What we've been up to....Lot's of Climbing of course!!!

I really wish I'd a little more time to sit down and update this Blog more often but that would mean I was a tad quiet and that wouldn't be so good I suppose.. It's just been so so busy out on the crags, cliffs, mountains and hills of late that I'm only getting around to it now...

Well the rain is absolutely bucketing down outside and I'm extremely glad I'm not out in the mountains or crags today for sure. We can't complain though can we. It has been a super super summer. Yeah we've had testing days too but hey it's Ireland, that's all part of the package! I just sent a client his pics of a recent days activity with us and while doing so had a quick view over the many many other great  (and admittedly - not so great) photos I've taken recently and it had me reflect on the last few weeks... For a start I'm feeling fit...never fitter to tell the truth and boy it's been a rollercoaster  with this ever changing weather I tell ya!!!

We've had blistering sunshine for an "Intro Rock Course" on the stunning sea cliffs of Dún Seanna, memorable fine days guiding the Adventurous up the mighty Howling Ridge. We've had relaxed fun days teaching climbing in the Gap of Dunloe and all the conditions imaginable from wet 'n'wild to sweet'n'clear days guiding a whole selection of different routes on Corrán Tuathail and the Reeks. We've had first timers to never again-ers, we've guided Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh, American, German, French, from the Philipines and even from Malta . We've had 6 year olds cruising up Very severes and Hvs's and experienced old timers struggle and puff...From the ages of 6 through to 68. We've had the super fit and the "not too fit"!!! The "wahooo" successes and the disappointing failures and retreats. the overjoyed and the underestimated....but that's all part of it too...nothing ventured, nothing gained. 



Now the summer's still got plenty left yet and it's far far from over...Not by a long shot!!! 
Still plenty more happening in the weeks ahead...at home and abroad!!! Yes there's mornings when I wake I feel tired...shattered in fact....Climbing Ireland's highest on average 3-4 times a week does take it's toll no matter how fit you are but once the formalities are complete, (and of course the coffee is consumed!) It doesn't take long for the senses to awake, for the adrenaline to flow and to yet again realise how incredibly lucky I am to be working at something I truly love and in surroundings and landscapes that truly inspire. Can't wait to climb Mt Brandon again on Sunday....for the second time in a week!!! And that's what's supposed to be called work...Now that's some office I tell ya ;-)
 

 
 

 

Dog Access Restrictions in The Reeks

There was a recent post on climbing.ie regarding the "unfriendly" signs which have been erected at most access points to Ireland's highest mountain.

http://forum.climbing.ie/index.php/topic,5768.0.html

Much discussion ensued and yes, it is such a shame that this is the point we have arrived at - irresponsible dog owners are the detriment of those of us that like to climb with our four legged companions.  I spent many happy years doing all sorts of routes in these fine mountains with my now passed dog - she was a super climber and loved heading off with us and spending a long demanding day in the hills.  So I'm very disappointed that I am no longer allowed this pleasure with my current dogs.  The blame can not be directed at the landowners but must be directed toward the ignorance of a small few.

"Living in the foothills of the Reeks and also being a SARDA Dog Handler  (www.sardaireland.com ) with a fully qualified Mountain Rescue Dog, I would love nothing more than to ramble about the mountains in the company of my dog who is highly trained, stock tested and proven to be no threat to livestock.  Of course if there is a call out with a requirement for a search dog there is no issue with one being used – we have recently held a very successful National Training weekend in The Reeks where we were given permission to access.  So that should answer the query on whether search dogs are allowed – yes on prior permission for training or when on a shout.

Out of respect for the people that own and farm the land and are allowing us access, these are now the only times I take my dog into the Reeks.   But that’s me – being a responsible dog owner and respectful to those who are kind enough to allow me access to their land.  The unfortunate issue is that not everyone is as responsible or respectful!

The crux of the issue is this - Many dog owners think “their” dog is no threat (and most aren’t) strolling past the “Please do not bring your dog” sign to find that after leaving them off the leash when they think no one is about that the dogs start roaming off (and quite often the owner has difficulty reigning them in) and just by doing so is causing stress, endangering and very recently even causing death to livestock.  So what is a landowner to do?  Of course feel that they must take a more drastic approach and threaten those that blatantly ignore the polite request with a more off-putting sign –although people are still walking past it – may as well be giving the landowners the two fingers in doing so.

