Lough Cloon to Coomura via Lough Reagh Aiguilles

Inspired by Adrian Hendroff's description in his excellent new book 'The Dingle, Iveragh & Beara Peninsulas', we arrived one June morning to do the Lough Cloon Horsehoe. Unfortunately, the cloud refused to co-operate and we thought that we might follow David Herman's ('Hill Walkers Kerry') route into the valley instead (i.e. with a view towards following the initial stages of the former route in an anticlockwise manner if the cloud were to lift later). We parked by the bridge at the northern end of Lough Cloon (C (V708 789)), and initially (10.30) followed the trackway which follows the western shore, and made our way across very rough terrain to the west of Lough Reagh. Eventually we came face to face with the eagerly anticipated aiguilles at the head of the valley. Wow! Waterfalls falling between needle sharp peaks in the most isolated surroundings imaginable. Still following David H's ever trustworthy instruction, we ascended up the most westerly gully, eventually cresting into the Shangri-La of hidden lakes among pinnacles eloquently described by Adrian in his book 'From High Places' . 'Probably' the best mountain scene in the Kingdom! We made our way around the first lake (Coomalougha) but progress was extremely slow due to the roughness of the terrain. It being 15.30, we wisely decided to abandon our initial plan. Instead we made our way south west to an upstream lake from which (D (V681 743)) we headed north west for Coomoura mountain. Grand mountain with decent views and a notably ice scoured northern flank. We found a gully to the right hand side of the line of descent by means of which we managed to avoid most of the rock benches described by other climbers. After seeing an eagle being harried by crows overhead, we rejoined the track to the west of Lough Cloon, to arrive back at our car at 18.10. Nearly 8 hours, but a memorable day. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/162/comment/6565/

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Peter Walker on Coomura Mountain

Point A on Simon's Google Earth visualisation...I left my rucksack there for a quick there-and-back up Knockmoyle, and it was something of a relief to find it again! It's that kind of area. If blessed with razor-sharp visibility route-finding is easy hereabouts, but it's all too obvious what a challenge it would be in mist: having walked from Mullaghanattin, I'd intended to go as far as Knocknagantee before turning but fatigue and a burgeoning need for my tea meant I turned north once I reached Coomnacronia. The fences (which are numerous) weren't too much of an obstacle for me with my 34" inside leg measurement: others may not be so lucky. Coomura itself is just a swelling on the edge of the plateau, but highly pleasant for all that. The descent down the shoulder towards Lettergarriv heads towards some excellent views, but is frustratingly slow in places (outcropping rock on the shoulder, thick vegetation once you're off it). Take heed from the experience of this walker: don't assume that because you can see the end of the track by the lough from the shoulder that it's going to be a doddle to get to it on the ground... Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/162/comment/3186/

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simon3 on Coomura Mountain

Do you like a navigational challenge? Wait for some mist (probably not a long wait), visit Knocknagantee and then walk to Coomura Mtn. It's rough, confusing, boggy land with (as of 2005) lots of high and nasty barbed wire topped fencing. Usually in comments I don't give route hints since I think finding the way is part of the fun. But for this walk, even if you have a GPS, you should particularly study the map. On the Sheet 78 around where it says "Source of the River Inny" look at the contours. Ok that's the hint. It's around point "A" on the Google Earth visualisation. This picture however doesn't give anything remotely like the topographical detail that exists on the ground around point "A". It's quite unlike the usual smooth lip of a coum.

The summit of Coomura probably doesn't get more than a handful of visitors a year. It's nothing exciting -- there's a mini cairn. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/162/comment/1927/

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eric on Coomura Mountain

West side of Coomura Mountain with the Reeks in the background. This photograph is taken from the summit of Knockmoyle. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/162/comment/2109/

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Coomura's rugged SE flank.

Coomura is surrounded by dramatic cliffs and steep ground. From its west is the Coomura valley, a huge corrie with 400m cliffs, to the north the glacier scraped ridge very visible from Knocknacusha, however to the SE there is this dramatic ground with the odd lake. Others have photographed this with varying degrees of success depending on the weather, however I was lucky enough to be on Sallagh in good weather and got this view. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/162/comment/6316/

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