An excellent thin and sustained mixed pitch up a shallow right facing corner. Start 3m right of large corner on NE side of Summit Tor at a shallow right facing corner. Follow the corner with sustained interest moving out right at the top to belay in a large bay.
'I've given it V 6 because it is harder than work party and other routes of a similar grade I have done and feels bolder with not a lot of gear!' John Orr.
This route is situated left of Toewrecker at a vegetated gully. Easily climb the gully to the base of a steep tight corner. Enter the corner with difficulty placing gear in the crack on your left. Climb the corner on decreasing turf to the top.
The White Spider (In Summer of course)
© Craig Hiller/ Hillerscapes - All Rights Reserved.
The start of January saw the Blue Lough Buttress get several ascents in very different conditions each time. On the Monday 4th I explored part of the original line but could not do the last pitch as the hanging pillar of death put me off.
On the 6th Andy Marshall, Ricky Bell and myself made a late afternoon ascent of the Black Stairs on Thomas Mountain. We were able to climb a bottom pitch which was completely different to the original as the main river line was not frozen. Andy then went on to meet Sam Gordon for a headtorch ascent of the Blue Lough Buttress.
On the 9th a crowd headed up to the Blue Lough Buttress again but the conditions resulted in an escape off before the top pitches that had thawed during the day. It's definately best to do it at night.
On the10th myself and Paul Swail checked out Eagle Rocks but there was a thaw low down and the conditions on the crag were bad. We looked at the head of the Glen River Valley and returned via the Black Stairs to get a last bash at some water ice.
Craig Hiller (Right: The Black Stairs)
Bearnagh from the Blue Lough Buttress 4/1/10
Winter Routes 09/10
The start of the 2009/10 Mourne winter season has been a promising one. Existing lines as well as new lines have been climbed in late December and with ongoing cold conditions some of the very rare lines might just put their winter coats on (or maybe not).
On Christmas Eve Paul Swail, John McCune and Kieran O'Hara added a new line on the Bearnagh Slabs left of Zen and then done Work Party on the Summit Tor. On the way down they climbed a frozen water course on the NE slope near Hare's Gap (swailmountaineering.com).
The Summit Tor of Bearnagh has seen the most action with Work Party having at least four ascents. On the 29/12 Myself and Sam Gordon climbed the first possible winter ascents of two old rock routes, 'The White Rabbit' (mainly veg) and Rescue Climb (bit of veg). We then climbed a new line 'The White Spider' left of Toewrecker (see below) which felt harder than Work Party and was reasonably well protected in its upper half.