Aill na Cronain

From Irish Climbing Online Wiki

Introduction

This crag lies about 400m north of Ailwee Cave and is clearly visible from the upper car park. A 10 minute level walk brings one to the top of the cliff and the descent gully can be located by continuing towards the north end. Once below it is worth moving about 50m out from the crag from where the skull shape of Skull Buttress becomes obvious. The routes in this area are self-evident from their names, with Skull Slab the right cheek. The East Side is north of the descent and the Small Wall area is to the far side of the Skull, halfway back to the car-park.

CLEFT 10m VD I. Graham, K. Price, 4/5/71. Catapult-shaped corner, 30m left of the descent. Finish up left or direct over the jammed boulder.

FRIGHT 10m S I. Rowe, K. Price, 14/8/74. The left-hand of the twin cracks in the wall just left of the descent.

DE GAULLE 10m MS K. Price, I. Rowe, 14/8/74. The arete just left of Fright. Awkward at the top.

Skull Buttress

About 25m at its highest, the buttress looks remarkably like a skull when seen from a distance. Route names and descriptions refer to features of the skull.

Skull Buttress

LOCKJAW 15m HVS 5a F Cox, C Warner, September 1999 Start 4/5 m left and up the hill from EUSTACAIN TUBE, there is a shallow groove leading up to a slab [directly below the finishing corner of DIAGONALS], climb this confidently to a large pocket [large cam] rockover delicately and so reach the ledge and finish up the corner.

EUSTACHIAN TUBE 20m S P. Coakley, M. McCormack, 1982. Start just right of the descent on the extreme left of the buttress under an open-book corner at the top. Gain a large rounded ledge at 15m by a ridge weakness and climb the top corner on the right.

DIAGONALS 25m S K. Price, I. Graham, 12/12/71. Start at the foot of the tortuous ridge just left of the foot of the buttress. Climb the ridge which is the left edge of the smooth cracked slab by weaving past the obstacles, left and right. At 17m step left and climb the same corner as Eustachian Tube.

EUREKA * 25m HS D. Walsh, P. Duggan, 30/4/83. Climbs the same ridge as Diagonals but directly. Finish straight (crux) up the headwall just right of the ar?te (right eye socket).

SKULL SLAB ** 25m VD K. Price, I. Graham, 4/9/71. This slab is the main feature of the buttress and is the true right cheek of the skull. Smooth, cracked and well protected. Start at the lowest point of the buttress and gain the lowest part of the slab at 4m diagonally left. Climb the slab and exit through the left eye socket above right.

Skull Slab forehead finish 5a F Cox B Watts, Jan 1999 High up on Skull slab and before you exit out the Left eye socket it is possible to go up the ‘forehead’, 2 m left of the slab and marked by a sapling on the right there is a small blank corner, finish boldly up this and the wall above.

SKULL'S NOSE 25m S M. McCormack, P. Coakley, 1982. Start at the lowest point of the buttress. The nose is the ar?te on the right of Skull Slab. Gain the ar?te from below right. Exit just left of the top of Skull Slab by a break in the headwall.

LEFT CHEEK 25m S K. Price, I. Graham, 1/1/72. Start just right of the lowest point of the buttress. Follow broken, easy rock on the right of the nose and gain Skull Slab just below its exit at the top.

Sunbane and Mayday

SUNBANE * 20m E1 5c T. Ryan, 30/4/83. This is the deep V-groove with an overhang at one-third height on the right side of the buttress.

MAYDAY ** 20m VS D. Walsh, P. Duggan, 30/4/83. The right-slanting crackline right of Sunbane. Start as for Sunbane. Escape right at 2m with difficulty onto a short slab. Bridge over the overhang and step left. The strenuous crack above is the crux.

SKULL'S EAR 20m D D. Rowe, I. Rowe, 1972. The rib on the extreme right of the buttress.

BUTTERFLY 16m HS D. McMahon, D. Doyle, 30/4/83. 6m right of Skull Buttress under the appropriately shaped skyline. Gain the obvious fault line to finish (crux) between the wings.

SKULLDUGGERY 8m S D. Doyle, D. McMahon, 30/4/83. The obvious south-facing chimney in the wall 100m right of Skull Buttress. Pleasant.

Small Wall

This pleasant 12m high wall is located halfway between Skull Buttress and the Ailwee Cave car park. All the routes are excellent, the best being Demon Dim and Poetic Majesty.

Small wall routes

ROTTEROUTE * 12m HS D. McMahon, D. Doyle, 30/4/83. Straight up from the leftmost triangular block on the ground. Follow the crack left of the large flake.

GROTTOROUTE * 12m S D. Walsh, P. Duggan, 30/4/83. Step off the right-hand triangular block at the grotto (niche) and go diagonally left to a crack on the right of a large flake. Straight to the top.

DEMON DIM ** 12m HVS T. Ryan, 1983. Start at the grotto and climb directly to the square-cut nick at the top.

FOLLYERUPPER * 12m HVS D. Walsh, 4/8/83. Start 3m right of the grotto. A high step onto the hollow flake. Weave left, then right to take the central overhanging bulge just left of the V-shaped nick in the skyline (crux).

PRICELESS * 12m VS D. Walsh, D. Doyle, 30/4/83. Start at the foot of the crack on the right of the buttress. Step off a rectangular block, then diagonally left to the central overhanging bulge which is turned on the right (crux). Stretchy.

POETIC MAJESTY ** 12m VS D. Walsh, P. Duggan, 30/4/1983. The crack on the right of the wall above the rectangular block.

COVENANT 12m HS T. Ryan, 1983. The ar?te on the right of Poetic Majesty. Step left at half height. Climb the cracks to the top.