county high points - mountaineering ireland...summer 2019 €3.95 uk£3.40 issn 0790 8008 issue 130...
TRANSCRIPT
Summer 2019 €3.95 UK£3.40 ISSN 0790 8008 Issue 130
inA challenge for Irish hillwalkers
Six 4,000m peaks summited in four days
County high points
Climbing in Monte Rosa
www.mountaineering.ie
Summer 20192 Irish Mountain Log
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Join the climbing squad!Applications are now open for theClimbing Development Squad
The Squad is suitable for young climbers who are keen toimprove their climbing performance and who regularly
compete in competitions
The closing date for applications is Friday, August 30th, 2019at 10.00pm. All applicants will be contacted on or before
Friday, September 20th
Training sessions will take place at a climbing wall in Dublinon October 6th, November 10th and December 8th
The cost of a place on the Squad is €120 per climber
For more info, see the Mountaineering Ireland website pagewww.mountaineering.ie/youth/talentdevelopment
or go to bit.ly/2RKOh9c
Photograph: Dave Hunt
Mountaineering Ireland continues to provide thebook service previously operated by JossLynam. We can supply you with guidebooksand maps to almost any part of the world.For the walker, there is a large collection ofCicerone guides and books, or the widerselection of books and guides distributedby Cordee which also includes manyclimbing guides. Books reviewed in theIrish Mountain Log can usually bepurchased through Joss Books with amembers’ discount. To place an order,ring the Mountaineering Ireland officeon (01) 6251115 or [email protected].
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 3
Contributions of features, news items and photographs forthe Irish Mountain Log are always welcome and should besent to the Editor at: [email protected].
Contributors’ guidelines can be downloaded from theMountaineering Ireland website, www.mountaineering.ie.
To join Mountaineering Ireland and receive four issues of theIrish Mountain Log delivered to your door each year, pleasealso go to the website, www.mountaineering.ie.
Write for the Log
ON THE COVERAnni huovien enjoying a climb on fairhead, Co Antrim, during the fair headmeet (see report, page 16)
PHOTOGRAPHPAUl KellAGher
ISSUE 130The Irish Mountain Log is themembership magazine ofMountaineering Ireland. Theorganisation promotes the interests of hillwalkers and climbers in Ireland.
Mountaineering IrelandMountaineering Ireland Ltd is acompany limited by guarantee andregistered in Dublin, No 199053.Registered office: Irish Sport HQ,National Sports Campus,Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland.Tel: (+353 1) 625 1115Fax: (+353 1) 625 [email protected]
Hot Rock Climbing WallTollymore Mountain CentreBryansford, NewcastleCounty Down, BT33 0PTTel: (+44 28) 4372 [email protected]
Editor: Patrick O’SullivanTel: (+353 1) 837 8166 (pm, wknds)[email protected] Editor: Peter O’[email protected] Editor: Aisling [email protected]
The Irish Mountain Log is published byMountaineering Ireland four times ayear, in March, June, September,December. The material published inthe Log by the voluntary editorial teamand contributors must not be taken asofficial Mountaineering Ireland policyunless specifically stated.
Copy deadline for the Autumn 2019issue of the Irish Mountain Log is: Friday, August 14th 2019.
Advertising: [email protected]
Production: Cóilín MacLochlainn,[email protected]
Printing: GPS Colour Graphics Ltd,Alexander Road, Belfast BT6 9HPTel: +44 (0)28 9070 2020
PARTICIPATION AND RISKReaders of the Irish Mountain Log arereminded that hillwalking and climbingare activities with a danger of personalinjury or death. Participants in theseactivities should be aware of andaccept these risks, and be responsiblefor their own actions and involvement.Mountaineering Ireland publishes andpromotes safety and good practiceadvice and through the MountainTraining Board of Ireland administers arange of training programmes forwalkers and climbers.
WelcomeCéad míle fáilte! With the milder
weather in Ireland and a heatwavein Europe, it looks like summer ishere at last!
Firstly, I must apologise for the delay ingetting this issue of the Irish Mountain Logto you. It has been an unfortunatecombination of factors that has delayed usin sending the magazine to the printers,and I am sorry for that delay.
The Mountaineering Ireland AGM washeld in Sport HQ at the end of March andwe report on that important meeting onpages 5-8. In the report, MurroughMcDonagh, CEO of Mountaineering Ireland,discusses the motion passed at the AGMto increase the annual subscription,explaining the need for the increase, whichcomes into effect in November this year.Having run a small deficit for the last threeyears, Mountaineering Ireland needs tobalance its books going forward so that itcan continue to provide the same level ofservices to its members.
This issue of the Irish Mountain Logcontains the usual wide range of material.In the features section, David Barnesreports on taking on the County HighPoints Challenge; Peter Wilson looks at theimportance of the blanket peat that stillcovers much of our uplands; and WilliamNolan describes a trip to the Monte Rosamassif, where the group he was with
climbed six 4,000m peaks in four days.We also have an account of an interview
I did with Noel Hanna about his ascent ofK2 last year, only the second successfulIrish ascent of the ‘Savage Mountain.’ Theinterview also gives an overview of Noel’sother incredible mountaineeringachievements.
There are several shorter features thatmake good reading as well, including areport on what sounds like an excellentweekend in Joyce Country atMountaineering Ireland’s Ecology ofMountains workshop in May. There is also avery good account of the journey tobecoming a Mountain Leader; a report ontraining a search and rescue dog; and adescription of a club trip on the Beara Way.
I will close by hoping that we can all takeadvantage of the better weather and thelonger days to safely enjoy our excursionsinto the uplands in the coming weeks.
Patrick O’Sullivan, Editor
mountaineering Ireland hasmade a small increase to theannual subscription fee, anincrease approved at the AGm.
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A word from the edItor
Features41 Blanket Peat
By Peter Wilson
45 An Irish ascent of K2Patrick O’Sullivan interviews NoelHanna about his epic climb
50 County high points odysseyDavid Barnes takes on the all-Ireland county high points challenge
54 Climbing in the Monte RosaWilliam Nolan summits six 4,000mpeaks in four days
Regulars49 Crossword Competition58 Access & Conservation
Helen Lawless reports
60 TrainingJane Carney reports
62 Good Practice Guide (No 4)By Clare Sheridan
64 BooksReviews of recent books
66 The Last WordIrish deaths on Everest and Elbrus
Summer 2019
CONTENTS Summer 2019
BOARD MEMBER APPOINTEDTO UIAA COMMISSION
Mike Maunsell
15 CLIMBER NOEL HANNA INTERVIEWED
Noel Hanna on summit of K2
45
News5 Club membership fee
increase approvedMurrough McDonagh reports
6 Mountaineering IrelandAGM 2019: a report
8 Increase in Mountaineering Ireland club membership feeMurrough McDonagh reports
9 Walking on water: waterways to healthJason King reports
10 Autumn gathering to beheld in the ComeraghsCon Murphy reports
11 The Comeragh MountainsCon Murphy reports
12 Club Support Meetings 201913 The hidden Comeraghs
Emily Shakespeare reports
14 Carlingford Lough GreenwayopenedBy Pat O’Rourke
15 Mountaineering Ireland Board member elected Vice-President of UIAA Mountain Protection Commission
16 Fair Head Climbing MeetFreja Shannon reports
17 Galway Walk Marathon & Half-marathonAnne Brindley reports
18 Get Climbing ProjectNatasza Berlowska reports
19 New visitor attractions forAvondale Forest Park
19 Climbfest 2019Alan Tees reports
20 Women With Altitude MeetRuth Whelan reports
22 Sir Chris Bonington to give2019 Lynam LecturePatrick O’Sullivan reports
23 Big boost for mountain biking23 2018 sports capital grant24 Hillwalking Committee set up
News Features26 Training search dogs
Sheelagh O’Malley reports
28 Along the Beara WayGeraldine Dunne reports
30 The delights of Joyce CountryAine McGirl reports on the recentEcology of Mountains workshop
33 Why a Geopark project?Trish Walsh reports
34 Becoming a Mountain LeaderFergal Harrington reports
Climbing36 2019 Youth Climbing Series
By Jon Henchion
38 2019 Irish BoulderingChampionshipDamien O’Sullivan reports
40 Youth Climbing TeamA report by Damien O’Sullivan
4 Irish Mountain Log
Waterways for Health, a walkingprogramme on canal and riverroutes across Kildare, Carlowand Laois, was launched inMarch. See story, page 9.
At the Mountaineering Ireland AGM inMarch 2019, a motion proposed by theBoard to increase the fee payable by clubmembers to €35.00 was passed by asubstantial majority. There is no increasein the fee for club members aged under23 years, which remains at €20.50. Thespecial rate of €7.60, for a club memberwho is under 23 years and is the son ordaughter of a registered member of thesame club, also remains unchanged.
This increase will be payable in thenext membership year, i.e., fromNovember 2019.
The discounts for early payment andfor clubs with over 200 members havebeen discontinued. The fee of €35.00covers all of our benefits and services,including the insurance cover and receiptof the Irish Mountain Log. It will also nolonger be possible for members to pay alower fee by opting out of particularbenefits or services.
The fee for those wishing to pay insterling will be set by reference to theeuro to sterling exchange rate inSeptember annually and also possiblyreviewed pending developments in Brexit.
This increase in the membership feeswill help Mountaineering Ireland to:
• Deliver the Strategic Plan for 2018-2021, as mandated by ourmembership in 2018;
• Continue lobbying for improved and
NewsdeskStaff & BoardGeneral enquirieS
Staff
Chief executive Officer
Murrough McDonagh,
administration Officer
Siobhán Quinn, [email protected]
Hillwalking Development Officer
Ruth Whelan, [email protected]
Hillwalking, access
& Conservation Officer
Helen Lawless, [email protected]
training Officer
Jane Carney, [email protected]
training Office administrator
Laura Griffin, [email protected]
Climbing Officer
Damien O’Sullivan,
Youth Development Officer for
northern ireland
Kevin Kilroy, [email protected]
Project Coordinator, indoor
Climbing/Social inclusion Project
Natasza Berlowska,
Get irelanD WalkinG initiative
Programme Manager, Get ireland Walking
Jason King, [email protected]
MOuntaineerinG irelanD
BOarD OffiCerS
President
Paul Kellagher
Chairperson
Paul Barron
BOarD MeMBerS
Imelda Buckley
(Chair of Finance, Audit & Risk Committee)
Helen Donoghue
(Chair of Access & Conservation Committee)
Trish Kane
Colette Mahon
Michael Maunsell
Gráinne McLaughlin
(Chair of Hillwalking Committee)
Clare O’Connor
Dawson Stelfox
(Chair of Mountain Training Board Ireland)
Geoff Thomas
(Chair of Climbing Committee)
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New club membership fees approved
Members of the Board of Mountaineering Ireland with CEO Murrough McDonagh (third fromright) and members of the organisaton at the AGM at Sport HQ on March 30th.
assured access for responsiblehillwalkers and climbers;
• Strengthen our support for clubs andhillwalkers by establishing a newHillwalking Committee and ensuringthat we have a fulltime HillwalkingDevelopment Officer;
• Strive to ensure that mountainlandscapes are valued and protected;
• Work with other relevant organisationsto tackle upland path erosion;
• Develop and promote formal andinformal training to meet the needs ofhillwalkers and climbers;
• Encourage young people to participatein all aspects of mountaineering;
• Continue to ensure we get the highestlevel of benefits in our insurance policyat competitive rates;
• Offer an annual suite of membershipevents (Gatherings, Winter Lectures,Meets, Environmental Workshops, theMountaineering Ireland Lynam Lecture,Coaching and Training events, and Club Development initiatives).
If you require more information on this,please feel free to contact theMountaineering Ireland office. Thankingyou in advance for your support andwishing you and yours a very enjoyable and safe summer on the hills.
Murrough McDonaghCEO, Mountaineering Ireland
This year’s AGM was held at Sport HQ atthe National Sport Campus inBlanchardstown, Dublin, on Saturday,March 30th. It was an extremely positivemeeting.
The AGM was chaired by the Chair of theBoard of Mountaineering Ireland, PaulBarron. Paul welcomed everyone, thankedthem for attending and called the meetingto order. The first items on the agendawere the adoption of the standing ordersand the approval of the minutes of the2018 AGM. After that, the President ofMountaineering Ireland, Paul Kellagher,gave his annual address.
Paul began by reflecting that we all go tothe mountains and crags for a wide varietyof reasons, for the peace and solitude thatwe find there, for the companionship ofthe like-minded people we meet, or for theserenity, or the challenge, or the sense ofadventure they offer. The sense ofadventure is a key value in our newStrategic Development Plan, but it has tobe closely balanced against the skills wehave or aspire to, in order to pursue oursport safely.
In 2018, Mountaineering Irelanddeveloped the Strategic DevelopmentPlan 2018-2021. This plan resulted from aperiod of consultation, in face-to-facemeetings and through seeking feedbackfrom our members online. The plan setsout our purpose, vision, values and fivestrategic pillars for the years ahead.
During the consultation, many of ourmembers emphasised the importance tothem of continued access to ourmountains. Without that access,hillwalking and climbing will becomeimpossible. Continued free access to ourmountains is at the heart of what we do.The growing pressure on our landscape hasresulted in a challenging year. The recentissue of the planned sale of Luggala Estatehighlights the fragility of the access thatwe currently enjoy, but there are now amyriad of other challenges to that accessacross the country.
Our access to hills and crags comes with
responsibility. With increasing footfall,erosion is ever more evident. It is achallenge that will not go away and onethat requires a coordinated response.Following a motion at last year’s AGM andthe excellent work of the working group, aHillwalking Committee has beenestablished (see report, page 24).
Mountain Training Board2018 also saw the successful first full yearof operation for the new Mountain TrainingBoard of Ireland. The new structure willallow the sharing of knowledge andexperience across the island of Ireland tothe benefit of the candidates on ourtraining schemes.
The introduction of the new Rock Skillsscheme at the beginning of this yearcomplements our extremely popularMountain Skills scheme. It recognises andaddresses the needs of a rapidly growingpopulation of climbers, whose introductionto the sport has been mainly throughindoor climbing walls. The new scheme willassist those climbers in making a safetransition to our mountain and coastalcrags, gaining the necessary skills forindependent climbing.
The popularity of this aspect of our sportis evidenced by three very popularclimbing gatherings that are held annually,the Climbfest, the Fair Head Meet and theBurren Meet.
Paul expressed particular thanks toMurrough McDonagh and the rest of thestaff, who make all the services we deliverto our members possible. He alsoacknowledged our funders, Sport Irelandand Sport Northern Ireland, and all ourmembers, who support our activities.
Ending his address, Paul stated that ourvolunteers are at the heart of everythingthat Mountaineering Ireland does andstands for. He paid tribute to hiscolleagues on the Board, and the
subcommittees and representatives onother bodies. He also paid tribute to theofficers and volunteers in our clubs.
Paul then handed over to his fellowBoard member, Mike Maunsell, to give thecitation for an award to one ofMountaineering Ireland’s volunteers, whoPaul called ‘an unsung hero.’
New Honorary MemberAn Honorary Membership was awarded tothe present Editor of the Irish Mountain Logfor services to Mountaineering Ireland.Patrick O’Sullivan has spent a lifetimepursuing various aspects of our sport,since starting mountaineering as ateenager in North Wales and Scotland.Apart from hillwalking and climbing inmany different parts of Britain and Irelandand in the European Alps, he has lived andworked in many different mountainousareas around the world, including NewZealand, Nepal and Malawi, spending atotal of twelve years living in Asia andAfrica.
Patrick is retired now but, while he wasworking as a busy medical doctor, he alsoserved as Treasurer of the thenMountaineering Council of Ireland for sixyears, was on the Board for many yearsand has been Editor of the Irish MountainLog for the last sixteen years.
In accepting the Honorary Membershipfrom the President, Patrick expressed hissincere gratitude, saying he wasoverwhelmed by the gesture and that hefelt he had already got so much from oursport and from being part ofMountaineering Ireland.
Secretary’s reportMurrough McDonagh, CEO, then gave theCompany Secretary’s report. The lastMountaineering Ireland Annual GeneralMeeting was held at the Spring Gatheringon March 24th, 2018, in the Aherlow HouseP
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Summer 20196 Irish Mountain Log
MountaineeringIreland AGM2019: a report
Paul Kellagher, President of Mountaineering Ireland, addressing the AGM. Murrough McDonagh (CEO,Mountaineering Ireland) to the left and Mountaineering Ireland Board member Irene Sorohan to the right.
Hotel and Lodge, Co Tipperary, hosted byLimerick Climbing Club.
At the AGM, amendments were made tothe Constitution, which were notified tothe Company Registration Office.
A new Board was elected and eightmeetings of that Board were held in 2018.We have continued to review ourgovernance policy in the past year and arecurrently updating some of our processesand structures to reflect best practice ingovernance. We have created a new sub-committee of the Mountaineering IrelandBoard, the Finance, Audit and Risk Sub-committee.
We have met the compliance standardsof the governance code in 2018. All legal
and procedural requirements have beenfollowed, including reporting andsubmissions to the CompaniesRegistration Office. MountaineeringIreland is a company limited by guaranteeand is a sporting organisation supportedby both Sport Ireland and Sport NorthernIreland.
Murrough concluded by saying that hefelt the Board of Directors had acted at alltimes in the best interest and to the bestof their capability with regard to theMountaineering Ireland organisation, itsmembers and other stakeholders.
Financial statementsThe financial statements for 2018 were
then presented by Board member ImeldaBuckley, Chair of the Finance, Audit andRisk Sub-committee, for approval, and theauditor was reappointed for 2019.
Several aspirant clubs were unanimouslyelected to full membership. They were HellFire Rangers, Pathfinders MountaineeringClub, Mourne Youth Climbing Club, GilfordYouth Climbing Club, Glencree Walkers,We Walk Together, Kick Ass Adventures,Barryroe Walking Club, InternationalWomen’s Club and Shannon Trekkers.Paul Barron congratulated them all on theirachievement and wished their membersmuch pleasure as they progressed in oursport.
Mountaineering Ireland’s statementsregarding Safeguarding and Anti-Dopingwere read and approved by the meeting.
Finally, a motion that had been proposedby the Board of Mountaineering Ireland wasapproved by the meeting, namely that ‘theannual subscription payable by clubmembers in respect of the subscriptionyear beginning on 1 November 2019 andeach subscription year thereafter shall be asfollows: club member aged 23 years andover - €35.00; club member aged under 23years - €20.50; where a club member agedunder 23 years is the daughter or son of aregistered member of that club, a specialrate of €7.60 shall apply.’
Mountaineering Ireland’s Annual Review2018 was also presented at the AGM. TheAnnual Review provides an overview of keywork achieved over the past year and canbe read or downloaded fromwww.mountaineering.ie.
A Members’ Forum followed the AGM.The Members’ Forum is an informalmeeting, which provides an opportunityfor clubs and members to raise items fordiscussion ■
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The Mountaineering Ireland Board, CEO Murrough McDonagh (at laptop) and ordinary members of Mountaineering Ireland at the AGM at SportHQ, Blanchardstown, Dublin, on March 30th.
Patrick O’Sullivan being awarded Honorary Membership of Mountaineering Ireland by Presidentof Mountaineering Ireland, Paul Kellagher (left) and Board member Mike Maunsell (right).
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8 Irish Mountain Log Summer 2019
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This is just a short note to say thank you to our members for supporting the motion that wasapproved at the March AGM to increase Mountaineering Ireland’s club membership fee to €35from November 2019 for the coming 2019/2020 membership year. This is the first increase toMountaineering Ireland membership fees since 2007.
There is no increase in the fee for either club members aged under 23 years (which remains at€20.50) or for club members under 23 years who are the son or daughter of a registeredmember of the same club (it remains at €7.60).
Below is an infographic showing where our funding came from in 2018 and where we spent it tomaintain the level of work we do to represent and support hillwalking and climbing in Ireland.
In maintaining the same level of service to our membership over the past three years, we have incurred a combined financialshortfall of €128,886.
Therefore, our focus moving forward has to be on increasing our income, while at the same time expanding our level of activity todeliver on the Strategic Plan adopted in 2018. This includes increased support for hillwalking by establishing a new HillwalkingCommittee and by appointing a fulltime Hillwalking Development Officer.
For further information on our audited accounts, please visit www.mountaineering.ie/AboutUs/Downloads.
We sincerely appreciate your continued support in this process.
Murrough McDonagh, CEO, Mountaineering Ireland
Where we spent our 2018 funding:
Our 2018 funding came from two main income streams:
Increase in Mountaineering Ireland club membership fee
Summer 2019
Walking on water: waterways to health
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AUTHOR: Jason King is Programme Manager ofGet Ireland Walking. Get Ireland Walking is aninitiative of Sport Ireland, supported byHealthy Ireland and hosted and delivered byMountaineering Ireland.FIND OUT MORE: To find out more about GetIreland Walking, visit the websitewww.getirelandwalking.ie, contact us on(01) 625 1109 or email Jason [email protected].
By Jason King (Get IrelandWalking)
Research has shown thatengagement with naturethrough outdoor activities canhave a significant positiveimpact on an individual’shealth and wellbeing. GetIreland Walking, WaterwaysIreland and the Local SportsPartnerships from Kildare,Carlow and Laois are nowlaunching a walkingprogramme on canal and river routes across the three counties.
The aim of this programmeis to immerse participants in anatural environment,enhancing their walkingexperience, with waterproviding the therapeuticelement. A network of walkingtrails along the canals providesaccessible and fun ways forfamilies, groups, clubs andindividuals to regularly get out into the outdoors.
This programme willfacilitate this for targetedgroups with support fromCounty Walking Facilitatorsand coordinators from LocalSports Partnerships.
Waterways Ireland is keen topromote the activity of walking
on these paths and, wherepossible, to collaborate withand support Get IrelandWalking in its campaign to getmore people more active moreoften.
As National ProgrammeManager with Get IrelandWalking, I am excited aboutthis new programme. We liveon an island surrounded bygreen and blue spaces, whichprovide a plethora ofopportunities to engage withnature for improved health andwellbeing. This programme willconsist of a series of walks forsix weeks for three separategroups and service providers.Families, and addiction andcardiac care services’participants, will be targeted.We hope the experience forthose who do participate will be enjoyable and fun.
Walking can result inphysical, mental and socialbenefits. Walking gives anopportunity for theparticipants to disconnectfrom the rat race, to be still, toengage with themselves andto chat with friends and family.It helps break down barriersand lays the foundations forgrowth, better health andbetter wellbeing. The
accessibility of places to walk,and the amenities whichsurround us, can enhance ourquality of life: this is theobjective of the programmeand the aim for all participants.
