A Winters Round Of The Coumloughra Horseshoe

On Sunday I decided to treat myself to another winters outing. This time I opted for a traverse of the three highest mountains in the land which makes for an excellent grade 1 winter route.
When snow lies on the mountains the landscape takes on a magical quality that makes hill goers far and wide salivate at the prospect of spending time on them. The experience can be sublime. Hours traversing sunny wonderful scenery in crystalline crisp air tends to create memories that last a lifetime. Sometimes though it can be a real test of physical and even mental resolve and when you reach lower ground you can feel like you have been put through the proverbial wringer. This time it was a little bit of both.

It was dark until I was beyond Killarney so I couldn't see the conditions on the mountains but when I was passing Fossa I could finally see the majesty of the scene and the Reeks looked stunning with snow lying to around 600 metres. The tops were mostly clear at the moment but plenty of dark menacing cloud lay elsewhere so I expected to have some showers while I was out. I had toyed with the idea of trying for an easy winter climb, something like "The Step" (a grade 2 route) but conditions were reported to be still a little thin so I decided that the Coumloughra Horseshoe would give the best chance of good conditions. I drove the extra miles to the deserted carpark at the base of the hydro road and, as heavy sleety rain arrived when I did, I put on the rain gear and off I went. There is something lovely about being warm and well protected while you walk in bad weather and straight away I was enjoying my day. Cloud had covered the tops and to the west the blackness of approaching squalls looked menacing but it promised to be at the very least an invigorating trip.
The sleet had turned to snow by the time I reached Lough Eighter and the breeze had turned to a wind but it was thrilling. I decided to head towards Caher first as this allows for a more enjoyable scramble as you cross the Beenkeragh Ridge. Finally I reached the snow line as I rose up the long easy spur that swept up into the cloud towards Caher. The wind wasn't too bad. The snow had stopped and the hint of a clearance was also in the air..life was good. Once I was up at around 750 metres the clearance finally arrived and it was a glorious sight to see the snowy spectacular landscape finally revealed. Across the coum Skregmore looked great but it was the distant Caherconree on the Dingle Peninsula that caught the eye. It was just a brief clearance however and I was soon enveloped in the mist again and I resumed my upward journey. At around the 850 metre contour the rocks became coated in snow ice but my boots were still able to get a good grip so I didn't require crampons. The West Top was a bleak winter wonderland with everywhere plastered in icy snow. Looking into the abyss on the left was exciting but a cold stiff wind ensured that I kept moving so I dropped to the wild col and headed to the main summit of Caher which just passes the 1000 metre mark. A very enjoyable walk along the airy ridge followed and sometimes fleeting glimpses of the bottom of the coum could be seen. Next comes the climb to the summit of Carrauntoohil which passed quickly and here I stopped to put on my crampons and got the ice axe out before tackling the steep descent to the top of O'Sheas Gully. While I was putting on a warmer pair of gloves the clouds parted and the glorious views all around were revealed. I took a few pictures quickly before setting off for the Beenkeragh Ridge. On the way down to the ridge the view to Caher took on an otherworldly appearance as it was suddenly backlit by the sun while dark clouds beyond looked menacing. It was wonderful but you will have to take my word for it as it was too much of a faffle to try and take off my gloves and root my phone out of its protective wrapping so I could get a picture. I probably wouldn't have been able to do it justice anyway.

Across to Skregmore

Caher always looks great

Summit views

The first section of the ridge is the best and it gives an airy exciting scramble on good rock to the point on the ridge called The Bones. It requires some care using crampons but I took my time and soon all the good stuff was over. I stuck to the path for the rest of the ridge until I reached the summit of Beenkeragh at 1009 metres. Suddenly the wind, once I reached this point in the journey increased dramatically in strength and basically from here all the way until I arrived back down at Lough Eighter I was pummeled and battered by what must at times been 70 mph gusts that made progress very difficult and at times very treacherous. Add to this frequent blasting by spindrift and hailstones and lets just say I was glad to have brought my goggles but sorry I hadn't included a balaclava as any exposed skin was stung by the hail. I stayed in the lee of the slope for much of the way but always the wind found me and by the time I was at the lake I felt like I had been in something of a battle. It was tiring but equally engaging and thrilling. The walk back to the car was straightforward and the weather was also on the up with mostly blue skies allowing for stunning vistas. I arrived back at the car 5 hours 40 minutes after setting off and it is fair to say I was thrilled with my day. It had been a totally full on winter battering and I was delighted to have come out on the other side. The Reeks delivered yet again.    

Back down..phew