So my wife wants to go to...

Ireland with her 2 sisters and siters' partner in June of '14. She wants me to go as well, and at the time I thought "I would love to see Ireland". Then, as time passed and the discussion began, I began to think, "I don't want to be stuck with these 4 women for 10 or so days in a foreign country." None or them are climbers, in fact, not an adventurous bone among them. So I figured I could bail on the trip and go to Yosemite or Red Rocks or something, which is fine with the wife but she said I should find out if there is any climbing in Ireland.
So, is there any climbing in Ireland? Is there enough climbing to keep me occupied for several days so I won't have to go....mad? Don't get me wrong. I would love to see the castles, and tour the holy places i.e. Guiness Brewery, Jameson Distillery and such. But to tour about the land o' the green with this bunch could be detrimental to my phsyce. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Shawn

If she is cool with you going to Yosemite, and you've never been, and you prefer granite cliffs to castles, I recommend Yosemite. I went in march. Unbelievable. I am way below big wall climbing, but just to see them.....

I guess it depends on whether your marriage will suffer if you don't go with her. I doubt the climbing in Ireland can hold a candle to Yosemite or RR, but what's more important to you - traveling with your wife or great climbing? Yeah, tough one, huh?

There is climbing in Ireland, and you're only a stone's throw from Wales (why not make a side trip there instead if the ladies will be bothering you?)

Ireland is a pretty sweet country to visit, IMO.

Yeah, she's cool with me going on my own vacation. I'm just wondering if there's any climbing to be done to make the trip worth my while, and if there is a climbing community I could hook up with.

I have been to Yosemite. It is amazing. I just didn't have an opportunity to climb.

Yeah, I might have to check out Wales.

But it sounds like you will be deserting them one way or another: you off to climb in Wales, etc.,,or stay home and go to the Valley. Either way it doesn't sound good for you IF you aren't off plodding along with them day after day through Ireland. You be screwed either way with them I bet..... good luck figuring this one out.

I figure if I'm climbing in Ireland it gives me the opportunity to hook up with them now and again.

looks like there's a bunch o' crags...

climbing.ie/index.php/climb…

oh yeah, and you're not far from the bens of scotland either. strong community up there and excellent climbing to boot. besides, edinburgh is a kick-ass town to hang in for a day on the way in and out.

Went there about 8 years ago with the gear and intent to climb. Many "soft" days (light rain) aligning with my available climbing days kept me at bay. The Wicklow mountains south of Dublin looked like they could have some mini-alpine routes, but having not succeeded at climbing, my only worthwhile point is the weather issue. Had a lot of fun nonetheless but had an excellent crew with me too.

Wasn't it an Irish climber that said "if we didn't climb in the rain, we wouldn't climb at all"?

Fair Head in Northern Ireland is an awesome crag in a beautiful setting. North Wales has some excellent climbing as well. June is a good time to be at either place as the days are long and the possibility of a high pressure system is good.

You just never know what the weather will be like though. Right now it's warm and sunny all day every day from 4am to 10pm and it looks like it will be this way for a while. To be on a climing trip in this weather would be the best any climber could ask for.

Here's the climber: rickybel-fast.blogspot.com
Here's the video: vimeo.com/56466581
I'd say go with the wife. Write that dude and pick up a guidebook and go to the crag on a weekend for the best chance of just joining some people. Or hit up a local gym during the week to meet some locals who would be interested in going out on the weekend. Alternatively, you could plan ahead and email or call a local gym and ask them to post a flyer about you with your email address so locals can contact you to take you out with them.

+1 for Fair Head. Two to three pitch trad climbing. Right on the seaside. I climbed there in the mid 90's after meeting some climbers at the climbing wall at the Y in Belfast. The climbing club owned a cabin at Fair Head. Check it out!

shawn bradley wrote:...in fact, not an adventurous bone among them.

Well, that's OK actually. You're married and all. Bone adventures are kinda the past life. Not saying you're dead or anything, you know. I...

Wait, you were talking about something else here.

There is always bouldering. Just avoid doing that on sea cliffs where the occasional larger wave completely washes the cliff.

Indeed... alpinist.com/doc/ALP20/news…

The long days in Ireland/UK are super great, you can get up at like noon and still have a huge day out.

That said, you could easily lose the huge majority of your trip to weather, and then you will be really annoyed that you're not in Yosemite.

So go to Yosemite.

Maybe someone else thinks different, but I'd say you'be chasing the shade in a big way if you went to Red Rock in June...we were having to do that most of the time even in March of this year.

Stich wrote: Well, that's OK actually. You're married and all. Bone adventures are kinda the past life. Not saying you're dead or anything, you know. I...

Wondered how long that was going to take. :)

A lot of helpful info here, thanks.

Go to Ireland, you won't ferget it fer fucks sake

Me and the wife flew there for our honeymoon and bike toured on the west coast from B&B to B&B with no set plans; it was and amazing trip and we hardly had any rain (late Sept).

I took shoes and did some great bouldering in the Burren area of County Clare, and spent a few days on the Aran Islands, which are completely made out of high quality stone.

With a little bit of research and planning, you might be able to hook up with some locals that will show you some secret crags. Just don't expect to do any sport climbing.

nothing like a fresh pint of Guiness or Murphey's stout poured at a real Irish pub with a bowl of seafood chowder!

Christopher Gibson wrote:Then pull out that card at any given moment in the future, you could actually probably use that card at minimum three times before over doing it.

I always think it's going to work this way, but my wife has no long term memory of solids I've done her in the past. At the time, very appreciative. A week later, it's like 'huh, you did what for me?'.

I've been climbing a couple of times in the UK, and disavow yourself of the notion that you can just pop over from Ireland to Scotland or Wales for a day of climbing. First, it might rain the whole trip. Second, you'd have to get to the coast from where you're staying, buy a ferry ticket, wait for the ferry and the lengthy crossing, rent a car (since there is no public transportation to take you to the crags), drive to the crag, climb, etc. Distances look close on a map but travel time is deceiving.

If you can manage several days away, then it might be worth it. North Wales has great stuff: Tremadog, Cloggy, Gogarth, etc. I've only managed a day of good weather there and had a blast at Tremadog and soloing some easy stuff in the Ogwen Valley. I'd give my eye teeth to climb at Gogarth.

Having said that, I second the advise to just go hang in Ireland. Climbing is great, but traveling and seeing different cultures and landscapes is second to none. If the female energy is too much, go for a week and then take a week and visit the local crags.