Purple Mountain in the Wind

Stunning Black Lough

What is good weather?. It seems so long since we have had a stretch of decent weather in this part of the world.  March 2012 we had a long sunny and warm spell of weather and it seems to have been wet and windy ever since. Today was no exception as there was a stiff wind and frequent heavy showers about as we set off from Killarney and headed into the Gap of Dunloe with the intention of climbing Purple Mountain. We drove into the Gap as far as Cushnavally Lake where we parked up and changed and set off up the little lane  past "Turnpike Rock" until we were just past Black Lough when we turned left and made our way up the steep ground towards Glas Loch. This afforded frequent scrambly sections and we enjoyed picking out the best and most interesting bits along the way. This was also a first chance for me to break in my new boots. I had been looking for a lightweight pair of boots that would also be able for rough ground and also be able to take a crampon so I opted for La Sportiva Trango Alp boots which seemed to tick almost all of the boxes.

Nice scrambly sections

Reduced to tears..its windy and its raining....big jessy :o)

The conditions low down were reasonably pleasant but we were in no doubt as to the strength of the wind on high as we could see the speed the clouds scudded past the summits. We emerged past the scrambly bits above the lake and we were soon following the frequent trails that headed towards the summit slopes. The wind was now strong enough to buffit us and unfortunately a shower of rain arrived at this point as well. Now we were in no doubt that summer was still some way off and the horizontal rain that felt like it would scour the skin from our faces and the gale that threatened to knock us over meant that comfort quickly disappeared. We struggled round to the leeward side of the mountain and this gave us some bit of shelter from the elements but thankfully the rain was passing and views were once again distracting us from our travails. Eventually we reached the bleak summit and here we gratefully entered the round shelter cairn. A welcome bite to eat refreshed and restored us and we were ready to set off again along the ridge towards Tomies.

Towards the Black Valley

Thankfully the weather had improved and we were now heading more or less in the direction of the wind. There was a brief discussion about cutting the route short and heading down directly to the car but we were drying out and warming up so we opted to continue to Tomies. As we went we gradually quartered around until by the time we were descending from Tomies summit we were once again heading directly into the wind. Thankfully we didn't have to contend with rain and as we got lower the ferocity of the wind eased and the temperature rose. When we reached the boggy plateau above the Colleen Ban Cottage we were delighted to see a majestic sea eagle soaring a few hundred meters away. We stopped and quietly admired the beauty and grace of this giant of the sky and the sheer size of the bird was really emphasized when a territorial raven decided it didn't like this threat to its probable nearby nest and harried the eagle until it disappeared from our view. The raven (which is a big bird in its own right) looked really small alongside the eagle and it is one of my dearest wishes that I will one day get to see really close up sighting of one of these wonderful creatures. Another great bit of news is that there is a good chance that the bird we had seen could have been one of the proud parents of the chick that recently hatched in the Killarney National Park. It is to be really hoped that this is the first successful breeding of many and in future years we be able to see indigenous birds soar in our skies.  We arrived back at the car a little windblown and very happy with our day. Yet again laughter and such a relaxed friendliness made the day just fly by and I look forward to to our next day out which will hopefully not be in the too distant future.

Looking down towards Kate Kearneys

The beautiful Gap of Dunloe

First rock climbing day of the year.

On Sunday I went with Frank to the Gap of Dunloe for our first stab at rock climbing this year. The weather all spring had been rubbish and even though we were now into May this was our first opportunity to climb dry rock. The previous week I had pulled a muscle in my back in the gym and I hadn't been able to go running all week. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and a couple of late nights only added to my malaise but it was great to be back in the "Gap" again and I was really looking forward to getting stuck in. We opted to head to rescue rock and soon I was getting the harness on and readying the rope for my first climb. I opted for the relatively easy "Umbongo" a 10 meter Severe route just to the left of Rescue Rock that climbs a lovely arret. The start is easy and before you know it there is a fair bit of air under your backside. Below the top there is a vertical wall that requires a committing couple of moves and well lets just say I struggled for a while before I finally topped out. It had been a while since I led on rock and it showed. Still I was up and Frank easily followed.

Starting off

Almost there

Next we turned our attention to rescue rock itself and we now opted to top rope our routes. The weather was also showing signs of turning and drizzle seemed to blanket "An Tarbh" in the neck of the Gap and the wind was now quite strong. I scrambled up and set up the rope and we then climbed Rescue rock itself 10 meter Severe and Quartz Movement 10 meters VS. This is a lovely route that is quite hard for the grade and had a lovely airy feel to it (top roped of course) and required a fair bit of searching blind for hand holds around the corner. After a bite of lunch we decided to have a go at the classic "Mother of Prague" a 20 meter E1 that keeps its toughest test for near the top. The wind was now really blowing and it made communication with Frank all but impossible. He managed to get as far as the crux but then exited off to the left. I went down to give it a go but with no way of communicating with Frank my heart wasn't in it and I gave up before I really began. We decided that that would be that for today but we plan to return at the soonest opportunity to explore some more. It is always lovely to have a day out with Frank and next time I hope to have more energy for the fray.

Boughil near Molls Gap Killarney

Last weekend I went with Frank for a hike in the mountains of Killarney. We had hoped to have a day rock climbing but alas the weather wasn't playing ball and with plenty of rain showers about we had little choice but to forego the rock and go hiking. Frank wanted to go somewhere other than the Reeks today so we opted to head for Boughil near Molls Gap. This proved a lovely choice and it provided a nice scramble of over 300mtrs from the back of Barfinnihy lake to the summit and then we continued across the rugged mostly trackless ground that dipped and rose over the next few kilometers until we stopped at our final top for lunch. The views in all directions were lovely and thankfully the rain that occasionally threatened never reached us and we stayed dry for the full day. We descended northeast towards the valley and explored at our leisure the lovely unspoiled terrain that was littered with large boulders. We followed the gurgling stream until we opted to traverse around the hillside at Gearhasallagh rather than intrude on the privacy of the homesteads in the valley floor. The day was now lovely and by the time we neared the car we were enjoying warm-ish sunshine. A change of clothes and a nice coffee back in town ended the day nicely. Hopefully from now on we will need to apply some sunscreen when we go out. Maybe even some rock climbing might get done. Roll on summer.

The gully in the center was the route of choice

Nice steep scrambling

Tired but having fun

Lovely wild ground

The view east

The Reeks

What a man

Beautiful valley