Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Friday, 10 September 2010
IPPL 5 peaks
Stumbling over rocks, trying to find a landmark in a pea soup fog, I asked “Whose bright idea was this?” and then remembered that it was mine! I completed a 10-mile run last year for IPPL and, having enjoyed it more than I expected, immediately started contemplating what to do next. One of my fellow runners said “Why not do the 3 peaks?” I think it was probably the fact that I was full of endorphins, and the pain hadn’t kicked in yet, that prompted me to say “Why not 5!!!”
And so, the idea of the IPPL 5/4/3/2/1 peaks was born. An attempt to climb the highest mountain in each country in the British Isles. Snowdon in Wales, Scafell Pike in England, Ben Nevis in Scotland, Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland and Carrauntoohil in the South of Ireland. My idea was that a core of people climbed all of them but that anyone was able to join us for as many as they liked. At the beginning of the year, I had nine friends signed up but, as time ticked on, the excuses started rolling in. A fortnight before the event was due to take place, we were down to four, then two backed out leaving just me and Helen Thirlway, IPPL (UK) Director. Neither of us able to back out!
So, we set off on the24th July to Wales, accompanied by our friend Sarah Knapp who planned to climb just one mountain with us. We set off up Snowdon on a beautiful sunny morning with a constant stream of fellow walkers. I felt relaxed about my ‘tour leader’ duties as I was with close friends and – at that point – the path seemed straightforward. Foolishly, we followed the people in front of us; they had a map so I assumed they knew the way. They did, they were just going up a different mountain! It states clearly in the safety leaflet “REMEMBER-the person in front of you may not be going to the same place or by the same route as you have planned. Don’t follow blindly.” Next thing we knew we were in the clouds scaling Crib Goch, described in the safety leaflet as “a 500 metre knife edge ridge WITH NO ESCAPE ROUTE.” Unfortunately the safety leaflet was in my back pocket and I hadn’t read it yet!
There was actually a lot of camaraderie on Crib Goch and we found ourselves scrambling along with several other groups. On getting to the end of the ridge we were able to consult the map and discovered that there were still two other ridges before we got to the summit of Snowdon. We then decided to come down the mountain and rejoin the path that we should have been on. Eventually we reached the top and got out our IPPL banners. I asked someone to take our photo but the autofocus struggled because the fog was so thick. When we eventually made it back to the car we were exhausted, it had taken us seven hours and we still had a four hour drive to the next peak. It was at this point that we started to regret not having done any training!
Next morning it was onto Scafell Pike in the beautiful Lake District. This felt very different as there were very few people around and we had a map and compass. I’d heard that this was the mountain that most people get lost on. By about half way up we were in the clouds again and somehow we managed to lose the path. This was when I discovered that a map and compass can be useless when you can’t see further than ten feet in front of you! Thankfully we heard voices off to our left and managed to find the trail again. The rest of the way was marked out by piles of rocks known as cairns. We managed this peak in six hours and after a hearty pub dinner we hit the road for the long drive to Scotland.
By one o’clock in the morning, I was starting to feel very sleepy so I stopped at several hotels round the Glasgow area but they were all full. One of the receptionists told me it was because Rod Stewart was playing a big concert that night. He’s definitely not my favourite artist any more! By two o’clock, we made it to Loch Lomond and decided to sleep in the car. After four hours of restless sleep we hit the road again. Not really the best preparation for scaling Ben Nevis, the largest mountain in the UK at 4,409ft. After a very large fried breakfast and lots of coffee we drove through the Scottish highlands with the most dramatic and beautiful views. Ben Nevis is very popular with tourists and so there is a well managed path winding the whole way up. Again, the character of this mountain was completely different to the others. The views are amazing but it’s the scale that stands out. By halfway up you can look back and the people look like ants but if you look up they also look like ants. After a while we were in the clouds again and everything was starting to look very similar. Close to the summit we discovered some snow, given that this was the height of summer it was quite a surprise. On the summit it was blowing a gale and was extremely cold, thankfully there is a survival hut which we were able to squeeze into to get out of the wind and have a quick sandwich. We were also on a high as we had reached the halfway point of the challenge and the biggest mountain was all downhill from here. Unfortunately, we had to race down as we had a ferry to catch over to Ireland. After a hair-raising drive along the Scottish coast we arrived at the ferry port with seven minutes to spare. Thankfully my mum lives ten minutes from the ferry port in Belfast so we got there around four am. Next day, we tackled Slieve Donard in four hours, at 2,795ft, this was our smallest mountain. We were still in the clouds at the summit though. We decided to stay another night in Belfast and have a break from driving for a day. So, well rested, we set off on the long drive through Ireland to County Kerry and our final peak.
