Kanturk Hillwalkers and Mountain Climbers | Blog

This was definitely the best day we had so far on the Reeks. We were a little bit afraid about the weather while driving to Killarney as the fog was very thick and it looked like was going to stay with us for the day giving us no chance  for the good views. But then it suddenly disappeared and by the time we got to Lisleibane car park the day turned out to be the most beautiful warm and sunny and it felt more like July than October. Absolutely unbelievable... Heavenly Gates We decided to climb up the Heavenly Gates and go down the Devil's Ladder. The Sun shining all the way up and no breeze made us all feel very warm and at some point all the spare layers of clothing we wore came out and landed in our backpacks. It was a day for t-shirts and shorts.  Heavenly Gates is a nice route and a good alternative to two other popular ascent routes: Devil's Ladder and O'Shea's Gully. The other two routes can be very busy at times especially when the weat...

This post will be very different than the others... The day turned out bad. You need days like that though just to remind you that mountains can be dangerous and you should always respect them. We want to share this story to remind the others how quickly things can go wrong and how important is a good preparation, bringing the right gear even if the forecast is good (it's always only a forecast) and to have somebody who can read maps and use compass (and even that person can make a mistake). The black clouds covering Eastern Reeks The weather was so good in recent days that we were all expecting sunbathing on the top and maybe swimming in the lake after walk, but when we arrived at Cronins Yard we saw the black clouds covering Eastern Reeks. The top of Carrauntoohil was covered as well but you could see some more light there on that side. But the eastern part of the range was just black... Off we went hoping for the clouds to clear later on. We climbed up Devil's Ladde...

Two groups went out this time. The first was a small group of those who couldn't go up Carrauntoohil last Sunday. Together with Denis O'Mahony our favorite  Mountain Leader, we climbed it today. For two of the group, Roseann and Stephanie this was the first ascent of  'The Big One' and they did very well. We decided to follow the same route as the group of us who did it last week. Starting from Lisleibane we climbed up The Heavenly Gates hoping for the clouds to lift up, but we had no luck this time.  The Boots at The Heavenly Gates The cross was occupied by the group of Scouts from Dublin who were doing The Four Peaks 2016 Challenge and as a result of that we had to wait for our turn to take our group photo. But the cafe was ours, because we were faster than them and there was too many of them to fit inside (LOL).  The Heffernan Gang: Roseann, Stephanie & Anna (almost Heffernan) at the top No views from the t...

For our latest excursion we decided to go up the 'Big One' and we had the great luck to pick a near perfect March day. Eight of us struck off at 9.30 am from the Lisbiebane Car Park. One great advantage starting from here is compared to starting from Cronins Yard is that you get a chance to loosen out the legs as there is a short steep early climb coming up from Cronins Yard where this way is mostly level. On we continued in the main trail until we cut straight across at the mouth of Lough Gouragh. Our chose route was to go up the Heavenly Gates Route as the other probable route on this side of the river was the O'Sheas Gully  and our leader Denis O'Mahony reckoned there was snow up that side of the ridge and also it was quite windy at this point of our journey. The Heavenly Gates Route is probably our favourite route up as it's a bit easier than the others and certainly at this time of the year more sheltered. The last leg from O'Sheas Gully to t...

A small group of us went to Carrauntoohil on an absolute glorious day, we went at a leisurely pace where time did not bother us the day was so good. Jer at the top of Devil's Ladder We used the Devil's Ladder route to get to the top, this route is probably the shortest route to the top but one that is not really recommended to use to come back down by because of loose stone and debris and worn paths that are okay to go up. When we got to the top of the Ladder there was hardly a puff of wind blowing with great views and as we headed for the top we looked over our shoulders and there coming up the Ladder behind us was a Cloud right up the Gully which was spectacular. The cloud coming up Devil's Ladder Gully We got to the Top most notable for the fact on such a good day the place was very quiet . Everybody must have been at home watching the World Cup Rugby match  vs Argentina. When we were having lunch at the diner, we heard the score. Not Good ! The clear...