A Wonderful Winter Walk on Carrauntoohil

As I left home it was snowing lightly and dim and dull. Nothing about the day suggested that I would see any sunshine. The forecast wasn't too good for the afternoon with snow and rain due to arrive and I assumed that it had arrived earlier than expected. All the way back to the carpark the dull leaden skies spat sleety snow and the gloom reflected my mood a bit. Still it would be an outing in the Reeks and who could complain about that. There was no wind but I expected that to change as I got higher so I put on my full winter battledress and set off from the car. There was nobody else about and it promised to be a solitary outing. Soon I was far too warm and despite the 1 degree temperature I was sweating a fair bit and I had to shed some layers. Mist hung low in the sky so it was a pleasant surprise to discover when I entered the Hags Glen that I could see the summits of the east Reeks. Even though the grey was unbroken it promised that I might at least not be in the mist all day. I wasn't really in the mood to wallow up a gully that was sure to be full of fresh powder so I decided to climb Carrauntoohil via the Devils Ladder. It is rare for me to use this, the easiest route to the top but that actually made it something of a novelty for me.

Cruach Mhor and Cnoc na Peiste

Looking across to the Hags Tooth Ridge

The Ladder

There was a descent cover of snow down to about the 300 meter level which was soft and made the going a little tougher and the stream that comes down the ladder was in no danger of freezing. Eventually I started to gain height once I reached the ladder. There were plenty steps in the snow so it was easier to make progress now. It wasn't until I reached around the 600 meter level that some icy underlying snow appeared and made me ponder putting on some crampons. I didn't bother and once things didn't get worse I was able to continue to the exit of the ladder at 730 meters. There had been a distinct brightening in the sky as I neared the exit and it was such a joy to find myself standing in sunshine and able to enjoy a wonderful panorama of winter mountain scenery. My mood suddenly matched the glory of my surroundings and I set off up the 300 meter slog to the summit above me. The going was at times quite tough as I waded through some deep drifts but I didn't care as the beauty of everything around me meant it was no hardship to stop occasionally and soak up the views. It was warm as well and I could really feel the sun even though it was winter. Eventually the summit arrived and I found myself all alone in stunning weather on Ireland's highest peak.

View from the top of the ladder

Cnoc na Toinne

The East Reeks

Towards the summit

Towards Cnoc Duff

I relaxed for a short while and my eye was drawn to the shapely ridge towards Caher and I decided to do an out and back trip and then to cross the Benkeeragh ridge and back to the car. I could see out to the west some dark clouds but I was hopeful that I would get the rest of the day clear. I set off towards Caher and I really enjoyed the trip. The snow was for the most part soft with only occasional icy bits and again I left the  crampons in the bag. The ridge is normally a pleasant airy stroll and it was no different today but there was sufficient snow cover to make it an exposed traverse if it became icy. Anyway as I reached the summit some wispy cloud arrived and started to cover the views. Unfortunately the cloud stayed and only got denser so I made the decision when I reached the top of O'Shea's Gully to forget about Benkeeragh and head down from here. The gully was really well banked out and it is fairly steep near the top so I donned my crampons in case there were any icy bits and I was glad I did as there were frequent sections that only had a few centimetres of powder on a firm icy base. Progress down was rapid and it got faster when I decided to glissade, which I was able to do all the way to the lake. Unfortunately the mist only got denser and I couldn't see any of the ridges to see what their condition was like. Anyway the rest of the descent went very well and I re-emerged under the cloud at around the 400 meter contour. I was still buzzing after the wonderful sunny experience I had on the summit that made the early start and dull weather well worth it. Sometimes it pays to take the chance and venture out in less than promising conditions.

From Caher across to Benkeeragh

The East reeks

Benkeeragh

Looking west to Coumasaharn

The ridge to Caher

Looking back along the ridge as the cloud comes in

Some well rimed up rock

Cummenagearagh Gully on The Reeks.

Saturday Jan 24th;

I went once again with the redoubtable Francis Jan for a climb on the wonderful Kerry mountains. We had had a good bit of snow recently but a mild wet day yesterday put paid to most of it but we were hopeful that perhaps the gullies would still be full and offer some sport. We intended to do the very nice Grade1 Curve Gully on Carrauntoohil but as we drove up to the carpark at Lisliebane the outlying gully between Skregmore and Benkeeragh called Cummenageragh looked nice and as Frank had never been there before we opted for that. It starts at about 600 meters and finishes at the shallow col below Skregmore at just over 800 meters so it is quite low and given the fact that there hadn't been much in the way of a frost I wasn't too hopeful that it would be in good condition. I feared a wallow from the bottom to the top.

