The Summit

MountainViews newsletter for guestuser

Mar 2022

HILLWALKING
NEWS - INFORMATION - RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS - FEATURES - FORUMS

UPCOMING EVENTS for HILLWALKERS

Winter wonderland at Ridge of Capard, Slieve Blooms.
It isn't so easy to find an interesting view in the the Slieve Blooms - but here's one.
For original summit comment, click here.

The southern end of the Black Cuillin Hills are marked by Sgurr nan Gillean (964m)
.
For original summit comment, click here.

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

Out of the clouds

Climbing Doan from Loughshannagh

Looking into the Silent Valley from Doan

Doan

The descent from Slieve Muck

This time the summit-comment-of-the-month incorporates a new award: summit-title-of-the-month. And the award goes to chelman7 for 'Why Do I Obsess about the Hills that Kick My Ass?' This is the title for a post that says so eloquently, in a number of different ways, what we have all endured from time to time on Irish hills - the torture of the trees. On this occasion the trees are on top of Keale Mountain in County Limerick. Here's chelman7's post, with a title that's so good it's worth repeating:

Why do I Obsess about the Hills that Kick My Ass

I tried 4 different ways to reach the top. Finally succeeded (see Track 4608). Not pleasant, but mercifully short. Hill baggers and other nutters only. If you have patience, wait until Coillte log the trees, sometime in the next ten years or so. If you can't wait - bring a good briar beating stick (or a flame-thrower)  

MOTLEY GATHERING

A COVID Challenge for Old Bones

(or should that be comic...)

Patrick Casey and enthusiastic novice friends set their sights on Ireland's highest mountain.

Corrán Tuathail from the Hag's Glen (D McCarthy)

Planting the Seed

”If you’re ever going up again, my sisters would love to go. It’s on their bucket list”, as my brother-in-law Dan told me one evening during lockdown in early Spring 2021. Whilst he’d no great wish to go up Corrán Tuathail, he did volunteer to come along. He maintained it would be his first and only mountain walk and his boots (which he had yet to procure) would be on eBay the following morning. As I’d generally climb Corrán Tuathail every year with a group of experienced hill walkers, myself and our GPS/navigation guru Tomás agreed to pencil in the challenge in our calendar. If the group was prepared to undertake a training regime, then ‘we’d get them up there’.

A Growing Family

Turning Lemons Sweet

We prepared a weekly walk programme and practiced enthusiastically for the ‘Big Day’ with training days taking in Mangerton, Slíabh na mBan, Knockmealdown and Keeper Hill. Along the way we lost the women, not on the mountains thankfully, but to injuries from the exacting training pro-gramme. A reduced group of six would later tackle Corrán Tuathail.

Corrán Tuathail from Cnoc na Toinne (T Droney)

The Challenge Unfolds

Not Quite There Yet

If the journey to the summit was long, the trek down proved to be every bit as long, except that the day was closing in and we’d have to get the group back to the base of the mountain before sunset. After taking in the views and many photos, we started our descent. I can’t say the descent was un-eventful, because at one stage Hilary was seen clinging tightly to the mountainside along a narrow ledge and muttering something about the 4th message of Fatima and making an offering if he got down safely. He headed for Lourdes not long after. No doubt all in thanksgiving for his safe delivery off the mountain.

Time For Another Photo

Looking into the Hag's Glen from Cnoc na Toinne

“Are ye right there Michael are ye right?
And do ye think that I’ll get home before it’s light,
If I take another photo of a sheep, a lake, I’m loco,
Sure, I’ll be left here for the rest of this night”.

With the sheep well settled for the night and the sun down on the Iveragh Peninsula, Andrew finally arrived back in Cronin’s Yard. For some the climb had taken over eleven hours. Whilst many walkers strive to climb Corrán Tuathail in a fast time, I’ve no doubt we had created a record for climbing it in the longest time and it may stand for many moons to come.

Into The Future

As for Dan, well his walking boots have been taken down from eBay and he often tells tall tales of his days and adventures in our Highlands. All that remains is to get the women up Corrán Tuathail in 2022. Seo linn arís a Thomáis.

For the record, the Old Bones that successfully undertook the challenge were Dan McCarthy, Hilary Twomey, Kevin O’ Regan, Tomás Droney, Patrick Casey and not forgetting Andrew Roche. It was said that “old bones are still the best, a bit like old boots and old music”.