This issue stems from the ignorant dog owners – I can’t blame the landowners for being pushed towards drastic action and I’m at a loss as to what signage they can put up that everyone will stop and take notice of and respect. Yes the wording is shocking – I think that’s the whole idea. It is regrettable that those of us who can control our dogs are hit with this restriction but, the fault is with those that can’t control their dogs taking them in anyway and causing havoc and making dogs an issue for landowners in the first place."
Catherine,

It's melting in the mountains so it is !!!!

Well the sun just keeps on shining and the Mountains just keep on calling. As I sit down and finally get a chance to write this, my eyes are drawn through wide open patio doors to the stupendous view of Binn Chaorach and the Mighty Reek's. They are a truly awe-inspiring range and it's been great to be lucky enough to spend so much time out in them recently...especially in THIS weather!!! 

Been an extremely busy and at times,testing few weeks of Kerry Climbing with heaps of Corrán Tuathail ascents under my belt and some truly amazing memories gained along the way (as well as a few tasty photos). We have guided the "straight forward" to the "much more serious!", the "speedy" and the "not so rushed"....

 

 

I've enjoyed a few sensational invigorating swims surrounded by top less female French tourists in Ireland's highest lake and my stick thin freckled red legs have now got the perfect sock lines!!! 

The rock is so warm you'd almost fry a steak on it and even been spotting tiny young trout trapped in rock pools in the river Gaddach in the Hags Glen .  


 Isn't it great....By God we needed a bit of sunshine.... 

Also been a bit angered and frustrated at times too though I'm afraid...Still litter being discarded needlessly and some filthy Ejit even felt the need to have Ireland's highest "Crap" behind a summit cairn during the week....

 

Excuse my French but like - WTF!!!!....

And I was only worried about sheep crap in the streams when I was gulpin' down litres....




But lets not go into all that eh....Not in this post anyway. ....

Will leave that for another day when the rain is back lashing off the patio doors and wind is blowing the dog 'round the garden...Lets enjoy this while it lasts...

A return to Innisfallen

After the heat of yesterday where temps hit a whopping 29 degrees here in Kerry we decided to take a nice leisurely paddle last evening out to the wonderful Innisfallen Island on the beautiful Loch Lein....

Innisfallen or Inishfallen (from Irish: Inis Faithlinn, meaning "Faithlinn's island") is an island in Lough Leane; one of the three Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland. It is home to the ruins of Innisfallen Abbey, one of the most impressive archaeological remains dating from the early Christian period found in the Killarney National Park.

 

The monastery was founded in 640 by St. Finian the Leper, and was occupied for approximately 850 years. Over a period of about 300 of these, the monks wrote the Annals of Innisfallen, which chronicle the early history of Ireland as it was known to the monks. The monks were dispossessed of the abbey on August 18, 1594, by Elizabeth I.

The location of the monastery on the island is thought to have given rise to the name Lough Leane (Irish Loch Léin), which in English means "Lake of Learning". According to tradition the Irish High King Brian Boru received his education at Innisfallen under Maelsuthain O'Carroll.^[2] Maelsuthain has been credited as the possible originator of the Annals.

 
There wasn't a ripple on the water as we left from the O'Donogue stronghold of Ross Castle and took a relaxing gentle stroll around the Island and 13th century ruins before calmly kayaking back by sunset....good for the mind,body and soul I tell ya!!! I can see why the monks set up camp here all those centurys ago...
Ireland is simply stunning....it truly is....

We are all very quick to slate this country of ours at times and yes we have our fair share of woes...but on days and evenings like these the grit and grind is quickly forgotten and fades into much smaller significance....Life is good, appreciate each and every day...things could always be worse.

 

A simply Sensational day on the classic Howling Ridge...

Today it was the turn of Ray from Gorey and Rachel from Tralee to fully Experience the Adventure as we climbed the awesome Howling Ridge in absolutely perfect conditions. 

