eflanaga on Caher West Top

Started this anti-clockwise Coumloughra Horseshoe walk near Breanlee Bridge ID (V76701 86621) going up short overgrown grass track and behind derelict building before crossing fence onto track running NW behind two farm houses. Track shortly leads to gate & tilled field. Through gate I made sure to stick to the fence to avoid any damage as I made my way to the other gate at the far side of the field. Through this gate there is a narrow uneven track which runs roughly in line with a large black waterpipe which itself runs parallel to the river which you can follow up to its source at Loch Iochtair (Eighter). At the turn in the river I veered right over area shown on map as Ladhar Bhuí using various sheep tracks to climb to Spot height 442m IE (V77698 85368), the height & extent of the Horseshoe becoming ever clearer as you rise. From the top of Spot Height the route to Caher West Top is clear. Just walk straight across the long & gently rising spur before climbing more steeply to the top. The ground becomes ever rockier as you near the summit. The first of the two summit cairns eventually becomes visible as you traverse the ever rockier ground. Unfortunately, the weather which had been clear up to this point decided to deteriorate and cloud rushed in covering the summit as I reached it. There is a very long drop into the coum on your left side as you face towards the next summit so care is required when dropping down the rocky path onto the col below Caher proper – the next stage in the walk. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/5/comment/2428/

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DickyDonut on Caher West Top

DickyDonut (30/07/03 21:20): We climbed to the west top on 17/7/03 intending to do the circle, a beautifully sunny day in Kenmare with wispy clouds only on the tops. The higher we climbed, the lower the cloud, so that when we eventually reached the west top, after much encouragement by my wife, (who is 5 stone lighter than me!) the cloud was on us, and it rained hard. After a soggy lunch (we couldn't face scrambling into the cave in the cairn) we went down, when we'd done all the hard work for Carrantouil, the only highest summit left for us in the British Isles. As we descended so did the cloud so that it was just above L Eagher. Better safe than sorry we figured! Perhaps we'll return to Ireland again some day and have another go at it Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/5/comment/592/

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denisdeasy on Caher West Top

Descending from here on the last leg of the Coomloughra hoseshoe, or the Reeks ridge walk, is undeniably a real slog - we did spot this spectacular folding feature, though ! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/5/comment/659/

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csd on Caher West Top

Caher's west top is the last peak on the right of this panorama of Coumloughra. The descent down to Lough Eighter doesn't present any difficulties, but can be hard on the knees at the end of a day's walking. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/5/comment/510/

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The Hydro Road Route

I still find it strange that there are so many Irish people who have little or no hillwalking experience but who,nevertheless, blithely head up Carrauntoohil as if it were Tara's big sister . In my own case I agonised for some time before choosing the Hydro Road route as most likely to be safe. I ended up executing my plan, unexpectedly, with my then fifteen year old son in late December some years ago and, yes, the initial stages were very solid and dependable. But I will never forget the traverse along the Caher Ridge because I was overwhelmed with fear that David (who was perfectly relaxed) would fall to his death. He kept reassuring me that there was no possibility of any such thing happening and we made it, no thanks to me. I look back fondly on the day, and that's why I especially admire Distancefading's super YouTube film, which gives a really powerful sense of what's at stake on the Caher ridge. The film has all the hallmarks of a Distancefading classic. A sense of strangeness permeates the entire affair. The colour tones are offbeat. The music is quirky. Only the long suffering young lady star seems normal. But the ensemble is most compelling. You should take a look. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/5/comment/6369/

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