[RWD version 1 ] This was a surveying trip to see if Knockbrinnea was by any chance an Arderin. The most recent map from EastWest had given it a height of 852 with col height of 822. EastWest measures to within +/- .5 so making it possible that Knockbrinnea West had the required 30m prominence to be an Arderin.
Ascertaining this meant visiting the key col. The route straight up Knockbrinnea from the Hag's Glen is notoriously steep over rough, steep ground covered in heather. I thought I would have a go at rising more slowly by starting at the key col using a more gradual ascent to the north.
This was possible though it meant that I had to accommodate sheep logic. Most of the route, shown below uses sheep tracks. And sheep love to contour but often their tracks stop or just don't go where you want. So I found that I had to switch tracks frequently to gain height. This was gradually working out but eventually I found that my way was blocked by big areas of the very rough scree that characterises the area. I therefore went for the west summit. At least it wasn't knee deep heather.
The first measurement on the col was in a strong wind where the Met.ie forecast surely must have been correct at predicting feels like -6 celsius. Despite the extreme cold earlier, in the S lee of the ridge, there was almost no wind. After completing the walk I needed to get down to the Hag's Glen. It was also a time to compare this route with the way I came, albeit seen as a descent rather than an ascent. It's really steep in places. I think the way I ascended was marginally easier.
Following processing the results of the surveying revealed that
Knockbrinnea West is at 852.17m while
the Key col is at 822.42m
so Prominence is 29.75m
Knockbrinnea West remains NOT an Arderin.