North Atlantic Skyline » galway walking club

One Hundred Highways

John Smyth — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 01:03:06 +0000

On Sunday, a group from the Galway Hillwalking Club climbed Shannavara (Seanadh Bhéara). It took us all day despite the fact it is only 358 metres tall. To be honest, most of us could not have found the hill on a map unless it was pointed out to us. The reason we were there was because of a challenge. The Mountain Views website has a facility where one can enter your home location, and it will produce a list of the 100 closest peaks. The challenge is to climb them all. On Sunday, one of our group had climbed 99 so he was going to finish the year by climbing the last one. Last Sunday, there was a scheduled flat walk (the club alternates between flat and hill walks ever other week) and there is a very bitter friendly rivalry between flat and hill walkers – particularly over the speed of the walks. As it happened, we had to pass the flat walkers on our way out to the start of the Shannavara walk. Because it was the last Sunday of the [walking] year, there was mulled wine and mince pies waiting for returning walkers in Kelehan’s pub back in Galway. And who came back first ?

The flat walkers had been and gone an hour before we arrived back, though they had left a few pies for us. We had been so casual that we could have walked half the Maumturks in the time it took us to walk what was essentially a natural rockery. And to add insult to injury, Shanavarra used to be a flat walk route.

Though it isn’t very high, it does have an unrivaled panoramic view of every single mountain in Connemara [click here to view picture]

Slip Slidin’ Away

John Smyth — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:23:38 +0000

One of the Galway Walking club about to descend the scree path on the side of Benbreen in the Twelve Bens mountain range in Connemara on June 27th. Bengower mountain is in the background.
Most of us in the Galway Walking Club dislike scree – ‘paths’ of loose gravel found in the Maamturks and the Twelve Bens. There is only one way to descend on scree – slowly. With every step, the gravel – and you – begins to slide down the hill. The trick is not to send large rocks rolling down ahead of you (and down on top of walkers below) and to try and stay upright even as your footing is giving way underneath. The scree path on the south face of Benbreen in the Twelve Bens drops about 120 meters at a very steep slope. Sliding down it gingerly -but safely – took only 9 minutes – faster than walking. I set my camera to record as we descended – it is very shaky and, at the very end, you can see where I took a spill. I’ve speeded up the recording just to make it shorter – Youtube only allows 10-minute videos.

Click here for Video.

Mweelrea

John Smyth — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:43:02 +0000

What a difference a week makes. On Sunday, we basked in sunshine and looked over to Mweelrea – the next mountain across Killary fjord. The previous Sunday, most of the same crew had been on Mweelrea, cowering behind rocks for shelter from the howling wind, driving rain and the biting cold. And yes, that was just a week from midsummer.

Mweelrea is a spooky mountain. It has its own weather system – strong winds and cloud appear without warning, visibility can disappear in an instant, and the narrow ridges and cliffs means one must thread carefully. It is not a place to get lost. Last Sunday, we planned to ascend via Ben Bury (the second peak in the Mweelrea range) and then hike over to Mweerea summit, to gaze down on Killary below. Some chance. Half way between Ben Bury and Mweerea, where a group of huge standing stones mark the top of a glacial valley (the rocks remind me of Stonehenge), we decided to turn back. The swirling winds meant we would have to face into driving rain all the way to the summit, and visibility was zero.

We descended via The Ramp – a narrow and very steep path that leads back down to Doo Lough. On the way down, one passes huge boulders on the valley floor, some of which must have fallen from the cliff walls above.

Here is a short video of the hike.

More pictures from the hike here.

A walk in Maumtrasna

John Smyth — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:27:35 +0000

A clear mountain stream flowing down from the Maumtrasna hills (part of the Partry mountains) in Co. Mayo – picture taken in late January.

The Galway Walking Club is in full swing again for 2010 – at the meeting last Thursday, it was calculated that of the 100 or so members, around 90 had participated in the organised walks over the previous 2 weeks. Actually, there are far more than 100 members, – that number refers only to the ones who have remembered to pay their subscription so far.
It is a very social club too – meetings consist mainly of planning the social events around the hikes, rather than the hikes themselves. So if you live in the Galway area, and fancy some exercise /fresh air/ impromptu mud baths / great views, why not join ? Okay, advert over. Members are expected to lead a walk [assuming they have some semblance of a sense of direction], so I will be leading a hike around Maumtrasna later in the spring. Nothing too strenuous and if the day is clear, superb views all around.