On the southern slopes of the ochils above the village of dollar, the original ascents were in the early 1980's and are credited to Jamie Main of Dollar. they have seen little traffic over the past four decades.
Dollar quarry
The summer lock down of 2021 saw me stuck in Clackmannanshire, which I believe is the smallest county in Scotland, starved of climbing. I went on a reccie to the nearby quarry at Dollar.I had visited it a couple of years previously soon after moving to the area but rejected it out of hand as mother nature had reclaimed it-to say it was' botanical 'is an understatement. As far as I know the quarry has been virtually abandoned with the last recorded ascent over ten years ago and the head high brambles at the base of the crag were a testament to this.
I now decided to gain access and clean some of the former Trad routes, but with loose rock, very poor looking protection and top-outs bordering on insanity,as the top few metres of rock is the consistency of dry wheetabix.
The decision was made I would bolt a good looking area placing anchors below the crumbling rock and thus solving the problem of dangerous top outs. I did wrestle a bit with the ethics involved but the alternative would possibly be another ten year's passing before anyone else came along. as a sport crag this place will see some action as there's a thriving community of local climbers. My fears were laid to rest by the support and encouragement I received from local climbers.
I greatly appreciate the financial support from all those who contributed, including the local Ochills Mountaineering Club.The winter of 21-22 saw me develop the whole quarry after eight months of bolting and cleaning, at times feeling more like an archiologist than a climber, there are 20 bolted routes and variations across three buttresses, with a wide range of grades, and I hope something for everyone.
Dollar quarry 2021- 2022 routes left to right.
:God's nose buttress :the broken overhanging buttress far right as you enter the quarry.
Green"unforgiven sin" 7a climb the finger crack to join blue
Blue"fieghned mercy" (6b) pull over awkward overhanging arete, continue up slabby arete, exposed overlaps to finish.
Red retro bolted "gods nose" 5, climb through the obvious break in the overhang taking care of the loose block then, up and right on the easy broken slab.
Probably best to absiel to strip the last two routes because of the angle of lowering off.
5 metres left of "path to forgivness"
Red "son of god"(4+) climb up the corner and over the bulge on a good holds. Gain the ledge ,or continue up the awkward headwall 6a+.
Blue" act of god" (Keith's project) climb up the slab to the ledge, clip high and go for it.