“Waterways Ireland has seena huge increase in the numberof recreational and tourist userson and along all our waterwaysin recent years,” says SharonLavin, Head of Marketing andCommunication, WaterwaysIreland. “With the provision ofour Blueway and Greenwaytrails, we have now createdeven more opportunities forpeople to try new recreationalactivities. This also offersgreater health and wellbeingand social opportunities formany.
“For Waterways Ireland, theWaterways for Healthprogramme, in conjunctionwith our partners in Get IrelandWalking and the Local Sports
Partnerships, is an idealopportunity to encouragepeople to see inland waterwaysas a fitness and recreationalopportunity. Through theWaterways for Healthprogramme, they will developskills to help them stay fit andhealthy for life.”
Waterways for Health kickedoff on March 8th. We lookforward to sharing with you thesuccesses of the programmeand to share our plans forfurther promotion of walkingtrails on Ireland’s waterways.
The Get Ireland Walkinginitiative and Local SportsPartnerships are supported bySport Ireland and HealthyIreland. For more informationon the partners and theirservices see the websiteswww.getirelandwalking.ie,www.waterwaysireland.organd www.sportireland.ie (to findyour Local Sports Partnership) ■
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Launching the Waterways For Health programme onthe banks of the River Barrow in Co Carlow in March
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other better-known tourist sites, which isa pity. Few other counties have such avariety of mountain, sea and riverenvironments, all within such closeproximity of each other and all so easilyaccessible. The club is fortunate to haveall of this natural beauty on its doorstep.
The club likes to pride itself on itsfriendliness, and we accommodatewalkers of all levels. Companionship is animportant aspect of the club. Our mantrais “It’s not a competition” and we walk ata pace that suits all of our participants.We generally alternate between flatwalks and hill or mountain walks everyother week. Most of our walks takebetween two and four hours.
We walk primarily in the Comeragh andMonavullagh Mountains, but we alsoregularly go to the Knockmealdowns, theGaltees, Slievenamon and elsewhere, aswell as doing flat walks throughout thesouth-east, along river, forest and coastalroutes.
The club is conscious of itsresponsibility not to disturb theenvironment in which we walk and of theneed to protect and conserve thelandscape that we enjoy so much. It isimportant that we leave it so that othersmay also derive the same pleasures aswe have from it.
The club encourages its members toimprove their abilities in navigation, walkleadership and other mountain skills,while at the same time benefiting fromimproved health and fitness. We believethat it is very important to stop andenjoy the beauty around us. We arealways grateful to the local agriculturecommunity for their goodwill in allowingus access to such marvellous amenities.
We have a few weekends away eachyear and we celebrate Christmas and thesummer with nights out. In addition, inmost years the club plans a walking tripabroad. Previous trips have includedsections of the Camino de Santiago deCompostela and visits to Snowdonia, theDolomites and Nepal.
We have also organised night walks inthe Comeraghs, which have beendependent on a full moon and clearskies. We are generally always happy towalk in our local mountains.
Members of KilmacthomasWalking Club in the Comeraghs
Gathering to be held in the ComeraghsThe members of Kilmacthomas Walking Club are celebrating their fifteenth anniversary this yearand have offered to host the Mountaineering Ireland Autumn Gathering. They are keen to showoff the beauty of their home turf, the Comeraghs, and the joys of walking there.
Kilmacthomas Walking Club
By Con Murphy (Chairperson,Kilmacthomas Walking Club)
Kilmacthomas Walking Club, based inKilmacthomas, Co Waterford, wasfounded in November 2004, so we areapproaching fifteen years in existence. Wecurrently have approximately sixtymembers.
Kilmacthomas is located at the base ofthe Comeragh Mountains, in the heart ofCounty Waterford, halfway betweenWaterford city and Dungarvan. The clubwas formed to explore and appreciate thebeauty of the local mountains.
The club normally meets on Sundaymornings in Kilmacthomas to carpoolbefore heading to the walk location. Ourwalks programme is available on ourwebsite and any last-minute alterations arenotified to club members via Whats App.
The natural beauty of the countryside inWaterford is often overlooked in favour of
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Autumn Gathering
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seem an easy crossing, but there aremany obstacles in the soft peat covering,such as wet bog, cuttings and rivers, all ofwhich can be energy-draining.
When visibility is poor, good navigationskills are required to safely traverse themountains, as there are few suitablelandmarks to guide the way.
The Comeragh plateau is an erodingblanket bog with numerous peat haggs,exposed gravel and wet bog areas. Theplateau landscape might be compared toa lunar-type situation. Ground coverconsists principally of grasses, peat,heather and ferns.
The attractions of the Comeraghs arethe variety of landscapes that they offer,which include some of the finest corrie
lakes in the country, rivers, forests,valleys, waterfalls, cliff faces, ridges androlling hills. There is a waterfall above theSgilloge Loughs, where the prevailingwind can blow the water backwards toform a mist; that is referred to as ‘seanbhean ag caitheamh tobac.’
Coumshingaun Lake is the largest lakein the Comeraghs. It covers an area ofabout fifteen hectares and has a verticalcliff face to the rear, which is 350 metreshigh, almost double the height of theCliffs of Moher. Most of the lakes in theComeraghs are corrie lakes or coums,which were formed by glacial movementduring the last Ice Age. Not all of thecoums contain lakes, though; Coum Eag,for example, is a dry coum.
By Con Murphy (Chairperson,Kilmacthomas Walking Club)
The Comeragh mountain range contains anumber of peaks, including Monavullagh,Coumaraglin and Lyre Mountains, andstretches from Dungarvan in the south to Clonmel in the north.
There are a series of corries along theeast and west flanks of the mountainrange. The eastern face of the rangecontains cliff faces and corries, while thewestern face consists of a more gentle,sloping landscape. The entire mountainrange is covered by Ordnance Survey MapNo 75.
The mountain range contains only a fewpeaks, because the summit is a plateau.The highest point is 792 metres and ismarked by a cairn, because otherwise itmight not be located easily, as there isnothing to distinguish it from thesurrounding area.
Once climbed, the Comeraghs may
Autumn Gathering
Details of this year’s AutumnGathering for your diary
Date: October 18-19th 2019Base: The Park Hotel, DungarvanHost club: Kilmacthomas Walking ClubLocation: The Comeraghs, Co Waterford
The Comeragh Mountains
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Knockanaffrin ridgein the Comeraghs
Coumshingaun, a jewel ofa corrie in the Comeraghs
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a pleasant walk in Crough (pronounced‘crew’) Wood, which is a beautiful oak andbeech forest straddling the Mahon River.
Much of the walking in the Comeraghsis on open ground, and maybe, if you’relucky, you will find some sheep tracks toease the trek.
The Mahon, the Clodiagh and the Nirerivers rise in close proximity to each otherin the plateau above Coumshingaun.Other rivers that rise in the Comeraghsinclude the Glasha, the Glenary, theColligan, the Dalligan and the Tay.
The Comeraghs contain muchevidence of past civilisations, withnumerous standing stones, stone circles,barrows and fulachta fiadha. It isastonishing to think that we can walktoday in an area that held a thrivingcommunity more than 4,000 years ago.
There are many remains of the builtenvironment hidden in the hills, rangingfrom the above archaeological finds todeserted villages in Glenary and in
Corraun, an ex-British Army shootingrange on Long Hill, old stone sheepenclosures and two disused, ugly MMDrelay stations.
The Comeraghs are a most under-usedamenity: it is possible to spend aweekend in them without seeing anotherhuman being. However, the walk intoMahon Falls and the low-level access toCoumshingaun can be very popular,especially at weekends.
To date, hillwalking has had littleadverse impact on the mountain, butthere are signs that this could change,especially on Coumshingaun ridge. Themain activities affecting the mountainsare sheep grazing, the burning off ofheather and peat erosion. Lately, a trackhas been formed close to the Falls, alongthe bank of the Mahon River, that iscausing increasing erosion. Attemptshave been made to reverse this impact.
County Waterford is fortunate to havesuch a rich and varied mountain range ■
The high-level horseshoe walk aboveCoumshingaun is one of the finest walksin the south-east of the country andincludes scrambling, a bit of boulderingand great views out to sea and inland tothe Galtees and the Knockmealdowns ona clear day.
Adjacent to Coumshingaun are Crotty’sLake and Crotty’s Rock, which was thehiding place of an eighteenth-centuryhighwayman. Despite many years ofsearching, we have not found any of hisrumoured hidden hoard. To the west ofCrotty’s Lake is Coum Iarthar, another fineexample of a corrie lake, with a flatplateau overhead, a rear cliff wall and alake entrapped by a moraine. There are anumber of smaller lakes downstream fromthe main lake.
Continuing anti-clockwise around theperimeter of the mountain we come toCoumdula, and further on underKnockanaffrin is Lake Morha.
In the Nire Valley, we find the twoSgilloge Loughs, the two CoumalochaLakes and, further on, Lough Coumfea.Over the mountain is a string of smalllakes in Coumtae. Many of these lakescontain small brown trout, which maytrace their ancestry back to the last IceAge.
There are few defined tracks in theComeraghs, but a number of marked wayshave been established in the Nire Valleyarea. There are trailheads at the Nire carpark (S 277 128) and at Curraheen (S 307154) that give access to these tracks.
A tarmac path gives access to thewaterfall at Mahon Falls, which is a verypopular tourist attraction. Close to theFalls, the local community has developed
Sgilloge Lough inthe Comeraghs
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Club Support Meetings 2019Following on from the success of last year’s Mountaineering Ireland Club Support Meetings,when we visited Sligo, Bray, Kerry and Derry, we plan to hold more meetings this year.
The meetings will follow a similar agenda to last year’s, with Ruth Whelan (HillwalkingDevelopment Officer), Helen Lawless (Access & Conservation Officer) and Jane Carney(Training Officer) from Mountaineering Ireland visiting Cork, Newry, Dublin and Galway to giveclubs in each region the opportunity to raise club-related topics with them. The meetings willallow clubs to network with other clubs in their region, to share ideas and information.
Date Location Venue25th September Cork The Hibernian Hotel, Mallow, Co Cork 3rd October Newry Mourne Country Hotel, Newry21st November Dublin Irish Sport HQ, Blanchardstown, Dublin 1527th November Galway Menlo Park Hotel, Headford Road, Galway
Refreshments from 7.00pm. Meeting time: 7.30-9.30pm.
Irish Mountain Log 13Summer 2019
By Emily Shakespeare
The research that I recentlycompleted into changes overtime in settlement patterns inKilrossanty parish in theComeragh Mountains hasbeen very interesting. Bycomparing historic OrdnanceSurvey maps with present-dayaerial photography andcartography using GIS, I wasable to create a picture of howsettlements in this area havegrown, declined or evendisappeared since 1840.
During the research, itbecame apparent that thehistoric maps were not tellingthe whole story and appear tohave excluded dwellings forwhich there is clear alternativephysical or anecdotalevidence.
Compiled by the Britishmilitary in the 1840s, the 6”Ordnance Survey map was thefirst cartographic endeavour ofits kind and enabled acomprehensive valuation ofland in Ireland to create a newup-to-date tax system.
In the 1890s, a moredetailed 25”-to-one-mile mapwas created to allow moreaccurate coverage of the landbeing sold off by Irishlandlords who had sufferedfinancially during the Famine.
Both historic maps have aboundary dividing cultivatedand uncultivated land onmountain slopes, and thetopographic detail differssignificantly between the twoareas. On the cultivated lower
slopes in the earlier maps, theoutlines of fields, roads andbuildings are clearly shown,whilst the detail on the otherside of the boundary is sparse,only containing townlandboundaries, streams andaltitude markers. Fifty yearslater, the demarcation is evenmore pronounced: roads andrivers end abruptly on enteringthe blank, mountainous space.The message from these mapsis, therefore, that there was noinhabitation above this line.
However, the plethora of
archaeological evidence in themountains shows that the landabove this dividing line waslived in and was worked.*
Temporary dwellings werealso erected when familieswere evicted and urgentlyneeded shelter (brácha), whichleft no mark on the landscape.Nor, in fact, did thosedispossessed families whosought shelter in farmers’outbuildings or in field corners.
Booleying, or transhumance,is the agricultural tradition oftaking cattle up to the highopen lands to graze during thesummer months. Booleyingstructures, an importantextension of lowlandsettlement life, were alsoexcluded from the officialmaps.
The floating island of‘Doody’s farm’ in theComeragh townland on the 25”map is clearly outlined and itsphysical imprint still existstoday, including some buildingruins. Looking upslope around
1 km north, Ned Curran’sfarmstead also still standsand, although it is understoodthat it was occupied until the1920s, it was not included inthe official OS maps.
These omissions or ‘silences’on the maps can tell us just asmuch about society at thetime as what was included. Bydenying the existence ofinhabitants living above the
line of cultivation, the mapsperformed an ‘ideologicalfiltering’ of what would havebeen predominantly poorerGaelic Irish families, reflectingthe power and socialstructures of the time. Thecollective memory of thisinvisibility may have influencedthe decision for Ned Curran’sfarm to be used as a safehouse during the Civil War ■
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Further readingAndrews, JH (2002) A Paper Landscape: the Ordnance Survey in nineteenth-century Ireland. Four Courts History Classics.Harley, JB (1988) Maps, Knowledge and Power in Daniels, S and Cosgrove, D(eds) The Iconography of Landscape. Cambridge University Press.
AUTHOR: Emily Shakespeare is a PhDcandidate at Waterford Institute ofTechnology, researching the landscapebiography of Kilrossanty parish in theComeragh Mountains. This research is part-funded by the Irish Uplands Forum andLandscape Research Group. Emily thanks allthose in the local community who offered
their invaluable knowledge of the area. She can be contacted [email protected] and on Twitter at @emstar73.
The hidden Comeraghs
* http://webgis.archaeology.ie/historicenvironment
Ned Curran’s cottage
Doody’s farm and the edge of cultivation as depicted on the 25” OS map
Ned Curran’sfarm
Doody’s farm
By Pat O’Rourke
Greenways are being developedin many scenic locations on theisland of Ireland that were nottraditionally accessible. Thesetrails are proving to be popularentry points to a more activelifestyle for people of all ages,supporting their overall healthand wellbeing and connectingthem with nature in a very realway.
However, while the rurallandscapes through which theypass are a major part of thisGreenways success, their linksto urban centres are crucialelements in the progress tosustaining the increasedmobility of the population into
Carlingford Lough Greenway openedthe future.
The central aim of theCarlingford Lough Greenway isto inspire active travel, as it isplanned to be a quality, off-road, cross-border Greenwaytrail between Newry city andCarlingford, a distance of 20kilometres. This projectprimarily utilises disusedrailway line and canal bankinfrastructure along themajestic shores of CarlingfordLough.
The idea started with theoriginal section of Greenway,which had been developedalongside Carlingford Lough in2013, between CarlingfordMarina and Omeath. Thisproved to be very popular, withover 50,000 users per year onthe 6-km trail. This originalGreenway followed the line ofthe disused Dundalk, Newryand Greenore Railway, whichwas built in 1875/76 and onwhich the last train hadtravelled in 1951.
While I am working for LouthCounty Council, our localauthority colleagues inNorthern Ireland have beendeveloping a plan for a trailheading south from Newryalong the banks of the NewryShip Canal, which dates fromthe 1740s. We combined ourefforts and successfullyapplied for EU Interreg fundingfor a cross-border Greenwayproject from Newry toCarlingford.
The partners in this projectare Louth County Council,Newry, Mourne and DownDistrict Council and the EastBorder Region. Together, wehave successfully secured over€3 million in funding tocomplete a 20km section ofGreenway along CarlingfordLough by the end of 2020.
Last year, we openedanother section of theCarlingford Lough Greenwayfrom Newry south to VictoriaLock, located between thecanal and the tidal NewryRiver.
This cross-borderpartnership is advancing theremaining 10km of Greenwayto complete a quality trail fromCarlingford to Newry, linkingwith the existing 30km NewryCanal Way walking and cyclingtrail.
The longer-term vision is tocomplete a quality offroadGreenway trail from Belfast toDublin, which we boldly call theEast Coast Trail.
While significant sections ofland were in state ownership,the remainder of the trail wasdeveloped with the close co-
operation and agreement ofthe numerous landownersalong the route. There werethirty-three landowners alongthe 2013 section of theGreenway, and there are atleast twenty-four non-statutory landowners on thelatest section of Greenway. Thisinvolvement of the landownershas developed into a genuinebroad community buy-in tothe Greenway.
The Greenway is the startingplace for so many meaningfulconversations, from heritage tosustainability, to simply gettingbetter acquainted with thisbeautiful part of Ireland.
The Carlingford LoughGreenway is an importantmotivator for sustainablemobility in the population andincreased partnership acrossthe border. The cooperation ofnumerous landowners as theproject has evolved has been acrucial element in this process.It is also opening opportunitiesfor the local population to getout and be active, and inspiringall of us to consider behaviouralchanges in relation to our caruse and ultimately to reduceour carbon footprint ■
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Summer 201914 Irish Mountain Log
AUTHOR: Pat O’Rourke is an executivetechnician in the Infrastructure Section ofLouth County Council, working on theCarlingford Lough Greenway. He is a memberof the CROWS Hillwalkers and ofMountaineering Ireland.
Mike Maunsell (second from right) representing the UIAA Mountain Protection Commission at the UN World TourismOrganisation’s 4th Euro-Asian Mountain Tourism Conference, held in Germany in March. Also pictured (from left): DirkGlasser, (Director, Sustainable Development Tourism, UNWTO); Sara Manuelli (Policy & Advocacy Officer, UN Food &Agriculture Organisation Mountain Partnership); Alina Szasz (Coordinator, Carpathian Mountains Sustainable TourismPlatform) and Matthais Jurek (United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP).
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 15
environments.Some of Mike Maunsell’s work
on the UIAA MountainProtection Commissionincludes speaking atinternational conferences, aswell as collaboration andadvocacy work for mountainenvironments andcommunities.
Mike was a speaker andpanellist representing the UIAAat the UN World TourismOrganization’s 4th Euro-AsianMountain Tourism Conference,held in Berchtesgaden,Germany between March 2-5th
this year. His speech and panelQ&A covered how the UN’ssustainable development goalsand sustainable mountaintourism initiatives can beimplemented in adventuretourism to protect localcommunities and fragileenvironments.
Mike was the keynote speakerat the international conferenceMountains: Cultures,Landscapes and Biodiversity,held between May 10-12th. Thisconference was hosted by theWestern Caspian University inBaku, Azerbaijan. It wasattended by internationalacademics, NGOs, researchers,government officials and UNagencies from thirty countries.
Mike spoke on the immediateand long-term issues facingfragile mountain environments
and mountain communities inthe face of climate change andhow these will impact onsociety in general.
Some of the recentcollaboration and advocacywork of the UIAA MountainProtection Commissionincludes signing up to the fiveprinciples of the UnitedNations FrameworkConvention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC) initiative,Sports for Climate Action. Thefive principles are:
1 Undertake systematicefforts to promote greaterenvironmentalresponsibility
2 Reduce overall climateimpact
3 Educate for climate action
4 Promote sustainable andresponsible consumption
5 Advocate for climate actionthrough communication.
As an observer organisationto the UN FrameworkConvention on ClimateChange, the UIAA MountainProtection Commission hastaken steps towardsaddressing climate-relatedinitiatives within UIAAoperations.
A Memorandum ofUnderstanding was recentlysigned with the International
Federation of Mountain GuidesAssociations (IFMGA). The UIAAMountain ProtectionCommission is collaboratingwith the IFMGA to implementnew projects on training,education and sustainabilityguidelines for memberassociations and themountaineering community.
The UIAA MountainProtection Commission is alsocollaborating with theinternational network MountainResearch Initiative and with theUN Environment Programme(EU Environment) on training,education and sustainabilityprojects.
Mike contributed to theenvironmental section of theUIAA’s Summer Alpine TrainingHandbook, which is used bythousands of mountaineersvisiting the Alps each year. Hebecame a Fellow of the RoyalGeographical Society in 2014and works as a lecturer inenvironmental and geographicalscience with the Department ofApplied Science at LimerickInstitute of Technology. He is aformer Chair of MountaineeringIreland’s Access andConservation Committee.
Congratulations to MikeMaunsell on his election as Vice-President of the UIAA MountainProtection Commission. Havinga representative at that level inthe UIAA is a great achievementfor a relatively smallorganisation likeMountaineering Ireland ■
Mountaineering Ireland Board memberelected Vice-President of UIAA MountainProtection Commission
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A
Mike Maunsell, a member ofthe Board of Directors ofMountaineering Ireland, waselected Vice-President of theUnion Internationale desAssociations d'Alpinisme(UIAA) Mountain ProtectionCommission in May this year.
The UIAA, the InternationalClimbing and MountaineeringFederation, which is based inSwitzerland, is the internationalgoverning body for climbingand mountaineering, andrepresents climbers andmountaineers around the worldon a wide range of issuesrelated to mountain safety,sustainability and competitionsport. It was founded in 1932and represents over ninetymember associations andfederations from sixty-ninecountries on six continents. TheUIAA represents the interests ofover three million individualmountaineers, to promote thevalues of safety, self-sufficiency, and sustainability inmountaineering and mountain
Mike Maunsell
Fair Head Climbing Meet 2019The classic must-do routes saw a fair amount of traffic at this year’s Fair Head Meet.
weather forecast a couple ofdays beforehand, those whocommitted to the weekendwere rewarded with enoughsunshine on both the Saturdayand Sunday to tick routes offtheir ever-growing Fair Headtick-lists.
Classic must-do routes sawtheir fair amount of traffic withseveral ascents of Jolly Roger,Hurricane, Cuchulainn, OceanBoulevard and Hell’s Kitchen.
John Orr cleaned andclimbed Nightrider, wherebyword spread and ConorMcGovern and Paul Collinssnatched an impressive ascentright after.
Michelle Dvorak and HarrietRidley showed some girl powerwith a double-onsight of Trackof the Cat, and many walked inCalvin Torrans and ClaireSheridan’s footsteps on theirnew route, Heart and Soul,which I have to say wasdefinitely my favourite climb ofthe weekend!
The guest speaker, JorgVerhoeven, and organiser, PaulSwail, danced up the iconicWall of Prey, but that was to beexpected, right?!
Those not quite feeling likehand-jamming or long belayshad a great day out boulderingwith Rob Hunter in MurloughBay on the Saturday, inbetween the odd shower andswarms of midges.
Jorg Verhoeven, anincredibly accomplishedAustrian climber, was invitedas guest speaker on theSaturday night and left us all in
jaw-dropping awe. Speaking ofhis hard gritstone andYosemite ascents, he providedmore than enough inspirationto last us until next year’smeet.
