GREAT TURNOUT FOR THE LAUNCH OF OUR WINTER LECTURE SERIES...

Our series kicked off to an exciting start thanks to Dermot Somers who gave a very insightful and entertaining talk last night on his Alpine adventures and in particular his ascent of The Freney Pillar on Mont Blanc. 



Dermot Somers with KerryClimbing crew

During his talk he recounted the epic story of Walter Bonatti's nightmare attempt
to make the first ascent of the iconic Freney Pillar on Mont Blanc in 1961, which resulted in the deaths of 4 climbers in the party. He brilliantly redcounted that horrifiying tale in the context of his own ascent of the
pillar in 1981.









A huge thanks to all of you that came out and supported - there was a fantastic turn out and a highly entertaining and inspiring talk was enjoyed by an adventure loving crowd.

 
A massive thanks to all the help on the night from UCC Mountaineering Club who also very kindly provided the venue and we are hugely grateful to those that sponsored spot prizes for the raffle: 


Alpine Sports....Online equipment and Gear Store www.alpinesports.ie/  

DMM...Technical equipment
http://dmmclimbing.com/ 









Great Outdoors......Outdoor Store, Dublin www.greatoutdoors.ie/ 

Union Chandlery - Hillwalkers...Equipment & Gear retailer  www.unionchandlery.ie

 Cascade Designs.... Thermarest/MSR Manufacturers www.cascadedesigns.com/en/

             All proceeds from this series are going to the Cork Youth Climbing Club...
                                    www.corkyouthclimbingclub.com/ 







Also a huge thanks to TheCorkNews for helping so much in the promotion of the series 

http://thecorknews.ie/




_________________________________________________________



Can't wait for the next one....Paul Swails "PARK LIFE" Thurs Dec.13th.

Hear all about the crazy adventures of a pair of Irish climbers who braved the Big Walls of Yosemite National Park in California U.S.A.

During their epic trip, the Irish duo of Andy Marshall and Paul Swail conquered the 3000 ft Nose of El Capitan in a single push, taking just under 17hrs for all 33 pitches.
They failed and succeeded on Astroman, made a speedy ascent of the iconic Half Dome and many other classic climbs in the valley.
...




 

Yosemite is billed as 'an outlet for the energies of the world's most passionate and adventurous people'. The duo experienced this first hand with high expectations, pain, elatedness and sheer exhaustion in order to realise the dream of a lifetime. 

http://www.rockandrideoutdoors.com/

 

VIEWS WITH A DIFFERENCE.......

We are delighted to announce that our exclusive specially commissioned prints by the talented graphic artist
" Snooks Lee" www.snookslee.com will soon be available to purchase from our web-site !!!




"KERRY CLIMBER"

With a nice selection of 4 different cool designs to choose from, these amazing and very unique representations of the wild and rugged Kerry Mountains will be available in A3 size ( 420 x 297 mm).





"HOWLING RIDGE"

They are sold as posters but if mounted and framed these would look fantastic on any mountain lovers or climbers wall and would make a super Christmas gift for someone else or even for just for yourself !!!!





"A CLIMB ABOVE THE CLOUDS" - MacGillycuddy's Reeks.

We are in the process of setting up the facility to buy these directly from our web-site and should have this up and running over the next few weeks but we are glad to say that two of these posters - "KERRY CLIMBER" and "HOWLING RIDGE" will be available for you to purchase at any of our Winter Lecture Series events !!!
http://kerryclimbing.blogspot.ie/2012/10/kerryclimbing-winter-lecture-series.html  




"CORRÁN TUATHAIL 1039m"

 

 Posters do NOT contain the "www.KerryClimbing.ie" water-mark as seen on these images...

Copyright by KerryClimbing.ie 






 

Wonderful Wintery Weekend in Killarney

Last weekend I headed off with the family to Killarney.  We were staying in the Killarney Holiday Village which is gorgous little group of self catering houses beautifully laid out and in the perfect spot practically IN the Killarney National Park.......and there was snow on the hills....perfect!!!

Winter arrives in the Hags glen and Reek's

 We arrived on Thursday evening and the house was all heated up nice 'n' cozy.  We have been linked up with Killarney Holiday Village for a while now so it was great to finally stay there and enjoy its comforts for ourselves.  We were well impressed!!! The house we were staying in was extremely well kitted out with ALL the mod-cons and safe handy parking . Being the "superior 3 bed" it had tons of space,slept 6 and was located VERY close to excellent pubs (literally a 30 sec walk to the Oaks Bar), hotels,the INEC and only a 15 min walk from Killarney town centre. Absolutely superb place to stay and base yourself while enjoying and exploring this wonderful area.

Killarney's upper lake and the MacGillycuddy's Reeks

On Friday after a big greasy fry-up we had a late start and just before lunch headed for what was to be our 4yr old daughters first mountain - Torc!!! We walked up through the forest which was stunning in the rusty Autumn colours and once we got to the sleeper path she was off on a mission...to the top!!!  She kept getting reassurance that we could turn around if she was tiring but she was super determined and not a hope was she turning back!!! She practically ran up and at finally reaching the top was totally blown away ..... by the views and thankfully not literally!!! She could see far and wide over Killarney and beyond to the mighty snow capped MacGillycuddy's Reeks and also amazed by the fact that the horses and carts far below at Muckross were the size of ants!!!

Carrauntoohills North Face in Winter coat

Another nice evening of chilling out with the feet up and then early on Saturday headed for Cronin's Yard where I was guiding a group of 8 on Corrán Tuathail. 











 The 8 adventurous ladies booked the climb to take their minds off upcoming Pharmacuetical exam results. As we hiked in The Hags Glen marvelling at the wintery scene on the mountain tops little did we know that above temperature with the wind-chill was well into minus figures!!! Of all the days I forget to charge my camera battery.....NOOOOOO!!!!!

Well done ladies on Winter Kerry Climbing

Heavy snow showers all day along with very high winds made walking extremely difficult at times...Could have done with a pair of snow goggles!!!. The gang had to dig deep at times in the severe wild'n'testing conditions...





We managed to grab some shelter from the biting wind and an overdue break at the top of the Devil's ladder...After drinking a cup the girls then poured their flasks of warm tea over their cold hands to heat them up !!!

 

Snow on the Devil's ladder

Great to get a good snowy day so early in the Winter season...Lets hope this is just the beginning of a great season of winter climbing and mountaineering in the marvellous Reeks of Kerry........not to mention SCOTLAND ;-)


After a long cold day I was never so glad to reach Cronin's yard and relax with a delicious hot milky coffee... The weary but happy ladies departed for Dingle with plans for a night of hot ports, hot whiskys and any other hot drinks they could come up with for that matter !!!


I returned the short journey to the cosy Holiday home in Muckross ...

The following day Sunday we spent chilling out and strolling with our 2 excited dogs around Muckross lake and exploring the hidden twisting forest tracks and paths in the ancient oak forests. My mate Colm then arrived with his wife and 2 kids and no better excuse for another coffee and creamy bun in the super restaurant in Muckross.... this was the pattern of the day really...coffee..stroll...more coffee....another little dander...cake'n'coffee....stroll again.... and then on the road home....A truly Wonderful Wintery Weekend in the beautiful wilds of Kerry!!!!

The view up a Wintery Carrauntoohill