivering gymnastic and wrestling mattresses, including to 5 Olympic Games. They started producing indoor bouldering mattresses three years ago.

Main advantages of the 8A AIR PAD: 210 * 125 * 20 cm

Performance - Better chances of sending hard boulders since you´re less afraid
Safety - Reduced risk for injuries when landing
Transportation - Reduced package volume (in your car, public transportation or airplane)
Storage - Under your bed instead of in the hallway
Cleaning - Put it in a bag in your apartment or car
Sleeping - You can use it in your tent or as a extra bed at home
Play - use it for fun in the ocean, sliding on snow,or high jumping in your backyard
Adjustable - Air pressure can be adjusted based on weight and height
Jump - You can bounce to reach high starting holds !
No bounce - High pressure valves release air on high impact

AIR Facts

Empty 20 % of the air and fold it together like a ordinary crash pad. Then it takes 30 - 40 seconds inflate.
Adjustable air pressure (bar)
High pressure valves will release air on high falls
Holds 5 bar, which is double the pressure of an ordinary car tire



INCLUDED

Two valves - 30 seconds to empty. (Standard size valves)
Two high pressure valves - Adjustable
One foot pump - 4 minutes to inflate.
Repair kit - As easy as for a bike (unlikely to be used)
Numbers - To avoid robbery
Handles - For moving the pad while inflated
Rucksack-strap on - For carrying longer distances
Bag - For clean storage
Guarantee - Two years

NOT INCLUDED

Velcro cover (to increase the friction)*
*8a does not recommend you to buy this as a softly pumped Airpad creates friction by itself

-Dave Ayton-

(Image Credit: All pictures from www.8a.nu)

]]> http://blog.TeamGearedUp.com/2007/11/who-needs-ropes.html/feed