The evening was rounded offwith a BBQ and a bit of a partyto wrap up the weekend. I’msure there were a few soreheads on the Sundaymorning... a success, to say theleast!
Massive thanks to Sean andthe McBride family for their
incredible hospitality and forthe use of their land; to PaulSwail for organising yetanother memorable weekendin association with Dal RiadaClimbing Club; and to JorgVerhoeven for sharing hisstories.
Last but not least, a bigthank you to each and everyone who attended this year’smeet, for respecting the landand the people within it. Eventhe Portaloos weren’t thatsmelly! ■
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By Freja Shannon
The Fair Head Meet iseverybody’s favouriteweekend! Well, certainly forthose of us itching to escapethe urban jungle on a Fridayevening in a car filled to thebrim with climbing gear, ropes,sun hats, beer, campingchairs... you name it. Climbersgathered from all corners ofthe world – France, Scotland,Wales, Sweden, the States,Australia, we even had aKerryman this year! – tocelebrate exactly that: Irishclimbing.
Despite a dubious-looking
Summer 2019
NEWSLOG
AUTHOR: Freja Shannon grew up in the Burren,Co Clare, five minutes from the famous MirrorWall, though she only started climbing whenshe moved to the French Alps at the age of 18.She has been based there since then, pursuingher dream of becoming a mountain guide.
Paul Swail on Wall of Prey, Fair Head
Summer 2019
park. Water bottles should berefilled here, as the highestpoint lies ahead. A 259-metreclimb takes you to Máméan(the Pass of the Birds), a smallchapel and stations, up to yourleft, which mark the spotwhere St Patrick blessed theWest. From there, it is a gentledescent to the last checkpoint.
One last steep climb up theroad. Aill na gCat is the cliff-face to the north. From thereit is downhill all the way,meandering along a smallcountry road with views of theMaam valley, the meanderingBealnabrack River and JoeKeane’s Pub, home of 19th-century Alexander Nimmo,engineer of roads andharbours from Sligo Bay toGalway Bay.
At the T-junction, turn rightfor Maam Community Centre,where a warm welcome awaitsparticipants, hot soup, goodfood, tea and coffee, acertificate and the time to sit,take off their boots, stretchtheir toes and relish theirachievement!
Good walking boots, apacked lunch, a water bottleand wet gear are essential.Join us for the most stunning,most scenic walking marathonin Ireland! ■
FIND OUT MORE:For further information andregistration, go to bit.ly/2XbivmF.
By Anne Brindley (EnvironmentOfficer, Galway Walking Club)
“I was high as a kite after Ifinished, and I stayed like thatfor hours,” says Peter Leonard,Chairperson of Galway WalkingClub, about his walkingmarathon experience in 2018.
Now in its 23rd year, theclub’s annual walkingmarathon and half-marathonis coordinated by Jerry Lalor,who is passionate aboutoutdoor activities andparticularly about walking inConnemara.
From the departure pointnear the Our Lady of theWayside Church, the firststage takes participants closeto Killary Harbour. The secondstage takes them along theold green road, looking acrossthe mussel farm in the deepwaters of the fjord towardsMweelrea (814m), the highestpeak in Connacht, and aheadtowards Leenane.
The third stage is the startof the half-marathon, nearTooreenacoona River. This is aglorious trek up the Inaghvalley: to your left (east) arethe imposing Maamturks, andto your right (west) na BeannaBeola (the Twelve Bens) withBenbaun (729m), the highestpeak in Co Galway.
At stage 4, the Western Wayjoins the road (time to put onthe runners?), leading tocheckpoint 5 in Máméan car
Galway Walk Marathon &Half Marathon, August 17th
Irish Mountain Log 17
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Clu
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18 Irish Mountain Log Summer 2019
but also help you to find a safespace and friendship amongthe climbing community.
Most of the participants inthe Get Climbing Project comefrom really disadvantagedbackgrounds. Seeing thembuild their confidence and self-esteem week after weekthrough participation in theproject is truly an amazingexperience.
From a climbing point ofview, the participants whoengaged most with the projectmastered the skills so well thatthey now climb independentlyat their local walls, fighting withgrades around the 6c mark.
At the end of May, bothgroups took part in acompetition at the DublinClimbing Centre wall, whichincluded both top roping andboulder problems. The outcomewas really good, as they not onlyclimbed very well, but they alsomade new friendships.Participants from both groups
plan to climb together over thesummer months.
In the meantime, the GetClimbing Project managed toreach outside the Dublin areaand start an eight-weekprogramme near Kilkenny inpartnership with ActiveConnections. The climbingsessions took place inBallykeefe Quarry and targeted,among others, young peoplewith developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD). Rockclimbing is known to be a greattherapy tool for people withDCD, as it exercises the core
By Natasza Berlowska (GetClimbing Project Coordinator)
After a long, cold winter andcolder spring, it looks like we arefinally being blessed with somewarm weather. However,despite the hard-to-resist callto hibernate during the darkand windy months, the youngparticipants of the GetClimbing Project kept workinghard to learn new skills andbecome better climbers.
Shortly after Christmas, bothFirhouse College andKillinarden Community CentreYouth Project came back toDublin Climbing Centre withnew groups of students, keen tofind out what the rock climbingis all about.
Climbing is not only aboutswinging on ropes. It is aboutchallenging yourself and findingpowers that you did not knowyou had; powers that not onlyhelp you to fight your fears andovercome everyday problems
Get Climbing Project
muscles, teaches balance andimproves coordination throughfun and challenge.
As the school year is endingand summer is here, it is gettingclose to the time to start planningthe autumn events. For now, it isconfirmed that BallyfermotYouthreach will organise a groupof participants from the earlyschool leavers programme, whowill be introduced to rockclimbingin October 2019. Apart from that,we are hoping to be part ofEuropean Week of Sports, whichtakes place in the last week ofSeptember ■
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Some of the Killinarden Community Centre Youth Project participantsin Tallaght after receiving their Get Climbing Programme Certificates
Project participants and trainer at the competition in May Project participants on the climbing wall at the competition in May
Project participants from Firhouse College and KillinardenCommunity Centre Youth Project at the competition in the DublinClimbing Centre, Tallaght, in May, together with project instructors
NEWSL0G
New visitor attractions planned for Avondale
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Re-development plan for Avondale House and Forest Park receives planning permissionCoillte, in partnership withFáilte Ireland, has been grantedplanning permission to re-develop Avondale Forest Park,south of Rathdrum, CoWicklow. This will see theenhancement of AvondaleHouse and Forest Park, and setAvondale as a major visitorattraction within Ireland’sAncient East.
A new orientation space andvisitor building connecting to‘semi-underground’ and tree-top walks, open glades in theforest for creative arts and play,enhanced walking and cyclingroutes, and a café andrestaurant, will all be part of there-developed park.
The key theme for theproject is ‘Avondale: A place ofVisionaries.’ This traces theorigins of the estate fromSamuel Hayes, the
‘grandfather’ of Irish forestry,with his extensive treecollection from around theworld, through the Parnellyears at Avondale and theirfamily’s vision for a new andemerging Irish state, continuinginto the early 1900s with theestablishment of Irish stateforestry in the park. In a newIrish Forestry Pavilion, visitorswill see and interact with howCoillte is innovating in theforestry business and leadingwith new technologies.
The project will include:
• Interactive educationaltechnologies to bedesigned to promotelearning about forestry, thebio-economy andbiodiversity
• A ‘living history’ experience inAvondale House to bring tolife the story of the Parnells
• New trails planned toexplore trees from belowand above the forestcanopy
• An elevated timber latticewalkway 460m in length tobe erected overlooking theforest canopy and theAvonmore River valley
• A state-of-the-art visitorcentre on the Great Ride,with a new restaurant andcafé in the courtyard
• A new children’s play areain the walled garden, withwild and creative playspaces throughout thepark
• More car parking and aone-way indicated trafficflow, to allow visitors toaccess and leave the parkmore easily.
The project will costapproximately €8m to deliver
in the first phase. Later phaseswill include re-development ofthe ‘Big Shed’ into a venue forweddings, corporate events,concerts, etc. The Big Shed wasCharles Stewart Parnell’s ratherextravagant cow-shed, with aroof modelled on BrightonRailway Station and restored bythe OPW in the early 2000s. It issaid that his mother regularlyemptied the cattle from theshed and held large dances inthe venue!
The re-developed AvondaleHouse and Forest Park will beready for visitors in late 2021 orearly 2022, but in the meantime,Avondale remains open,providing enjoyable walking andcycling trails for visitors.
For more information seeCoillte’s website and for anyqueries , please [email protected] ■
Irish Mountain Log 19Summer 2019
Concept drawing of the new outdoorcafé space in Avondale courtyard
Climbfest 2019 at Malin HeadBy Alan Tees (ColmcilleClimbers)
Ireland’s longest-establishedrockclimbing festival, theClimbfest, took place on theMay bank holiday weekend atMalin Head, Co Donegal, hostedby Colmcille Climbers.
There were the usual range ofages and nationalities climbingon the spectacular cliffs ofIreland’s most northerly point.Despite the cold arctic winds,there were lots of climbers onthe cliffs between Hell’s Holeand the new fence.
Unfortunately, permission toclimb on the superb rockbeyond the fence was notforthcoming. In fact, the fence
appears to have been reinforced.Nevertheless, there was plentyof space for everyone, and theevent kicked off with a ‘comeand try it’ for children at theconveniently situated BambasButtress, just below the Tower,with short routes like ‘Yoda’sStaircase’ and ‘Vader’s Corner’being easy enough for theclimbers and was mostappropriate with the Star WarsFestival taking place locally.
There has been a hugeincrease in indoor climbing inIreland and, for this reason, oneof the objectives of Climbfest isto teach the skills of outdoorclimbing and safety on real rockto those who are more used to
the comfort of moving oncoloured holds in a warm andsheltered environment. Therewere a lot of experiencedoutdoor climbers andmountaineers on handthroughout the weekend toshare their experience and showbeginners the ropes, as it were.
Probably Ireland’s finest easy-ish climb, first completed in the1930s and recently named ‘TheCutting Edge,’ was particularlypopular, with many visitorscarrying home euphoricmemories of climbing on thesuperb, exposed, knife-edgeridge fifty metres above the seaand posing for the tourists onthe last pinnacle.
There were many, manytourists there over the holidayweekend and it is a shame theycannot fully enjoy the wondersof the west side of Malin Head,including Devil’s Bridge, due tothe recent access restrictions.
Colmcille Climbers would liketo thank Mountaineering Irelandfor its support; Café Bamba forits excellent coffee (perfect forwarming cold hands); and allwho helped over the weekend;but most particularly we wouldlike to thank the Doherty familyand the Sea View Tavern, whoprovided the campsite and thewarmest possible welcome forall who attended Climbfest overthe weekend ■
A prize-winning photo in the category ‘Action, Humour’from the competition held during the WWA weekend inConnemara in May. Photo: Freda Cunningham
NEWSLOG
20 Irish Mountain Log
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By Ruth Whelan
Women With Altitude is aMountaineering Irelandinitiative to encouragewomen to take on greaterchallenges inmountaineering, be theypersonal, technical orleadership challenges.
This year’s Women WithAltitude event was based inKillary Adventure Centre, inthe beautiful landscape ofConnemara, over theweekend of May 17–19th. Overninety women from all
around the island of Ireland,with all levels of experience,attended, together withinstructors and the organisingteam.
The weekend kicked offwith some fun orienteeringaround the forest near theKillary centre, when all theparticipants got the chanceto meet and mingle.
Michelle Hughes, aMountaineering IrelandProvider, who lives and worksin Connemara, introducedthose present to the delightsthat the area has to offer, in a
fun and enthusiastic way.Although a Powerpointprojector was provided toillustrate her talk, the viewfrom the centre also allowedMichelle to pinpoint the areasshe was talking about rightoutside the window!
Up bright and early onSaturday morning, everyoneenjoyed participating in themany activities on offer,which were suitable for alllevels of ability, such asnavigation, scrambling,hillwalking and climbing. Theweather started off lookingdubious, but it actuallyremained dry for the entireweekend.
Ursula MacPherson, thekeynote guest speaker,entertained and inspired thecaptive audience, as shebrought us through alifetime of adventure andfascinating experiences allover the world, kayaking,biking and even flyingplanes, but predominantlymountaineering. The varietyof expeditions and climbsshe has accomplished todate was truly inspirational.
After a delightful dinner,the winners of the photocompetition wereannounced. A big thank youto the Great Outdoors, whoprovided a gift for our
Women With Altitude: making connectionsThe Women With Altitude weekend in Connemara in May was a great success.
AUTHOR: Ruth Whelan is an OrganisingCommittee member of Women With Altitudeand the Hillwalking Development Officer ofMountaineering Ireland.
FIND OUT MORE: To find out more aboutWomen With Altitude, visit the websitewww.womenwithaltitude.ie.
Summer 2019
“Everyone enjoyed participating inthe many activities on offer – suchas navigation, scrambling,hillwalking and climbing.”
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 21
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keynote speaker andwonderful spot prizes for ourphoto competition.
To top the evening off,some night navigationenthusiasts, led by MaikeJuergens, headed out to explore Connemara by headtorch-light.
Prior to another day full ofactivities such as trail running,an environmental walk,scrambling, climbing and alowland leader taster session,women were put into groupsbased on where they mainlydid their activities. This was toget some feedback from theparticipants but also tofacilitate networking andencourage them to committo doing somethingafterwards to progress theirskills, based on theirexperience during theweekend.
A feedback survey sent tothe participants after theevent showed that over 70%of them had never been to aWomen With Altitudeweekend before. Overall, theyfelt that the event waswelcoming and inclusive forwomen of all ages, abilitiesand experience. Ninety percent of respondents eitheragreed or strongly agreed thatthey had learned new skillsand that knowledge wasshared.
85% stated that as a resultof this weekend they wouldtry more challenging activitiesin hillwalking, climbing and/ormountaineering.
Special thanks are due tothe Killary Adventure Centrestaff, who were exceptionallyfriendly, efficient andaccommodating over theweekend. Thanks also to ourwonderful instructors and
award trainees, OrlaPrendergast, Jane Carney,Helen Lawless, MichelleHughes, Michelle Casey,Poppy Wilson, Julie Reeves,Ursula MacPherson, ColetteMahon, Trish Kane, JoanneMcCandless, Kelly O’ReillySmith and Ursula Timmins,whose enthusiasm,knowledge and expertiseencouraged and inspiredparticipants to furtherdevelop their own skills.
Finally, a special thank you
to the other members of theorganising team, ColetteMahon, Rita Connell, MaikeJuergens, Grania Peden andMaeve McKeever, whoworked seamlessly behindthe scenes to make sureeverything ran smoothly.
On behalf of everyone whoattended the Women WithAltitude weekend, I wouldlike to thank Sport Irelandfor providing funding tosupport and subsidise thisevent to enable women to
experience or develop theirmountaineering skills ofchoice. The funding alsoenabled four bursarycandidates, who wereselected from theapplications submitted, theopportunity to participate inthe event for free.
Depending on theavailability of funding, wehope that we can make nextyear’s tenth Women WithAltitude event even morespecial. Watch this space! ■
Poppy Wilson instructing at Pat’s Cragoverlooking Killary Harbour
The Women With Altitude weekend was supported and subsidised by Sport Ireland. Great Outdoors provided photo competition prizes and a gift.
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Chris Bonington and Pertemba on the 1975 expedition to climb theSW Face of Everest
Sir Chris Bonington to give the 2019 Lynam Lecture
By Patrick O’Sullivan
The Mountaineering IrelandLynam Lecture wasinaugurated in 2011 in thememory of Joss Lynam, oneof Ireland’s best-knownmountaineers, in recognitionof his enormousachievements in hillwalking,climbing and mountaineeringin Ireland and overseas oversome sixty years. During hislifetime, Joss initiatednumerous developments inthese areas of our sport inIreland and he was theinspiration for a number ofgenerations of Irishmountaineers.
Since it was inaugurated,the Mountaineering IrelandLynam Lecture has beendelivered by leading nationaland international
A group of hikers from the Irish Ramblers Club is organising anover-70s sponsored challenge walk in Glendalough onSeptember 26th. To our knowledge, this is the first time that anover-70s challenge walk has taken place in Ireland.
There are four different grades to suit most over-70s: 10km,15km, 20km and 22km walks, with corresponding ascentsfrom 350m to 1,000m.
The club wants to encourage older hikers to continue toenjoy the mountains, and for new over-70s to take up thechallenge and enjoyment of engaging with the hills.
Their motto is “Don’t let the old person in.” The club membersaim to try to keep fit and healthy for as long as they can.
INFORMATION AND BOOKINGS: For more information and aregistration form, please contact [email protected] ■
mountaineers. We are pleasedto announce that this year’slecture will be given by thelegendary British mountaineerSir Chris Bonington.
Sir Chris started climbing in1951, at the age of 16. Hemade the first British ascentof the North Face of the Eigerin 1962 with Ian Clough, andled the first ascent of theSouth Face of Annapurna in1970, the most difficult climbachieved in the Himalaya atthat time.
Chris then led thesuccessful expedition makingthe first ascent of the SouthWest Face of Everest in 1975,and he reached the summithimself with a Norwegianexpedition in 1985.
Sir Chris celebrated his 80th
birthday in 2014 by repeating hisclimb of the Old Man of Hoy, inthe Orkneys. Sir Chris knew JossLynam and they had a sharedpassion for the mountains.
Tickets and furtherinformation about this year’sMountaineering Ireland LynamLecture, which promises to befascinating, will be available onwww.mountaineering.ie soon.There will also be moreinformation in the Autumn 2019issue of the Irish Mountain Log ■
NEWSL0G
Lynam LectureDate: Wednesday, December 18th, 2019Venue: CharteredAccountants House,47-49 Pearse St, Dublin 2
Joss LynamSir Chris Bonington
Challenge walk for over-70s
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Mountaineering Ireland has beenallocated €51,000 in the 2018 SportsCapital Programme allocationannounced recently by the Ministerfor Transport, Tourism and Sport,Shane Ross TD.
The allocated funds will be used topurchase equipment to be used forhillwalking and climbing. The
2018 sports capital grant drawn downequipment will be used byMountaineering Ireland in thedelivery of training sessions,meets, competitions, etc.
In addition to MountaineeringIreland’s allocation of €51,000,three Mountaineering Irelandaffiliated clubs have receivedfunding. Dublin Cliffhangershave been allocated €10,429,Tullow Mountaineering Clubhas been allocated €3,507 andSligo Mountaineering Club hasbeen allocated €2,829 ■
Big boost for mountain biking in IrelandAn investment of €13.5m for international mountain biking centres and trails is announced
Coillte, in partnership withFáilte Ireland, has securedfunding to develop Ireland asone of the best mountainbiking destinations in theworld.
In February, anInternational Mountain BikingProposition for Rural Irelandwas announced by theMinister for Rural andCommunity Development,Michael Ring, TD, as one of
the successful bids under theRural Regeneration andDevelopment Fund. Theproject will see investment ofover €13.5m in trails andvisitor facilities.
The project will comprisefour national trail centresacross seven counties, andover 300 kilometres of trailsat these centres.
The trail centres will belocated in Ballyhoura
(Limerick/Cork), Coolaney(Sligo), Slieve Blooms(Offaly/Laois) and Ticknock &Ballinastoe (Dublin/Wicklow).
The project aims togenerate visitor numbers ofover three million over thenext 10 years.
As the centres are locatedin rural and some remoteareas, the economic impactof the development will besignificant, with visitors
generating a spend of morethan €22 million per annum.An estimated twentycommunities around thecountry will see the effect ofincreased visitor numbers intheir area.
The project will be deliveredover a three-year period andeach site or additional traildevelopment will be openedto the public as it iscompleted ■
Some para-climbing equipment from Equal Adventure
Two riders on the BallinastoeTrail, Roundwood, Co Wicklow
Summer 201924 Irish Mountain Log
Mountaineering Ireland’s Hillwalking Committee
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The recently established Mountaineering Ireland Hillwalking Committee (from left): Roy Madden, Louise Nolan, Declan Murphy, GrainneMcLaughlin, Margaret Collins, Marian Wallis, Ruth Whelan, Russell Mills, Chris Evans. Missing from photo: Veronica Kelly.
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Following a motion at MountaineeringIreland’s 2018 AGM from the IrishRamblers Club to establish ahillwalking committee, a hillwalkingworking group was established. Overthe next seven months, the workinggroup developed terms of referenceand a workplan for the proposedcommittee. These were approved bythe Board of Mountaineering Irelandin January 2019, and a Chairpersonand a Secretary were appointed.
Committee members wererecruited by an invitation to themembership to express interest in therole and to outline their relevantexperience. After some deliberation,eight members were selected and theHillwalking Committee held its firstmeeting on March 21st, 2019.
The members of the newHillwalking Committee are from awide geographical spread andcollectively offer a broad range ofskills and experience.
Gráinne McLaughlin (BoardMember and Chairperson) and RuthWhelan (Mountaineering Ireland staffmember and Secretary) are joined onthe committee by Chris Evans,Declan Murphy, Louise Nolan,Margaret Collins, Marian Wallis, RoyMadden, Russell Mills and VeronicaKelly.
Short biographies follow, so thatmembers can see the range ofexperience that the committeemembers bring to their role.
Gráinne McLaughlinGráinne McLaughlin(Chairperson) has beena member of the IrishRamblers Club since1995 and has served onthe committee of thatclub, both as NewMembers Secretaryand as Training Officer.
She is retired and enjoys spending asmuch time as she can hiking, both inIreland and abroad.
Gráinne joined the Board ofMountaineering Ireland in 2018 andchaired the working group which drew upthe terms of reference and workplan forthe newly formed Hillwalking Committee.She is looking forward to working with hercommittee colleagues on interesting andrelevant issues during her time aschairperson and hopefully contributingpositively to the development ofhillwalking in Ireland, both now and intothe future.
Ruth WhelanRuth Whelan(Secretary) wasMountaineeringIreland’s MembershipDevelopment Officerand for the past five years herresponsibilities have
included increasing the membership ofboth hillwalkers and climbers and
supporting all members by coordinatingservices, gatherings and events, while alsosupporting the development of existing andnew clubs.
To better align Ruth’s role withMountaineering Ireland’s current strategicobjectives, she will continue to beresponsible for the above, but her role willnow focus on developing hillwalking andsupporting hillwalking members as the newHillwalking Development Officer.
