Tell Me This...

TinyExplosions

boys and girls..

Is Connor Pass higher than Sally Gap? I had it in my mind that Sally is the highest navigable road in Ireland, yet on the ToI coverage, they keep saying that Connor Pass is the highest. Who's correct (I suspect them, but you never know!)

TinyExplosions

Ok, according to some scientific web research wikipedia has the road at 510m at it's highest point.

Climb my bike has Connor Pass at 410m -quite a lot lower, so why do they keep saying the Munster upstart is higher????

Enduro

<pure conjecture> Maybe because you can get a continous climb to the connor pass from sea level, but with the Sally Gap being further inland the it has shorter continuos climbs, but much more "bumps" in the way.</conjecture>

Is it just my imagination, but I was alway under the impression that one climbs out from the sally gap heading south towards glenmacnass, which wouls presumably make the point where ther road does its u-turn near lugalla a higher point than the Sally gap. Must check the map for clues...

Enduro

Just checked on the both the harveys and OS maps, and the road is Higher than the sally gap both North of it near kippure (by maybe 50 metres), and south of it towards lugalla. So the sally gap itself is definitely not the highest navigable road in Ireland.

The connor pass is substancially lower than all of the above points.

blorg

eh well sally is 520 and i dont think conor is over that

TinyExplosions

Enduro wrote: »

Just checked on the both the harveys and OS maps, and the road is Higher than the sally gap both North of it near kippure (by maybe 50 metres), and south of it towards lugalla. So the sally gap itself is definitely not the highest navigable road in Ireland.

The connor pass is substancially lower than all of the above points.

I guess it depends where you take 'Sally Gap' to be -I would say it's the highest point of the road from Glencree to the crossroad (which I think people call Sally Gap. I go by highest point as it seems usual (like Wicklow Gap etc)

cantalach

The Sally Gap is unquestionably higher than the Connor Pass. There's more than 50 metres in the difference according to the OS maps and my own GPS unit. But it's interesting that Phil Liggett was saying "highest road pass" which is the same phrase with which I've heard the Connor Pass described many times before. Could those who decide these things perhaps be making a distinction based on the profile of the road? Might the argument be that by some definition somewhere the Sally Gap isn't really a pass? My memory from this year's W200 was of climbing up to a sort of plateau which you have to traverse for quite a bit without really gaining or losing elevation until you get to the crossroads. The Connor Pass on the other hand is a classic mountain pass in the mold of the Wicklow Gap, Coomakista, Molls Gap, etc. The road follow the contours up to the lowest point on a ridge (the saddle?), breeches the ridge at a distinct and very obvious climb summit, and then immediately starts to drop down the other side. Daft conjuecture but sure it's worth kickin' these things around!

cantalach

blorg wrote: »

eh well sally is 520 and i dont think conor is over that

The Connor Pass is only 445-450 metres according to Mr Garmin (on multiple occasions).

TinyExplosions

cantalach wrote: »

The Sally Gap is unquestionably higher than the Connor Pass. There's more than 50 metres in the difference according to the OS maps and my own GPS unit. But it's interesting that Phil Liggett was saying "highest road pass" which is the same phrase with which I've heard the Connor Pass described many times before. Could those who decide these things perhaps be making a distinction based on the profile of the road? Might the argument be that by some definition somewhere the Sally Gap isn't really a pass? My memory from this year's W200 was of climbing up to a sort of plateau which you have to traverse for quite a bit without really gaining or losing elevation until you get to the crossroads. The Connor Pass on the other hand is a classic mountain pass in the mold of the Wicklow Gap, Coomakista, Molls Gap, etc. The road follow the contours up to the lowest point on a ridge (the saddle?), breeches the ridge at a distinct and very obvious climb summit, and then immediately starts to drop down the other side. Daft conjuecture but sure it's worth kickin' these things around!

You're right that Sally Gap is longer, and has a sort of plateau, but it's also a pass between two mountains -just because the ridge isn't as narrow doesn't mean it shouldn't count

Also, going back to our friend Wikidpedia, in its entry on Mountain Pass -"In a range of hills, or especially of mountains, a pass (also gap, notch, col, saddle, bwlch, brennig or bealach) is a saddle point in between two areas of higher elevation." So the fact that one is named a 'Gap' and one a 'Pass' can't be used.... maybe it's one of those QI type facts 'everyone knows Connor Pass is the highest road in Ireland', where actually it isn't by a fair distance

TinyExplosions

Also, from the Dingle Penninsula Site -"The Conor Pass is the highest mountain pass in Ireland, and provides the most dramatic and scenic way of entering or leaving Dingle"

Should we correct them?

Caroline_ie

Well ... we can always go and do it on a weekend spin to compare.

TinyExplosions

Caroline_ie wrote: »

Well ... we can always go and do it on a weekend spin to compare.

You're quickly beginning to sound like Ivan

We could set up a 'reclaim the gap' website to correct all this misinformation, and put Sally Gap where it belongs, at the top of Ireland!

Caroline_ie

TinyExplosions wrote: »

You're quickly beginning to sound like Ivan

It's the Borgafication

tunney

TinyExplosions wrote: »

You're quickly beginning to sound like Ivan

We could set up a 'reclaim the gap' website to correct all this misinformation, and put Sally Gap where it belongs, at the top of Ireland!

The Sally Gap is my usual training ride and I spent most of my summers in and around Conor's pass.

Sally Gap doesn't rate as a climb.Conor pass does imho.

While Sally Gap might be higher by looking at a map i don't think it as a climb starts at sea level will conoros pass does.

TinyExplosions

tunney wrote: »

Sally Gap doesn't rate as a climb.Conor pass does imho.

While Sally Gap might be higher by looking at a map i don't think it as a climb starts at sea level will conoros pass does.

That's fair enough, but I don't think anyone's been trying to say which is harder, just that under no definition we can find is Connor Pass higher than Sally Gap. Certainly, it could be harder, but it's lower under any definition of 'pass'

topper75

We Munsteronians figured that Johnny Foxes' claim to be the highest pub was so annoying that we thought this would be a fun way to get ye Dubs back.

We'll continue telling tourists and passing sports commentators that the Conor Pass is highest until Johnny Fox desists with his false marketing claim.

Top of Coom has the highest pub in Ireland.

TinyExplosions

topper75 wrote: »

We Munsteronians figured that Johnny Foxes' claim to be the highest pub was so annoying that we thought this would be a fun way to get ye Dubs back.

We'll continue telling tourists and passing sports commentators that the Conor Pass is highest until Johnny Fox desists with his false marketing claim.

Top of Coom has the highest pub in Ireland.

It's a fair cop guv... we'll give you the pub, you give us our road

cantalach

topper75 wrote: »

Top of Coom has the highest pub in Ireland.

Nice climb up to it too with a real sting in the tail in the last few hundred metres coming from the Ballyvourney side.

interested

tunney wrote: »

The Sally Gap is my usual training ride and I spent most of my summers in and around Conor's pass.

Sally Gap doesn't rate as a climb.Conor pass does imho.

While Sally Gap might be higher by looking at a map i don't think it as a climb starts at sea level will conoros pass does.

In agreement - my weekly spin takes in the Sally Gap and Ive been up and over the Conor pass from Cloghane to Dingle a few times over the summer. Starting at sea level an climbing for ... <awaiting corrections> the 7 or 8 km to the summit is pretty tough going IMHO.