Carrauntoohil - the "difficult" routes...

...have done the usual access routes, from Caher/Curraghmore/the Black Valley side, from the Eastern Reeks, the 3 gullies over Cummeenoughter, Stumpa an tSáimh and Beenkeragh Ridge, Cummeenagearagh etc. All the ones set out in Jim Ryan's book on the Reeks. The obvious block of climbs that I have not done yet are the ridges to the 'front', to the eats of the summit, Howling Ridge, Pipet's Ridge area. Are these strictly off limits for the person without technical training or experience? Does one absolutely need to be roped up to try this side? Is there any route on this side that may have less exposure than others, or can one pick any safe way up that may have less exposure between those ridges?

Mickeroo

Howling ridge is definitley a no no without ropes and gear afaik.

liamo333

Yes, Howling, Pipet's and Primroses are a 100% no-go without proper training/experience etc...

There is Curved, Central and O'Sheas gullys but I havent been in any so cannot comment...

liamo333

liamo333 wrote: »

There is Curved, Central and O'Sheas gullys but I havent been in any so cannot comment...

No need for any gear for of them really beyond the usual hillwalking stuff, and of course enough experience/common sense to know that the first two of them should not be used as a descent (before I had either, I did descend Central Gully in a storm, that was a little unnerving), that the ground is unstable, that rocks can come down at any time etc. But no section of them is too technical or too exposed to require ropes or training.

Sev

I've never done any of the technical routes on Carrauntoohil, but my understanding is many of them are long technical multipitch rock climbs with rock grades.

E.g. Howling Ridge is graded VD. That means it's a proper rock climb, albeit not a difficult one, but if you fall, you'll fall a long way and possibly seriously injure yourself or die. Except for the very daring, confident and experienced climbers, it would require a rope, gear and some climbing experience.

My guess is however, if you were to find a guide, or have a friend with suitable experience and the necessary equipment, you would be well capable of climbing Howling Ridge. VD is a very amenable introductory grade to rock climbing.

Pippett's ridge appears to be graded S, which is a notch up in difficulty from VD. And Primroses, mentioned earlier, I've heard is graded VS, which is certainly then a steep and technical rock climb.

Take a look at this link, the image is really very very good, it would make an fantastic bedroom poster or something.

http://wiki.climbing.ie/index.php/Winter_Climbing_around_Carrauntoohil

They're all winter routes, but many of them are also summer routes, with summer rock climbing grades, indicated by e.g. " / Rock Climb Severe".

Sev

Line 16, "Sli an Chrois", is described as a Winter Grade I/II route, and a summer "Moderate Scramble", so that one might be feasible?

My guess is any line considered a Grade I/II winter route, might make a for a summer scramble doable without any technical climbing equipment? But to be honest, I don't do any climbing in Kerry at all, so I'm just speculating.

Sev

More info I dug up on howling ridge:

http://irishmountaineeringclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=347&Itemid=89

http://www.outsider.ie/articles/expose-yourself-on-howling-ridge/comment-page-1

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1141955

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnmZPvenY04

Thanks for all that Sev. Some great stuff in there alright.

Sev

Oh yeah, one more thing. I said VD was a very amenable introductory grade to rock climbing. VD actually stands for "very difficult", which would make my sentence sound like a bit of a contradiction, but don't be put off by the names given to trad-climbing grades.

Although it may have been "Very difficult" in the past when they had hemp ropes, hobnail boots, and limited climbing equipment, nowadays the UK/IE climbing grades have come down a lot, and VD is in fact a very typical grade for a novice of good physical fitness to be able to second. Standards have changed a lot, but the grades haven't.

I would, however, recommend getting some gym or crag climbing experience in first. It's one thing for a novice to be able to second a 20m high road-side VD climb. But committing to a 300m multi-pitch VD in a remote mountain location with a guide or experienced friend is a very different undertaking.

DeepSleeper

Over the years I've done Howling Ridge a good few times in a variety of conidtions - I've also done Collins's Gully in summer and winter, Pippet's Ridge, Luigi's Gully and Primroses Ridge (the last after two failed attempts) - Some of these (... not Primroses ...) have easier sections which can be done in scrambling mode or when 'moving together' when roped, but I wouldn't tackle any of them without a rope. Sections of the gullies might seem OK without a rope, but you'll need one anyway for the tougher sections or in case of unforseen difficulties.

Other brave souls might suggest a rope isn't necessary in some circumstances, but these routes are not like Curved Gully or the Beenkeeragh Ridge and should be treated with greater care...