When Ruth first moved to Dublin, shecompleted the Four Peaks Challenge withsome colleagues to raise money for charity.That cemented her love for mountains, byemphasising the companionship,remoteness and tranquillity that hillwalkingoffers. Her main areas for walking these daysare around Wicklow and in the ComeraghMountains. She has also climbed Kilimanjaroand walked and climbed in the French,Italian and Austrian Alps.
Chris EvansChris Evans has been anactive and enthusiastichillwalker for the lastfifteen or so years,following a career inteaching sport and fitnessin further education. Afterbeing introduced to thehills by colleagues fromwork, he decided to
complete the Mountain Leader training andthen went on to complete the then new Hilland Moorland Leader qualification atTollymore National Outdoor Centre in 2014.
Since then, Chris has been teachingnavigation and other outdoor skills tostudents in the Banbridge, Co Down,campus of Southern Regional College inNorthern Ireland. Chris hopes that,during his time on the HillwalkingCommittee, he will be able to representthe opinions of young people and todevelop structures that facilitate andencourage their participation inhillwalking.
Declan MurphyDeclan Murphystarted hillwalkingwith his parents, whowere enthusiastichikers, and continuedwith it in the scoutsand later withfriends, mainly in theDublin and Wicklow
area but also in the west of Ireland andin the English Lake District.
Since his retirement from teaching in2014, Declan has been hillwalkingregularly with the Irish Ramblers Club.He has seen first-hand the hugechanges in the sport: the numbers onthe hills; the many paths andboardwalks; the erosion caused byhillwalkers; and the advances intechnology with downloaded routesand GPS. He feels that the map andcompass, and basic navigation skills, arenot valued or used as much now asthey should be.
Louise NolanLouise Nolan is anactive member of aDublin hillwalking cluband has been amember ofMountaineering Irelandfor several years. She isa former Irish NationalRally and International
Rally Group N Champion, and is now aregular hillwalker, hiking five to six timesa month in the mountains of the 32counties.
Louise feels that her experience andpassion for the sport make her believethat, without a plan, hillwalking will notdevelop in a way that is sustainable forthe mountains or for the people wholove to hike in them. Access and theenvironment are important issues forher and she believes that we mustencourage hillwalking withresponsibility.
Margaret CollinsMargaret Collins – Magsto some people – startedwalking in the SlieveBlooms with her fatherand her family when shewas very young. In 2003,she joined GlenwalkHillwalking Club and forapproximately twelve
years hiked with them every secondweekend, becoming a walk leader.
Margaret did MS1 and then MS2, andalso taught on Glenwalk’s map-readingweekends. She really enjoyed her timewith Glenwalk and met many like-minded people there. She has hiked withfriends all over Ireland and in Europe.
In 2008, Margaret completed theCamino, walking on her own the 800kilometres to Santiago de Compostela. In2015, she left Ireland and travelledaround South and Central America andalso went to New Zealand. She returnedto Ireland in 2018 and got a job as ahiking tour guide in Kerry. She ispassionate about hiking andconservation.
Marian WallisMarian Wallis is a native ofthe Ballyhoura Mountains, aformer member of LimerickClimbing & Walking Club,and currently a member ofthe Ballyhoura Bears. Shehas worked, travelled andwalked in Africa, as well as
in Europe and Ireland. For most of her lifeMarian has been actively involved inagriculture.
As both a landowner in a scenic areaand an avid walker, Marian is interested inthe future of hillwalking in Ireland as aco-operative enterprise between thosewho work the land and those who seekto spend their leisure time in thecountryside. For her, walking in themountains is a celebration of innerpeace, tranquillity and a ‘oneness’ withcreation.
Roy MaddenRoy Madden has beenan active member ofthe Wayfarers forfifteen years and hasbeen on theircommittee for eightyears, gaining a goodinsight into thechallenges involved in
running a busy Mountaineering Irelandmember club. He has hiked all over theworld and enjoys challenge walks, havingparticularly fond memories of the Glover,the Galtees Walk, the Lug Walk and the ArtO’Neill Walk.
Roy works as an IT manager and takes alot of interest in how his club presentsitself online via its website and socialmedia. He is interested in working with thenew Hillwalking Committee and inassisting Mountaineering Ireland toenhance the contents of its website, andits social media presence, to better appealto hillwalkers.
Russell MillsA native of the Welshborders, Russell Mills fellin love with the localhills at an early age,enjoying the quietsolitude of wild places,whether they bemountains, valleys orforests. Having spent
over forty years discovering the mountainsof Wales, Scotland and Europe, Russell isnow based in Dublin, where for the lastseven years he has been a full-time hikingguide and Mountain Skills provider. Hehas also served on the committee of theHillwalkers Club for five years and iscurrently their Training Officer.
Russell joined Mountaineering Ireland’sHillwalking Committee to representMountain Skills providers and commercialguides, as well as to try to make a personalcontribution to the future of hillwalking inIreland.
Veronica KellyVeronica Kelly is amember of Wexford HillWalking andMountaineering Cluband has been an activehillwalker with the clubfor ten years. Currentlyshe is the ClubSecretary. Veronica is apsychology lecturer at
the Institute of Technology, Carlow.Her interest is in the area of positive
psychology and health and wellbeing.Being in the outdoors is an important wayto benefit wellbeing psychologically.
Veronica hopes that through her role onMountaineering Ireland’s HillwalkingCommittee she can contribute to morepeople discovering the benefits ofhillwalking ■
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 25
SEARCH AND RESCUE DOGS
TRAINING SEARCH DOGS
Photographs: Sheelagh O’Malley Collection
The SARDA Ireland teamon a training day
The Search and Rescue Dog Association, SARDA Ireland, has two newly qualified search and rescue dogs.Sheelagh O’Malley reports on their work and how they are trained to mountain rescue standard.
with their family or work, or intheir own time in themountains, to respond to acallout.
They do that because, firstly,there is a need for the service,and secondly, because theylove it. All mountain rescueteams are made up of a widevariety of people from all walksof life, each bringing their ownparticular skills and experienceto the team.
Jarlath Folan, fromGalway MountainRescue Team, is aperfect example of this.Jarlath has been amember of the Galwayteam since 1997 and hetrained and qualified hisfirst search dog, Hugo,with the Search andRescue Dog Association,SARDA Ireland, in 2010.Hugo was a lovely
springer spaniel. He lovedhis job and, together withJarlath, responded tocallouts all over Ireland untilhis retirement in 2014.
Syd, Jarlath’s newlyqualified search dog, is ahandsome blacklabrador with a soft
Summer 201926 Irish Mountain Log
Mountain RescueIreland is busierthan ever as anever-growingnumber of
people take to the hills foroutdoor pursuits, inevitablyresulting in an increasingnumber of emergency callouts.
Any member of a mountainrescue team who trains andresponds to callouts hassigned up to a way of lifethat involvesdroppingwhatever theyare doing
nature and a massive workdrive.
I have been a member of theGlen of Imaal MountainRescue Team for eleven yearsnow, and my recently qualifiedsearch dog, Rowan, is a verycute little collie cross, andfiercely smart.
Rowan came to me througha dog rescue organisation,Protecting Pound Dogs, whichI contacted through socialmedia when looking for asuitable dog to train. Duringmy two years with him, Rowanhas changed from being anervous little fellow into afriendly, smart and talentedsearch dog.
What Syd and Rowan bothhave in common is theirrigorous training, which startswith basic obedience trainingand then continues withtesting with livestock, what wecall stock-testing.
As we obviously cannotdeploy dogs that have aninterest in sheep, cattle ordeer, search dogs are trainedby their handler to ignorethese animals; they are thenstock-tested by sheepfarmers. If a dog does not pass
the stock test, its searchtraining is discontinued.
If these hurdles are cleared,however, the fun part for thedog starts in earnest. Havingdeveloped the dog’s play driveas much as possible throughregular games with a toy, wethen train the dog to bark fortheir reward. This is the basis ofthe find sequence, which isbuilt up bit by bit.
Ultimately the sequenceconsists of the dog locating the‘casualty’ by their scent in theair and then returning to thehandler and indicating the findby barking, after which the dogbrings the handler to the‘casualty.’
Qualified dogs are willing towork for hours on end – just toget a game of tug or fetch!Meanwhile, the handler’s job isto plan the search, to direct thedog and to make sure that thesearch area has been coveredcompletely.
SARDA Ireland dogs aretasked with a huge variety ofsituations, such as helping tofind missing dementia patientsand lost or injured people indifferent environments. Theycan also be used for locating
Syd, owned byJarlath Folan
super team, and we all learneda lot from them. RIP, Lily.
Jarlath’s dog Hugo, by thenretired, passed away in 2017and is fondly remembered byall that were lucky enough tomeet him. Pauliina Kauppila(who is a member ofCastletownbere Coast Guard),retired Koiru (affectionatelyknown as Granny Pup) twoyears ago after 7½ years ofservice. It is not polite to talkabout a lady’s age, so let’s justsay Koiru is happily retired inbeautiful west Cork.
Because the working life of adog is relatively short(depending on the dog’s breedand conformation), wecontinually support the nextgeneration of trainee dogteams. In order to keep thewhole SARDA team vibrant andmotivated, it is vital that wekeep training up and qualifying
search dogs. Thankfully, we havea good few promising pupsprogressing through the trainingstages at present.
We cannot train withoutvolunteer ‘dogsbodies,’ thoseremarkable individuals who hidein their bivvy bags on a coldmountainside or in a forestwhile the dog teams go aboutlocating them. Some go on totrain their own dog, but somedo it simply to support SARDAIreland, with no intention of evertraining a dog. Alun Saunders, amember of Bray StrollersWalking Club, is a perfectexample of this. He is Rowan’sbiggest fan, and Rowan lovesfinding him more than anyoneelse.
We also owe big thanks to alllandowners, Coillte and theNational Parks and WildlifeService, who give us permissionto train on their lands ■
➤ Sheelagh O’Malley is a member of theSearch and Rescue Dog Association, SARDAIreland. She is also a member of the Glen ofImaal Mountain Rescue Team.
Sheelagh O’Malley training Rowan, her search and rescue dog
Jarlath Folan with Syd(right) and anothersearch and rescue dog
recently deceased individuals.Air-scenting search dogs are
capable of covering large areasof ground very quickly and donot require daylight to work. Allour dogs are qualified to‘mountain rescue search dogstandard’ which means thatthey can work in any type ofarea, be it coast, forest,farmland or high ground. Asworking in the mountains isobviously the most technicallychallenging of these terrains, itis the focus of a lot of ourtraining. This also means thatany handler of a mountainrescue search dog must be a‘mountain-ready human.’
Training a search dog is ahugely rewarding, time-consuming and sometimesperplexing experience. Aftertraining Rowan I have come tothe realisation that the dog isactually training the handler,not the other way around. We are just a bit slow tounderstand the dog. It isbasically really simple: theywant to find the person in thearea because they love thereward, which usually comes inthe form of a game of tug orplaying with a ball.
Rowan and Syd are part of abigger team. SARDA Irelandcurrently has three other
qualified dog teams: MickGrant with his search dogZiggy; Louise Burgoyne withLyla; and Éadaoin O’Gormanwith Murphy. These threehandlers are all members ofthe South Eastern MountainRescue Association (SEMRA).SARDA’s dog teams generallyrespond to taskings from AnGarda Síochána, the IrishCoast Guard and othermountain rescue teams.
All these dogs will continueto work for as long as they arephysically able and, after theirretirement, they will live outtheir days as members of ourfamilies. Just in the last coupleof years we have sadly lost twoqualified dogs due to illness,and another as a result of theirretirement. Dexter was anamazing retriever cross whowas trained by Gerry Tobin ofSEMRA. This dog team wasmagic to watch in action andmade it all look deceptivelyeasy. RIP, Dex.
Catherine Kelly lost Lily to asudden but devastating illness.Catherine and Lily were a
“Search dogs helpfind lost or injuredpeople and missingdementia patients”
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 27
We are a smallgroup ofenthusiasticwalkers fromBunclody, Co
Wexford, who meet each weekfor walks on Mount Leinsterand in the surrounding areas.We call ourselves the ClodyLoafers. We are all members ofMountaineering Ireland andTullow Mountaineering Club.
During one of our regularwalks, we decided that wewould like to arrange a week’swalking in Ireland for the group.We decided to attempt theBeara Way at the end of June.The Beara Way covers adistance of 196 kilometres inthe counties of Cork and Kerryon the most south-westerlytip of Ireland. It goes throughrugged landscape, which isbreathtakingly beautiful, andreaches out into Bantry Bayand the Atlantic Ocean.
Our walk leader, CatherineCowman, made enquiriesabout transport andaccommodation, as wewanted to avoid bringing our
Sunday, 24th of JuneBere Island: walk 12 km; ascent 420 m
We enjoyed a relaxed walkaround Bere Island, with apleasant, short ferry trip overand back. We walked along oldabandoned roads and grassytracks through a rockywilderness, which led us toArdnakinna Point Lighthouseand on to the ruins of aNapoleonic Signal Tower. Suchtowers were built around 1806to protect the south and westcoasts of Ireland by keepingwatch for any sign of invadingships. From there, we hadmagnificent panoramic viewsof Bantry Bay and BearhavenHarbour. The seascapes werestunning in the clear sunshineand the sea breezes wereappreciated.
Monday, 25th of JuneGlengariff-Adrigole: walk 18 km;ascent 280 m
We started our walk fromGlengariff and went throughthe nature reserve, whichcovers some 300 hectares,with the dominant habitatbeing old oak woodlands. Wetook a short detour to LadyBantry’s Lookout, where wehad some wonderful views,and finished in Adrigole on theshores of Bantry Bay.
Tuesday, 26th of JuneDursey Island
We changed the itineraryagain this day, when the groupdecided to skip the Adrigole toAllihies section of the BearaWay and go over to DurseyIsland by the cable car, whichtakes up to six people. That isthe only way to get to theisland from the mainland.
As we walked on the island,we came across the ruins ofKilmichael Church andgraveyard, and a signal toweroffering beautiful views of theSkelligs to the north and MizenHead to the south. Anotherview from Dursey Head was ofCalf Island with its disusedlighthouse.
Dursey was anotherpicturesque island and thewalking was relaxed. Afterreturning to the mainland, wehad a quick, breezy walkaround to Garnish Point,finishing at Garnish pier, with achance to cool our feet in theclear Atlantic water. A few ofthe group even took a swim.
Wednesday, 27th of JuneAllihies-Eyeries: walk 12 km;ascent 490 m
The group set off from Allihies,where we walked past thedisused mines on the AllihiesCopper Mines and Mountain
THE BEARA WAY
ALONG THEBEARA WAYThe Clody Loafers spent a week walking on theBeara Way last summer. Geraldine Dunne reports.
Photographs: Geraldine Dunne Collection
own cars. She contactedChristopher Stacey ofFootfalls Walking Holidaysand asked him if he couldarrange a walking holidaypackage for the group. Hearranged the trip’s itinerary,accommodation, transportand guiding information, andhe joined the group for theweek. Clody Loafers hadpreviously walked withChristopher on Ben Nevis,Snowdon and Scafell Pike, sowe were confident that wewould have a well-organisedwalking holiday.
Saturday, 23rd of JuneOur journey began when theFootfalls minibus picked upour group of fourteen walkersfrom Bunclody andtransported us toCastletownbere, Co Cork,where the group stayed fortwo nights in a localguesthouse. After we arrived inCastletownbere, we decidedwe would like to visit BereIsland the next day.
Ardnakinna Point Lighthouse, Bere Island
Members of the group take a break between Castletownbere and Eyeries
Summer 201928 Irish Mountain Log
Mine Trail. This trailcontinues along old disusedroads, winding by the side ofMiskish Mountain tobeautiful views acrossCoulagh Bay, the KenmareRiver and beyond to theKerry coastline.
The temperatures wereclimbing and the highlandbreezes were welcome as wewalked on the lower tracksbetween biodiverse ditchesprofuse with fuschia,foxgloves, honeysuckle andferns, which trapped theheat. The walk finished in thepretty village of Eyeries.
Later on that evening, wemet up with a TullowMountaineering Club group,who were staying andwalking on the Bearapeninsula for the week. Weswopped stories and enjoyedthe evening together.
Thursday, 28th of JuneEyeries-Lauragh: walk 27 km;ascent 950 m
The group left early for this,the longest stage of the
week’s walk, withtemperatures of around 30degrees. A few of the groupknocked 3 km off the start byavoiding the coastal loopdown to Pallas Strand.
The group continuedwalking inland along by LoughFadda (Long Lake). As we wereabout to approach the quaintvillage of Ardgroom, we hadbeautiful views of ArdgroomHarbour, Kenmare River andacross to the MacGillycuddyReeks. After a short breakthere, we soldiered on in theheat and crossed over the
border into County Kerry,walking along old mountainroads with Keecragh and ToothMountains in sight, and furtheron to a group of standingstones known as CashelkeeltyStone Circle.
We continued along this trail,meeting a narrow path linedwith rhododendrons followingour way down into a forest, andeventually crossing over theCroanshagh River. Not far fromhere we arrived at the village ofLauragh. The minibus broughtus to our accommodation inKenmare.
Friday, 29th of JuneLauragh-Kenmare: walk 19 km;ascent 987 m
Because of the heat, wedecided to take 5 km off theroad-walking at the start of theday’s walk. Our driver droppedus off at Drombohilly Lower,near Tousist, to start with thesoft mountain underfoot. Thisfinal walk of the week includedthe highest and toughest climbin hot conditions, ontoKnockgarriff Mountain.
The views from the top werespectacular, across to theKenmare River, looking down
onto Cloonee Loughs Lower,Middle and Upper, andInchiquin Lough.
After walking for a while, wesaw the Glaninchiquin waterfallin the distance. Following thetrail around to the left ofDerrysallagh, it was not long tillwe reached the start of our softdescent, eventually meeting upwith the main coastal road andfinally reaching our destination,crossing over the bridge intoKenmare town.
Sunday, 1st of JulyReturn to Bunclody
Overall the standard of the way-marking on the Beara Way wasexcellent and the route waseasy to follow. The vegetationwas lush and colourful, and thescenery was spectacular. Eachvillage we passed through hadits own characteristics and all ofthe houses were decorated invibrant colours.
The weather was exceptional,making the underfoot groundconditions a lot drier than usualand, in the evenings, we hadsome spectacular sunsets. Theaccommodation, food and westCork hospitality that werearranged for us were excellent ■
➤Geraldine Dunne has been a member ofMountaineering Ireland and of TullowMountaineering Club for the past seven years and iscurrently the club’s Environmental Officer. She walksmost Wednesday nights with the club – aroundMount Leinster, Kilbrannish, the Blackstairs, BrandonHill, Lugnaquillia and other parts of Wicklow.
Photographs: Geraldine Dunne Collection
View across Coulagh Bay to the Kerry coastline on the Iveragh peninsula
“We had beautifulviews across
Coulagh Bay to theKerry coastline.”
Passing the disused copper mines between Allihies and Eyeries
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 29
The Joyce Country and Western LakesGeopark project area played host toMountaineering Ireland’s Ecology ofMountains workshop in May this year andwhat a playground we had for the
weekend! From geology to plants and birds to thearray of human interactions with the landscape, itwas all there for us, an enthusiastic group, eager toexplore, led by experts through an interesting andunique landscape. The entire weekend felt like beingon a guided treasure hunt of the flora, fauna, geology,history and archaeology concentrated in this area.
The base for our weekend was the lovely village ofClonbur, in the shadow of Binn Shléibhe. Communitypride in the village is obvious, not least in the venuefor our evening talks, the wonderfully restored AllSaints Heritage Centre. Involvement of the localcommunity is fundamental to the Geopark group’swork towards sustainable development of the area.The theme of community connection is epitomisedby Trish Walsh, Director of Petersburg Outdoor
Education Centre and voluntary chairperson of theGeopark project.
Parts of this community are under threat. On ourvisit to Joe Joyce, sheep farmer and sheepdogbreeder, he spoke of the vanishing way of life forupland sheep farmers, which caused him to diversifyinto an area of interest, breeding pedigree sheepdogs.We were entertained, not only by Spot, being expertlymanoeuvred to herd sheep around various obstacles,but also by the dogs not asked to work, as theybounded around their pens clearly communicating‘pick me, pick me.’
Top: Participantson the Ecology ofMountainsweekendoverlooking theSrahnalong Valleyon Maumtrasna.
Below: Identifyingflowers on thelimestonepavement inClonbur Woods.
MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENT
THE DELIGHTS OF JOYCE COUNTRYAine McGirl reports on a very successful weekend of learning about the mountainenvironment, enjoyed by club representatives and training providers.
Photographs: H
arm Deenen (overlooking Srahnalong Valley), Helen Law
less (identifying flowers)
➤Aine McGirl is an avidhillwalker, a Mountain Leaderand a member of severalwalking clubs across Ireland. She loves exploring and learningabout nature and is studyingenvironmental science at UCD.She has recently joinedMountaineering Ireland’s Access& Conservation Committee.
Summer 201930 Irish Mountain Log
We were charmed by thesheepdog puppies at just threeweeks old, and Joe kept a close eyeto ensure none were spirited awayinside a rucksack!
Rock formationsThe geology of the Joyce Country iscomplex and, over the weekend,various rock formations wereinterpreted for us by Trish Walsh,Kevin ‘Geo’ O’Callaghan from GMITand Joyce Country geologistBenjamin Thébaudeau.
The limestone pavements inClonbur Woods, with their unusualegg-box pitting, are a remnant ofIreland’s tropical history (when thecontinent lay in the lower latitudes).
The colourful chert-containingboulders and the amazing pillowlava formations on Bencorragh, near Finny, point to the processes of mountain-building and volcaniceruptions that are being replicated today under thePacific Ocean.
Evidence of the last Ice Age abounds in the manycorrie or cirque lakes in the area.
It is upon this geological base that the blanket bogof the area formed. High rainfall caused iron in the soilto accumulate in a layer called an iron pan. Thisimpermeable layer led to waterlogging and theformation of peat. The iron pan layer could be seenclearly where a profile of the peat and underlying soilswas exposed. We also saw pieces of charcoal underthe iron pan, suggesting that the forests whichcovered the area thousands of years ago had beenburned.
With input from GMIT’s Orla Prendergast, TrishWalsh shared her passion for the history of the peopleof the area as we searched for booley huts, used whenour ancestors grazed their cattle on the hillside duringthe summer months. It is believed they made butterand a soft cheese as a means to preserve the milk,reminding me of my childhood book, Heidi, and hertimes in the hills herding goats.
BirdlifeThe sheep farmers in the area are not the onlyendangered species, as the variety of birdlife in theseuplands is low. Ecologist Jackie Hunt gave us threeways to spot birds, either in the flesh, from their songor call, or by their droppings. Skylarks, meadow pipitsand wagtails made an appearance, but just one sniperevealed itself. Red grouse droppings were found onthe plateau of Maumtrasna, where a golden ploverwas also heard calling.
