Thoughts on Equinox

By Mike Matiasek

It was a warm sunny Wednesday and we did not want to miss out on an opportunity to climb on the north face of Northern Ireland, Fair Head that is. As most of you know, and I am rapidly learning, sunny and warm days are few and far between on this island.

After slipping out of work a little early to take advantage of the long summer nights. We were on the M2 by 4 o'clock; chatting away, catching up, talking shit, and of course proposing routes for the evenings climb. In the midst of the "buzz" we promptly missed the exit off the M2. After the usual faffing we were at the head and ready. Conditions could not have been better, calm winds, blue skies and the midge appeared to be sleeping.

We wasted little time getting straight to the base of Equinox… so much for a warm-up, but such is life on a Wednesday night. Our first look at the line revealed a long prominent corner with a massive overhang at 2/3's height. From there the line eases inwards before a final bulge at the top. The base of the line looked more like a war zone than a three star route based on the amount of rocks remained imbedded in the earth. We had recalled hearing about rock fall on the line in the previous year, which had been further "cleaned" by human intervention. After finding more loose rocks on the lower flanks of the route, we were not at all encouraged. In fact, intimidation and fear are better words to describe my pre climb emotions.

After a brief discussion we picked our pitches, racked up and most importantly taped up (We have found tape to be a great asset on fair head cracks providing improved friction and protection). Niall was to lead the first pitch, myself the second, and we were going to drop on long top rope from the top for our third, Tim. Niall started up cautiously but consistently and managed after a while to surmount the overhang and wedge himself into the belay nook. The climbing was very good with lots of jamming, bridging and some smearing on slightly green rock. The crux for me was a bulge at about half-way through the pitch which was surmounted by a powerful pull with decent jams and poor feet. After the crux the difficulties ease but only slightly. At this point the climbing is pleasant and would be thoroughly enjoyable if it were not for the impending overhang that only gets bigger as you approach. Surprisingly, once underneath the overhang good holds and feet lead you around the right side where it is only a small overhang and one hard pull with poor-ish feet lead to a couple of easy moves and the belay nook. The belay nook was far from comfortable with no place to really sit, and barely a place to stand, one on top of the other. So after an awkward changeover I was ready to tackle the second pitch.

The crux just might have been getting over Niall and into a large off width chimney that narrows quickly above to a hand, sized crack. Just kidding, thoughtful bridging soon finds you well enough above the belay and moving into a sustained segment of bridging and jamming that leads up to a buldge. This was definitely the crux of the pitch as the difficulties were stiff, but always seemed to be diminishable with thoughtful bridging and careful footwork. Just when you think you cannot take any more of it, a strong pull through the buldge leads to a massive jug that could have hardly been sculpted better. A quick pull and a mantle onto a good ledge (wish that was the belay for the first pitch) and I was finally believing that I was going to make it. Despite being able to clearly see the grass on the top waving in the breeze there is still some sustained interest to the top.

After belaying up Niall, I dropped down the ropes to belay Tim through 60 metres of pure Fair Head pleasure… that's endurance you don't come across often at the Ozone. All in all it was undoubtedly a three star route with the degree of difficulties seeming to be surprisingly similar on the 2 pitches despite the first pitch getting 5b and the second getting 5c. Also, I think for me the route felt quite similar in difficulty to the E1's on the Prow and Farrangandoo (Fireball, Midnight Cruiser, Railroad…and Crib Pad Crack) but who am I to say. Get up there and find out for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

The three climbers were Mike Matiasek, Niall Gualt and Tim Colgan in mid-June 2003.