Donegal Winter Adventures

 And so, Donegal has had it's 5 days of winter conditions and the ambient air temperature has shot back up to low teens and it seems very unlikely that the snow and ice will return to the uplands of the county, this winter. Just before the end of our short winter I ran a mountain skills course in Donegal and caught the last of the snow and ice in the North West of Ireland.

Donegal Winter Mountains

A Frozen Glenveagh

Ireland Winter Mountains

 As soon as the mountains were back to being green again, it was over to Cruit Island to run a mid February, weekends Rock Improvers Course. Since 1st January 2013 we have been on Cruit four times leading routes up to HVS in glorious sunshine and on one occasion it was mentioned it was beginning to get too hot. :-)

Donegal rock Climbing Course

 It is also the time of years to stand in front of large groups of people and talk, this winter I have did talks to the Irish Mountaineering Club in Dublin and at UCC for Kerry Climbing. Doing talks is a surreal activity and pretty much as scary as soloing a sea stack. The sponsor for the Cork talk was Alpine Sports.ie, have a wee look at their site for very competitive prices their huge range of mountaineering equipment.

Cork Mountaineering Talk

 No sooner back from Cork and it was into the Donegal hills once again, this time spring was very much in attendance.

 Ran a Mountain Leader Training Week based out of Ardara with 5 troopers on the course and a huge mixture of weather in the five days of training. 

Mountain Leader Rope Work

Mountain Leader Client Care

Mountain Leader Group Management

Mountain Leader Steep Ground

ML Expedition Campsite

Tormore Island 

 All in all a very varied two weeks in the great outdoors and with the diary pretty much full for March there are a few perhaps more unusual activities in the pipeline! :-) 

  

An End to the Donegal Summer?

 And so, are we at an end to the endless Donegal Summer sunshine? The north Atlantic drift's South West winds have arrived in abundance and the seas around the western coast of Donegal have taken to their autumn garb.
 It has been a most outstanding summer season with over 200 people being introduced to the vertical delights that only Donegal can offer.
 Cruit Island has become a tad busy over the summer as on two separate occasions there were over 30 people climbing around the island's crags and it has become common to meet other climbers, which, for Donegal is very uncommon! :-)

Rock Climbing in Donegal, Autumn Sea

Supervised Rock Climbing in Donegal

 The last few weeks have been extremely busy and as varied as the rest of the summer with many visits to Owey Island, Gola Island, An Port, Tory Island and off course, Cruit Island. 

Abseiling in Donegal

A Donegal View

 Ran a slightly damp Connemara based Mountain Leader training week and in glorious sunshine a Sligo based  Mountain Skills Assessment both courses were full and all the participants are currently working towards their next goals! :-)

 Steve McCann was duly returned to Gartan OEC to finish his FAS outdoor instructor course after spending a month with Unique Ascent, a most excellent gentleman to have at the other end of a rope.

FAS work placement

 Over 100 new routes have been added to the forthcoming Donegal Climbers Guidebook, with all photo topos completed and with many visits to the little known rock climbing locations in the county, it is finally nearing completion. 

Malin Beg Rock climbing, Donegal

Cruit Island Climbing

Cnoc an Affrain Climbing

 With over 2500 routes recorded on over 1000 A4 pages and 200+ photo topos covering the entire county it is nearly time to start the mammoth edit to get a suitably sized guide that does not require a wheelbarrow to carry it.

 Donegal Sea Stacks

Donegal Adventure

 Another truly excellent two weeks in the Great Outdoors of Donegal.
 A day on the North ridges of Errigal Mountain teaching roped scrambling, a wee bit misty to begin with but soon clearing and revealing our exposed positions as we got into the upper reaches of our route. We chose Tower Ridge, a little known 200m grade 3 scramble up the North face of Errigal to the summit of Donegal's highest point. This route has several excellent and very exposed pitches which tickle the underside of a Diff rock climb. I first encounter this route during a wee winter exploration and have since climbed the route over 50 times it is without a doubt the best way to the summit of Donegal's highest point.

Errigal Mountain, Tower Ridge

Errigal Mountain, Tower ridge

Errigal Mountain, North Face

 Nipped down to Sligo and ran a Mountain Skills Assessment, well done to the four troopers who passed the assessment. :-)

 Next day was a visit to the subterranean pleasures of Owey Island with a scramble down a 50m sink and a 250m paddle across the lake under the lake 50m below ground into the true pits of darkness and silence. A wee float in the pool of tranquility and a return to the light was the order of the day.

View from Owey Island

 The following day went for a wee visit to the most remote point of land in Ireland where the Ends of the Earth Crag lives. This 45m slab of immaculate quartzite sits hanging over a huge sea cave and with the correct seas running creates a sonic boom as vapourised saltwater explodes through its fissure. We encountered the boom! :-)   

Abseil in to The End's of the Earth Crag

End's of the Earth Crag

Rock Climbing in Donegal

Donegal Rock Climbing

A crag with a view

 The following day a swift return to was made with Josie Mcgee to An Port as there was an immaculate hanging slab of unclimbed rock on a sea stack sitting 500m out to sea to be played on. We paddled out from the road end slip through a wee collection of nautical bad boys to land on the sea ward face of the object of our desires and each of us led a new line to the summit of the stack following the most obvious feature on this outstanding slab.

Donegal Sea Stack Climbing

Josie on Summit

Josie at the top of her new route. :-)

Donegal Sea Stacks. 

Donegal Sea Stacks

 And sho, after a solid two weeks of taking people to the most outstanding locations in Donegal and therefor Ireland, the sun sea and wind remain at equilibrium and a few cunning plans remain..................

Playing out!....