The limited birdlife is reflected in the poor survival ofpredator birds in the area, despite the passionate workof National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger IreneO’Brien and her colleagues. Irene described lots ofadversity and adventure in her role, recording, ringingand monitoring iconic species such as merlin,peregrine, kestrel and hen harrier. I was in awe, and a
little envious, of her job and the breath-taking spots shemust access to record these species. Sadly, herwonderful photos of adults and little fluffy chicks wereas close as we got to raptors over the weekend.
PlantlifeBeing up close and personal to plantlife was thehighlight of my weekend and, with Rory Hodd, we wereexpertly led on our treasure hunt. From flowers tograsses to mosses and liverworts, the rare and uniqueplant life of our uplands was identified in abundance.
In a short few steps seven different grasses wereshown to us. These included mat grass, which is full ofsilica, so sheep don’t graze it. There were lots offlowering plants, including the ubiquitous tormentil, aswell as the occasional lousewort.
Top: Trish Walshexplaining thegeology ofJoyce Country;note the egg-box pitting ofthe limestonepavement.
Below: Avolcanicoutcrop withred and greenchert.
Photographs: H
elen Law
less (group photo), Jimmy Barry (red and green chert)
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 31
➤
I learned that heath milkwort was also known as‘Na deirfiúiríní’ or the four little sisters, referring to thefour different colours of flower – blue, white, pink andmauve – and we saw all four. We found wildstrawberry in flower, in a location to be kept underwraps until harvesting! We found species that growonly in the west of Ireland, including St Dabeoc’sheath, as well as the more recently arrived, but nowwidespread, invasive species New Zealandwillowherb. The latter reminded us of the constantthreat to our plantlife, much in evidence in the
profusion of flowering rhododendron seen on thelocal roadsides.
As we explored banks and ledges we heard somegreat stories, like that of Ellen Hutchins. She lived inBallylickey, Co Cork, and was Ireland’s first femalebotanist, in the early 1800s. She was chronically ill formost of her life and died before the age of 30. Despiteher short life and concentrating her efforts near herhome on Bantry Bay, she made several botanicaldiscoveries, some of which bear her name and earnedher an international reputation. We found one of herliverwort discoveries, Herbertus hutchinsiae.
We also saw the randomness and precariousnessof nature, with the common haircap moss that isonly fertilised when drops of water carrying the malesperm from specially adapted ‘splash cups’successfully land on female plants, or the tiny islandof base-rich soil precariously positioned on a boulderin a fast-moving stream and acting as home toupward of fourteen higher plant species. It was afascinating adventure, made all the more absorbingby using a hand lens to see into this micro-world.
It was a jam-packed weekend of exploration anddiscovery, with a group passionate about the outdoorworld, including many Club Environmental Officers.
In Sunday’s wrap-up session each participant saidhow they would share the knowledge gained on theweekend. My mission is to share what I can withhillwalking companions, to inspire their curiosity inour uplands, and, of course, to keep on exploring!
AcknowledgmentsMountaineering Ireland extends thanks to all whocontributed to the Ecology of Mountains event,particularly Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre,the Outdoor Education programme at GMIT Mayo,and Joyce Country and Western Lakes GeoEnterprise ■
Top left: Kevinexamining soillayers so as tointerpret thesedimentaryhistory of thevalley.
Above right: RoryHodd describingupland grassspecies toparticipants onthe Ecology ofMountainsweekend.
Left:Insectivorousplants sundewand butterworton wet, peatyground.
Below: Aine McGirladmiring anancient pinestump exposed inthe blanket bogbelow Bencorragh.
MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENTPhotographs: H
elen Law
less (Kevin O’Callaghan), Aine McG
irl (Rory Hodd), Harm Deenen (insectivorous plants), Helen Law
less (Aine McG
irl and pine stum
p)
Summer 201932 Irish Mountain Log
weathering patterns on the limestone pavement onthe shores of Lough Mask. They also saw whatancient woodlands in Clonbur look like.
Saturday focused initially on glacial features; thiswas followed by an exploration of the ecology ofuplands on the Maumtrasna plateau, and especiallyits flora.
Sunday was all about an ocean that no longerexists, and rock formations called pillow lavas, andtheir associated flora, while the alternative walkfocused on fulachta fiadha, a Bronze Age hill fort,volcanic breccias and red and green chert.
There seemed to be a general consensus that itwas a great area for hillwalking and for learning aboutthe environment, which is exactly the result that thelocal group who are driving this project wish to hear,as promoting educational tourism is a key elementon the road to Geopark status.
A Joyce Country and Western Lakes projectwebsite is now up and running atwww.joycecountrygeoparkproject.ie and a Facebook page is also set up atwww.Facebook.com/JCWLG.
The website has a ‘Discover the Geopark Project’menu, including local attractions, towns and villages,things to do, maps, trails and itineraries.
Under the ‘Our Geopark Project Territory’ tab youwill find details on the geological history of the area,landscapes, habitats, wildlife, culture and people.There is also a ‘Learning and Resources’ section beingdeveloped, so keep returning to the website asinformation is added and updated ■
Photographs: Bridget Browne (group photo), Ursula MacPherson (Ged Dow
ling)
Irish Mountain Log 33
WHY A GEOPARK PROJECT?
➤ Trish Walsh is theChairperson of JoyceCountry and Western LakesGeo Enterprise and Directorof Petersburg OutdoorEducation Centre.
Trish Walsh describes the value of the Joyce Country and Western Lakes Geopark Project and howthe Ecology of Mountains weekend was the kind of educational tourism to best promote it.
Geoparks help to tell us the fascinating stories ofgeological, social, cultural and economic history ofspecific areas. Elevated to UNESCO status since 2015,there are now 140 Geoparks across the globe.
Why would rural communities in the west of Irelandwish to gain this designation? For the most part, it isbecause they have equal status to World HeritageSites but don’t carry any legislative responsibility orimpose restrictions on people, landowners, farmers orindustry.
They also promote economic and socialdevelopment, businessand job creation, basedaround tourism and small-or micro-enterprises infood, crafts and the arts.
The designationessentially becomes amarketing tool to promotethe locality for tourism,increasing visitor numbers,which in turn helps driveeconomic activity andboost employment.
The Joyce Country andWestern Lakes areaobviously requires someimpressive geology to earnthis designation. What wasenjoyable aboutMountaineering Ireland’srecent Ecology of theMountains weekend washow it showcased exactlywhat the area has to offer,and we only had time tosee a portion of it.
On the Friday evening,participants were amazedto see the unique
Summer 2019
Above: Trish Walsh(centre) withparticipants onthe hills aboveFinny.
Below: GedDowling standingon an outcrop ofpillow lava.
Summer 201934 Irish Mountain Log
I would imagine most readers of the IrishMountain Log have more hillwalkingexperience than I had in January 2017,when I signed up for the Mountain Skillstraining programme!
The little experience I had was ofsections of the Kerry Way, where I firstdiscovered the peaceful beauty andimmersive feeling of being out on the hills.Of course, back then, I didn’t have anyaspirations of becoming a MountainLeader, but I hoped that completingMountain Skills 1 and 2 in January andFebruary 2017 would allow me to exploremore of our uplands. In fact, it actuallyopened up a whole new world to me.
By October 2017, I had completed therequisite fourteen mountain walks and hadpassed the Mountain Skills Assessment.As my experience grew, so did my desire to share the beauty and freedom of themountains with others, and I beganconsidering undertaking the MountainLeader (ML) training programme, to giveme the skills to look after others in themountains.
Firstly, I completed a Remote EmergencyFirst Aid Certified Course (Rec 3), which isvalid for two years. Via the MountaineeringIreland website (www.mountaineering.ie), Isigned up for the Mountain Leader Training1 and 2 programmes.
ML1 took place between December 7-9th
2017, in Connemara, where we basedourselves in Leenane.
ML1 includes both classroom andoutdoor elements covering mountainweather, route-planning, leadershipresponsibilities and first-aid emergencies,as well as day and night navigation,movement over steep ground and self-location techniques.
Conditions were challenging andmemorable. In my notes, I recall writing‘Need better hat or balaclava for protectionfrom the blizzards’ which we experienced inthe Maumturks.
Invigorated with positivity from ML1, weset up our lakeside camp the followingweekend for the ML2 training atCoomyanna, just outside Sneem, Co Kerry.This was my first ever wintertime campand, I thought to myself, it was cool. The colours and stillness of the sunrisewere breathtaking and I felt privileged tobe there.
Winter camping requires having theappropriate gear, most of which I hadborrowed but which I have since purchasedfor myself. Good winter camping skills areessential for the Mountain Leader
➤ Fergal Harrington is amarketing professionalfrom Shankill, Co Dublin,with a passion for theoutdoor life. He is theowner of Álaind Lodges inSneem, Co Kerry, wherehe offers walkingholidays via his website,alaind.ie.
TRAINING
BECOMING A MOUNTAIN LEADERFergal Harrington describes how he successfully completed the Mountain Leader (ML) Awardprogramme.
Photographs: Barry Hannigan (Lough Shannagh), Sharon Porter (group photo)
Sandy beach at Lough Shannagh
Deciding on the next challenging leg (from left): Conall Ó Fiannachta, Barry Hannigan,Ronnie Smith and Fergal Harrington
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 35
Photographs: Ken Doyle (cam
psite), Fergal H
arrington (selfie of new
ly qualified leaders)
Assessment, which involves a three-dayand two-night mountain expedition. Oncompletion of ML2, our debriefinggreenlighted us for the consolidation phasein preparation for the ML assessment, thenext of which would be held in November2018 and March 2019.
ML Assessment candidates must buildup their experience by logging hundreds ofhours and kilometres in different mountainconditions and unfamiliar terrain. Like mostassessment candidates, I used the digitallog on Mountaineering Ireland’s website. It takes a bit of getting used to, but if youuse the system from the start it will saveyou time and effort as the assessmentdate approaches.
I recommend reaching out to qualifiedleaders, as their insight and experience isinvaluable and, to the ones I approached, Iam immensely grateful for their generosityin giving of their time and knowledge.
I had the opportunity to observe on bothMountain Skills 1 and 2 courses, which Ifound a great opportunity to refresh myown practical skills, to watch how othertrainers managed their groups and to hearthe aspirations of those attending thecourse.
The log book requirements, i.e., theconsolidation period, is undeniably aconsiderable commitment, which is why Iopted to aim for the later March 2019assessment. However, once you setyourself goals and targets, you can and willcomplete the consolidation and,importantly, the sense of achievementalong the way is sweet.
As I built up my log, I began switching myfocus to leading others, which I found mostsatisfying and rewarding. As part of therequirements, I organised a weekendexpedition to Kerry, which was myopportunity to put all of my skills intopractice. I organised the accommodationand the days’ activities, including route-planning in the Dunkerron Mountains, withcontingencies for both deterioratingweather and the group’s ability.
Our group of six had different levels ofexperience but all thoroughly enjoyedthemselves; they especially enjoyed thesights of wild goats and white-tailed eagleson the cliff faces, the friendly banter, thecrystal-clear views across Iveragh and westCork, and, for some, the optional extra day’sclimb to the snow-covered summit ofCarrauntoohil.
With my logbook requirements complete,I nervously looked forward to the MountainLeader Assessment between March 8-11th
2019 in the Mourne Mountains. We hadsome pre-assessment written assignmentsto complete on environmental, flora, faunaand best practice and policies topics,which required quite a bit of study.
AssessmentThe group of seven candidates and twoassessors (Kieran O’Hara and Ronnie Smith)gathered on the evening of Friday, March8th, at Meelmore Lodge, not far fromTollymore, Co Down, where introductionswere made and the structure of theweekend discussed.
On the Saturday morning, with our geardouble-checked, we split into two groups,each with an assessor. From here on, theobjective was to know where you werealways, regardless of who was leading thenavigational leg.
Initially, I felt panic. I should have donebetter on my initial navigational leg.Surprisingly, however, I realised theassessors were not only assessing but alsooffering helpful advice when appropriate.
Quickly, my fellow candidates and Ifound our rhythm and we grew inconfidence as we perfected our pacing,timing and feature-reading abilities,notwithstanding being loaded up withheavy backpacks.
Being able to always point to yourcurrent location on a map requiresconstant focus, but it made the time toreaching our campsite pass quickly. Theweather was harsh, with gusting winds and
driving snow, but it all added to thesatisfaction of what we were aiming toachieve.
When navigation or leadership issuesarose, we resolved them quickly andlearned from them. It is this concentratedlearning opportunity that is the overridingbenefit of the assessment weekend. Wehad a nervous wait to learn the outcomeof the assessment, but it was clearlyevident how much it meant to all of us.
I intend to use my new Mountain Leaderqualification to attract walkers for activeholidays to my B&B accommodation inSneem, Co Kerry (www.alaind.ie). With myprofessional skills and liability insurancecover in place, I will be leading gueststhrough some of the most beautifulupland areas in our country so that theyhave fabulous lasting memories to takeaway.
AcknowledgmentsI would like to thank all those whosupported me along the way to becominga Mountain Leader, particularly AlanMordaunt, Milly De Buitléar, WayneJenkins, Niall Ennis and, of course, SneemWalking Club, Tim Orr, Kevin O’Hara, RonnieSmith and Mountaineering Ireland ■
Second night’s Moyad Road campsite near Pigeon Rock
Tired but happy: newly qualified Mountain Leaders (from left) Conall Ó Fiannachta, BarryHannigan and Fergal Harrington.
The new format for the2019 Youth ClimbingSeries was warmly
welcomed by all whoparticipated in this year’scompetition. The change sawcompetitors focusing on onediscipline on the day ratherthan having to do bothbouldering and routes on thesame day, as in previous years.It allowed route-setters moreopportunity to set interestingproblems and routes, as wellas making the day morestreamlined and enjoyable forthe competitors and theirparents.
The opening round tookplace in January at the DublinClimbing Centre, with over 125children competing inbouldering across the variousage categories. Large numbersin many categories saw somevery close scoring and a veryhigh standard of climbing.
Round two took us to theamazing Foyle Arena in Derryfor the first round of theroute-climbing element of thecompetition. With the best
three scores to count for thefour rounds, it was importantto get at least one good scorein the first two rounds to be inwith a chance to qualify forthe Grand Final. The roundsaw a large turn-out in Derryand some very strongclimbing across all categories.
The third round saw thecompetitors back for a roundof bouldering at the newlyextended bouldering wall atAwesome Walls, Cork, whichgreatly impressed all of thosevisiting it for the first time. Thegrowing popularity ofbouldering was evident fromthe numbers entering thecompetition there.
The fourth and final roundin Ireland saw the climberstaking on routes at AwesomeWalls, Dublin, with many stilllooking to qualify for theGrand Finals, and most notknowing if they weresuccessful until the resultswere announced.
Over the four rounds, manyof the usual names reachedthe podium, but it was great
2019 YOUTH CLIMBING SERIES
Climbing
to see some fantasticperformances by someclimbers new to thecompetition scene, and theongoing growth of the YouthClimbing Series.
The new format allowed fora new venue for the UK andIreland Grand Final, ending arun of many years travelling toRatho, Edinburgh. This yearthe competition was split overtwo days and two venues inSheffield. Saturday saweveryone visiting the newbouldering wall at The Depot,while Sunday saw the routestaking place at AwesomeWalls in Sheffield.
For the fourth year insuccession, Ireland had acategory winner, withMatthew Murray taking firstplace in Boys C, to add to hiswin previously when in Boys E.His brother, Dylan Murray, alsokept up the family honour,
making the finals on bothSaturday and Sunday andfinishing 4th overall in Boys E.
There were many fineperformances by membersof the Mountaineering Irelandteam over the weekend, withother finalists on the Sundayincluding Ilmur Jonsdottir (6th
overall), Sean Henchion (5th
overall) and Bonita Thurston( joint 12th with Faith Blaney).
Already thoughts areturning to 2020 dates andvenues. Given the overallsuccess of the new format, itcan be anticipated that therewill only be minor changesahead.
As always, thanks must begiven to our sponsors, GreatOutdoors, MountaineeringIreland, the host walls, theroute-setters at each venueand to all the parents whovolunteered to help run theevents on the day ■
A competition report by John Henchion
Photographs: Ian Lawlor
Keira setting up for a big moveat Awesome Walls Dublin
Another young climberin a bouldering round
Summer 201936 Irish Mountain Log
CLIMBING WALL SEMINAROctober 8-9th, 2019
A Climbing Wall Seminar is beingorganised by MountaineeringIreland in association with Petzl and Lyon Equipment.
The seminar is aimed at anyonewho has an interest in climbingwalls, including owners, managers,coaches, instructors, route-setters,technical advisors, etc.
The seminar will take place onOctober 8th and 9th inBlanchardstown, Dublin. Furtherdetails will be made availableshortly.
The Burren is an expansive, rocky limestone landscape, makingit a prime destination for trad climbers. This year’s Burren Meetis an open club event organised by theDal Riada Climbing Cluband the Irish Mountaineering Club. The meet will take placeover the weekend of September 6-8th and will be open to allclimbers. Youth climbers can attend, provided they havesuitable adult supervision.
There is plenty of accommodation available in Doolin and thenearby village of Fanore. Guest speakers will be scheduled forFriday and Saturday evening – details will be announced closerto the date. It is a short distance along the coast from eitherDoolin or Fanore to the roadside crag at Ballyryan. Here you will
find routes graded from VDiff to E1, making it a great place topractice lead climbing and to set up a few bottom ropes.
We will also explore some other crags at Ailladie, such asDancing Ledges and, for the more experienced climber, the Aranand Mirror Walls, which are a short distance from Ballyryan.
Although the meet does not include any formal instruction, Dal Riada and Irish Mountaineering Club members will be happyto share their climbing experience with you.
Lots of other options are available, including superbbouldering down at the seafront, so be sure to head to theBurren on September 6th for some mega rock climbing!
Further information will be available closer to the date.
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 37
BURREN MEETSeptember 6-8th, 2019
Summer 201938 Irish Mountain Log
Photograph: Tom
O’Neill
The 2019 IrishBoulderingChampionship took
place at the Dublin ClimbingCentre over the weekend ofApril 6th and 7th. Youthclimbers competed onSaturday and the Seniorclimbers took their turn onthe Sunday.
The setting team of RobHunter, Chloe Condron andBrian Hall had the task ofsetting the qualification andfinal round boulder problemsfor each of the categories.The Dublin Climbing Centre’sopen layout bouldering walland Mountaineering Ireland’sstock of climbing holdsallowed the setting team toset a very modern, excitingstyle of boulder problems.
Saturday’s competitionwas an amazing show ofimpressive young climbersfrom all over Ireland as wellas several visitors fromEngland. The competitionincluded climbers in Youth C
(age 12-13), Youth B (age 14-15) and Youth A (age 16-17)competition categories.
Each competition categoryhad a selection of eightboulder problems to attemptin their qualification round.The climbers were welltested in the qualificationround, with only twoclimbers – Sean O’Connorand Marcus McDowell inMale Youth A – managing toreach the top of all eightproblems.
At the end of thequalification round, the topfive climbers in eachcategory progressed on tothe final round. For the finalround the climbers weregiven four boulder problemsto attempt.
In Female Youth A it was avery close contest betweenAnna De Souza and PaolaNeal-Fagan for first place.Anna secured first place inthe end by needing fewerattempts. Jessica McGarry
took third place, scoring oneless top.
The final round for Male Awas an even tighter affair,with Sean O’Connor andMarcus McDowell reachingthe top of all four problemson their first attempts,requiring a countback to thequalification round to giveSean first place. TommyMyles took third place withthree tops.
In Female B, it was againextremely close betweenFaith Blaney and RhynaConroy. Faith took first placeby requiring fewer attemptsto score her Tops and Zones.A strong performance fromBonita Thurston was enoughfor her to secure third place.
Male Youth B was againtoo close to call in the finalround, with both LucaMcDowell and GeorgeLassov topping all fourproblems on their firstattempt. A countback to thequalification round was
needed and went in Luca’sfavour. Séan Brown put in avery strong performance inthe final, finishing in thirdplace.
In Female C, CaelinLenehan, Eabha Hallissey andEve Buckley were in flyingform, scoring all four Tops andZones in the final, only to besplit on the number ofattempts. Caelin took first,with second and third goingto Eabha and Everespectively. Sam Monedero-Egan
capped off a great seasonwith a win in the verycompetitive Male C category,followed by Zach McCune insecond and Fionn O’Connorin third.
On Sunday, the Seniorclimbers took their turn onthe problems set by Rob,Chloe and Brian for thecompetition. They had aqualification round of twelveboulder problems, followed bya final round of four. Althoughthe numbers of climberscompeting in the Seniorsection of the competitionwas low, the quality of theclimbing was very high.Through the qualificationround both Lucy Mitchell andVictoria Watterson looked tobe in contention for the topspot on the Senior Femalespodium. Trish Fox was alsoclimbing well and was kept infocus by Christina McInerneyand Lia Peare-Kavanagh.
In the Senior Males, DaraghO’Connor, Ciaran Scanlon,Michael O’Neill and MarkScanlon were in strong form,topping all twelve of theproblems in the qualificationround.
In the final round for theSenior females, Lucy Mitchellmade light work of three ofthe problems to secure first
IRISH BOULDERING CHAMPIONSHIPThe 2019 Irish Bouldering Championship: a report by Damien O’Sullivan
Victoria Watterson and Darragh O’Connor
Photo: Tom
O’Neill place. Victoria Watterson
topped two problems andscored the Zone on all fourproblems to finish in secondplace. Trish Fox kept her cool
and climbed smoothly,scoring two Tops and twoZones to complete thepodium.
The final round for the
Senior males was achallenging affair, with anoticeable increase in thelevel of difficulty of theproblems. Michael O’Neilland Ciaran Scanlon wereboth climbing well, withCiaran showing greatdetermination. Despite theirbest efforts, and those of thesetters, there was nostopping Darragh O’Connor,who scored three Tops in justsix attempts and three Zonesin five attempts to take thetop spot on the podium.
Thanks to everyone whoassisted with the judging of
the competition over bothdays. Thanks also to thesetting team of Rob Hunter,Chloe Condron and BrianHall for going above andbeyond the call of duty tocreate a great set ofproblems. In addition, thanksto the Dublin ClimbingCentre for hosting thecompetition. Finally, specialthanks to O’Driscoll O’NeilInsurance for sponsoring thecompetition ■
Written by Damien O’Sullivan, Climbing DevelopmentOfficer
Ciaran Scanlon
The Irish Lead Climbing Championship provides anInternational Federation of Sports Climbing (IFSC) style oflead climbing competition for Irish climbers. Thischampionship is one of the two national championships runby Mountaineering Ireland. The 2019 Irish Lead ClimbingChampionship takes place at Awesome Walls Dublin overthe weekend of October 19-20th. Youth climbers compete onthe Saturday and Senior climbers on the Sunday.
