A friend of mine from work asked me to help a group of his mates ,who were on a stag weekend in Killarney, to climb Carrauntoohil. Winter conditions remain on the mountains and while the past couple of days had been a little milder lots of snow remained on high. So a total of fifteen plus myself and the redoubtable Frank set off on an overcast morning and set off into the Hags Glen. I decided that the Devils Ladder route was the only feasible way to go as none of the group had any winter experience or equipment. Thankfully the ladder was nicely stepped out and we reached the saddle without any problems. An added bonus is that once again I found myself above the clouds in an alpine wonderland. The exclamations of delight from everybody (many of whom this was their first mountain experience) was great and it was nice to share their obvious delight.
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| A glimpse of heaven |
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| Arriving at the saddle above the ladder |
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| Cnoc Duff peeking the blue. |
The slopes to the summit are pretty gentle and everybody made it with relative ease. Upon reaching the summit we were all wowed by the stunning scenery. After a nice lunch and the group photos were captures we set off back down the way we had come. The final slope out of the ladder was smooth and icy so I set up a rope that could be used as a handrail for the first thirty meters and this worked very well. Frank then went to the front of the group and ensured that they stayed pretty close together and we made it carefully and safely down below the the snow and then back to the car. Everybody was delighted with their day and I was delighted to help out and that was made all the easier thanks to Frank. What a pleasure to see this beautiful range in such glorious conditions. An auspicious start to the nuptial celebrations for Joe.
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| Frank |
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