Julie and Ian heading up Centre Gully on Corrauntoohil in the last of the snow.
the mountaineering collective | 2020
Category: Quality Mountaineering
Log: Donegal | Errigal North West Ridge: 20/10/2018
Intro: A week in Dunlewey.
We took up residence in the Dunlewey Hostel for a week with the aim of doing some new routes in the Derryveagh Mountains (Slieve Sneachta), Errigal, and Muckish, travelling further afield if the weather improved.
There were a few other people in the hostel but we had it to ourselves more or less. It was fantastic. The facilities are first class, especially the drying room and the kitchen. We were given the run of the place by Erin and her team and we are very grateful to them.
Itinerary
Day 1 Errigal North West ridge, led by Gerard O’sullivan.
Park Run | Dunloe (Bairbre and Bertie)
Day 2 Poison Glen to Slieve Sneachta (Peer Led)
Day 3 Muckish (Miner’s Track)
Day 4 Derry, taking in the Grianán Aileach.
Day 5 Loch Altan to Errigal
Day 6 Arranmore Island.
Day 7 Park Run Letterkenny (Bairbre and Bertie)
Day 1 | Errigal North west Ridge: 20-10-2018
Nuala Finn, Gerard O’Sullivan, Ciarán Walsh.
Start time 10.30
Weather
Forecast was fairly good. Ireland lay at the top end of a slack depression with a very light band of rain covering the North West, very or light wind. It was lovely and clear “at ground level” but cloud over remained at around 600m for the day.
The Route
This was a car split. We dropped a car at at the start of the tourist track and retraced our steps to Dunlewey, turning right at the old hostel and following the way marked route to the foot of the beautifully named Sliabh Bealtaine. We left the car here and headed up a track for about 700m before taking a direct line across bog to the foot of the North West slope, which we ascended keeping to a sheep trail to the right of the a stream.
We continued up the next slope, skirting around some scree and reached a lovely ridge of morraine. We followed it around to the base of the spur, where we picked up some trails through the scree on the lower end of the spur. They became one and continued up through a narrow rocky arrete. The route was fairly clear but it did take some trail finding. The rock was very slippery and a detour around a step ended in a narrow scree fill gully and a nervous moment or two. Rule no 1 on a rocky ridge, don’t divert.
We reached the summit in drizzle and very poor visibility, marked the moment, and headed for the carpark. It is a lovely route but one that require some scrambling and short sections of narrow exposed ridge walking just below the summit, which could be very challenging on a windy day. Some experience on exposed, rocky ridges is necessary before tackling this route. Having done it, I don’t think that I will be doing the tourist route again.
Map OSI 1:50,000 No 1.
Log: 07 | 10 | 2018 – The Bone with Thomas O’Sullivan
TMC members met in the carpark at Lisleibane and headed in the Hags Glen, crossing the Gaddagh just south of the bridge and headed south to the start of the spur called the Bone. As soon as we gained height it became clear that the wind was too strong to stick to the planned along the spine of the spur.
The route was changed and we went up the side of the spur to a small coum. We contoured across to the spur on the southern side of Cumeenapeasta Lake, on ground that we would’t normally be on, so we did a bit of exploring and identified some interesting routes for future outings. We descended along the stream running from the lake to the Gaddagh and headed to Cronin’s Yard for a cup of tea. Thomas treated us to apple tart.
An interesting thing happened on the way to the Bone. A Kestrel hovered above for about 5 Minutes.
Route / Stats
Tralee Mountaineering Club Members’ Blog
The Wettest Day … EVER: The Reeks, Sun 15 April 2018
The forecast was not good. A band of organised rain was moving across the Southwest on Saturday night and Sunday Morning but some sunny spells were promised and a run to Corran Tuathail was on the cards. It turned out to be the wettest day we had ever experienced in the Reeks.
There was one other car parked in Lisliebane. Nevertheless, we headed off at 13.00, in the rain. We met Martin Murphy in the Hags Glen and he had been in rain all day. We met a few other mountaineers on the track but by the time we reached the ford on the track we were all alone.
The rain never stopped. The water was lapping over a few of the stepping stone and every stream in the valley was a roaring white torrent. The work done by the Reeks Forum on keeping water off the tracks has really paid off but the upper part of the track leading to the Devil’s Ladder was completely flooded.
The Devil’s Ladder was one big waterfall and we were soaked to the skin, the combination of rain and floodwater penetrated the best gear that we had, almost. We pulled out. We didn’t miss anything. We met Joe Doran and Tim Long in Kate Kearneys. They had led a group up O’Sheas Gull and came out by the Devil’s Ladder. It was very wet and windy. Joe counted no less than ten (10) torrents in the valley.
When we got to back to the car my feet were dry even though I was wearing North Face runners and Salomon ankle gaiters rather than boots. The secret: Dexshell Waterproof socks from Landers. These worked far better than Sealskin socks, which tended to get waterlogged and leak.
Every wet day has a silver lining.
Mountain Log: Corran Tuathail, Macgillycuddy’s Reeks: March 4, 2018
A Quality Mountain Day
Three weeks of snow promised unprecedented opportunities for winter mountaineering. The worst of the weather had passed and the way was open for a day spent practicing on snow and ice in Macgillycuddy’s Reeks
The Weather
This walk was all about the weather, coming shortly after a red snow and ice alert had been lifted, and before a widespread thaw had set in.