For whom the crow...crows (T Droney)

CHALLENGE
A place for those interested in Challenge Walks

"Okay! Everyone back on the Bus!"

...Well, kind of!

After a Covid hiatus of a year or two it would seem that many a green shoot is beginning to sprout!

At time of going to press 2022 sees four Challenge Walks good to go, leaving Covid behind, hopefully.

In a handful of weeks one of the Calendar's iconic Walks takes place!

THE MAUMTURKS CHALLENGE

9th April 2022

The Maumturks Challenge Walk is one the strongest tests of endurance in the years calendar. It is for very experienced walkers only.

The walk is organised by the NUIG Mountaineering Club, and takes place each Spring, usually during the month of April. It stretches from the foot of Corcogmore near Maam, all the way to Leenane over the length of the Maumturks.

The route is known for rapidly changing weather and poor visibility so good navigation skills and appropriate equipment are absolutely essential.

All 250 allocated slots have sold out (quicker than Garth Brooks tickets!).

As mentioned - this is one of the toughest Walks and it is worthy of note that over 40% of participants on the last outing a few years ago... failed to finish!

Distance: 25 km. Total Ascent: 2,300m

THE MAUMTURKS CHALLENGE

Rolling a little later in the month (ahh I can taste the hot apple pie and custard already!) the

KNOCKMEALDOWNS CROSSING beckons!

Monday 7th March.

23rd April 2022

Organised by the Peaks Mountaineering Club this walk traverses a most beautiful mountain ridge that traces the County boundary of Tipperary and Waterford whilst looking down on "The Vee" and other great vistas. This Walk now enjoys a new route which is slightly shorter than previous Challenges.

April still being April... the weather on this Challenge Walk can be inclement - to say the least!

Online Registration begins

Distance: 29km. Total Ascent: 1,250m

The Knockmealdown Crossing

With most of the Summer Challenge Walks not taking place we have to wait till August before we need to awaken in the middle of the night once more!

THE MOURNE SEVEN SEVENS

6th August 2022

A very popular Walk as proudly hosted by Lagan Valley Orienteers.

The Mourne Seven Sevens Walk takes in, amongst others, the seven higher mountains of the Mourne Mountains. A route that consists of summiting Slieve Donard 850m first and then a route that heads towards The Silent Valley before its return to Newcastle. An “unsupported” walk but definitely a nice clean walk which for the most part follows well-worn trails and stone tracks that in places trace the incredible Mourne Wall.

Alas, this Challenge Walk is sold out too!

Distance: 29 km. Total Ascent: 2,495m

Mournes 7X7

THE MOURNE SEVEN SEVENS

Then with its August anchor... our good friends down Leinster way await our arrival!

THE FEI SHEEHY CHALLENGE

12th, 13th, 14th August 2022

A mighty Challenge over three days to cross the Galty, Comeragh and Knockmealdown Mountains. Organised in association with Galtee, Nire Valley Bogtrotters and Peaks Hillwalking Clubs - There are three variations of walks over three great mountain ranges! .

Distance (over the three days) : 95 km. Total Ascent: 4,200m.

Registration for 2022 is now closed!

It's no sin but... many a Challenge Walk sells out super-fast! Best way to think of it is that the Irish Challenge Walks fraternity has certainly become victims of its own success!

FEI SHEEHY CHALLENGE

So Onwards and Upwards Boys and Girls.

Keep Safe and Enjoy your Day!

Jim Holmes

MountainViews Challenge Walks Calendar

Céim na Conaire – A Step along the Way: Mega-fauna!

March – Visualising the Wild Ireland of the Past, along with its Wild Animals

Paul Tempan

Wintertime, when there is a little less going on in nature, seems a good time to reflect on some of the wild animals which once roamed the wilds of Ireland but have become extinct, and also to contemplate what the future may hold in terms of potential for re-wilding. I wished myself Kieran Hickey’s Wolves in Ireland (2013) for my birthday recently and found it a very interesting read. It also opened up the whole topic of animals in history and prehistory for me and inspired me to read further about other species. This article is an attempt to imagine the range of Ireland’s fauna in the past. So, to kick things off, here’s a quiz question for you. Which of the following animals are known to have lived in Ireland at some point in the past, either in historical times or in prehistory: bears; wild boar; beavers; reindeer; elk; wild cats; woolly mammoth; hyenas; lemmings; arctic fox; bison?

