The Summit

MountainViews newsletter for guestuser

Apr 2020

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HILLWALKING
NEWS - INFORMATION - RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS - FEATURES - FORUMS

The current unpleasantness probably is going to last at least months. We can use suitable, funny, wacky, amusing, educational articles. If you are cooped up, now is the time to keep our hillwalking spirits up.

Special note for members with eircom.net email addresses.

EVENTS for HILLWALKERS

COVID RESPONSIBILITY FOR HILLWALKERS

IRISH MOUNTAINS, HILLS, LAKES AND RANGES

WHY NOT TRY

Kilmichael Hill, South Wicklow

For original comment, click here.

The Needle, Isle of Skye

For original comment, click here.

WHO WANTS TO BE A HILLIONAIRE

Regions: MOUNTAIN COMMENTS - TRIP REPORTS - TRACKS - SUMMARIES
In short: Discovery

EASY TO SEE, HARD TO CLIMB

They are hills Jim, but not as we know them...

By Finbarrc

So, we may feel a sense of accomplishment from conquering our local peaks, and some may venture to distant lands for more challenging adventures, but what about those truly exotic summits, which tower dizzyingly over us on a clear night... the Mountains on the Moon?

Yes, our celestial neighbour boasts over a dozen named mountain ranges  including the Apennines, the Caucasus and the Alps (not the most imaginative naming-scheme admittedly...). The Apennines are possibly the most impressive, containing thousands of separate peaks. Its foothills provided the landing spot of Apollo 15, one of the most scientifically productive of the lunar missions. There are also easily-identifiable summits not belonging to any range; the 2,400 metre Mons Pico just south of the crater Plato being a prime example. Although earthlings of this era may not get to know the exhilaration of trekking up these silent expanses in one-sixth gravity, and gazing in awe at the magnificent desolation, we can let the imagination wander as we survey these alien outcrops through binoculars or a telescope.

Measuring the heights of lunar mountains is somewhat complex, as there is of course no 'sea-level' reference point, but sources generally agree that the honour of being the loftiest peak, at some 5,500 metres, goes to Mons Huygens in the Apennines. This is not the highest point however, which is the Selenean Summit adjoining the vast Aitken basin near the lunar south pole. As part of the rolling southern uplands, it is not designated as a conventional peak, but tops out at an impressive 10,786 metres, some 1900 metres higher than Everest. It is located on the lunar far-side and therefore not visible to Earth-bound observers.

There is no plate tectonic or volcanic activity on the Moon, and its mountains result from the tremendous upheaval of surface material caused by the giant asteroid impacts of several billion years ago. It is worth mentioning that the great lunar craters which were dug up by these gargantuan collisions themselves have walls which reach literally mountainous dimensions, up to 3,000 metres in places. So we can see that, despite being airless, dead and one-quarter the diameter of the Earth, our fair celestial companion is not without interest to those of our hill-walking brethren of the future who may be seeking that something a little bit different...

FinbarrC

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MOTLEY GATHERING

Where are you located?

What you can see all around.

Mist, mist, mist

For example, you are out on the mountains somewhere between Gravale and Duff Hill when a dense fog quickly descends. While crossing the rough peat hags you stumble and badly injure your knee. You quickly realise that you are unable to extract yourself and need rescuing. Don't worry - not only do you have a physical map but you also have your smart phone and a GPS device so you can easily summon help! Luckily there is good mobile coverage.

You do have a Map with you – Don’t you?

There are a number of assumptions in the above example. The first is that you have properly prepared yourself before heading out! Bring a physical map of your area, even though there may be a mapping application on your smart phone, it is light and compact. Ensure you have completed one of the redily available courses on how to properly read your map. Take up Orienteering if you feel interested!

Go Digital?

Do not set out unless you have fully charged your phone and GPS device before departure. There is nothing worse than finding yourself in trouble and your electronic device is low on charge. And, how many of us think of including a torch. Dedicated GPS devices are designed to be robust and weatherproof. While many smart phones are now waterproof, being caught out on a mountain is not the time to find out that your is not! The availability of GPS on most smart phones should not stop you having a dedicated GPS device. Most good GPS devices allow you to switch power source but that is not possible on many smart phones, unless you have brought a power brick along with the correct connector cable. 

Where am I?

Assuming you have sufficient power and there is mobile coverage, how are you going to tell the Emergency Services exactly where you are? You are now quite stressed and the constant pain is causing you to shake with the shock. Getting cold and wet is not helping either! Trying to get accurate coordinates from your map could prove difficult since your concentration is also affected. You do know how to read coordinates off of a map? Don’t put off the inevitable, learn now before it’s too late!

Here I am ... I think?