Entering the coum. The gully is obvious at the back.

Gaining a bit of height

Francis looking as dour as ever :o)

In the meat of it.

 From the carpark you initially head towards the lower slopes of Knockbrinnia before doing a gradual rising traverse to the right before eventually entering the coum after about three kilometres. The coum is a lovely spot and the gully is plainly visible at its rear. Once we reached the base I was pleased to find that the snow wasn't actually too bad and that as a double bonus someone had been in the day before and there were some nice steps to follow. We set off up and as we gained a bit of height things only got better and indeed the snow at times was really quite hard and needed several kicks to make a decent step. We of course had our ice axes out but at no stage did we need crampons (which was just as well as I forgot mine) and we made rapid progress up the gully. We exited it on a direct line which was for a few moves pleasingly steep and we emerged on to the almost snow free the ridge to be greeted by stunning views and a chill breeze. We turned and climbed the nearly 200 meters to the summit of Benkeeragh where we could see across to a surprisingly snowy Carrauntoohil with the striking line of Curve Gully looking particularly inviting. We easily crossed the Benkeeragh ridge which was mostly snow free and climbed to the top of Carrauntoohil where we enjoyed a nice lunch. The descent towards the Devils ladder was a joy with large patches of neve which was just just about taking a firmly placed heel so we actually jogged down most of it. We then finished our descent via the Heavenly Gates.

Looking towards the top.

Exit directissimo

Towards Benkeeragh

Across to Caher

Towards Cruach

On the Benkeeragh Ridge

Curve Gully looking great

Hmmm, I wonder if we dropped down would we have time to climb it??

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Summit views

More summit views

 As We got down neat the end of the first step we met a young man who was hauling up a large unwieldly load. As he rested we asked him what it was and he informed up that he was gifting a stove to the mountain and putting it in the emergency shelter. What a generous and lovely gesture by him. His name is Michal Bednár from Youghal. I hope Karma treats him very well.  It had been a lovely day out and it was great to get out on firm snow. Mild again for a few days but more cold weather forecast for next week. Here's hoping for more winter experiences to come. Thanks Frank

Sometimes Retreat Is Best. Whiteout on The Reeks

Wednesday January 21st;

I was back on "home " territory today and I headed back to The Reeks by Killarney. I decided that The Coomloughra Horseshoe would be  great outing, taking in the three highest peaks in the country in winter conditions. It was a bit cloudy and the forecast was for showers throughout the day. There hadn't been a frost overnight but it was reading just four degrees as I drove back so I hoped that things might have been frozen on high. I left the car at 10.30 and set off up the hydro road that leads into the spectacular coum. The showers were much in evidence and it wasn't long before I was getting the rain jacket out. There was some blue sky to be seen as well and I was reasonably hopeful that I might get some views. It was also obvious when Icould see into the coum that there was much more snow here than Connemara. The tops were covered in cloud but the cliffs of Caher looked great. I decided to do the circuit anticlockwise so Caher was the first objective.

Towards Caher

Towards Skregmore

The route up is an easy long spur that rises gently at first before steepening towards the west top. Almost straight away once I gained the spur I was on the snow which gradually got deeper. I had forgotten how much fun breaking trail through soft snow could be and today I was fully re-acquainted with it. As I got higher I was occasionally wading above my knees and it was pretty tiring. I had hoped that things would get firmer as I gained height but alas it wasn't to be and the wallow fest continues all the way to the first summit. Also as I arrived so did some nasty weather and I was getting a good old blasting by spindrift and snow. Visibility also reduced dramatically but there were some cliffs and rocks to be seen so I was able to navigate to the nearby col before the rise to the true summit. The slope up here was completely white which meant that at times I could see nothing. I pressed on and soon reached the top. Here the nature of the terrain changes and the ground narrows to (in dry conditions) a pleasingly narrow ridge. Big cliffs stretch ahead on the left hand side and a steep slope drops on the right. There was now copious amounts of snow and I was really concerned about the possibility of cornices etc. This couples with the face that I was in whiteout conditions meant I was no longer happy to proceed. I decided to have a bite to eat in the hope that a clearance might arrive and allow me to continue but it wasn't to be and I reluctantly made the decision to about face and return to my car. Descending the snow was much easier and the return was quite rapid. I was disappointed not to see the ridge under such heavy snow conditions but if I continued I wouldn't have seen much anyway. Hopefully the snow will last for a little while and I will get the chance to return again soon.

Looking west

One set of tracks up the slope

Hoping the clearance would come

The chilly west top shelter

Back down from the summit

Not a lot to see 

Good mixed climbing conditions on the west top