milo on Corranabinnia

This summit ,while 5 metres lower than than the highest in the range,remote Slieve Car, is the high point of the western Nephinbeg ridge. It commands splendid views, particularly south over Clew Bay and west toward Achill (lower photo) It also forms part of a fine 20km. ridge circuit including BenGorm and Glenamong.
This took almost 8 hours using 2 cars, one left in a large recessed entrance at LghFee (L956 985) and finishing in the carpark at the start of the Bangor Trail. Without cars a somewhat longer variant could be done from Traenlur YH, using the ford at Gl'Mong Brg (F947 024). Top photo shows the view west from near Corranabinnia main top showing the ridge to the SW top. See my comments on the SW top Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/98/comment/615/

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MV Walk

A MountainViews walk took place on Saturday 7th October. It was led by MountainViews member Liz50, and 17 hardy souls set off on this tough and demanding walk. We completed a counter-clockwise loop of the Glendahurk circuit in the Nephin Begs. Two members planned to join us as far as Ben Gorm NW Top, and the remaining 15 continued on the full circuit.

From Gl'dHurk Brg (L91061 97962) we started with a bog walk to Ben Gorm (582m). This early ascent of over 530m over tiring bog meant that (A) we got this nasty slog out of the way early, (B) we could approach the infamous Corranabinnia arête later from a more favourable NE-SW direction. Given the cloudy and sometimes wet conditions, and mix of ability amongst the group, it was a wise decision by the experienced Liz50 who has traversed the arête from both directions previously and understood the best approach for our group.

After Ben Gorm we dropped 230m to the col and ascended over 110m to Ben Gorm NW Top. Looking back at Ben Gorm from Ben Gorm NW gave another reason to be glad of the counter clockwise route – imagine facing that 230m haul up Ben Gorm towards the end of a clockwise walk?!
The 300m climb from the col below Ben Gorm NW up to the main Corranabinnia summit was demanding and included some light scrambling over some steep rocky ground. The infamous views were denied to us by cloud but the delicious home-made chocolate and oatmeal treats being passed around kept us otherwise engaged! With approx. 950m of accumulated ascent so far under our boots we knew that the majority of the climbing was done but that the section requiring most concentration lay ahead.

Liz50 ably navigated us down towards the arête. It suddenly appeared as the ground gave way on the right to sheer and craggy drops that disappeared into the mist below. The ground to the left (south side) fell away steeply in a tumble of rocks and steep grassy slopes. Liz50 brought us along a narrow route on the southern side several metres safely below the jagged and brooding arête. While protected from the worst of the exposure, concentration was needed as we delicately clambered over and around rocks and focussed on not slipping on the wet ground. Time momentarily took on a different speed as it was all about one slow foot and handhold in front of the other. Eventually we reached a place where a scramble up a very steep grassy slope took us suddenly onto the summit area of Corranabinnia SW. Despite the cloud we had seen enough of the arête to appreciate its challenge, and to feel a sense of achievement having completed the crossing.

Several kms of bog walk down the southern spur of Corranabinnia SW brought us back to our starting point. The cloud cleared at around 450m allowing us to once again admire the view of Clew Bay and out to Clare Island. At over 1000m of ascent, this 16.5kms, 6+ hour route over Corranabinnia is demanding, and the arête should be approached with caution. But what a great walk! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/98/comment/19745/

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Mayo's Best Ridge?

A view of the ridge between Corranabinnia and its sw top, taken from just west of the sw top. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/98/comment/17696/

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bryanmccabe on Corranabinnia

In my opinion, the Corranabinnia horseshoe is one of the most challenging hikes in the west of Ireland, with in excess of 1000m height gain over about 14km. The ascent to Bengorm (582m) is gradual but the soft peaty underfoot conditions make it a real slog. The final climb up to the trig station at the summit of Corranabinnia is also challenging. The arete ridge between Corranbinnia main top and SW top is not as intimidating as I expected - but maybe that's because the cloud didn't allow us to see the full extent of the drops on either side! The photo shown is looking across the ridge to the SW top and believe it or not is taken in the same direction and not far to the left as milo's photo on the same mountain! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/98/comment/3609/

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gerrym on Corranabinnia

From the col with Glennamong there is a fairly narrow ridge (well it gives the feeling of as you can see from the pic) with steep drops to the double loughs of Corryloughaphuill to the NW and into the heavily forested valley of the Glennamong River to the SE. The climb is short over ground which poses no difficulty. There is a level area before the final rise to the trig point at the summit. Luckily the mist had cleared from the summit and i was afforded the breathtaking views available out over Clew Bay with its myriad of islands and over the rest of the big hills in the Nephins - Glennamong, Nephin Beg and Glencar. There was more evidence of other walkers here and would seem to suggest that the horseshoe taking in Corranabinnia Sw top, Corranabinnia and Ben Gorm would be the more popular route, not that I saw anyone on any of these hills over the 2 days spent here. There is a short drop down to the col with the SW top which looked very daunting with a sharp serrated rocky ridge to negoiate. To the SE the remainder of the walk along the ridge to Ben Gorm also looked quite a handfull, having already spent a good few hours walking and carrying tent etc. I left my pack at the summit to make the return journey to the SW top. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/98/comment/1915/

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