If your map skills are lacking, it is probably best to check with your GPS system. You hopefully are familiar enough with the device to get a fix and see that it is 53.1168,-6.3582 at your location. You have to pass these digits precisely to the Emergency Service so that they can pinpoint your location. Have you passed the numbers correctly and in the right order? Stress causes errors. Have they heard you correctly?

Help me!

The Mountain Rescue (MR) services now have a brilliant solution called SARLOC which is simple and free to use - providing of course that you have data coverage available to your smart phone. Having called either 999 or 112 for help they will will send you a text containing a URL (techie for a web address). By clicking and loading this in your phone’s browser it automatically queries your location, sends the details back and displays it on their mapping system. This allows MR to tell  you they know where you are and will be with you in a much shorter time than if they had to search for you. This Golden Hour is essential in critical situations. This information can also significantly boost your moral.

Oh dear! ... No data coverage!

If there is no data coverage there are other options – providing you have certain applications already loaded on your phone.  Both MAPCODE or NAVMii, for example, can provide your location, but you would have to have them already on your phone and have downloaded your section of the local map before heading out. So, what else can you do?

Screen shot of what3words

You could have a free App called What3Words already loaded on your smart phone. While it is not advocated by MR, they do accept its output. With location turned on, you start up the App and it will give your location with the following code calculation.admirals.fitting. Telling them this code will specify your location, with 3m x 3m accuracy, in a human-friendly method rather than latitude and longitude. While this App can be used offline without a map, it is only of use as a location utility when nothing else is possible.

Is there a charging point nearby?

Again, the presumption above is that you have sufficient battery power! So, don’t always rely on your phone or on proprietary applications that could disappear – or radically change their business model – at any time. It does not replace what has existed for ages – it has just repackaged it!

Planning is paramount for a successful and safe outing. Get a paper map of the area and pop an old fashioned compass plus a torch in your kit bag. Don’t be a slave to digital technology. When out with a group it is also a good idea to keep one designated fully charged phone, with relevant applications and data preloaded, set it aside for any emergencies. If you intend to rely on technology then consider bringing a spare battery or power brick. Learn how to read map coordinates and you will not be found wanting – instead, you will be found and that is the important thing!

Also, to prevent injuries, makes sure to wear appropriate clothing and footwear. And, if you find yourself in trouble, it’s better to call sooner rather than later. I won’t give you the standard theatrical greeting ... just enjoy yourself!

Thank you to all those who donated.

The MountainViews ANNUAL, brought out in 2020.

emVee-Tube

CHALLENGE
A place for those interested in Challenge Walking

Newsletter April 2020

RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS AND KITTENSOFT TWO-PLY!

Solo adventure, from Pier Gates.

Understandably pretty much all Hillwalking at the moment is at the mercy of the present COVID-19 virus as reported earlier in this month’s Newsletter – so it is with great sadness that many a Challenge Walk has had to be cancelled or at least postponed.

Taking a very responsible decision early in the crisis (well before mandatory directions had been published) was the Maumturks Challenge – one of the most iconic in the Challenge Walks Calendar. As is the norm with this great event, tickets sold out quicker than double quilt toilet roll on aisle 6 in Tescos – so not just the organisers were bitterly disappointed – but again, totally understandable.

The Knockmealdowns Crossing then became the next Challenge to fall by the wayside (again erring on the side of caution, as opposed to the government directives at that exact time).

Peaks Mountaineering Club conveyed their sincere sadness at these uncertain times. But no doubt these Walks will return . . . and return with gusto!

The Knockmealdowns Crossing is a great example of a powerful Walk built from the ground up as it were. The Challenge has gone from strength to strength and even though those first inaugural years saw some fairly atrocious weather – spirits were never dampened (unlike one’s Hillwalking clobber, right down to your undercrackers!) as Peaks Mountaineering continued to build on the true community spirit that makes these Events such a success . . . and no doubt it’ll be this focus that’ll help us all battle through. And more recently both the Causeway Coast Challenge and the Blackstairs Challenge have announced that these Walks won’t take place this year. This pushes any normality not returning any time soon – of course, of course for improvement and understandable reasons.

BEHIND EVERY SILVER-LINING . . . THERE’S A CLOUD!

At least (let’s be thankful for small mercies) the Hills are still open for business – well at time of typesetting at least . . . But now alas at time of going to press – social isolation has had to shrink one’s movements to what is only necessary. So back to the planning, or rather the “looking forward to” phase.

