Sunday 13 December 2015

Donegal Rock Climbing Guidebook 2015

 And sho, what seems like a lifetime ago when I first started out on this noble quest the Mountaineering Ireland Donegal Rock Climbing Guidebook 2015 is back from the printers and is on sale through Mountaineering Ireland. More information HERE

Donegal Guidebook 2015

 This is a select guidebook to County Donegal it contains over 1000 outstanding rock climbs found throughout the entire length and breadth of the county from Muckross Head in the South to Malin Head at the northern tippy toe of the Inishowen Peninsula.

 The guide comprises 25 very different rock climbing areas these areas include Ireland's longest rock climb, Ireland's largest mountain crag, Ireland's highest sea stack as well as many more standard single and multi pitch venues above the sea, by the road, on the islands and in the mountains. Each area comprises descriptive text and an area map to ensure the ease of finding the location by any first time visitor. Throughout the book over 250 colour photographs have been used to help desc ribe every cliff and crag listed. This ensures that 96% the routes in the guide are shown on full colour photo topos with the photos that were taken from best angle/position and in optimum light so as to allow first time visitors to find their chosen routes. Each separate location is based on the online guide at Donegal on-line guide with each chapter in the book having an online counterpart. This allows more regular visitors to Donegal to explore further using these online more definite guides.

 The guide starts at Muckross in the south of the county and follows the coast clockwise to Tory Island. Along this coast we visit several of the previously established and documented locations such as Sail Rock, Malinbeg, Gola Island and Skelpoonagh Bay. This coast is by far the most developed areas of Donegal since the previous guide in 2002 with large numbers of new routes and locations on An Port coastline, Cruit and Arranmore Islands.

  Sail Rock

Cruit Island

Gola Island

 After Tory Island the guide goes inland and starting in the Bluestack Mountains back in the south of the county travels north over the Derryveagh Mountains, Muckish and Crockanaffrin to finish on the Inishowen Peninsula. The main developments since the previous guide have been at Ballaghageeha Buttress in the Poison Glen, Crockanaffrin and at Malin Head.

Bingorms

Crockanaffrin

Inishowen

 The guide then finishes with a short four page chapter outlining the huge winter climbing potential of the county and developments over the last 50 years.

Donegal Winter Climbing

 What this guidebook will provide both first time visitor and more seasoned Donegal climbers is several life times of outstanding and in many cases world class rock climbing in some of the most beautiful places in Ireland.

Iain Miller