Rocky Bay Bouldering, Cork
Rocky Bay is a small picturesque sandy beach directly South of Cork city. On OS sheet 87 it is shown as Carrigadda Bay but on all road signs is referred to as Rocky Bay. It is only a 14 minute drive from the center of Carrigaline and should be reachable in about half an hour (traffic allowing) from most parts of Cork City. Its proximity to Cork means that on warm sunny days it can get busy. The above photo was taken on a sunny September Sunday after a poor summer. It is not a place one would travel to just to go bouldering, however if you are Cork based or in the area it is well worth a visit. Occasionally there is good surf here, so if you have a board it could be worth bringing it along.
To get there follow signs from Cork's ring road for RIngaskiddy/Carrigaline. Go through the center of Carrigaline and at the end of the main street go straight up the hill rather than following the main road around to the right. A few km's of driving will take you to a T junction. Go left here through Minane Bridge and following signs for Roberts Cove. After a few km's you will go down a hill and see a sign for a dangerous bend. On this bend follow a minor road off to the right where Rocky Bay is signed. After a couple of km's you come to another T junction. Go right and then take the first left . This brings you to Rocky Bay.
Most of the rock at Rocky Bay is of poor quality and you would be surprised at the size of some of the holds that can snap off. Having said that, there are bands of better quality rock and it is on these that the problems are found. The odd hold can still break on these bands, but as the landings are always on soft sand this is not too much of a problem. Due to the fine sandy nature of the landings, a bouldering mat is not absolutely necessary.
Most of the problems are out of reach at high tide, so it is best to come here between low and mid tide. The Font grading system is used but for those unfamiliar with this system the grades below approximately equate to the equivalent British technical grade. Most of the problems are quite short and unless obvious or stated otherwise, grades are given for sitting starts.
Go down to the beach and turn right. At the end of the beach walk around a rocky promontory (or swim if it is high tide) and you will see two large caves with sandy floors. The wall right of the right cave has a few problems. The right cave itself is very wet and has limited potential. The left cave is about 25 metres deep and if it were always dry, would offer some fine harder bouldering.
In the back of the left cave there is a square cut roof with a horizontal crack running above its right lip. The Dark Side at Font 7a is the best problem at Rocky Bay. If it were outside and a little drier it, would compare favourably with any problem in the country. It traverses out along the crack before turning the corner and finishing on a large flat hold. There are 2 further large holds to the left and unless these are soaked you may as well finish on them. Predicting when the problem is dry enough to be climbed is another matter and it would seem to have little to do with current conditions outside. Even at the best of times, it always seems to be a little damp and chalking crucial holds beforehand is not a bad idea. It is a quality line though and this is worth doing.
The two photos to the left show this problem. The first shows the crack running above the right lip. The second show the wall above the front lip and the large flat hold is visible on the left. It's dark back there and depending on the light, it can be difficult to see the holds, but the eyes do adjust !
The photo opposite shows a second problem on the right wall of the left cave which is a little closer to the entrance than "Dark Side". It is currently a project and it is expected that it will go somewhere in the Font 7a grade. The red circle shows the starting hold, the green the finishing and the blue some of the better intermediate holds.
Right of the previous problem and still in the cave are two short problems which finish on different parts of the same large ledge and are about Font 5b. The left, Fritzl Corner, starts in a corner and the right, Fritzl Arete on the arete right of it. The 2 photos above show the start and finish of Fritzl Arete.
Right of these problems again at the mouth of the cave is another short problem which finishes with 2 hands on the lip of a roof. Ape Factor shown below utilises a sidepull and goes at about Font 6a+ if you have the span, its much harder using tiny holds otherwise.
At the left hand mouth of the left cave there is a spectacular problem up the headwall called The Blade at Font 6b+. Depending on the sand level and how tall you are, it involves jumping or stacking bouldering mats to reach poor starting holds on a downward protruding block. From these pull up and campus to a sloper out right. Campus again to a good jug and cross the roof via a sharp hold until you are established on the wall above and difficulties have ceased. The photo below shows Eoin Kennedy on the first ascent.
The remainder of the problems are described in the order you would reach them as you walk back towards the car park.
The photo below shows Aladdin's Arete, Font 5b/5c. This is probably the best problem at Rocky Bay outside the caves and lies on the right wall just outside the right cave.
Immediately right of Aladdins arete we have Sesame, F 5c and Sesame Traverse F 5a/5b. These are shown below and both finish on the same hold. Sesame Traverse is the longest problem at Rocky Bay with between 12 and 15 moves.
The photo below shows the recommended starting and finishing holds for Sesame.
Walk around the promontory and you will see slightly better quality rock and some green slime. A few short problems have been done here and they really need bum starts to get any mileage out of them. From left to right:
Bums Up, F 5c
Grunt, F 5c/6a
Slime Line, F 5c, shifting sands can sometimes cause the start of this to disappear and effectively make in a non problem.
Below are close ups of these problems showing their recommended start and finish holds.