Evil Phil

While I haven't climbed Howling Ridge yet don't let the VDiff grade fool you into thinking it's an easy climb. That's just the technical difficulty of the pitches. Howling Ridge is a full mountaineering route, with all the dangers that come with mountaineering, and it requires experience to climb. If you're just climbing VDiff routes in Dalkey or whatever you won't be able for it.

adagio

Hi Opp,
Forget the grade (VD) in relation to Howling Ridge.
As already, mentioned it's a full on mountaineering experience.
If you join a club like the IMC or similar you'll make the contacts necessary to tackle Howling.
Or contact Con Moriatry and he'll point you in the right direction.
Enjoy

Sev

Just saw this post on climbing.ie,

http://forum.climbing.ie/index.php/topic,4071.msg18135.html#msg18135

and I thought of this thread. It's the kind of thing you need to get in to to be able to climb difficult routes on Carrauntoohil. If he's going to be all over Ireland, this Summer, maybe you can catch him if/when he's in Kerry.

Thanks for that. Going up Howling Ridge with Nathan Kingerleee in early April. Have tried to get out before but weather forced us to call it off. Looking forward to it now.

Sev

Cool, let me know what it's like. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while myself, but it's a long drive to Kerry.

It should be that little bit nearer now the motorway to Cork is complete, could presumably do Dublin Killarney in under 4 hours anyway now. And trains to here a lot more frequent. If you have the climbing nous you gotta get down here. I'm sure Nathan will give you pointers on best areas to head out. And you never know, the Howling Ridge trip might give me the push I need to get into the more technical side so might be joining ye!

Mac2010

was browsing through facebook and found these pictures.might be useful for someone.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=188809281147385&id=159834884044825&aid=49923

Went up Howling Ridge today with Nathan Kingerlee and 2 experienced climbers. All roped up.

Great day. But can see what people here meant. Some very exposed sections. If it wasn't for the rope I'm not sure I could have done it at all. It wouldn't be impossible, it really is a lengthy hard scramble..but one with some serious drops off the sides. In a number of stretches any slip could be punished by a long fall and serious injury. Found myself taking a lot of deep breaths and trying not to think of the amount of air all around me, but especially behind and below me. I think you'd want nerves of steel and huge experience, or else be just insane, to do it with no rope. I had hoped to do it so I could go on my own another time, but think I'll think safety first and rely on Nathan again.

Chris O Donoghue

Hi Conor, nice to meet you today, we were the guys coming up from Pipit's Ridge. It was a good route, with one fairly serious section, but overall it's a bit short. Howling is a better experience, given the walk in and out that you need to do for both ridges.

We'll be heading to Howling in the next few weeks if you'd like to keep in touch.

We're still working our way through Denis Lynchs book:)

Chris O Donoghue

Chris O Donoghue wrote: »

We'll be heading to Howling in the next few weeks if you'd like to keep in touch.

We're still working our way through Denis Lynchs book:)

Would love to. But judging by the equipment you had yesterday, think it only fair to warn you that we're at very different levels, so might be a bit of a passenger! But I am useful for lugging rope around!

I'm in the Reeks or Cahas, Dunkerrons or Mangerton most weekends. Do a lot of trekking, love the more exposed ridges and scrambles, like Faha Ridge, Big Gun etc. Yesterday was a new departure for me, had not done that level of climbing before but would certainly love to again.

Sev

Sounds good. There's a few more big mountain scrambles of similar difficulty in the country outside Kerry that you might get the chance to try some time.

In Connemara there is "Carrot Ridge" (D with one or two pitches of VD), which I suspect is a little easier than Howling Ridge. It's a 275m ridge climb up a craggy side of Ben Corr.

http://wiki.climbing.ie/index.php/Gleann_Eighneach

In the Mournes, there's a route called "FM" (VD, v. easy with sticky rock boots). It's a 160m scramble up the slabby face of Slieve Lamagan.

http://tongro.org/climbing/fm.pdf

I'm heading up to Donegal this weekend and will climb Erigal by Tower Ridge (VD) 180m, if time allows. I haven't done it before, but it looks good.

http://www.pete-smith.co.uk/dynamic/guidebook/route_details.php?route_no=2117

You mean...leave Kerry?

Actually thanks a lot for those. While I am happy to spend the rest of my walking days in the Reeks, Brandon etc. I am running out of new challenges that fall short of the technical climbs but are perhaps a bit more challenging than the usual treks.

Sev

Well, the three climbs I just posted are still quite technical and would require a rope, gear and rock climbing experience. But as rock climbs go, they are quit easy, and very long and adventurous. Similar to Howling Ridge, I would expect.