The Irish Lead Climbing Championship is an excellentcompetition for spectators to enjoy. Come along and seesome top climbers in action.
For more information and to enter online, please go to theMountaineering Ireland website page mountaineering.ie/climbing/competitionclimbing/irishleadclimbingchampionship or go to bit.ly/2XfSx6w.
The InternationalFederation of SportsClimbing (IFSC)
European Youth Cup inbouldering is a key focusfor the members of theMountaineering IrelandYouth Climbing Team. Thecompetition attracts thetop young climbers fromthe climbing nations acrossEurope. The standard ofclimbing is alwaysexceptionally high, withmany of the competitorsmaking the transition tosenior international level.Janja Garnbret, the winnerof the 2019 IFSC BoulderWorld Cup, was a veryrecent competitor in theEuropean Youth Cup!
Under the guidance of
YOUTH CLIMBING TEAM
the Youth Climbing Team’sHead Coach, Rob Hunter,training sessions for theYouth Climbing Team tookplace monthly during thewinter. The GravityClimbing Centre providedthe venue for those trainingsessions and assisted withthe cost of setting bespokecompetition-style boulderproblems for the teammembers to train on.
In addition to thesecompetition-practicefocused sessions, the teammembers also took part ina competition-climbingsports psychology trainingsession with the renownedAustrian sportspsychologist MadeleineEppensteiner.
This year, the EuropeanYouth Cup took placeacross three rounds, inPortugal, Austria andBulgaria. Rob Hunter was
enthused by theperformance of the teammembers at thecompetitions. He notedthat the individualcompetitors’ performanceswere steadily improvingand progress was beingmade towards moving upthe rankings.
Like many sports, theresults of a climbingcompetition do not alwaystell the full picture.Bouldering competitionsare scored on the numberof Tops and Zones achievedby each competitor, soeven if you are only amillimetre off the hold youmay as well be a metre offit.
The team will continue totrain over the summer inpreparation for the IFSCEuropean Youth Cup whichtakes place in Brixen, Italy,in September ■
A report by Damien O’Sullivan
Photographs: Nuala Mullan (team photo), Nick McCarthy (Jude)
Jude McInerney
The Youth Climbing Team on a visit to Portugal
Summer 201940 Irish Mountain Log
I t goes without saying that every hillwalker inIreland must have experienced blanket peatterrain at some time because it occurs in allour upland areas. Commonly referred to asbog, it is extensive and thick on the gentleslopes that surround the hills and on the
broad ridges and plateaux that characterise summitareas. Only where the slope gradient exceeds about20-25 degrees is this thick peat normally absent.Because of its ability to retain water, peat-covered
ground makes for rather soft and tiring walking. Thisis even more so where bog vegetation has beendenuded and walkers are faced with acres of blackpeat, often dissected by gullies. There are numerousstories of walkers sinking up to their knees or hips,having stepped on what they thought was firmground. Extrication can be a slow and dirty business.However, even if you haven’t experienced the
delights of cold, waterlogged peat on your innerthighs, you will at least have had peat oozing intoyour boots at some time. For these reasons, muchcursing and swearing is frequently directed at peat,even by the most mild-mannered of people.Nevertheless, peat is also a remarkable substance,
providing, as it does, a record of former climate andvegetation, and a habitat for plants and animals,without which our uplands would be much poorer.In addition, peat is hugely important in relation to
the environment. The ability of peat to retain waterand regulate its release is of great significance, as isthe role it plays in carbon storage and greenhousegas control.
GEOLOGY
➤ Peter Wilson is an individual member ofMountaineering Ireland. He is a lecturer andauthor in aspects of the physical geographyof mountain regions.
Above: Blanketpeat terrainoccupying thelow, broad ridgesof the northSperrinMountains.
Below: Detail of a pine stumpexposed by peaterosion. Thescale bar is 30cm in length.
Peter Wilson explains the origins of blanket peat and why this remarkable substance deserves ourrespect and protection in the mountain environment.
BLANKET PEAT
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Before the peatPeat was not always present on the hills. As theuplands emerged from the last episode of glaciation,lower hill-slopes had a cover of glacial sediments,with steeper slopes and summits showing muchmore of the rock skeleton than they do now.Gradually, as the climate continued to warm, thehillsides were colonised by trees and shrubs, some ofwhich extended onto the high plateaux.The remains of these ancient woodlands can
sometimes be seen where peat has been cut awayby humans or eroded. At lower levels, much of thewoody material consists of the tough stumps androots of pine. At higher levels, tree remains tend to beless frequent at the base of the peat, but wherepresent they usually consist of pieces of birch, whichare softer and more fragile than the pine. In contrast,the so-called bog oaks are generally associated withthe raised bogs that occupy low-lying areas of thelandscape, particularly the midlands.
Climate change or human impact?The replacement of the upland woods by heathlandspecies and the extensive accumulations of peatoccurred at different times in different areas.
Summer 201942 Irish Mountain Log
Why the woodlands declined at the expense ofheath and peat has been debated for many years.Some scientists believe a change to cooler andwetter conditions caused the trees to die. Otherspoint the finger at woodland clearance and thesubsequent decline in soil fertility brought about byNeolithic and Bronze Age farming communitiessome 6,000-2,500 years ago, as appears to be thecase at the Céide Fields in north Mayo. There are yetothers who think the change resulted from acombination of the two.Radiocarbon dating has shown that the spread of
blanket peat on lower mountain slopes coincidedwith both climatic deterioration and prehistoricagricultural activity. However, on high ridges andplateaux early agriculture was probably a lessimportant factor. Deterioration in the climate is theprobable cause of peat growth in those locations.In the east of the country, upland blanket bog
generally occurs at elevations above about 250metres, while in the west it is found above 150metres. This east-west difference reflects thegreater rainfall amounts at lower levels in the west.Furthermore, lowland blanket peat is extensiveacross ground below 150 metres, and even along thecoast in western counties because of the highrainfall.The term blanket bog is a very appropriate one
because the peat extends and wraps itself acrossthe landscape, following the natural undulations ofthe terrain, just as a giant blanket would do if castacross the hills. In the uplands blanket peat canattain thicknesses of 2-6 metres.
Peat compositionPeat is made up of the partially decomposedremains of plants. They haven’t decayed completely
because of the waterlogged conditions and the lackof oxygen in the bog. If you pull a lump of peat apart,the leaves, stems and fruits of plants that oncegrew on the bog surface will be seen. These aresometimes sufficiently well preserved to beidentified without the use of a microscope or handlens. Various heathers, grasses, sedges, bilberry andmosses (especially Sphagnum) make up the bulk ofmost blanket peat.Throughout the development of peat, slightly
warmer and drier climatic phases have alternatedwith slightly cooler and wetter ones. These changesare evident in peat profiles. Layers that show a highdegree of plant decomposition reflect warmer anddrier conditions, while layers in which plant remainsare better preserved indicate cooler and wetterphases.By examining the full thickness of peat at any
location the vegetational history of the site can beestablished. Changes in the former vegetation overtime can also be determined by treating samples ofpeat with reagents that digest the peat butpreserve pollen grains. These pollen grains can tellus which plants grew on the bog and in thesurrounding area.
Above: Pinestumps exposedby peat-cuttingin Donegal.
Below: Lowlandblanket peat at sea level onAchill Island.
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GEOLOGY
Pollen grains extracted from blanket peat (clockwise from top):grass, Sphagnum, sedge, hazel. Photo courtesy of Dr Gill Plunkett,Queen’s University, Belfast.
Summer 2019
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Above: Anexample ofsevere peaterosion – haggsand groughs – on Benleagh inthe WicklowMountains.
Right: Wateremerging from asub-peat tunnelin the Mournes.
Below: Bog burst scars onCrocknalaragagh,Co Donegal.
Another material that has been found in blanketbogs is volcanic ash or tephra from Icelandicvolcanoes. These volcanoes have erupted many timesover the past few thousand years and some of the ashhas travelled towards Ireland. A recent example wasthe eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in April 2010, whichcaused widespread disruption to air travel in northernEurope. When ash eventually falls from theatmosphere some lands on bogs; it gets trapped andincorporated into the peat mass as the bog grows.
Although invisible to the naked eye, tephra can beextracted and its chemistry analysed to ascertainwhich volcano it came from. The associated peat layercan be radiocarbon dated to establish the timing ofthe eruption. Climate scientists and archaeologistshave been able to link Icelandic eruptions with societalchanges in Irish history and prehistory.
Peat erosionThe erosion of peat can be seen today on most of ourhills and should be of concern to all who use theuplands, whether for recreation or to earn a livelihood.It is not a simple task to explain why and when erosionbegan in any particular area. Radiocarbon datingindicates that eroded peat was accumulating in lakesin Donegal and Wicklow between 1,500 and 3,000years ago. Eroded areas must have been extensiveduring the era of Scandinavian settlement; the terms‘haggs’ and ‘groughs’ for vegetation-capped residual
Glassy particles of tephra from blanket peat in the Mournes. Thetephra is from an eruption of the Icelandic volcano Hekla 4,300years ago. Photo courtesy of Dr Gill Plunkett, Queen’s University,Belfast.
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Top: The barestony summit ofTrostan, Co Antrim– the end productof peat erosion.
Above: Thecommon sundew,an insectivorousplant of boglands.
Below: Peaterosion adjacent tothe western cairnof Galtymore.
peat masses and the adjacent gullies are of Norseorigin.Although the loss of some upland peat is the
result of turf cutting, the badly eroded areas areusually linked with vegetation disturbance andchanges in the flow of water, such as may be seen inpopular hillwalking areas. If the surface vegetation isdamaged by trampling or overgrazing, the exposedpeat becomes susceptible to frost action in coldspells and to drying and cracking in warm periods. Inboth situations, the peat is broken up and can thenbe removed by the wind or by water flow duringheavy rain. In the latter circumstance, a gully cansoon be formed in the peat, and there is then little tostop it from deepening and widening.Gullies can also be formed by water that flows in
tunnels beneath the peat. As these sub-peat tunnelsenlarge, the ground surface subsides along the lineof the tunnel, surface vegetation is disrupted andpeat becomes exposed to the influences mentionedabove.An alternative mechanism is the natural instability
of the peat as it thickens. Depending on the gradientof the slope, peat thickness and degree ofdecomposition, a peat bog may become unstableand begin to disintegrate by slow downslopemovement or creep. This may be almostimperceptible but, as it progresses, tension gashesmay open up at the surface. Phases of erosion andhealing are apparent from detailed examination ofmany bogs.A more spectacular and rapid form of peat erosion
is the so-called bog burst or bog slide. This usuallyoccurs on moderate to steep slopes during highintensity or prolonged rainfall. Due to the excesswater, the peat mass becomes unstable and movesdownslope rapidly, sometimes taking fences,footpaths, trees and even roads with it. Some ofthese ‘landslides’ can extend for several hundreds ofmetres; they leave a depressed area, from which thepeat has moved, and a tongue of peat debrisdeposited farther downslope.One of the most severe cases of peat erosion in
Ireland can be seen on the summit of Trostan in CoAntrim. There can be no doubt that this plateau was
once peat-covered, for around its margins thereare peat haggs 1-2 metres in height.Likewise, the western cairn on the summit of
Galtymore on the Cork/Tipperary border overlooksan area from which peat is being removed rapidlyand may eventually disappear completely. Whenand how this erosion started and how long it hastaken to reach this state is not known.
ConsequencesAreas from which peat has been totally strippedmake walking much easier, but there are severalcosts involved with peat erosion. As erosion takesplace, walking actually becomes more arduous.Bare, wet peat is more difficult to traverse thanvegetated peat. Eroded peat gets into streams andclogs spawning beds, and, if excessive, can kill fish.It is deposited in reservoirs and reduces theircapacity, and discolours the water. An absence ofhill peat means that water flow from uplands tolowlands is no longer regulated by storage andslow release from the peat. An increased incidenceof flooding is a likely consequence. And theremoval of peat means a loss of habitat for plantsand animals that are adapted to the bog, such asthe insectivorous sundews. We are also losing therecord of recent climate and landscape changesthat is locked up in the peat bogs ■
GEOLOGY
Summer 201944 Irish Mountain Log
Noel Hanna was the first Irishmountaineer to climb K2 since GerMcDonnell made the first Irish ascentof the ‘Savage Mountain,’ as it is oftencalled, on August 1st, 2008. Ger, who
hailed from Limerick, sadly lost his life on thedescent while trying to assist some Korean climberswho had got into difficulty on the mountain.K2 is known as the Savage Mountain because of
the difficulty of the ascent. It has the second highestfatality rate among the 8,000-metre peaks, withabout one person dying on the mountain for everyfour who reach the summit.Noel is 51 years of age and comes from Dromara,
Co Down. He summited K2 (8,611m) on July 21st, 2018,with a group from Ascent Himalayas Treks &Expeditions led by Mingma Tsiri Sherpa, who wasmaking his second ascent of K2.
The following day, Jason Black (47), fromLetterkenny, Co Donegal, also reached the summit(see report, IML 127). He was climbing with a MadisonMountaineering expedition. One of their guides, whoalso reached the summit, was Robert Smith,another Irishman. Rob Smith was born in Omagh, CoTyrone, and started climbing in 1989. He has beenguiding professionally for twenty years and now livesin Fort William, Scotland. His most noteworthyascents as lead guide have included Mt Everest, ChoOyu, Carstensz Pyramid, Mt Vinson and Mt Elbrus.
ASCENT OF K2
➤ Patrick O’Sullivan is the Editor of theIrish Mountain Log.
Above: K2, fromthe south side.
Right: Noel Hannaearlier this year.
Patrick O’Sullivan interviews mountaineer extraordinaire Noel Hanna from Northern Ireland abouthis successful ascent of the world’s second highest mountain, K2, in July 2018 in an amazing 24 hoursthat saw three Irishmen summit on the 8,611m mountain.
AN IRISH ASCENT OF K2
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K2: more difficult than EverestK2 is situated in the Karakorum region on the borderbetween Pakistan and China. It is also known asMount Godwin-Austen and as Chhogori in Balti andUrdu.The mountain, at 8,611m, is the second highest in
the world after Everest (8,848m), but it isconsidered a more difficult climb than Everestbecause of the more extreme weather that it isexposed to as a result of its isolated and morenortherly location, the higher risk of avalanches andfalling rocks, and the steep rock sections that mustbe climbed.Ascents are made during July and August because
of the milder weather then. So far, the mountain hasnot been climbed in winter, although there havebeen attempts by Polish and Russian teams.
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ASCENT OF K2
Summer 201946 Irish Mountain Log
Noel Hanna had made two previous attempts on K2before his climb last year. In 2015, he got to K2 BaseCamp above Concordia (5,670m), at the base of themountain. The team he was with established anAdvanced Base Camp at Crampon Point, two hours upthe glacier from Base Camp, but an avalanche wipedout that camp and they lost all of their gear.In 2016, he spent two days at Camp 1 on K2 in a
summit push, when an avalanche took out Camp 3 inthe morning. Fortunately, the Sherpas were in Camp 2at the time, which was sheltered.No one summited on K2 in 2015 or in 2016. Noel
didn’t return in 2017, but he went back last year tomake another attempt at climbing this mostchallenging mountain.
Meeting Noel HannaWhen I met Noel Hanna in January 2019, he hadalready summited on Everest eight times – seven fromthe Tibet side and once from Nepal. He said it wascheaper to climb from Tibet.Noel was born and bred in Co Down, and still lives
there. He started climbing when he got involved inlong-distance racing. He entered and won theHimalaya 100 Mile Stage Race in 1997, at the age of 29.The race gave him great views of four of the Himalayangiants and it ended in Darjeeling, with its splendidviews of Kangchenjunga. That got him interested inother adventure races.In 1999, he entered an ‘eco-challenge’ on Mount
Tronador (3,554m) in Patagonia, a region straddling theborder of Chile with Argentina, in an Irish team of four:two from the south – Ursula MacPherson and the lateTommy Flanagan – and two from the north – FrazerCrawford and Noel himself. They had to summit MtTronador as a team, and that started him climbing.Subsequently, he entered other eco-challenges
around the world. He also went climbing in SouthAmerica with his wife Lynne and some friends.Noel then decided to attempt the Seven Summits
Challenge, a challenge to climb the highest peak oneach of the world’s seven continents. He decided totake it a step further and to go back down to sea levelby his own efforts, hiking, running, cycling or skiing,from the summit of each of the seven peaks, aftereach climb.
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Far left, top:Route to summitof K2 from thesouth side.
Far left, bottom:Noel Hanna asguest of honourattending NepalDay at FarmleighHouse in Dublinin September2018.
Right: NoelHanna in January2019.
Below left: Rob Smith, whosummited on K2in 2018.
Below right:Jason Black, whoalso summitedon K2 in 2018.
He climbed Aconcagua (South America) in 2005 andafterwards cycled to Concon in Chile on the PacificOcean.He attempted Everest (Asia) in 2005 and got to the
North Col. Unfortunately, he developed a retinalhaemorrhage there and had to descend. Noel has hadno serious problems with altitude since then and hesummited on Everest for the first time in 2006. Hedoes get headaches, though, if he ascends too quickly.He went straight into base camp on Kanchenjunga at5,500m in 2018 and got headaches, but he had noother problems. From Everest, he cycled from BaseCamp in Tibet via the Friendship Bridge to Kathmanduand then on to the Bay of Bengal.He climbed Mount Elbrus (Europe) in 2007 and
cycled to the Black Sea at Tuapse after coming down.From Kilimanjaro (Africa), Noel cycled to the Kenyan
coast at Tanga.Also in 2007, after summiting Denali (North
America), he cycled to the sea at Anchorage, Alaska.After he climbed the Carstenz Pyramid (Australasia)
in Indonesia in 2008, Noel trekked and cycled to thesea at Nabire.From Mt Vinson (in Antarctica), he skied and walked
to the frozen sea at Hercules Inlet over Christmas andthe New Year in 2009-2010.
Trek into ConcordiaWhen Noel set out to climb K2 towards the end ofJune 2018, he first travelled to the roadhead at Askole(3,000m) and then trekked into Concordia. That was aweek’s trekking, plus rest days. Concordia (4,690m) islocated at the confluence of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen Glaciers. Apart from K2, three other 8,000mpeaks are accessible from there: Broad Peak,Gasherbrum 1 and Gasherbrum 2.
K2 Base Camp is on from Concordia at 5,650mon the Godwin-Austen Glacier, below the southface of K2.It is two hours from K2 Base Camp to Crampon
Point at the end of the glacier, at the base of theAbruzzi Spur, where some expeditions place theirAdvanced Base Camp at 5,680m. Noel found thatclimbing from Crampon Point to Camp 1 (6,085m)on K2 was a straightforward snow plod.From Camp 1, the route continued up the Abruzzi
Ridge on mixed snow and rock terrain for 500m to
NOEL HAD MADE TWO PREVIOUSATTEMPTS ON K2 BEFORE HIS SUCCESS LAST YEAR.
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 47
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Camp 2 at 6,700m. This part of the route includedascending the House Chimney, a 30m chimneythat splits a rock wall.The climb from Camp 2 to Camp 3 (at 7,240m)
on the Black Pyramid was the most technicallydifficult section of the route, Noel said, with mixedclimbing on rock and ice on vertical cliffs.The climb from Camp 3 to Camp 4 was a
relatively easy ascent on steep snow slopes to thestart of the Shoulder. Camp 4 (7,500m) was atlower altitude this year, below the crevasses andwell below the Bottleneck (8,211m).
Going for the summitThe team left Camp 4 at 9.00pm and reached thesummit of K2 successfully at 7.30am. To reach thesummit from Camp 4 they had to make a traverseto the Bottleneck, possibly the most dangerouspart of the climb. It is only a 50-metre climb, but itis vertical blue ice. They were on fixed ropes andsome of the climbers were not carrying an ice axe.There were fixed ropes from the top of theBottleneck, along the traverse below the seracs andup the Summit Dome to 100 metres below thesummit.Noel summited K2 and went straight back down
to Base Camp the same day.Despite his speedy descent, Noel had to wait
three days in Base Camp for the porters to arrivefrom Askole to carry out the expedition’s gear.
Future ambitionsNoel says he didn’t suffer from altitude sickness onthis trip, and did not even lose his appetite whenhe was high on the mountain. He said he eatseverything and ate well on the whole trip. He didnot lose weight on the mountain and remained athis usual 70kg.Noel says that he keeps healthy and doesn’t feel
that he is slowing up. When he is at home, Noelgoes to the gym five times a week for one to twohours, and he goes running three or four times aweek.When I asked Noel about his future plans, he said
he would be attempting Everest from the Nepalside in 2019 and that he then planned to attemptthe mountain without oxygen in 2020 with Lynne,also from the Nepal side.In 2016, he and Lynne became the first couple to
have climbed Everest from both sides ■
Summer 201948 Irish Mountain Log
Above: Noel Hannaon summit of K2 inJuly 2018.
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ASCENT OF K2
THE TEAM LEFT CAMP 4 AT 9.00PM AND SUMMITED AT 7.30AM.
Summer competitionWin a great prize from Basecamp if your correct completed entry for this puzzle is the first drawn from the hat!
CROSSWORD com
piledby
PATRICK O’SULLIVAN
Crossword#
Basecamp Outdoor Store, Dublin and KilkennyWebsite: www.basecamp.ie
WINAn MSR
Elixir 2 Tentworth €300
MSR Elixir 2 Tent (two-person) €300.00
How to enterComplete this crossword correctly and be in with a chance to win a tent worth €300.00from Basecamp Outdoor Store, Jervis Street, Dublin.
Cut out this page or photocopy it and send your completed entry to The Editor, Irish Mountain Log,Mountaineering Ireland, Irish Sport HQ, National Sports Campus, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, to arrivenot later than Friday, August 24th 2019. Don’t forget to include your full name, address andmembership number with your entry as well as a telephone number or email address at where youcan be contacted. The winner will be announced in the Autumn 2019 issue of the Irish Mountain Log.
Competition prizeBasecamp’s generous prize offer is for an MSR Elixir 2 two-person tent worth €300.00.
