From www.castlebar.ie General Back in the Summer of 2004, I met a Mad Japanese cyclist on the slopes of Croagh Patrick - Yaz! (Full story - http://www.castlebar.ie/news/article_1909.shtml)
Later on in November, Yaz returned to Mayo for a couple of days as an online guest at Mayo Education Centre as part of Netdays 2005 (Full story - http://www.castlebar.ie/news/article_1972.shtml).
Funny how events can alter your way of thinking – by the third week in December I had decided to climb Carrantuohill.
We met John at the entrance to Hags Glen at 11:15 am – the weather was quite good at this level, but we knew there was a chance the mountain would be heavy with cloud. From here the mountain was 3km away – a brilliant/hike walk through stunning Kerry scenery.
We weren’t the only people on the mountain that weekend – on the Saturday & Sunday, Listowel’s Brian Byrne, was about to complete his Carrantuohill Challenge – climbing from the bottom of Devil’s Ladder to the Peak, 15 times in 36 hours – the equivalent of climbing Everest.
Brian’s mammoth task needed lots of support and supplies. We were delighted to be able to help carry some of his equipment to base camp at the bottom of Devil’s Ladder
As we got nearer to Carrantuohill, the weather began to close in, but it was still safe enough to climb. At the ladder the temperature dropped and it got very damp, very quickly!
Just time for a quick energy boost, throw on the waterproof gear and then head up Devil’s Ladder. The ladder is quite enclosed by the weather, with lots of wonderful little pockets of mountain nature every step of the way.
At about 3:30 pm we reached the peak – covered in cloud and the rain was intermittent. That didn’t matter – we celebrated our arrival with a can of Guinness (Yaz started this tradition). We had our lunch and when the rain eased (and cloud thickened?) we headed back down across the Saddle to begin our descent.
Climbing back down Devil’s Ladder the cloud lessened and we managed to catch brief glimpses of the beautiful scenery below.
As we reached Hag’s Glen we met with Brian Byrne and his Fiancée Julie, delivering yet more supplies for his epic challenge. Once again the guys carried the equipment to base camp, while I took some time to talk to Brian. The Land Rover got bogged down so Harry used his invaluable experience (and strength) to get them moving again.
Brian has since completed his Carrantuohill Challenge – well done to Brian and everyone involved!
We finally left the mountain about 9:15 pm – it had been a long day. We grabbed a bite to eat in Killorglin and landed back in Glenbeigh at about 10:30 pm where we once again enjoyed a few well earned pints!
Thanks to everyone who made this such a great weekend, especially Yaz, Eddie, John and Harry - without them I would never have climbed Carrantuohill.
Next Stop - Kilimanjaro! © Copyright 2003 by www.castlebar.ie and the author |