Last weekend Myself, Rach, Stu (new to the transition team) and Caroline (a regular at the wall) headed down the road to try some sport climbing down at Kirrie Hill. We drove down and after battling our way through some nettles we arrived at the Sleepy Hollow area.
We had a look at the routes trying to figure out what was what. This proved a bit hard due to the fact that we didn't have a guide. We looked for a fairly easy route to warm up on. Rach jumped on the sharp end first and lead Sombre Reptiles a 5+, finding this fairly easy we then tried a route that Stu and Caroline had just tried called Spirits Drifting (a 6a+). I led it and then Rach gave it a go. After doing about 3 climbs Gary (another Transition regular) appeared along with a guide book! Now we knew what the routes we were trying. I attempted Thorny Issue, a 6b+ with an interesting wee crux with bad sandy footholds. This route also seemed a bit like it was squeezed in between the adjacent routes (but this is something that I had noticed about Kirrie). After Rach seconded the route clean we both decided to try something harder. We looked at Gary’s guide and decided to try All Chalk, No Traction (6c) I led it on some fairly suspect rock and then Rach seconded again, this time not as successfully but after a rest or two, she did it.
With the rope up, Gary now decided to warm up on Thorny Issue after not climbing for about a month. He decided it wasn't a good idea and so came back down. After a recommendation from Stu and Caroline, I tried Bon the Edge which is a really nice boulder problem with 3 bolts in it, after that it just turns to choss and lost its appeal.
We did a couple of other routes in this section and then decided we should probably check out the rest of the venue. Stu and Caroline were getting tired and hungry so they decided to go and get some food while we explored the other sections.
Feeling happy with onsighting the 6c quite comfortably, I looked through the guide for the hardest climb while Gary and Rach did some other routes. The route was called Slim Pickins and was graded 7a+. When Rach was finished she came over and gave me a belay on it. After climbing about 9 routes already I was getting tired, but as I was climbing I started thinking that it was nowhere near 7a+ and it felt about 6c. I managed to get all the way to the last move but this is where my energy finally ran out and I fell going for the last move. Even though I didn't do it clean I would say the route still wasn't 7a+, maybe 6c+/7a I was just feeling too tired and that’s when we decided to call it a day and go home.
All in all I think if you’re looking for a sport venue where you can just hang out and relax in the sun then Kirrie Hill is a good venue with lots of routes, although as I said earlier the routes do feel quite squeezed in. My main concern is that the rock is very suspect in places and caution should be taken when pulling on some holds, and a helmet is highly recommended for your belayer. If you fancy something a bit harder (in difficulty and rock type) I would try somewhere else. I’m planning to go to the Arbroath sea cliffs or Legaston this weekend so I will let you know what it’s like if I get out.
Words and pictures by Ash