Clues Across1 Irish mountains of 500m+ with prominence of 30m (8).4 Managing director in Maryland, perhaps, in short (2).6 A small roll (3).7 Adult male (3).9 To feel unwell, or sicken (3).10 Exposed rock mass of jointed and broken blocks (3).11 Type of restaurant where cowboys are not welcome? (6).12 Vessel for holding cremated remains (3).13 Hot brown beverage favoured by the Irish (3).14 An easy gallop (6).16 Climbing protection (3).18 Any peak in most famous European range (3).19 Lodging place for travellers (3).20 Ireland’s number one cycling event (3).21 A peak that recently received second Irish ascent (2).22 Coastal landform excellent for climbing (3,5).
Clues Down1 First 8,000m peak ever to be climbed (9).2 Our capital city (6).3 Climbers are usually _____ together for safety while
climbing (5).5 Small insect (3).7 Mountain range in Connemara (9).8 Twelfth highest mountain in the world (5,4).13 Maum______, highest peak in the Partry Mountains (6).15 A stiff bristle growing from ear of corn (3).17 Soft metal (3).
1 2 3 4
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6 7 8
9 10
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12 13
14 15
16 17 18
19 20
21 22
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 49
For several years, I have been dipping in andout of hillwalking and mountaineering, but I have never really taken on any challengesor major climbs. Mostly, I’ve been justhiking around my local mountains inDonegal, when I could, and taking part insome adventure races.
One day in 2015, while on my family’s annualHallowe’en cycling trip to Westport along the WesternGreenway, I purchased a book that listed all the countyhigh points on the island of Ireland: Ireland’s County HighPoints: A Walking Guide, written by Kieron Gribbon. Iintended to work my way through the list, but I did notreally believe I would ever climb all of them.
The guidebook sat on a shelf for two years, as life flewby. One day in late 2017, I came across an article about ayoung nine-year old boy called Dillon Lynch who hadbecome the youngest person to climb all the countyhigh points in Ireland. Inspired by Dillon, and hoping toinspire my children and the young people in my scoutgroup, the 12th Sligo Ballintrillick Scouts, I decided totake on the challenge.
With the decision made to go for it, I knew I wouldneed a source of motivation to complete the challenge
within a certain time frame. One lazy Sunday, whilebrowsing Facebook, I came across a recruitmentpost for the Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue Team.I had toyed with the idea of applying to join thisrescue team a few times, but had always held backas I knew I didn’t have the time to commit properly.Now, however, I saw an opportunity to raise moneyfor the team by doing something I loved, to my ownschedule, while also ticking something off mybucket list.
➤David Barnes is from Bundoran, CountyDonegal, and is a member of the SligoMountaineering Club and a scout in the12th Sligo Ballintrillick Scouts. He has hada love of the hills since the early 1990s,when his grandfather took him to scoutout hillwalking routes for foreign studentsstaying in Bundoran during the summer.
COUNTY HIGH POINTS
COUNTY HIGH POINTS ODYSSEYDavid Barnes takes on the all-Ireland county high points challenge to raise funds for the Sligo LeitrimMountain Rescue Team.
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Above: View of Carlingfordfrom Slieve Foyein the Cooleys,the CountyAntrim high point.
Below: David andmembers of Sligo LeitrimMountain RescueTeam onTruskmore, thefirst high point ofthe challenge.
Summer 201950 Irish Mountain Log
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“THE MOST PHYSICALLY TOUGH HIGHPOINT FOR ME WAS GALTYMORE, WITHITS WET AND SLIPPERY GRASSY SLOPES.”
➤
Right:Lugnaquillia,the CountyWicklow highpoint.
Below: In theHag’s Glen onthe ascent ofCarrauntoohil(from left):EamonnMitchell, AineMitchell andDavid Barnes.
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 51
After speaking to the Sligo Leitrim Mountain RescueTeam, I set myself four goals:
• To raise at least €2,000
• To begin with Truskmore in Sligo-Leitrim
• To finish with Errigal in my home county of Donegal
• To complete the challenge in 2018.
At 10.00am on April 14th, 2018, the challenge began,when I took on Truskmore on the Sligo/Leitrim border.
With six shared county high points, the challengewould involve climbing just twenty-six summits, asfollows (in order of decreasing height):
County high point: County or counties:
Carrauntoohil (1,039m) KerryLugnaquillia (925m) WicklowGaltymore (919m) Tipperary/LimerickSlieve Donard (850m) DownMweelrea (814m) MayoMount Leinster (794m) Carlow/WexfordKnockmealdown (793m) WaterfordKippure (757m) DublinErrigal (751m) DonegalBenbaun (725m) GalwayKnockboy (706m) CorkSawel (678m) Derry/TyroneCuilcagh (665m) Cavan/FermanaghTruskmore (647m) Sligo/LeitrimSlieve Foye (588m) LouthSlieve Gullion (573m) ArmaghTrostan (550m) AntrimMoylussa (532m) ClareArderin (527m) Laois/OffalyBrandon Hill (515m) KilkennySeltannasaggart SE (412m) RoscommonCupidstown Hill (379m) KildareSlieve Beagh East Top (373m) MonaghanCorn Hill (278m) LongfordCarnbane East (276m) MeathMullaghmeen (258m) Westmeath
Since completing the challenge, I have often beenasked what was my favourite high point, or the hardesthigh point, or the most enjoyable. These are difficultquestions to answer, but I have tried my best in theparagraphs below.
I suppose the most physically tough climb was onGaltymore. I took the northern approach, and thedifficulty I experienced was mainly because of thesteep, wet and slippery grassy slopes, along with abitingly cold gale at the top. While there, I messedaround with frozen hands trying to set up my camera.In the end, after the tripod had fallen over three timesand the lens had been damaged, I resorted to a selfieto record the ascent.
Beginning my descent, I met an interesting chap whohad recently left his comfortable nine-to-five job tostart up his own business doing something he enjoyed:running adventure tours along the Wild Atlantic Wayand beyond.
COUNTY HIGH POINTS
Further down, I fell a few times on the slippery grass,but I did also help three farmers round up some sheepand load them into a trailer.
One of the most enjoyable experiences of thechallenge was when I was climbing on Slieve Foye, inthe Cooley Mountains, Co Louth, with a friend of mine.When we were above 450m, clouds engulfed us, makingthe summit tricky to find, with many false summitslurking in the mist. We finally reached the real top, tookthe photos we wanted and were getting ready todescend when a lone figure emerged from the haze. Itwas a friendly lady, whose descent we joined, as it wasmuch quicker than our planned route. It turned out thislady was none other than Josie Kieran, who in 1998 hadreached the south summit of Everest, the highest peakever attained by an Irish woman at the time.
Experiences with friends made for some of the bestcraic during my round, such as on Benbaun inConnemara, where we had the best views; onMweelrea, Co Mayo, which I had to reschedule twice
due to weather; and, of course, on Errigal, whichconcluded my journey on a perfect December day.
For Carrauntoohil, myself, several friends, and afew friends of friends, stayed in a quirky B&B thenight before. Over a few drinks, they taught me howto play 25, which I am assured is the national cardgame of Ireland!
In October, feeling the time slipping away, Iplanned a three-peak weekend, an experience thattook in Slieve Beagh (Monaghan) and Kippure(Dublin) on the Friday and then concluded withLugnaquillia (Wicklow) on the Saturday. I stayed witha good friend in Rathdangan, Co Wicklow, on theFriday night and we walked off Lug the following day,via Slievemaan, directly to his house, and celebratedand reminisced over a few drinks in the local pubafterwards.
Overall, however, my most enjoyable climb wasTrostan (Antrim), as my wife and children joined meand we made a glamping weekend out of it, visiting
Above: Kippure,the CountyDublin highpoint, atsunset.
Below left:View fromKnockboy, theCounty Corkhigh point.
Below right:David onMount Leinster,the CountyCarlow highpoint.
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Summer 201952 Irish Mountain Log
Book, maps■ Ireland’s County High Points: A Walking Guide
by Kieron Gribbon■ Ordnance Survey Ireland’s Discovery Series maps
Websites■ www.maps.google.com
(for vehicle navigating to start locations)■ www.highpointireland.com
Devices■ Garmin GPS Map 62s (weatherproof GPSR
with all-Ireland OSi maps)■ iPhone 7 (For photos and navigation
via ViewRanger)■ Sony Xperia XA1 (for GPS track recording
via ViewRanger) ■ Nikon D3400 and tripod (for taking summit
photos)
Applications■ PeakHunter (Official Partner GPS Recording App
of High Point Ireland)■ ViewRanger (GPS Navigation App with
OSi Map Tiles)■ c:geo (Geocaching Android App)
Above: Viewfrom summit ofBenbaun, theCounty Galwayhigh point,looking towardsthe north-west.
Bottom: DanielBarnes, RachelBarnes, BrendaRooney Barnesand DavidBarnes on thesummit ofTrostan, theCounty Antrimhigh point.
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“EXPERIENCES WITH FRIENDSMADE FOR SOME OF THE BESTCRAIC DURING MY ROUND.”
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 53
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and the Giant’s Causeway.Throughout, it was a fabulous experience, and a
testing one, both physically and logistically. I climbedmany of the summits alone and others with my familyor friends. I met many likeminded people – on the hills,through social media and, of course, amongst the SligoLeitrim Mountain Rescue Team folks themselves.
Some peaks I climbed quickly and purposefully; others,I rambled up or made the trip into a weekend or familyouting, even finding some geocaches along the way.
A challenge most could take onThere are countless mountaineering articles focusingon much more extreme challenges than mine andwhich, for many readers, would be impossible to realise.However, I believe that some Irish challenges such asthis one, while they are not ‘a walk in the park,’ can berealised over time by almost any reader.
At 11.00am on December 28th, 2018, after driving atotal of 9,600 kilometres, hiking 170 kilometres andraising over €2,800 for the Sligo Leitrim MountainRescue Team, my little dream was finally realised. I canhonestly say that on each summit I was as proud aspunch, and afterwards had a great sense of satisfactionin crossing it off in my logbook. On that final afternoon,standing on top of Errigal, I might as well have been ontop of the world!
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thankeveryone who accompanied, followed, supported ordonated to me during my journey ■
FIND OUT MORE: If you are interested in getting moredetails of this challenge or want to ask David Barnes anyquestions, you can contact him via his challenge-dedicatedFacebook page www.facebook.com/chp4slmrt.
Summer 201954 Irish Mountain Log
In January 2018, I was invited to join two Austrianfriends, Manfred Steiger and Stefan Tschirk, on atrip to the Monte Rosa massif, which they wereplanning to make in August. A cancellation byone of their usual climbing companions meantthat they needed someone else to join their ropefor safe glacier crossings. I jumped at the
opportunity. For the first couple of days, we were alsogoing to be joined by another friend of theirs, TobiHelberg.
The plan was to ascend eight of the twelve 4,000mpeaks in the massif during our five-day trip, most ofwhich we could safely climb on our own. However, themain objective of the trip was at some stage, when theconditions were right, to attempt the LiskammTraverse, an extremely narrow and dangerous ridge.
We had booked three guides to accompany us on theTraverse, as we felt it was beyond our abilities toattempt it unguided. Tobi was leaving before weplanned to attempt the traverse, so we would have aguide ratio of 1:1. The other summits could be attempted
in any order, according to conditions, and would beused for acclimatisation.
Day 1: August 6th, 2018After flying into Malpensa airport in Milan, wecollected our hire car and set off to the Staffal cablecar station in the Aosta Valley. With our heavy packs,we boarded the first of the three cable cars thatwould take us to the higher Alps for our five-daytour. Looking down from that first car, I could see awonderfully remote trail winding up through theforest below. I would have loved to trek up on thisalmost hidden trail, but there was no point wearingourselves out on the first day.
➤William Nolan is a Mountain Leaderbased in Ireland and is the owner andlead guide of Wilderness Adventures. He leads group hikes throughout Irelandand also runs navigation courses.
THE ALPS
CLIMBING IN THE MONTE ROSAWilliam Nolan jumped at the opportunity to join three Austrian alpinists last year on a trip to the MonteRosa massif, located in the Eastern Pennine Alps and straddling the borders of Italy and Switzerland. Here,he describes the hikes and ascents they completed over five days in August.
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Above: View fromthe summit ofPunta Giordani(4,046m)showing the fiveother peaksscaled on thetrip.
Below: Summitof Balmenhorn(4,167m) withstatue of Christon the top.
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 55
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➤
Above: LookingtowardsVincentpiramid(4,215m) as ahelicopter fliespast.
Below: Theclimbing team onthe summit ofVincentpiramid(from left): ManfredSteiger, TobiHelberg, StefanTschirk, WilliamNolan.
When we reached the top cable car station, we stillhad an hour’s hike to reach the Mantova Hut at3,498m on the Garstelet Glacier. We had lunch thereand then headed outside to refresh our crevasserescue techniques and conduct a full gear check, asthe following day would be busy, with an early start.However, the weather changed to heavy showers ofhail, which forced us inside again. We were alreadyfeeling the effects of the altitude and the thinner air.Everyone was in bed by 9.20pm, but thethunderstorms kept me awake most of the night.
Day 2: August 7th, 2018We woke at 4.00am, sorted our gear and ate breakfast.We were returning to the same hut that evening, so wedidn’t need to take everything with us. The first peakon our list was Vincentpiramid at 4,215m. We onlystopped briefly on the summit before descending tothe col again.
Next, there was a steep ascent to the bottom of therocky summit of Balmenhorn (4,167m). We climbedabout 15-20 metres up a vertical rock section. On thesummit, there was a huge statue of Christ lookingdown on the emergency shelter located just below thesummit. From there we could see the LiskammTraverse in all of its glory. It looked incredibly difficult.
After clambering back down from the summit, wecrossed a snowfield towards our next goal, Corno Nero(4,322m) (also known as Schwarzhorn). This was themost exciting summit of the day.
We reached the bottom of a 60m-high outcrop,which had a 60- to 65-degree ice face on the right andsheer rock on the left. The left option would requiresome difficult rock climbing, but the level of exposure,with a drop of thousands of feet, made this optionextremely dangerous. We decided to attempt the iceface. Manfred summited first and belayed us as wefollowed him up.
Front-pointing with crampons is very tiring on the
calves, and the burn was intense, but we carried on,traversing the narrow rock ridge to the summit. A slipthere would have been fatal, so we kept tied on whilewe were on this summit. The views were trulyspectacular, but we couldn’t stay too long. Theforecast was for thunderstorms and this was noplace to be during a storm. To descend from there,the ice face was too risky, so we decided that anabseil off the rocky face was safest.
The face was too high to make it in one go. Weabseiled off the top into thin air, swinging on therope until we reached the snow below. There wesecured ourselves to an ice screw, untied from thefirst rope, connected to another and abseiled downthe rest of the way.
By the time we were down safely and the ropeshad been retrieved it was noon, too late to attemptanother summit as the weather was already closingin. We made a speedy descent and arrived back atthe Mantova Hut for lunch.
Summer 201956 Irish Mountain Log
THE ALPS
The rain started as I sipped my coffee peacefully andlooked out at people still high on the mountains, glad tohave my day done.
Day 3: August 8th, 2018The alarm rang at 4.30am. We needed to pack upeverything, as we would be staying in another hut thatnight, ahead of our attempt on the Liskamm Traversethe following day.
We headed up the same glacier as the day before, butencountered far more traffic on the route this time.Soon we were in crevasse territory and it wasn’t safe toovertake. We got stuck in behind a long queue and hadto move very slowly. This was extremely tiring on mylegs and by the time we reached the col I was almostexhausted. To my relief, everyone else felt the same andwe decided it was best to head cross-country to getahead of the posse.
It worked and soon we were standing looking up atthe mighty Parrotspitze (4,432m). I had seen photos ofit before I got there, but they did do not do it justice. A super-narrow snow ridge with huge drops on eitherside led us up to the spectacular summit. Descendingthe ridge took a lot of concentration, as the snow wasfresh and soft.
Once down, we went over to Ludwigshöhe (4,341m)along another, shorter snow ridge. We took a few epicphotos from there before going down and then headingto Gnifetti Hut, which, at 3,647m, was at a higheraltitude than the Mantova Hut. We arrived there at11.30am, leaving Tobi, who was departing, with time tospare, having summited two 4,000m peaks in sevenhours. Not bad for a morning’s work!
During lunch, our guides for the Liskamm Traversecontacted us. The forecast wasn’t good for Thursday orFriday, with more thunderstorms predicted and a lot ofsnowfall overnight. The weather window would be fivehours at the most, but it would take us around sevenhours to do the traverse.
The guides reckoned there was only a 50% chance of
success. For me, the decision to cancel was easy, asthe risk was too high, but the others were undecided.They phoned the guides again and, after anotherconversation and some deliberation, they alsocancelled, feeling that the window was too tighteven if they set out earlier.
Day 4: August 9th, 2018The alarm was set for 5.30am, to allow us to have anice lie-in. However, loud thunderstorms kept us
Above: CornoNero (4,322m).The teamabseiled off therock section onthe left on thedescent.
Below: Williambegins theabseil offCorno Nero.
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Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 57
but it was worth every second. This felt like aproper ending to an expedition, returningtriumphantly into the valley like some sort ofAlpine heroes of old. Time to ditch the bags andfind the first hotel with room for three extremelyhappy mountaineers, who were well overdue ashower!
It was still sinking in that we had just summitedsix 4,000m peaks. For me, the highlights wereascending the razor-sharp ridge to thewonderfully exposed summit of Parrotspitze, andthe truly brilliant trek down into the valley throughlush green forests. This trip had it all: glaciercrossings, rocky climbs, climbs on snow and ice,difficult ridges, traffic, and good and bad weather.
However, the most important thing had beenmaking that decision to cancel the LiskammTraverse. The Traverse had excited me anddominated my thoughts for a long time, but Ihave no regrets about making the decision. Forme, safety always comes first.
The Traverse can wait ■
Above: A view ofthe ridge ofParrotspitze(4,432m).
Below: William and Manfreddescending fromthe summit ofLudwigshöhe (4,341m).
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“IT WAS STILL SINKING IN THAT WEHAD JUST SUMMITED SIX 4,000mALPINE PEAKS IN FOUR DAYS.”
awake for long periods during the night. From thewindow we could see a huge line of torchlightsascending the glacier, even more than the previous day.
Thankfully, we were going in the opposite direction.We packed up everything and descended past theMantova Hut. Our objective this morning was PuntaGiordani.
We found the descent route down a rock face to aglacier. This was great fun, climbing down using the fixedropes almost via-ferrata style. It was only at the glacierthat I realised we were totally alone. No queues ofpeople anywhere. Heaven! The crossing of this glacierwas excellent, with hard ice underfoot. We covered theground very quickly. The ascent proper felt unendingand slow as we plunged shin-deep at times into the softsnow on the 55-degree slope.
Eventually, we made the summit of Punta Giordani(4,046m), which involved a short but extremely exposedscramble to a small statue of the Madonna. From there,the view was extraordinary. We were looking at theprevious five 4,000m summits that we had ascended.Our original plan had been to ascend from there up arocky spur to the summit of Vincentpiramid anddescend back down the first glacier past Mantova Hut,but none of us wanted to encounter that traffic again.
In the end, we went back down the way we had comeup and went directly towards the cable car station.
We took two cars down, but the trail I had seen thefirst day was still on my mind. We decided to skip thefinal cable car and walk down the trail from there. It tookus over an hour to get back to the valley and it was tiring
Written byHelen Lawless, Hillwalking,Access &ConservationOfficer
Access & ConservationPhotograph: Helen Lawless
Access updates
Trampled area at the top of the Cuilcagh Boardwalk, spring 2019
Summer 2019
In response to continued erosion from high visitor numbers inthe area at the top of the Cuilcagh Boardwalk, and betweenthere and the summit plateau, plans are being put in place tomanage visitor activity in a way that minimises further damage.Visitors to the boardwalk are kindly asked to keep to thedesignated path and to remain within the confines of theviewing platform at the top of the boardwalk.
Mountaineering Ireland is asking hillwalkers who want to visitthe summit of Cuilcagh to take other routes on the mountainand to avoiding using the Cuilcagh Boardwalk, to prevent furtherenvironmental damage between the viewing platform and thestile, so as not to encourage others onto the fragile summitplateau.
The current platform was created as a short-term measureand a redesign of this end point or destination area is currentlybeing investigated. Line definition and conservation work is also
planned for the summit plateau. However, this won’t beimplemented until next year.
Mountaineering Ireland is planning an environmentalawareness day at Cuilcagh Mountain to take place on Saturday,October 12th, in conjunction with the CANN project.* This event isaimed primarily at Club Environmental Officers but will be opento other members interested in understanding Cuilcagh’scomplex story. This study visit will provide an insight into thesequence of events that has led to the current situation, as wellas an opportunity to learn about the special features ofCuilcagh’s natural environment. Places are limited; if interested,please email [email protected] ■
58 Irish Mountain Log
Cuilcagh Mountain
The Bodkin family, who own Gleninagh in the Twelve Bens,have asked that climbers and hillwalkers not park along theaccess road to their farm, which is often used by people goinginto Carrot Ridge and up to Maumina and Benbaun.
In recent times, the Bodkins have had problems with accessalong the roadway to their farm being obstructed by parkedvehicles, hence this request for people not to park anywherealong the access road.
It is also no longer possible to park outside the unoccupied
house on the way into the Bodkins’ farm, due to changesmade around that house.
Hillwalkers and climbers are still welcome in Gleninagh, butthey are asked to respect the Bodkins’ request by gettingdropped off or car-pooling and finding a suitable location topark along the Inagh Valley road. As parking space along thatroad is very limited, Mountaineering Ireland is working with thelocal Rural Recreation Officer to see if a parking solution canbe found ■
Gleninagh, Twelve Bens
* The CANN Project is a cross-border environmental project which is working topreserve priority habitats and species at a number of sites across Ireland, NorthernIreland and Scotland, including at Cuilcagh Mountain. CANN is supported by the EU’sINTERREG VA Programme.
Summer 2019 Irish Mountain Log 59
Responsible Enjoyment of Special Places with Empathy, Care and Trust
Hillwalking and scrambling on steep, damp and rocky terrainsometimes brings us into places where we’re delicately balanced;places where nature is delicately balanced too.
Due to their inaccessibility to grazing animals, cliffs, steep slopesand gullies are places that provide a vital refuge for rare plants, whichare often small and inconspicuous.
Nature’s ability to withstand the impact of footfall is limited by thinsoils and the shorter growing season in the mountains. Higher rainfalllevels, combined with steeper gradients, means that the erosive actionof water is more significant.
An example is the Eisc on Mount Brandon, which holds an important
Watch your footing
population of the rare and beautiful Irish saxifrage (Saxigfragarosacea),more noticeable over the summer when it is in flower.
On fragile terrain like this, where the impact of recreationalactivity is greater, we have an added responsibility to enjoy themountains with care.