The gang were never so up for it as we had postponed a previous date to climb it due to an unfavourable forecast, but today couldn't have been better with scorching hot sun shine and fleeting light clouds increasing the atmospheric ambience of the whole thing!!!

We departed Cronin's yard at around 10am after a relaxing mug of foamy coffee in their tea room and tipped away in the Hags Glen under no pressure as it felt we had the whole range to ourselves...I love getting into these mountains mid week as you manage to avoid the large numbers which frequent these hills come the weekend and at times you may only meet another half dozen or even less!!! Still made good time up to the Heavenly Gates considering our relaxed vibe and was surprised at the erosion on the final scramble up to the "Gates" with the large boulder which had for a few years anyway been wedged in the narrow gap of the "Gate" now resting instead half way down the steep scramble slope. Been pushed off intentionally I suspect by some well meaning individuals hoping it might clear off some of the looser boulders on its descent.

 

As we geared up and went through a few bits'n'bobs before commencing our climb we were joined at this lofty perch by another party of 2 Slovakian climbers who we had met already 100mtrs below at the Emergency hut. Here they had asked us for directions to the climb as they poured over their spread out 1:50000 map of the Reeks.... Glad we'd happened along I reckon!!!! We led off first and climbed easily and blissfully up this superb classic on bone dry warm rock at a nice easy pace, fully appreciating the views and stunning vistas across to the Eastern Reeks and beyond. We were in no rush or haste whatsoever and just wanted to savour every last moment on such a pleasing and remarkable day.




This was Rachels first ascent of Howling and Rays second after he'd had a very different ascent should we say in horrible testing conditions on a previous occasion and so we they were both keen to take it all in and just have the craic and enjoy it.....and so we did!!! We topped out to at approx 2 o clock and even had the summit to ourselves and so chilled for a while before we took the obligatory pics of the cross and headed on our descent to the Devils ladder...We arrived back in Cronin's at around half 5 ish and finished off a perfect day with a nice cold can of 7up....Ah the simple pleasures!!! A truly Magnificent day in the majestic mountains of the Kingdom... Well back up Corrán Tuathail tomorrow guiding a group up the somewhat more gradual route of the Devil's ladder...

Life is good...and so is the forecast ;-)

Howling Ridge is a steep, well defined route which cuts up the north-east face of Carrauntoohil. It is graded V Diff in summer and goes at various grades in winter, depending on conditions.

It was first climbed in February 1987 by two local climbers, Con Moriarty and John Cronin, in winter conditions. Moriarty, who led the climb, was an experienced mountaineer who four years previously had made the first ascent of Primroses Ridge – the hardest route up Carrauntoohil. He had just recently returned from a winter climbing expedition to Scotland and wanted to prove that challenging ice climbing could also be found in Ireland in the right weather. The route gets its name from Moriarty’s dog, Grimsel, who waited at the Heavenly Gates howling while the pair completed the climb.

A tremendous day for our Intro Rock course in "The Gap"....

A great day today for a group of 5 on our "Intro Rock" course in the astounding Gap of Dunloe....Weather for the day wasn't too bad at all really, just a tad overcast overall but late in the session the sun began to poke through and the ever so light breeze was just enough to keep the dreaded midge's at bay.

We began the day by covering knots and  how to tie ourselves into the rope. Everyone picked this up pretty quickly and once this was mastered we set about learning the vital skill of belaying.


Belaying refers to the technique used in climbing to exert friction on a climbing rope so that a falling climber does not fall very far. A climbing partner typically applies the friction at the other end of the rope whenever the climber is not moving, removing the friction from the rope whenever the climber needs more rope in order to be able to continue climbing.



Soon we were climbing some of the superb climbs on the wonderful mountain crag of "Bothán".
I had already been up here earlier in the morn before the gang had arrived and had set up ropes on the mighty fine climbs of Agent Orange, The Ego has landed, Private Investigations, Baldy,Spider and even dropped one later on the super classic of the crag - "Raven" ...

Really fantastic to see a group who bar one or two had no real previous climbing experience now climbing such difficult and challenging routes such as these!!! 