Wolves are apex predators, like us (© hehaden)

Wikipedia will tell you that Ireland now has only 27 native species of mammals in the wild (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_Ireland), which is rather less than Britain (43) and far less than continental Europe (219), but surprisingly, there is evidence for all of the aforementioned animals in the past except beavers, elk and bison. Of course, there was the “Irish elk” in prehistory, but this was really a species of deer and is more accurately named the “giant Irish deer”. Since evidence, in the form of preserved bones, tusks, teeth or antlers, is notoriously difficult to find, we should perhaps say “no evidence yet” for beavers, elk and bison, especially as they all existed on the neighbouring island at some stage. Science keeps turning up something new, so the list may grow. 

I thought it would be interesting to do a little armchair time-travelling and think about the fauna of Ireland in three different periods during the lifetime of some important people. First stop: the 16th century.

Gráinne Ní Mháille (Grace O’Malley), c. 1530–1603

Gráinne become leader of the Ó Máille clan whose territory was the barony of Murrisk around Croagh Patrick (/summit/65/). She is remembered for her piratical activities and her feisty encounter with Elizabeth I of England. In Gráinne’s time, Ireland had considerably more bogland, native woodland and wild countryside in general than nowadays. There had been considerable deforestation during the Middle Ages, but this gathered pace with the Plantation of Munster in Gráinne’s later years, and especially with the subsequent Plantation of Ulster in the 17^th century. Many bogs were drained and reclaimed for farmland at the same time. Gráinne only lived to see the beginnings of this process. In her time, there was still enough wild country around Croagh Patrick, Mweelrea and the other mountains of South Mayo to support animals like wolves, deer, kites and eagles. The deer would have been the native red deer or the fallow deer introduced by the Anglo-Normans (sika deer were introduced later at Powerscourt in 1860). The species of wolf native to Ireland was the grey wolf, as elsewhere in Europe. Irish people seem to have tolerated wolves, hunting them occasionally and making big efforts to keep them away from livestock. It was only in Cromwell’s time, the 1640s, that the settlers from Britain attempted to exterminate them. Ireland was nicknamed “Wolf-Land” at this time, reflecting the English horror at the presence of this animal which had already been eradicated centuries earlier in their own country. 

Woodland was more the norm
than the exception in early medieval Ireland

Gráinne would probably have seen great auks on the Atlantic coast, for example on Clare Island, where a castle was one of her strongholds, and smaller rocky islands. These birds, which resembled penguins and, like them, were flightless, were related to puffins, guillemots and razorbills. Because of their inability to fly, they were easily caught and were hunted to extinction in the 19^th century, the last Irish sighting being off Brownstown Head in Co. Waterford in 1834. Gráinne would also have encountered white-tailed eagles as she navigated along the coast. These became extinct not long afterwards but have been successfully re-introduced to the west coast in the recent years. Crane Island, on the eastern shore of Lough Mask in Mayo, could well have been a true island at this time and provided a suitably marshy habitat for the birds which give the place its name. Bitterns also tended to nest in wetland habitats. Of course, there was a much greater range of animals than I have mentioned here, but I am focussing on some of the larger species which became extinct after Gráinne’s lifetime.

A flock of cranes in flight, once a familiar sight over Irish wetlands (© Artur Rydzewski)

Coemgen or Caoimhín (St. Kevin of Glendalough), 6^th century

Caoimhín lived at a time when Ireland had no cities and was completely rural. There are numerous stories told about the saint, who clearly had a strong connection to nature. Perhaps the best-known concerns the blackbird which laid an egg on Caoimhín’s outstretched hand while he prayed, but there are several others involving animals. The Deer Stone is a landmark at Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, where Caoimhín founded a monastery in the 6^th century. According to local tradition, the wife of one of Caoimhín’s workers died giving birth to twins, who were left without milk to feed them. The workman, named Colmán, came to ask for help from Caoimhín, who then prayed to God. This prayer was answered when a doe came to this stone and left her milk in the hollow of the stone. The doe (which must have been a red deer) returned regularly each morning to feed the twins. https://pilgrimagemedievalireland.com/2013/06/03/the-deer-stone-a-19th-century-pilgrim-station-at-glendalough/ In one version of the story, the doe eventually stopped coming, but Caoimhín prayed again and she was replaced by a she-wolf, who also gave milk for the children. Another tale recounts how Caoimhín dropped his prayer book in the lake, but an otter appeared from the depths with the book in its mouth and returned it completely undamaged. Whether you take these miraculous tales at face value or not is a matter of personal choice or faith, but they can be taken as a reliable indicator that red deer, wolves and otters were reasonably common in Co. Wicklow in the early Middle Ages. This squares with the information given in the 7^th century by the Irish monk Augustine (not the better-known saint) who mentions 9 mammals that were present in Ireland: wolf, red deer, wild boar, fox, badger, hare, squirrel, otter and seal.