I can remember back to the Foot and Mouth restrictions during the summer of 2001 when no walking was allowed up in the hills at all, at all! And although The Lug Walk Challenge that year had already been cancelled owing to the blanket ban, it was too late to reorganise the Walk when the restrictions were lifted, by chance, in time for June. Undeterred, a small group of friends and myself said we’d have a crack at it anyway and off we pottered on a plenty nice day. Now in these days GPS for Hillwalkers was in its infancy – you should have seen how your position would hop all over the place on purpose (it was still a US military entity and they were still worried that their own tech could be used against them!). So the incredible “gpx breadcrumb trail” that we take for granted nowadays moved continuously twenty meters or more either side of a given track that you were trying to follow. So on this day in mid June, back in the year of our Lord 2001 – we couldn’t find any of the worn paths that we all know and use whilst ascending and descending those well-known hills in Wicklow . . . !

In those six weeks of restrictions the trails and tracks had recovered incredibly with nature’s vibrant regrowth totally cloaking any steps that were previously imprinted on the landscape! So it had to be said – this was a positive that came from the crisis that was. So it is in this vain that we’re hopeful of some positives from the current crisis.

OUR DAY WILL COME! OUR PICNIC DAY THAT IS!

“This will either make us fit or fat” certainly sounds an honest outcome of these uncharted times. So here at MountainViews we’re pushing for the “fit” option. A small positive – but always important to look forward with optimistic sunglasses on!

Time for a Picnic, Luggala.

The Loneliness of the long distance Hillwalker has been recalled before, mostly by me! Many a Challenge Hillwalker is a solo entity – as social-distance compliant as is humanly possible! When I think of all the times I couldn’t find Lough Firrib in thick mist on the also iconic Lug Walk – little did I realise how I was doing my part for social isolation years in advance! Basically I was lost! But will totally deny all in a Court of Law! And of course (back to business), MountainViews has forever championed the “alternative” routes and tracks helping to keep erosion to a minimum and helping to show all the other possible ways up a well known hill or even beautiful circular walking routes where you’d be forgiven for only seeing a linear ridge!

. . . . So in this vain, do absolutely rediscover somewhere off the beaten track, away from the possibility of mass gatherings . . . or perhaps now, more than ever, is the time to start planning a grand day out when all uncertainty rolls over and some kind of normality returns.

Onwards and Upwards Boys and Girls,

Keep Positive, we’ll enjoy our picnics back up the Hills and back down the Corries with good friends as soon as safety dictates!

Big Hug (from a social distance),

Jim Holmes.

SUMMITEERS and PLACE-VISITORS CORNER
A place for those interested in Summiteering, Bagging, Highpointing, visiting islands and coastal places.

SITE NEWS

This month.
Kudos to our contributors.

BYGONE SOCIAL DISTANCING

Quiz Answers

NOTICES

• If you are contributing, please be careful to respect the interests of landowners. Suggest access routes well away from houses, gardens or that could conceivably impact farming activities. When walking, keep away from gardens or farm buildings. Use stiles or gates wherever possible. Never do anything that could allow animals to roam where the farmer did not intend. Ask permission where appropriate.
• Take care if parking and do not obstruct roads, lanes and field entrances to access by farm machinery, which can be large. Exercise your dog in parks or forests but avoid countryside or open hillside where they may worry sheep.
• Report suspicious activity to the police forces, as below.
• If your car is broken into in an upland area report it to the PSNI or Gardai as this will help them be aware of the issue and tackle it in future. Store the numbers. In Northern Ireland use the PSNI non-emergency number 0845 600 8000. In the Republic you can find the local Garda District HQs phone numbers at www.garda.ie/Stations/Default.aspx. Specifically for the hotspot of Wicklow: the Garda Divisional Headquarters in Bray is 01 6665300.
• If you hear of a problem area or route, write it up in MountainViews which does everyone a service.
  Report rubbish tipping in the Republic - ring EPA hotline 1850 365 121
  Report recreational quads in national park area (in which they are banned). They are also banned in the Mournes. For Wicklow please phone the Duty Ranger: 087-9803899 or the office during office hours Telephone: +353-404-45800. For the Mournes ring the PSNI (as above) or contact Mournes Heritage Trust. Put these numbers in your phone, take regs etc. Let MV know of contact numbers for other areas.
• If you have visited some of the less well known places, we would appreciate a place rating and also "Improve Grid Ref" for summits and other places.
• If you find errors in the basic information about places such as in their names, their heights, county name etc please use the "Propose Places Database Change" option.
• If we can, let's make MV have more than one route up a summit or to a place so as to reduce the tendency for paths to appear. Your grid refs in comments for different starting points show up on MountainViews maps as well as shared GPS tracks.
• Visit the MountainViews Facebook page.
• Visit the Challenge Walks Ireland page (jointly managed by MountainViews)

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