Mountaineering Council of Ireland: Your opinions ...

Evil Phil

I will be joining the Mountaineering Council of Ireland for the first time this year. As a climber and a hill walker I should have joined years ago but have been reluctant too. My reasons for joining this year are very simple: The Alpine Meet and Travel Insurance. MCI membership allows me to buy travel insurance of the British Mountaineering Council - its great insurance and quite cheap. The Alpine Meet has a course I want to do.

My reluctancy to join however stems from what might be a misconception of the MCI: They're snobbish. The opinion within some of the MCI's ranks, it would seem, is that the hills and crags are for walkers and climbers only. That mountain bikes, motor bikes and even horses shouldn't be allowed up there. They've as much right to be there as walking groups.

There are other organisations concerned with keeping the uplands open for recreational purposes but the squabbling with the MCI prevents a united front on this important issue. All the easier to defeat us. The falling out with Keep Ireland Open is an example.

As a climber I like to push myself so why oh why can't we have bolts? Limited bolts even, keep it to undeveloped quarries and off natural rock, certainly keep them off potential trad lines and developed areas but give us bolts. Even the U.K. has some bolted crags. "There's no bolts on the mountains" is no excuse; sports climbing (climbing on bolts) and mountaineering are different sports. Even traditional rock climbing and sport climbing are different sports. The traditional climbing ethic of this fair isle is something I'm deeply proud of and want to keep but there is room to lighten up and to make the sport more excessable to new people. If somebody knows an area with potential let them pay for an Environmental Impact Assessment to see if drilling routes will cause damage. EIA's are expensive so it will keep the number of routes to a minimum.

However, the MCI do represent me and my sport. Their approach to that representation is something I'm unhappy with. This is my final reason for joining: I want representation.

^whitey^

See ya at the Alpine Meet Evil Phil .......... if bank balance lets me.

leonotron

Just to be curious, what grade to you climb at? When bolting first started in the UK it got way out of hand and people were bolting everywhere and way too much. You need to have rules if you want to start bolting crags, like no retro bolting and such. I think myself there is room for bolts in Ireland

ridgewalker

Whatever about certain levels of snobbery in the upper levels of the MCI I think the anti bolting camp goes far bejond just the MCI. I personally wouldnt be too crazy about bolting irish crags (exp maybe quarries) but what real get me is how people have a fit over others placing fixed abseil/anchor points at cliff tops. I think there should be some kinda distiction between the two 'ethically' speaking!!

Evil Phil

I too wouldn't like to see Irish crags being bolted but I do think that quarries could be the exception, unless they've be developed already. Lines that could be climbed on trad shouldn't be bolted but this is a sticky issue: personally I wouldn't be able to see an e3 line on a crag and as such might think that the line is suitable for bolting. My suggestion of EIA would hopefully stop any Tom Dick or Harry with a drill running out to bolt new lines every weekend. Perhaps an overseeing body of more experienced climbers should decide what lines get bolted and what don't.

I was climbing HVS at the end of last season, why do you ask?


I'll add that I prefer trad to sports climbing. Its a cleaner way to climb and gives me a much greater sense of achievement.

While there is room for bolts in Ireland it should be limited and expensive to do.

ridgewalker

i totally agree with what your sayin there. I think theres quite an amount of harcore trad fans out there who would like to see some bolted route in the country. Its the danger that some idiot will go bolting some classic line down in the burren that has creates this no tolerance attitude. The idea that a new breed of irish bolt climbers (who wont learn to trad)would emerge and then go on a manic bolting rampage scares the bejesus out of alot of people. These fear cant easy be dismissed either with stories of bolt wars in the US.

jerenaugrim

I thought this thread was about what people think of the MCI? I take it they're anti-bolting? Is that a big issue for climbers? (I'm a hillwalker, I wouldn't know).

neXus9

Is there anymore mountain climbing clubs in Dublin where they go on trips. I always wanted to mountain climb but never know where to learn.

Thanks

Evil Phil

Originally posted by jerenaugrim
I thought this thread was about what people think of the MCI? I take it they're anti-bolting? Is that a big issue for climbers? (I'm a hillwalker, I wouldn't know).

Yeah its a big issue here in Ireland and probably the UK too. The thread seems to have wandered into a bolting discussion but thats okay, it can wander back to the MCI at anytime. What do you think of them?

Evil Phil

Originally posted by neXus9
Is there anymore mountain climbing clubs in Dublin where they go on trips. I always wanted to mountain climb but never know where to learn.

Thanks

It depends on what you want to do. http://www.mountaineering.ie is the MCI's website. They have links to clubs all over the country. The Irish Mountaineering Club have once a month get togethers in a pub in Dublin somewhere. I've been meaning to join for a couple of years now :dunno:

leonotron

The mci dont do much for climbers, they are more geared towards hill walkers. Because of this I don't take much interest in their affairs

jerenaugrim

I hadn't realised the MCI were perceived as being more pro-hillwalking. I thought a lot of the head honchos were climbers?

leonotron

No, I don't think any of the head guys are climbers. When they hold their elections for positions a mail goes to the climbing list asking for climbers to volunteer but I don't thibk much interest is shown. Maybe it's our own fault as climbers