Slieve Donard... Difficult

paulocon

Hi,

Looking to get into hillwalking - nothing too strenous or dangerous to begin with.

First question is can anyone give me advice in relation to books/guides I should look at (particularly from a safety point of view).

Probably a stupid question but any advice on clothing and gear I should buy?

I live quite close to the Cooley and Mourne Mountains and have read up on Slieve Donard - is this a difficult challenge from an amateur/should I be looking at something simplier to get started...

In my thirties and keep myself in reasonable shape. I love the outdoors and am into photography so I see this as a way of combining multiple hobbies..

ednwireland

why not try the wee binians ?

http://www.weebinnians.com/

or the mourne ramblers

http://www.mourneramblers.btinternet.co.uk/

as for what you need

http://www.bluestackramblers.com/info.html

or go upto cotswold outdoors in belfast
but basically boots raincoat food water

was up sleive donard last thursday not particularly difficul should take about 5-6 hours (depends how fit you are ) v steep at the top though
cold as well it was 16-17 deg c at the bottom and 7.8 at the top
more info here

http://mountainviews.ie/mv/index.php?mtnindex=19

Evil Phil

You'll also find a list of you're nearest clubs here:
http://www.mountaineering.ie/nearestclub/index.asp

maryo'dee

Hi if you are stll interested I climbed both slieve donard and the cooley mountain that overlooks the town of carlingford in 2 days.
slieve donard is easy to climb but it takes about 6 hours from the carpark by the seaside. it is quite a long drive as well to get here. if you have a clear day its easy to find your way up. if bad day avoid it as it is a slog.
as for the Cooley mountain overlooking carlingford it is a great hike with plenty scrambling over rocks at the top. stunning views of the mournes across the lough. and only takes 2-3 hours up and down. i foun this more enjoyable than donard.
good luck:)

paulocon

maryo'dee wrote: »

Hi if you are stll interested I climbed both slieve donard and the cooley mountain that overlooks the town of carlingford in 2 days.
slieve donard is easy to climb but it takes about 6 hours from the carpark by the seaside. it is quite a long drive as well to get here. if you have a clear day its easy to find your way up. if bad day avoid it as it is a slog.
as for the Cooley mountain overlooking carlingford it is a great hike with plenty scrambling over rocks at the top. stunning views of the mournes across the lough. and only takes 2-3 hours up and down. i foun this more enjoyable than donard.
good luck:)

Thanks for that. Actually climbed Donard Sunday just gone - a very enjoyable day. Took the Bloody Bridge route up by the old quarry and then up the steep incline along the Mourne Wall. From leaving the car to getting back, we were at it for 6.5 hours but we rested for 3/4 of an hour at the top and had stops along the way (I'm into Photography so had plenty of photo stops). Harder than I had anticipated - I believe that the route from the car park in Newcastle isn't as hard (could be wrong there) but really enjoyable and looking forward to going back up onto the Mournes.

I assume the mountain in Cooley is Slieve Foye. Just saw this on the web today and am planning on tackling it some weekend soon. I'm only 45 mins or so from Cooley so an early start would see me back for Sunday dinner. If you have any suggested route up the mountain, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks,
Paul

maryo'dee

yes there is a road that skirts it so you candrive up some ofthe way if you like and park on a bend where you will see a way in to a gate and a trail on your right. its hard to find this.
on the way up you can tackle it head on and scramble over some large rocks at the top which is slightly scary but invigorating. alternativly you can vear left for a round about route which will take you onto the ridge between it and the other summit on the left, then ascend a less steep bit to the summit.