Gráinne would probably have seen great auks on the Atlantic coast, for example on Clare Island, where a castle was one of her strongholds, and smaller rocky islands. These birds, which resembled penguins and, like them, were flightless, were related to puffins, guillemots and razorbills. Because of their inability to fly, they were easily caught and were hunted to extinction in the 19^th century, the last Irish sighting being off Brownstown Head in Co. Waterford in 1834. Gráinne would also have encountered white-tailed eagles as she navigated along the coast. These became extinct not long afterwards but have been successfully re-introduced to the west coast in the recent years. Crane Island, on the eastern shore of Lough Mask in Mayo, could well have been a true island at this time and provided a suitably marshy habitat for the birds which give the place its name. Bitterns also tended to nest in wetland habitats. Of course, there was a much greater range of animals than I have mentioned here, but I am focussing on some of the larger species which became extinct after Gráinne’s lifetime.

A herd of sika deer on Tonelagee, Co. Wicklow (© Rob Hurson)

Caoimhín and his monks would probably also have been familiar with cranes which were sometimes kept as pets in medieval Ireland. Colmcille (St. Columba), a contemporary of Caoimhín, is said to have had a pet crane. They would also have encountered wild cats and pigs in the forest around the monastery. Ireland may have had the European lynx (Lynx lynx) and/or the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) at this time. As for the boar, the legend of Diarmuid meeting his death from a charging boar at the foot of Benbulbin while hunting with Fionn mac Cumhaill is well-known, and we have the historical reference from Augustine. Likewise, the Irish word torc meaning ‘wild boar’ appears in a number of place-names, but there is not much fossil evidence for the animal’s existence in the Middle Ages, so it is possible that it died out quite early and that the place-names are based on folklore or refer some other kind of wild pig. True wild boar (Sus scrofa) definitely lived here in prehistoric times. 

Wild boar – put paid to Diarmuid, but when did
he go extinct? (© Makro Freak)

Beavers are another animal that one might expect to have thrived in medieval Ireland. Given that the landscape was dominated by forest and wetland, you might think it was beaver heaven. However, historical references to beavers seem to be completely lacking and there is no trace of them in place-names either. After the Ice Age some species simply did not make it to Ireland in time before the land-bridge connections to Britain and to the continent became submerged by rising sea-levels. This seems to account for the absence of moles in Ireland. Perhaps beavers ‘missed the boat’ too.

Incidentally, almost all the animals which have been mentioned up to this point can still be found somewhere in Europe, with the exception of great auk (extinct world-wide in the 19^th century), giant Irish deer and mammoth (extinct in prehistory). Poland, for example, has most of the other species, as well as the last remaining stock of native European bison, which are being used as the basis for re-introduction programmes elsewhere, including Britain.

Cave-dwellers at Castlepook Cave, c. 31,000 BC

Our next jump back in time is a much bigger one, to a time in the depths of the Ice Age, and I’m imagining the fauna encountered by a group of people rather than a single historical figure. Castlepook Cave is on the southern slopes of the Ballyhoura Mountains, not far from the village of Doneraile in Co. Cork. The nearest peak on MV is Seefin Mountain East Top. Between 1904 and 1912 a team led by the naturalist Richard Ussher excavated the cave and recovered bones of a wide range of animals:

Bright but chilly weather, as seen here on Mullaghcarbatagh,
Co. Tyrone, was perhaps the best that Ice Age cave-dwellers
could hope for. Much of Ireland was covered by glaciers.
(© Simon Stewart)

spotted hyenas, giant Irish deer, wolf, brown bear, arctic fox, Irish stoat, arctic lemming, woolly mammoth and reindeer. The landscape was probably like Arctic tundra when these animals lived in the Ice Age. The bones were brought to the National Museum in Dublin, but at that stage there was no proof that any of the animals had been hunted by humans. Dr Ruth Carden of UCD has been analysing bones from Irish limestone caves for several years. Last year, in 2021, she sent a fragment of reindeer bone from Ussher’s collection to the lab for analysis and dating. It bore deep chopping marks which suggested it had been butchered. The results confirmed this and gave a date 33,000 years ago, making it far and away the earliest evidence for human activity in Ireland. The previous earliest evidence came from a butchered bear bone found in a Co. Clare cave, dated as 12,500 years old. The reindeer were probably similar to those still herded by Sami people in Lapland today. However, the domestication of reindeer seems to have happened only 2-3,000 years ago, so the Castlepook cave-dwellers probably hunted wild reindeer.

