Wanderweg Walls

Wanderweg Walls

This east facing wall is to the west of Crotty’s Rock and lies in the centre of the upper coum.

THE LIZARD 100m E2/3 4c, 5c
Location: to the left [south] of For the Fallen, in the south-west corner of the coum, is an East-facing triangular face set up high in a hidden bay. The corner is at the left edge of this face.
To gain access to the bay, it is necessary to climb the 50m vegetated cliff that guards it. Rock-purists might baulk at this and instead opt to abseil in but to do this is to miss out on the full experience [and the tick] and would be like eating pudding without dinner first. (For more info. see The Jolly Podger)

Pitch 1. 50m. Work your way up to the left of the bay. The line taken by H.F. on the day was different to that taken by G.F. on an earlier reconnaissance ascent [unseconded] earlier in the year but the overall impression was the same: harder than it looks.

Pitch 2. 50m. 5c. Follow the crack between the detached spike and the wall with surprising difficulty for 20m to its apex. Continue up the overhanging corner with good protection. At top, exit right to avoid jumbled blocks.
H.Fogg[1], G.Fogg[2], Hh.Fogg, E.Miles. 1/8/2015. Cleaned earlier on abseil.

THE JOLLY PODGER 100m E1 4c,4c, 5a
The thin-edged crack in the centre of the face to the right of The Lizard has a bold start leading to more-relaxed climbing.

1. 50m As for The Lizard. To gain the Lizard bay, start well to the left. 1a. An initial 10m of exciting climbing on vegetation leads to a more-level section. Traverse right to rock. Two cracks give protection to next ledge and a good belay at a chimney. It is not a bad idea to bring your second up to this point. 1b. Climb the right-hand edge of the chimney. Looking across to the right, a tombstone spike is evident. Traverse to this and on into the bay.

2. 50m Climb the edge of the flake, a sling at the top giving the first reliable protection. Hand-traverse the top of the flake to gain the system that leads on left and up until it finally overjuts. A belay in a little corner above this allows a good view and communication with your second.

G.Fogg, B.McConnell 13/8/2016 Cleaned 2015.

WANDERWEG, HXS 5a, P.B. C.E. 10/10/09 First climbed in wet/greasy conditions hence an element of wandering.

1. 40m Start at steep left trending crack, step right to delicately pull up onto grass ledge. Traverse left past detached block and ascend long grassy corner. Belay below an obvious chimney.

2. 20m Climb to base of chimney which is avoid by a traverse rightwards along an ascending crack and past some blocks until a left trending crack is reached. Climb this crack to top of chimney.

3. 25m Ascend a rightwards trending ramp to its end and drop into the grassy gully below. Move further down to the base of a wide crack near the right edge of the wall. Climb this to the end of the crack. Then leave the wall by moving to a steep slab around its right edge.

Ascend easily up the grassy gully to a level grass ledge. Walk leftwards to the base of an obvious well formed corner and crack system.

4. 25m Climb the steep corner past a chockstone. Move left, at top to clean vertical cracks between detached blocks. Climb the second crack from the right.

FOR THE FALLEN 100m E3 5a 5c 5a

From the Carrick to Lemybrien road, from a few miles away, on a clear morning, the Wanderweg wall shines out from Crotty's Lough coum. From the coum itself, it is the bare face, parallel to the planes of faulting facing east. We have not yet located this climb relative to Colm and Peter's Wanderweg and it is too late to ask, but we will sort that later.
This route was initially graded E2 but on reclimbing it, it is E3. The utterly superb second pitch is very exposed and sustained, with the crack offering only the most tenuous of jams. The new top pitch is that originally intended had not failing light intervened.
The scruffy first pitch is in no way as easy as it looks.

The initial 30m of rock was avoided by grass-scrambling to the left up to a ledge. Step right into a comfy vee recess. At its foot is a horizontal slot with a pool of water hidden in the rock.

1. 30m 5a. Climb the corner and follow the rising ledges rightwards to the apex, then make a difficult [even for the initiated] grass-pull up to a small rowan tree and grassy ledge.

2. 30m 5c. Both climbers should make a protected traverse left onto an exposed bare ledge with a charnel-house of bones [a casual count gave 15+ leg rings].
Start below the small corner formed by the attached slab of rock above but go left to middle of face and follow crack to left to narrow rock ledge with luxuriant cowberry [lingonberry to the Scandinavians] on left(only sighting). Step right and follow left slanting crack to blunt arete and up broken rock to grassy ledge.

3. 15m 5a. Climb crack near right hand side of face, from half-way up ramp. This is not hard until [again] the committing grass-pull exit.

4. 25m of easier climbing remains to reach the top.

H. Fogg 1,2[after G ran out of steam at top of crack], G. Fogg 3. 20/8/2014 Onsight.

Alternative and better 3rd pitch
3. 25m 5c. From left of the ramp, climb the crack to the highest point of the face.

H. Fogg, G. Fogg 2/9/2014. Onsight.