We can reduce our impact on vulnerable habitats and speciesby:
• Keeping within the existing path line and not short-cuttingon zig-zags;
• Using steep and badly eroded routes in ascent, rather thandescent,
• Avoiding these routes when ground conditions are wet;
• Keeping group size small.
Enjoy the mountains responsibly this summer! ■
The rejuvenated Comhairlena Tuaithe will haveresponsibility for advising theMinister on a wide range ofmatters relating to the futuredevelopment of Ireland’sgrowing outdoor recreationsector. Comhairle na Tuaitheis meeting again shortly toagree a clear vision for itswork and to start the processof developing a new workprogramme.
The Department of Rural &Community Development isalso establishing an inter-departmental working groupon outdoor recreation as partof its new structures ■P
hotographs: Helen Lawless
the Minister’s reflection on a2016 review of the Comhairleand discussions last year withComhairle members.
Responding to the recentmeeting, MountaineeringIreland Chairperson PaulBarron said: “It’s great to seeComhairle na Tuaithe comingalive again, and especiallygood to see the health andwell-being benefits ofoutdoor recreation reflectedin the new mandate forComhairle na Tuaithe.
“There is an opportunitynow for the Department ofRural & CommunityDevelopment to adopt a
Dr Liam Twomey appointed as Chairperson
leadership and coordinationrole to ensure that Ireland’soutdoor recreation sectorevolves in a way that ispositive for participants,landowners and localcommunities, and that isenvironmentally sustainable.”
Mountaineering Ireland hasbeen a member of Comhairlena Tuaithe since the body wasestablished in 2004 and hasmade an active contributionto the work of the Comhairle,especially in relation to theComhairle’s pilot MountainAccess Project and thedevelopment of a booklet onaccess and occupiers’ liability.
Mountaineering Irelandwelcomed theannouncement in June bythe Minister for Rural &Community Development,Michael Ring TD, of a newmandate for Comhairle naTuaithe, the national advisorybody on outdoor recreation.
Minister Ring alsointroduced Dr Liam Twomeyas the new Chairperson ofthe Comhairle. Dr Twomeybrings valuable experience tothis role, both as a former TDand through his work ingeneral practice.
The rejuvenation ofComhairle na Tuaithe follows
Fresh mandate for Comhairle na Tuaithe
Irish saxifrage on Mt Brandon
Irish saxifrage growing beside the path on the Eisc, Mt Brandon
MeetsMountaineering Ireland Alpine Meet■ Argentière, Chamonix, France, July 6-20th, 2019
The 2019 Summer Alpine Meet, with its strong youthparticipation focus, has drawn 50% of its participants fromthe 18 to 25-year-old age group. Their attendance is beingfacilitated by a very generous bursary fund, whichsubstantially reduces the overall costs for the attendees. Thestandard of applicants ranged from the very experienced tothe virgin alpinists. The meet will serve to plant the seeds ofa desire for further Alpine adventures in a cohort ofenthusiastic young participants.
The Alpine Meet expands the skill-set of walkers andclimbers primarily based in Ireland, with the Scottish WinterMeet serving to develop their winter techniques. Therefore,Mountaineering Ireland offers skills training for Alpinewalking, mountaineering and climbing alongside shorterduration refresher workshops in glacier travel, crevasserescue, movement skills and learning to lead climb, boulderand scramble. The Alpine setting provides something for all,including families, students on a low budget andexperienced and inexperienced participants. Tracks are wellsigned, huts provide accommodation and food in the highmountains, and campsites keep costs low and give accessto the remote areas of the Alps. Every Alpine trip made andAlpine area visited offers a unique adventure opportunitythat can keep you busy for a lifetime.
The courses are run at cost and not for profit, and are justone of the many benefits of membership of MountaineeringIreland ■
Recent and upcoming eventsWritten byJane Carney, Training Officer
Training
Brief reports on training news and events of note run by the Training Office
Photograph: Jane Carney Collection
Training awards andregistration feesIncreases to the registration fees for the Leadership andInstructor Awards came into effect on January 1st, 2019, when aregistration fee was also introduced for the Skills schemes.
■ Leadership and Instructor Award registration fees will beincreased from €50 to €52 (£45 to £47).
■ Rock Skills Scheme registration fee for over-18s: €22 (£20).(Under-18s free.)
■ Mountain Skills Scheme registration fee for over-18s: €22(£20). (Under-18s free.)
■ Indoor Climbing Assistant registration fee: €22 (£20).
■ Climbing Wall Development Instructor: €69 (£57).
■ Rock Climbing Development Instructor: €69 (£57).
■ All award candidates can avail of the reducedMountaineering Ireland membership rate of €30 at time ofregistration ■
News for providers■ IMPORTANT: QQI (formerly FETAC) Level 4 Rock Skills stays.The QQI Rock Skills Module will remain as a QQI offering. It hadbeen proposed that it would be removed from the QQI list. Thiswill not happen and the module remains. The Level 4 Rock Skillsaligns to the NGB Rock Skills Introduction and Intermediate,launched in January 2019.
■ The provider handbook and agreement are being reviewedand edited, and the latest version will be posted on the websiteshortly. If you spot any errors, please contact the Training Office.
■ Providers are reminded to continue to submit coursereports in a timely manner and evidence of assessment formsfor all pass candidates of the ML, RCI, MPA, LLA and Level 1Climbing Coach awards should include useful feedback andactions.
■ Data Protection Slides. Providers are reminded to use theseslides when delivering any ML,RCI, MPA, LLA or L1 CC courses.
■ Providers are again reminded to start populating coursereports early, to flag any issues pre-course, such as candidateswith lapsed membership, those not registered and those usingthe wrong email or membership number. Colleges and outdoorcourses are asked to submit manual registration forms wellahead of any courses (6-8 weeks before) ■
Summer 201960 Irish Mountain Log
• 6-20th July Summer Alpine Meet,Argentière, Chamonix, France• 6-8th Sept Burren Climbing Meet• 8th September MTBI Training Meeting, Belfast• 14th September Skills Workshops (Navigation, Scrambling, Rock Climbing), Wicklow• 15th September Skills Workshops (Navigation, Scrambling, Rock Climbing), Wicklow• 20-21st Sept Mountain and Rock SkillsProviders Workshop• 8-10th Oct MTUK meeting, Plas y Brenin• 15-17th Nov Student Training & SafetySeminar, Tollymore NationalOutdoor Centre• 2nd December MTBI Training Meeting• 6th December Senior Providers workshop(CPD), Wicklow/Dublin• 30-31st January Train the Trainers Workshop• 1-2nd February Club Training OfficersWorkshop• 15-23rd February Winter Meet• 6-9th March Mountain Leader Assessment
Please see the website or contact the Training Officeon (01) 625 1112 for further details. Please book early!
Photographs: Jane Carney
Key dates 2019
Update on rock climbing moduleon instructor training coursesOutdoor courses available in Ireland that offer Quality and QualificationIreland (QQI) awards and modules need to be aware of the recentchanges to the Single-Pitch Award (Rock Climbing Instructor) QQI Level5 and 6 modules. Mountaineering Ireland has four modules within theQQI listings: (1) Level 5 Mountain Skills; (2) Level 4 Rock Skills; (3) Level 5Single-Pitch Award Training; and (4) Level 6 Single-Pitch AwardAssessment.
The changes to the climbing awards need to be adopted by thoseoffering the Level 5 and 6 Single-Pitch Awards. The key changes are:
• The experience requirements pre-training and assessment are nowto include indoor and outdoor sport climbing leads. (The fully boltedoutdoor sport climbing venue, Altnadue Quarry, Castlewellan, is nowopen.)
• The duration of the training course has increased from two to threedays (20 to 24 hours, to include one full day at a climbing wall).
• The introduction of two new and additional modules: (1) TeachingSkills and (2) Managing an Assistant.
Please contact the Training Office to discuss the transitionalarrangements for candidates and the course requirements for trainersand those managing outdoor course provision. The Training Officer, JaneCarney, can be contacted for further details on (01) 625 1112 ■
Stay safe out there!
■ Induction for the new award, Rock ClimbingDevelopment Instructor, took placeon May 24th, based inTollymore National Outdoor Centre. It is envisaged that2-4 courses per annum will be offered by the providersof this award.
■ Thank you to those who submitted Training Grantapplications for the June 2019 Mountain Training BoardIreland (MTBI) meeting, and congratulations to allsuccessful applicants. New applications are now beingaccepted for quarter 3 and 4 for review in December2019.
■ The Skills workshops were a great success in May andbookings are open for the September courses.
■ Please see the National Guidelines for Climbing andWalking Leaders and the Good Practice Guidelines forHillwalkers, available on the Training pages/TrainingDownloads on the Mountaineering Ireland website ■
Trainer at the Tollymore Mountain Centre outdoor wall
Indoor class at Tollymore Mountain Centre
News for members
Irish Mountain Log 61Summer 2019
Training at the outdoor wall at Tollymore Mountain Centre
You are sitting in the sun atthe top of the crag, wellpleased with your lead. Youclimbed confidently, got goodgear in without too much
faffing around and then made shortwork of setting up a solid belay anchor.Time to bring your second up, andmaybe it is time also to think of movingon to multi-pitch routes.
Mastering multi-pitch trad will giveyou access to some of the best climbingthat Ireland has to offer, as well ashelping you develop skills that are thebasis for all serious mountaineering.
Skills you will needSo, what additional skills do you need?As well as knowing how to placeprotection, build anchors and belayefficiently, you’ll need to develop someexpertise in the following:
● Constructing a belay on steep rock● Route-finding
● Rope management● Escaping the system/self-rescue● Retreating/abseiling/descending.
Whether these skills are learned froma climbing buddy, an instructor or fromthe internet (see ‘Going Outside,’ IML 129),you’ll need to practise them and checkyour systems in a low-stressenvironment like Dalkey Quarry before
GOOD PRACTICE GUIDES
No 4: CLIMBING MULTI-PITCH TRAD
In the fourth in our series of Climbing Good Practice Guides, rock climber Clare Sheridan offers her adviceon climbing multi-pitch trad routes.
Photographs: Clare Sheridan Collection
Negotiating the traverseon pitch 4 of Great GullyRidge, Fraughan Glen,Glenmalure, Co Wicklow
Summer 201962 Irish Mountain Log
➤ Clare Sheridan is arock climber and alpinistand is a member of theMountaineering IrelandClimbing Committee.
A Fair Headrack; heavybut betterthan a scaryrun-out
The five-pitch Great Gully Ridge route
Recommended multi-pitch routesOf the hundreds of multi-pitch routes in Ireland, thefollowing three might be a good place to start:
■ Quartz Gully (HS) is an excellent introduction to theclimbing in Glendalough, its two pitches running up thefine stretch of granite that forms the main face.
■ Fair Head is best known for the demandingExtremes that creep up its soaring cracks and steepwalls, but its most popular climb, Chieftain, is a veryreasonable VS. It follows grooves and cracks for two pitches up thespectacular main face near the Ballycastle descentgully and, with its easy access and comfortable belay, itis well worth a visit.
■ Back to Wicklow and, for a grand day out, it would behard to beat Great Gully Ridge (HS) in Glenmalure. Sethigh on the side of the beautiful Fraughan Glen, it gives140m of pleasant, well-protected climbing in shortpitches with comfortable belays. It also gives valuablemountaineering experience, as you have to decidewhich approach you’ll take (none of them are handy)and which descent (ditto) and whether you’ll put yourtrust in the proliferating fixed gear.
Whatever you decide, it will be your own choice andyour own responsibility as you make the most of anadventurous day in the mountains. – Clare Sheridan
putting them to the test on a long climb.When you start up a big rock face, you
are committing to an environmentwhose demands will go well beyond thetechnical difficulty of the climbing. So,keep it simple when choosing your firstmulti-pitch route – pick a two-pitchclimb that has a straightforwardapproach, a ledge to belay on, an easy-to-follow line that can be viewed frombelow, and an uncomplicated walk-offdescent.
The gear you will needIn addition to your single-pitch rack, youwill need extra gear on longer climbs forthe setting up of belays. Beyond that,your rack for multi-pitch routes comesdown to the type of climbing involved (isthere any specific gear recommended inthe guidebook you are using?). togetherwith your own preferences and thedepth of your pockets.
The protection you would use in a FairHead hand-jam crack is obviouslydifferent to what will fit snugly in ashallow crack in Glendalough, but youwill still carry the same basic rack, asthere will always be a variety ofplacements and you will need optionsfor the belay anchor.
The multi-pitch rack I use is the
following, with the choice of doublesdepending on the type of climbing:
● Belay device with screw-gatecarabiner
● Two half ropes● A full set of nuts plus doubles of
sizes 3 to 7● Cams: 0 to 5 DMM Dragon cams,
or 0 to 4 Black Diamond, plus somedoubles or hexes in the middle sizes
● Slings: 1 x 240cm, 3 x 120cm, plus 4 screw-gates
● Quickdraws and extenders: 6 x 18cm, 4 x 25cm, 4 x 60cm
● A bandolier/gear sling● Nut key● Two prussiks.
Always think aheadYour mid-climb belay should be riggedto cope with an upward as well as adownward pull.
The rope needs to be managed sothat it will run smoothly for the leader,and it must not be let slip below thebelay, where it could snag.
The leader should put in a runner assoon as possible above the belay sothere will be no shock loading on theanchor in the event of a slip.
You may be gone for some time, so,
before you leave the ground, is thereanything else you might need – routedescription, windproof, shoes for thedescent? ■
Irish Mountain Log 63Summer 2019
The second pitch of Chieftain, Fair Head, Co Antrim
Pitch 3 (crux) of Great Gully Ridge
Photographs: Clare Sheridan Collection
Photographs: Wikipedia (Snowdon), James Forrest Collection (James Forrest in the Reeks)
Books
his income dropped.He managed to spend only
£45 on kit for the trip; heeven wore his other half’s oldhiking boots and carried afifteen year-old rucksack.
The tone of the book is lightand humorous, as Forrestrelates his adventures in anentertaining and self-deprecating way. He charts
the highs and the lows of thechallenge. There were somevery low points along the way.Some walks were bestdescribed as miserable slogsthrough inhospitable hillcountry, and that issomething all hillwalkers willbe familiar with.
Complete with colourphotos, this is an enjoyable
read, and it will be particularlyenjoyable for readers familiarwith the peaks he visited. Thechallenge in describing anadventure such as this is tomaintain interest for thereader. He manages this bykeeping the descriptions ofeach peak short andhumorous.
Forrest encourages anyonewho wants to, to get outthere and make their ownadventure. He managed tocomplete this challenge whileworking and moving house.The story is certainlyinspirational, but I think Iwould have been tempted toskip a peak or two, if theweather was bad and no onewas following along to checkwhether I had done them all!
Completing this challengedemonstrates a high level ofmotivation on Forrest’s part,as well as a love of theoutdoors and a keen sense ofadventure, and that comesacross in this well-writtenbook.
Pamela Harbison Hillwalker and amember of Tredagh Trekkers, ahillwalking club based in Drogheda,Co Louth
Completing a round of the Nuttalls in just six months
MOUNTAIN MAN: 446MOUNTAINS. SIX MONTHS.ONE RECORD-BREAKINGADVENTUREBy James ForrestConway (2019), 264pp, £16.99, ISBN 978-1-84486-563-5
Tired of feeling unfit,unmotivated and unhappy,James Forrest decided to dosomething to change all ofthat. Others in the samesituation might go on holiday,start a diet or take up a newhobby, but Forrest decided toclimb 446 mountains in sixmonths.
He chose to take on theNuttalls, hills over 2,000ft inEngland and Wales, namedafter Anne and John Nuttall,who were the first climbersregistered as having climbedall 446 in 1990 (257 inEngland and 189 in Wales).Many people have sincereplicated that achievement,but none in as little as sixmonths.
This book describes theauthor’s plan to complete thechallenge during weekendsand days off from work. Tosave time, he carried a tentnamed ‘Dennis’ and wild-camped in the hills.
Forrest describes his plansfor the challenge and theconsiderable preparationinvolved. He changed jobsand downsized his home, as
Summer 201964 Irish Mountain Log
James Forrest in the Reeks of Kerry during his round of the Vandeleur-Lynams in 2018 (see ‘Round the Vandeleur-Lynams,’ IML 128).
The highest of the Nuttalls: Snowdon (1,085m), viewed from Glyder Fawr.
Personal stories from fifty Cicerone authors
when he is ordered by theleader to descend eventhough he feels fit and strong.He returns the following yearas he had a stone fromCarrauntoohil to deposit onthe Andean summit.
There are a few additionaltales of mishaps andmisadventures while theauthors were researchingroutes for their guidebooks.Dan Bailey’s tale of being hit
CICERONE: CELEBRATINGFIFTY YEARS OF ADVENTURE1969-2019Contributing editor: Kev ReynoldsCicerone Press (2018), 160pp (hdbk),colour photos on most pages, £25.00(ppbk), ISBN 978-1-78631-030-9
This is one of those books thatgave me a lovely surprisewhen I opened it. Cicerone,publishers of over 400guidebooks, have compiledfifty stories from over forty ofits authors, who havecontributed to Cicerone overthe last fifty years.
All of the contributors havea passion for the outdoors andeach one recounts a personalstory (each one can be read ina few minutes) from theirtravels. These short stories allhave one thing in common –adventure. Not necessarilydangerous, but having aninterest in the unknownahead.
Readers will not have to becollectors of the successfulCicerone guidebooks, thathave helped many trekkers,trail walkers, mountaineersand cyclists find their waysafely, to enjoy thisentertaining coffee-tablebook. Dip into these pagesand you might find KevReynolds, probably the mostprolific guidebook writer,enjoying a trek with hisdaughter in the Bernese Alps;Aileen Evans gazing across theIrish Sea to the MourneMountains from the summitsof the Isle of Man; AllanHartley, one-time president ofthe Austrian Alpine Club,
Buy nowThis is the book werecommend mosthighly from our summer 2019
reviews
by lightning on the Cobbler inScotland is one of thoseunlucky/lucky incidents.
The photos are fabulous.Every place visited in the bookhas photos taken by theauthors, and many are fullpage-size for maximum effect.
An interesting chapter in thebook is on the history ofCicerone. Its success haslargely been attributed to thepassion of co-founders Brianand Aileen Evans and Walt andDorothy Unsworth, and laterthe present owners Jonathanand Lesley Williams. They areall keen outdoor enthusiastsand, except for the Unsworths,who are deceased, have alsowritten for this book.
The stories and landscapesin this compilation will inspireyou to get into the outdoorsimmediately and startchecking out new guidebooksto far-flung places.
Nicky Hore Hillwalker and trekker,member of Blayney Ramblers, andpast Honorary Treasurer and BoardMember of Mountaineering Ireland
Literary EditorPeter O’Neillpresents reviews of some recentlypublished books.
Summer 2019
A picture from the chapter ‘The Cicerone story: from then to now’(clockwise from top left): Walt Unsworth, Dolomites, 1976; DorothyUnsworth and the children climbing on the glacier, Zermatt, 1964; BrianEvans on Gimmer Crag, Langdale, c1962 (photo by Tony Greenbank); Brianand Aileen Evans, Upper Wortley, Leeds, c1957.
Sample story from the book: ‘Signal Forbes’ by Kingsley JonesIrish Mountain Log 65
recounting his honeymoon inthe Stubai Alps; MadelineWilliams on horseback in thewild Tien Shan of Kyrgyzstan;or Alan Hinkes summiting K2on his third attempt.
The stories are grouped insections for the UK, Europe(unfortunately no adventuresin Ireland) and worldwide,though Jim Ryan, Irishmountaineer and writer,recounts a tale on Aconcagua,
Crossword results
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S A P A S A L A T A AM O U N T A I N E E RE A M A E A M A N A ÊA L P P A P A T A TR A E A A A E A A A EA A D V E N T U R E AS A A A N A A A E A TP E G A C A L G A R YI A A A A A I A G A RK I L I M A N J A R OE A E A P A E A N A L
The winner of our Christmas crossword in IML 129was Noreen Caulfieldfrom Gorey, Co Wexford. Noreen won a pair of Scarpa Terra GTX bootsfrom our crossword sponsor, Basecamp. The solution to the crosswordis shown below. Mountaineering Ireland will contact the winner to tellher how to arrange to collect her prize from Basecamp.
Photograph: LxAndrew (Mt Elbrus)
This has been a bad year so far for fatalities on Everest, with atotal of eleven known deaths there in the pre-monsoon climbingseason. Sadly, two of those who died were Irish climbers.
Seamus ‘Shay’ Lawless, a Professor of Artificial Intelligence atTrinity College Dublin, was 39 years old and married with onedaughter. He was attempting to complete the Seven Summitschallenge when he died in a fall from the Balcony at 8,200m,just hours after successfully summiting on Everest by theSouth Col route from Nepal.
Shay, who lived in Bray, Co Wicklow, was raising funds forBarretstown children’s charity. An attempt to locate his bodywas abandoned in the severe and deteriorating weatherconditions, to avoid further loss of life.
Kevin Hynes, who was a 56-year-old from Galway andmarried with two children, had reached Camp 3 on the Tibetannorth side of Everest and was descending. He died in his tentat the North Col at 7,000m during the night, probably fromaltitude-related problems. Kevin was attempting to climbEverest for the second time, having previously summited onEverest and Lhotse from Nepal.
Mountaineering Ireland offers its sincere condolences to thefamily and friends of Shay Lawless and Kevin Hynes on theirtragic losses ■
Irish deaths on Everest Shay Lawless
Kevin Hynes
Summer 2019
Alan Mahon, a forty-year-old father of three fromMonasterevin, Co Kildare, was in a group of ten climbers whowere attempting to climb Russia’s Mount Elbrus (5,642m) fromthe north side when he died at the end of June.
The group included four other experienced Irishmountaineers, who all descended safely. Mount Elbrus is thehighest mountain in Europe.
The climb had been carefully planned and the group werecamped just below the summit at 5,300m, considering howthey should summit, when the weather changed earlier thanhad been expected. In the severe weather conditions thatensued, with a white-out and very strong winds, the grouptook shelter in a nearby emergency hut.
After two days there, they decided to descend when therewas a break in the weather. It is understood that Alan becameunwell during the descent. A mountain rescue team wassummoned and made attempts to evacuate him, but sadlyhis condition deteriorated and he died on the mountain onJune 30th, 2019.
Mountaineering Ireland offers its sincere condolences to thefamily and friends of Alan Mahon following his tragic death ■
The Last Word
66 Irish Mountain Log
Irishman dies on Mt Elbrus
Mt Elbrus (5,642m) from Gum-bashi Pass
Summer 2019
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