When muscles began to tire we took a break from the climbing  and headed to the top of the crag where each got to do two exciting and exhilarating abseils !!! 
A few nervous moments as each one clipped into the rope and walked backwards over the edge of a 60ft sheer drop and controlled their own descent down the  vertical sandstone cliff face....Everyone felt an enormous sense of achievement (and a huge sense of relief!) when their feet finally touched the horizontal!!! 

The day passed so quickly and soon it was time to wrap up.

With exhausted forearms and  beaming smiles we headed to the bustling Kate Kearney's for refreshments with everyone still buzzing from such an exciting and amazing day in such a truly wonderful setting. Already making plans for another days climbing, next time to the spectacular sea cliff of Dún Sheen just outside Dingle.They just couldn't get enough and  can't wait to Experience even more Kerry Adventure !!!  

A WARM'N'COSY "WOOLPOWER" WINTER....

Well the biting cold weather has finally abated and it's only now I'm beginning to pack away the Winter gear....and tomorrow's the 1st of flippn' JUNE!!!! 
 
Way back in early December, I was asked by Nigel of our equipment partner Alpine Sports to try out one of the new "Woolpower" base layer garments he had just become the Irish agent for and to see what I thought.
The manufacturers are committed to the production of warm undergarments and mid-layer clothing and the entire production is based in Östersund, in the northern part of Sweden.

Always delighted with a freebie and soon to be heading to the freezing highlands of Scotland for my annual "Winter Fix" I was only too delighted to give the Merino wool/polyamide sweater a go and was not only impressed with Nigels initial claims of it being "super cosy and warm" but also hooked with his claim that after wearing it daily for a week it would still smell as fresh as it did the first day I pulled it on!!!!
Now there's a challenge....especially as the weather forecast was for 8 days of blue skys and sunshine which meant we would be climbing EVERY day and sweating buckets!!!!  

 
 
If you’re only out for a day or two, that’s something you can get over, but if you’re out for more than that ,well the stink definitely becomes an issue. I have until now always used synthetic baselayers, but since going for merino I will not look back, the no-smell factor alone is a winner for me. It is also extremely comfy on the skin and its obviously very warm. I do sweat quite a bit, summer as winter, so the warming while moist properties are a further massive benefit. The product I was wearing was the "crewneck 200" and I wore it in Scotland all day every day, mostly on its own with NO OTHER over layer needed.....and sometimes with only my Rab Vapourise over it and all while climbing ice, snow and mixed.I wore it on freezing night and day climbs in the Reeks,Galtys and Comeraghs and ALWAYS remained as Nigel had boasted -

"Super Cosy'n'Comfortable, nice'n'toasty and warm....and smelling like a daisy ;-)
 

 
Ok, here's the science behind the product....
 
First off, the company uses wool as its basic ingredient because Wool keeps its shape; it insulates against both heat and cold; it's moisture-absorbing and will keep you warm even if it gets wet; it's generally bacteria-resistant; it's easy to air out, does not need to be washed often, and the hook for me- merino doesn’t smell.
The downside to wool is that it doesn't wear well. To make it last, Woolpower adds the minority ingredient of polyamide (nylon), which is strong, elastic, moisture-resistant, quick-drying, and wears well.The combination of Merino wool, which is finer than regular wool and polyamide produces a textile they've named Ullfrotte Original. The outside is smooth, and the side that goes against your skin is knit into fine loops, which act like little pockets that trap heat--the garments are essentially made up of "trapped air". The arrangement ensures that moisture is transported from the inside towards the outside, preventing sweat from sticking to your skin and freezing in below zero conditions.
Comfort is aided by the fact that the sweater and has no lengthwise seams, the back is longer to avoid gaps and the cuffs are sewn in.

You can check out and purchase the Woolpower range of baselayers, leggings and much more from our online recommended equipment partner Alpine Sports at http://www.alpinesports.ie/  

You can also read more about the Woolpower products at : http://www.woolpower.se/en/products/

Cheers Nigel and Alpine Sports for the fantastic addition to my kit and don't suppose you want me to try out the Woolpower T-shirt by any chance now that the sun has finally begun to shine?!?!?!.......