Reindeer are intimately linked to the origins of
Man in Ireland (© Gregoire Dubois)

This exciting discovery means that, for the first time, Ireland is confirmed to have been inhabited by man in the Palaeolithic era: https://www.thejournal.ie/reindeer-bone-cork-cave-5413607-Apr2021/ We do not know yet whether these people and their descendants were driven south by the ice, whether they died out in the harsh conditions, or whether they survived. Although the other animal bones may date to different periods from the butchered reindeer bone, this find also opens up the possibility that humans saw and hunted the whole range of animals whose remains were found in the cave. Most of these would also have been potential prey for the wolves, which would have been well capable of bringing down a giant deer or even a mammoth by attacking as a pack, although they would have only picked a fight with hyenas or bears as a last resort. This shows that wolves are our closest competitors in nature and almost on an equal footing with us, as we are apex predators, capable of hunting the same prey. No wonder, then, that we chose to co-opt wolves into our society and domesticated them as dogs. 

Giant Irish deer

Another species that I find fascinating is the giant Irish deer or Megaloceros giganteus. This animal was the heaviest known cervid (deer-type animal) and also one of the tallest but it became extinct in Ireland around 10,500 years ago. It typically weighed 450-600 kg, and could sometimes reach a maximum of 700 kg. It stood 2.1m tall at the shoulders, so a male with fully developed antlers would have measured close to 3m with its head raised. The antlers could have a span up to 3.65m and weigh up to 40 kg. This documentary will tell you a lot more about giant Irish deer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdXiPTv16yE 

The creature is sometimes called the Irish elk but is neither an elk nor specifically Irish. It was probably due to its impressive size that it was compared with the European elk but it is now believed that its nearest living relative is the fallow deer, which has similar teeth and palmate antlers. It was referred to as “Irish” because many of the earliest specimens of antlers and skeletons were found in Irish bogs, often by farming people cutting turf. It was present in much of Northern Europe during the Ice Age, but wet conditions in Ireland and the lack of oxygen in peat have favoured their preservation here. Remains of more than 100 individual giant Irish deer have been found in Ballybetagh Bog in the Dublin Mountains, not far from Glencullen. You might pass this area when approaching Two Rock Mountain from the SE. In 1953 a set of giant deer antlers were found on the shores of Lough Beg at Creagh near Toomebridge, Co. Derry. The find led to the naming of a local inn “The Elk”. The antlers are still on display in the foyer of the Elk Complex. More recently in 2018, a skull and complete set of antlers were fished out of Lough Neagh by fishermen who found them tangled in their nets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umV3YG4GWLQ

Giant Irish deer – this sculpture gives an idea of the bulk of the beast (© Loz Pycock)

Looking beyond Ireland, early humans in various parts of Eurasia lived in an environment where giant Irish deer were one of the species of animals that roamed free. Both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens would have seen them and almost certainly hunted them, since a number of giant deer bones have been found in various locations that show signs of butchering. Humans also made use of antlers which they found lying on the ground after the animal had shed them in winter, turning them into tools or ornaments. Perhaps the most dramatic evidence of interaction between humans and giant Irish deer is from cave paintings, such as those at Lascaux in the Dordogne region of France, believed to have been created around 17,000 years ago over several generations. The images are so detailed and accurate that the particular species can be recognised in many cases. Images 2 and 6 in this slideshow feature paintings of giant deer: https://www.futura-sciences.com/sciences/photos/sciences-grand-site-archeologique-decouverte-lascaux-2090/grotte-lascaux-megaloceros-lascaux-15376/

Logainmneacha / Place-Names

Coiscéim an Mhadra Alla, ‘footstep of the wolf’ (Wolfstep), is a foot pass on the Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, that connects Anascaul with Stradbally. It passes between Binn os Gaoith/Beenoskee and Cnoc Mhaoilionáin/Knockmulanane and reaches a height of 360m.

