North Atlantic Skyline » mountain http://johnsmyth.ie/blog Despatches from the West of Ireland. Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:06:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 One Hundred Highways http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/12/23/one-hundred-highways/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/12/23/one-hundred-highways/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 01:03:06 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3788 Shannavara summit
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]

]]> http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/12/23/one-hundred-highways/feed/ 0 http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/11/27/3765/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/11/27/3765/#comments Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:43:08 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3765 Maumturk Evening

Dramatic clouds over the Maumturks mountain range in Connemara this afternoon. After gale force winds and heavy rain yesterday, it was a fine sunny day on the West today, though  the wind along the hilltops was ferocious.

]]> http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/11/27/3765/feed/ 0 High Point http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/07/20/high-point/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/07/20/high-point/#comments Tue, 19 Jul 2011 23:02:55 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3637 Carrauntoohil
Carrauntoohil – the highest mountain peak in Ireland – at sunrise on March 18th this year.I climbed it later that day and trudged through the snow-filled O’Shea’s gully on the way to the summit (visible on the right of the peak). My memory is of the constant tinkling and smashing sounds of icicles breaking off as I ascended the gully. The cross on the summit is just about visible.

]]> http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/07/20/high-point/feed/ 0 Mweelrea and Doo Lough http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/05/31/mweelrea-and-doo-lough/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/05/31/mweelrea-and-doo-lough/#comments Mon, 30 May 2011 23:54:57 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3561 Mweelrea & Doo Lough

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