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simon3: Track/4130 in area near Bencorrbeg, Twelve Bens (Ireland)
Beast of Bencorrbeg tackled from the south.
Ascent: 669m,
Length: 14.0km,
Creator time taken: 6h45m
Descent: 623m,
Time predicted from Naismith's rule: 3h 55m + breaks
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PlacesStart at Connemara Mountain Hostel (CmaraMtn Hst) L84545 49918, Bencorrbeg, end at Start
Track Rating ..
[RWD version 1 ]
As many others have said Bencorrbeg is a serious scrambling challenge. This track was an attempt to reach it from the south via the Coillte (state-owned) forest with clear public access and parking.
The walk through the forest is easy if tedious. It has magnificent views being under some of the best of the Bens and in full view of the Maumturks to the east.
We took a route through rough cut forest land off the forest road. Unfortunately the shared GPS track lost some detail in places. In part this can happen when ascending extremely steep slopes and the GPS unit's view of the sky is constrained, however the general line we took is visible. The track shows pink because much of it was done at a slow, scrambling pace. Nevertheless there were great and increasing views as we ascended towards the 'Turks and further.
From the top there is a huge view of eastern Twelve Bens. Bencorrbeg is linked to these via the rocky col to Binn an tSaighdiúra
Although we managed to get up via the rocky south side of the east ridge of Bencorrbeg, we found it difficult and so looked around for a route down that was easier and safer. Many of the slopes around here are convex meaning that from top or bottom it is hard to see whether a scrambling route is actually possible as others have reported on MV for Bencorrbeg. Taking a route you are not sure of is a recipe for getting stuck halfway down a slope. However the route down that we took uses the concave slope shown clearly on the Harvey map which has an unusual surface of quartzite chunks mostly embedded in bog vegetation. Not easy to move through but relatively unexposed and relatively easy to navigate.
Unfortunately it left us on the wrong side of Bencorrbeg from where we had parked necessitating a long contour around the north end of the ridge. We had hoped for the occasional contouring sheep track to help with this. No such luck. A slog until we got back the forest and the forest road.
Editing Details for track/4130
NOTE: ALL information such as Ascent, Length and Creator time taken etc should be regarded as approximate. The creator's comments are opinions and may not be accurate or still correct.
Your time to complete will depend on the speed of the slowest plus break time and your mode of transport.
NOTE: It is up to you to ensure that your route is appropriate for you and your party to follow bearing in mind all factors such as safety, weather conditions, experience and access permission.
Uploaded on: Thu, 16 May 2019 (08:54:31), Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/track/4130/
* Note: A GPS Height in the elevation profile is sourced from the device that recorded the track. An "SRTM" height is derived from a model of elevations for parts of the earth. More detail
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