The Wolf’s Hill is a minor peak in Davagh Forest, Co. Tyrone, a little N of Oughtmore. It is possible that this is quite a late name given to a place where wolves were still found before their extermination in the 18^th century (see wicklore’s piece re Wolftrap Mountain). Bounties were offered in the 17^th century by Cromwell’s government for every wolf killed. In Tyrone wolves were regarded as a great menace and even attacked sheep penned inside stone enclosures in the 1690s. A certain Rory Carragh, a well-known professional hunter, was offered a larger than usual reward to kill two wolves that had escaped extermination, which he duly did with the help of a little boy.

Lough Iskanamacteery on the Iveragh Peninsula, Co. Kerry, has a name meaning ‘lake of the ravine of the wolves’. The ravine in question, Eisc na Mac Tíre, descends steeply to the N from An Bheann Mhór to the lough.

Tirkslieve is a 401m peak in the Nephin Beg Range, Co. Mayo. The name comes from Ir. Toircshliabh, ‘boar-mountain’.

In the same part of Co. Mayo, Glendahurk is a glen and townland on the SE side of Coire na Binne/Corranabinnia, leading down to Clew Bay. The name is from Ir. Gleann dá Thorc, ‘glen of the two boars’. 

Cnoc an Iolair/Cluidaniller is at 227m the highest peak on the island of Árainn Mhór/Arranmore, Co. Donegal. The Irish form Cnoc an Iolair means ‘hill of the eagle’. The anglicised name Cluidaniller points to an alternative form of the name, Clúid an Iolair, 'the eagle's nook'. 

Carrignagat is a rock on the northern slopes of Benyvoughela Hill near Kilfinnane, Co. Limerick. The nearest peak listed in MV is Keale Mountain, which is a little further SE. The name is easily understood as originating from Ir. Carraig na gCat, ‘rock of the cats’, but the difficulty is determining exactly what kind of cat is meant. Surely wild cats of some kind, but are we dealing with lynx, some Irish relative of the European wildcat (still found in Scotland), or just domestic pussycats gone feral? It is believed that Ireland had the European lynx, though it is uncertain when it became extinct. The archaeological evidence is very meagre as very few bones have been found. The same name is also found in Cos Sligo (twice), Roscommon, Cork, and Cavan.

Eurasian lynx – the cat in Carraig na gCat?
(© Jon Glittenberg)

Crane Island is a townland on the E. shore of Lough Mask near Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo. The English name is a translation of Irish Oileán na gCorr. The same name also occurs in the counties of Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Clare. Cranes were common in Ireland in the Middle Ages and were even kept as pets. The common crane is still found in Poland, Ukraine, Scandinavia and Russia. They are social birds and fly long distances together. It’s quite a sight to see them flying in a formation known as a ‘key’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktB6aDh9a3o

Curraghbonaun, Co. Sligo, is a townland on the plains near Curry to the E. of the Ox Mountains. The name is from Currach Bhunáin, meaning ‘marsh of the bittern’. The great bittern (Botaurus stellaris) was common in Ireland until the mid-19^th century. It is still found in Britain, France and many countries in Europe. 

Place-name information is from www.logainm.ie and from www.mountainviews.ie

Photos by Paul Tempan unless stated

Some photos licensed from Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license,
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/", Creative Commons, and Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic licence.

The MountainViews ANNUAL 2021, brought out in 2022.

emVee-Tube

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

MountainViews Surveying and Changes to Lists

Arderin Changes and the whys and hows.

• Simon Stewart

From time-to-time new measurements take place of the height etc of summits.  The list of the Arderins and other topographically defined lists can change.  For example, for Arderins, we find that on surveying that a given summit may not be over 500m or may not have 30m prominence.  Or the reverse: we find a summit does have the needful.

There’s been various changes recently, including one “new” Arderin.  More on that later. 

Background

When the website was first started in 2002, we put together lists from various sources such as Joss Lynam’s 600m list and 500m to 600m summits from Michael Dewey and Myrddyn Philips.  These had height information as available from OS sources. Prominence information was gleaned from looking at maps.  While this was a great initial attempt it meant that a lot of the data was an estimate from looking at contour lines.  By 2009 MV volunteers had finally checked all the heights and prominences from maps as best we could.  We defined lists such as the Arderins, Vandeleur-Lynams, Carns, Binnions etc.