The forecast was a for slight rise in temperature and, although temperatures would remain low, a thaw would set in, with rain moving in from the West in the afternoon. Winds would remain light. In the Reeks this would mean continued snow cover, though no consolidation, light falls of snow and uncertainty over visibility.
It was a day for ice axes and crampons.
The Team
There were four of us. Bertie Hickey, Andrew Kelliher, John Laide, and Ciarán Walsh. Nuala Finn had to pull out due to illness in her family. We had done a lot of training in snowy conditions over the past three weeks and were looking forward to a challenging and rewarding day in the mountains.
Conditions
Conditions were perfect. Access roads were clear of snow, except for the final 500m or so up to the carpark in Lisleibane. A number of cars turned around but we reached the carpark without difficulty in a couple of 4X4s (one was a Honda!).
There was a lot of snow in the Glen. On the last club walk the snow started above Coomeenapeasta Lake. Today, however, there was 3 or 4 inches of snow in Lisleibane, with deeper drifts. It was very mild and there was no wind. As a consequence visibility was very poor and we opted for a straightforward run to the summit
The Route
We went straight for O’Shea’s Gully, across the rocky, southern edge of Beenkeragh Ridge, and on to the Summit, followed by a straight run (almost) to the Devils Ladder , and down.
Coimín Íochtarach (1st leve) and Coimín Láir (2nd level) were full of deep snow and visibility was very limited. Dave McBride, Sheila O’Connor, Richard Doody, and Richard Cussen were ahead of us and left a lovely trail of compacted snow. We met three Italian on Level 2, they didn’t have any gear with them and were retreating from O’Shea’s. We geared up at the step below Coimín Uachtarach (3rd level), left the trail and headed up O’Shea’s.
O’Shea’s was full of snow which had formed wide bands of solid windslab. It was perfect. In some places it felt like a 45° climb, perfect training conditions. A day spent in the Ice Factor in Kinlockleven last October paid off.
Beenkeragh Ridge had deep drifts on the Caher side so we stuck to the rocks. They were covered in hoar ice but going was good. There was some corniching but nothing major. We saw the marks of Dave and Co’s crampons at the top of Curve. They were still ahead of us. There was one other climber on the summit but he returned a short while later with a friend. That was it on the day.
Visibility was vey poor and deep snow covered the trail. We headed down and took a slight detour to the right, corrected and navigated to the Devil’s Ladder. The snow in the Ladder was deep and wet and the ice was thawing, but otherwise descent was straightforward
Stats
Verdict
A quality Mountain Day.
Comments
We have had three weeks of snow in the Reeks, with a lot of opportunities for challenging winter mountaineering and training, skills development and progression. The sort of thing we used to go to Scotland for. Magic.
Next: Training matters. Taking advantage of snow
What makes a QUALITY MOUNTAIN DAY (QMD)?
These images record the TMC Level 3 Walk led by Andrew Kelliher on Feb 11, 2018. The route took us from Lisleibane, up a spur to Coomeenapeasta, across the Reeks to the Devil’s Ladder, out the Heavenly Gates and back to Lisleibane, a total distance of 13.39 Km, over 5 hours and 40 minutes, with a total height gain of 1184m.
The conditions were fantastic. The forecast (BBC) was for snow, which fell in bursts as pellets/graupel, and lay as powder snow. There was some pack on the ridges and a few patches of ice. The wind was light but gusting in snow bursts that reduced visibility on an otherwise bright and sunny day.
It was a fantastic day in the mountains and the question is this:
does it qualify as a QUALITY MOUNTAIN DAY?
or
would it be classed as a Quality Hill Walking Day (QHWD)?
A QMD matters if you wish to progress in the sport. The ML or Mountain Leader award requires that you log at least 20 quality mountain days. A QHWD, on the other hand, is the cornerstone of the award for group leaders. More about that in a later post.
DEFINING A QUALITY MOUNTAIN DAY:
According to the Irish Mountain Training Board, a broad definition of a QMD is one which presents new experiences and challenges. Such a day would generally consist of the following:
- The candidate is involved in the planning and instigation.
- The walk would last at least 5 hours and take place in an unfamiliar area.
- The majority of time should be spent above 500m, distance should be over 16km with over 600m of height gain during the day, and cover a variety of terrain.
- The use of a variety of hill walking techniques.
- Adverse weather conditions may be encountered.
- Experience must be in terrain and weather comparable to that found in the Irish and UK hills.
Does Andrew’s walk qualify?
Six of us were involved in doing a recce with Andrew under very similar conditions, which qualifies as being involved in the planning and instigation of the walk. The conditions were challenging, cancelling out familiarity with the terrain, although there was still no need to navigate. The snow meant we had to carry extra equipment, although the quality of the snow (pellet) meant that ice axes and crampons weren’t much use. That required other techniques. We were well over 500m for most of the day and our total ascent of 1184m was almost twice the minimum requirement of 600m. We covered 13.39Km, a good bit short of the 16Km recommended but we did have to use a variety of hillwalking techniques, especially going down the Heavenly Gates, which were full of powder snow.
Generally speaking – and the Irish Mountain Training Board has given a broad definition that generally includes the above – Andrew’s walk would have to qualify as a QMD. It certainly did present new experiences and challenges. That is why TMC has always climbed in snow, and there is no better place for a quality day in the mountains than the Reeks on a snowy day.
For more on quality mountain days have a look at this forum or this blog.
Next: Far Away Hills Are White!
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