From 2012 two members brought professional differential GPS surveying equipment to bear.  These devices are capable of measuring to within 10cm of height and by doing surveys we have corrected heights and prominences as best we can within our resources.

What needs checking

For Arderins, if the older map-based information says that a summit is near to the minimum height or near to the minimum prominence then we need to check.  This can work either way so for example in 2021 we checked Cahernageeha in the Dunkerrons.  The OS said that the height of this was 499m.  Could it in reality be over 500?  On measurement it turned out to be 498.7m.  Doing this many times shows that the OS, is usually but not always correct where they have a spot height. We also have to remember that they are rounding the figures to the nearest metre. 

However, when the figures are summiteers estimates based on contours be it of summits or cols then the precision isn’t so great. 

OSi 1:50k map of Croaghanmoira area.

Croaghanmoira North Top was one such where there were no spot heights.

On the OS what we are calling Croaghanmoira North Top is the flattish summit to the north of Croaghanmoira Mountain in Wicklow. 

East-West 1:25k map of Croaghanmoira area.

We were also curious to see what East-West says.  On previous measurements of summits, MV has established different heights from that on E-W so we maintain a level of skepticism.  For example, for Djouce. The OSI said 725m  and I was told that East-West said 733.  MV went and measured it and got a figure of 725.5m with an accuracy of +- .1   

Returning to Croaghanmoira and its north top.

It had been assessed using the OSI figures.  We have also included the figures from East-West:

The accurate spot heights for the top or col would not be inconsistent with either the OSI or E-W mapping, however the E-W contours, in my opinion, give a better representation of the land and when used to try to derive the height of Croaghanmoira or its key col would give more accurate figures.  So, this means that all East-West heights and contours should now be accepted as more accurate? Steady on there.  This is just one instance.

For the record, the key col position for Croaghanmoira N was assessed on the ground as being at T09507 87032, however while the spot height horizontal position measurement is accurate to 10cm, the choice of place to measure is notoriously difficult to find on boggy cols and probably has no greater accuracy than around 20m horizontally on such an ill defined col.  However even if we didn’t quite find the exact place, there is absolutely no way that the right col position would change the height of the col to invalidate Croaghanmoire N as an Arderin.   The position we have  would be not be inconsistent to what could be inferred from the E-W map with its 5m contours or the OSI with its 10m contours.

The result

The result therefore is that Croaghanmoira North Top is an Arderin, making the total on the island of Ireland to be 406.

Two other adjustments have taken place in the recent past, both reducing the number of Arderins: 

Common Mountain in Donegal SW was found to have a height of 499.7m, down from 501, and less than the required 500m so it was relegated from the Arderins to the Carns.

Carnanelly West in the Sperrins was found to have a prominence of 24.2 m, less than the required 30 so it was relegated from Arderins to Arderin Beg status.

Thus in the last couple of years, the number of Arderins started at 407, went to 406 and then 405 and is now 406.

Note that many other measurements taken such as those on Carnanageehy mentioned before and Brockagh, Co Wicklow confirmed its Arderin status (or non-status)  as have a number of others.

Further adjustments.

Checking through all of the summits that MountainViews as of 2022, revealed that around 36 are candidates for checking.  Therefore, it is effectively certain that the number of Arderins (and numbers on other lists) will change again. My guesstimate is that the number of Arderins won't fall below 400.

List Completers.

Where someone has visited all of the summits in a given list at the time that the reached the last of them, then they are deemed by MV to be a list completer and we will give out an award.

If a subsequent survey changes the list, then they may show on the  Summiteers Hall of Records as not having visited all the summits, where MountainViews has found a new one.

State of play for Arderins visiting as of 3 March 2022.

Summiteers Arderin Ranking, prior to addition of Croaghanmoira N.

So, if you have logged visiting all the Arderins by the date we uploaded the fresh information (In this case 4^th March 2022)  then you are entitled to claim that you have completed the Arderins.  If, however you haven’t logged climbing them all and are missing Croaghanmoira N, you will have to go and visit it.  An easy summit near the road in this case but it could well be harder elsewhere.

It turns out that all but one of the members who have logged climbing the Arderins have in fact logged Croaghanmoira North.   This isn’t surprising since for most summiteers the new Arderin would be enroute to the main Croaghanmoira.

If you want to assist with any of this, let us know at admin@mountainviews.ie . 

SITE NEWS

This month.
Kudos to our contributors.

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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