Carrauntohil is situated in the beautiful MacGillycuddy’s Reeks mountain range. On finally finding the campsite, our sat-nav got a little confused, we were told by a very typically Irish grandmother to “just go park in the field.” After almost driving up a mountain track we had to go back and ask “which field?” We were surrounded by them! We eventually managed to pitch the tent just as darkness was falling. Next morning we set off following a well worn path along the Hags glen. All along there were cairns to show the way so after a few obligatory photos of Keri Cairns sitting on the cairns in Kerry we got to the scary bit, the Devils ladder. This is a very steep scramble up among boulders and very loose rocks. It is where most accidents happen, not from people falling but from dislodged rocks hitting them. Thankfully we made it up without any mishaps but once again we found ourselves in the clouds. After a brief sandwich at the summit we set off to scramble back down the Devils ladder, it’s actually harder coming down than going up. By the bottom we were able to relax and enjoy the dramatic scenery knowing that we only had a gradual slope to the campsite and no need to pack up and hit the road. Back at the campsite we had a well deserved bottle of fizz and an amazing sense of achievement. Including our accidental extra ascent of Crib Goch we had climbed 20,407ft, two thirds of Mt. Everest (29,029ft). Considering we had done no training and with only one blister between us we were once again in the clouds. Well, cloud nine at least.
Many thanks to everyone that supported us, you can check out the photos at http://goo.gl/photos/mugd
And so, the idea of the IPPL 5/4/3/2/1 peaks was born. An attempt to climb the highest mountain in each country in the British Isles. Snowdon in Wales, Scafell Pike in England, Ben Nevis in Scotland, Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland and Carrauntoohil in the South of Ireland. My idea was that a core of people climbed all of them but that anyone was able to join us for as many as they liked. At the beginning of the year, I had nine friends signed up but, as time ticked on, the excuses started rolling in. A fortnight before the event was due to take place, we were down to four, then two backed out leaving just me and Helen Thirlway, IPPL (UK) Director. Neither of us able to back out!
So, we set off on the24th July to Wales, accompanied by our friend Sarah Knapp who planned to climb just one mountain with us. We set off up Snowdon on a beautiful sunny morning with a constant stream of fellow walkers. I felt relaxed about my ‘tour leader’ duties as I was with close friends and – at that point – the path seemed straightforward. Foolishly, we followed the people in front of us; they had a map so I assumed they knew the way. They did, they were just going up a different mountain! It states clearly in the safety leaflet “REMEMBER-the person in front of you may not be going to the same place or by the same route as you have planned. Don’t follow blindly.” Next thing we knew we were in the clouds scaling Crib Goch, described in the safety leaflet as “a 500 metre knife edge ridge WITH NO ESCAPE ROUTE.” Unfortunately the safety leaflet was in my back pocket and I hadn’t read it yet!
There was actually a lot of camaraderie on Crib Goch and we found ourselves scrambling along with several other groups. On getting to the end of the ridge we were able to consult the map and discovered that there were still two other ridges before we got to the summit of Snowdon. We then decided to come down the mountain and rejoin the path that we should have been on. Eventually we reached the top and got out our IPPL banners. I asked someone to take our photo but the autofocus struggled because the fog was so thick. When we eventually made it back to the car we were exhausted, it had taken us seven hours and we still had a four hour drive to the next peak. It was at this point that we started to regret not having done any training!
Next morning it was onto Scafell Pike in the beautiful Lake District. This felt very different as there were very few people around and we had a map and compass. I’d heard that this was the mountain that most people get lost on. By about half way up we were in the clouds again and somehow we managed to lose the path. This was when I discovered that a map and compass can be useless when you can’t see further than ten feet in front of you! Thankfully we heard voices off to our left and managed to find the trail again. The rest of the way was marked out by piles of rocks known as cairns. We managed this peak in six hours and after a hearty pub dinner we hit the road for the long drive to Scotland.
By one o’clock in the morning, I was starting to feel very sleepy so I stopped at several hotels round the Glasgow area but they were all full. One of the receptionists told me it was because Rod Stewart was playing a big concert that night. He’s definitely not my favourite artist any more! By two o’clock, we made it to Loch Lomond and decided to sleep in the car. After four hours of restless sleep we hit the road again. Not really the best preparation for scaling Ben Nevis, the largest mountain in the UK at 4,409ft. After a very large fried breakfast and lots of coffee we drove through the Scottish highlands with the most dramatic and beautiful views. Ben Nevis is very popular with tourists and so there is a well managed path winding the whole way up. Again, the character of this mountain was completely different to the others. The views are amazing but it’s the scale that stands out. By halfway up you can look back and the people look like ants but if you look up they also look like ants. After a while we were in the clouds again and everything was starting to look very similar. Close to the summit we discovered some snow, given that this was the height of summer it was quite a surprise. On the summit it was blowing a gale and was extremely cold, thankfully there is a survival hut which we were able to squeeze into to get out of the wind and have a quick sandwich. We were also on a high as we had reached the halfway point of the challenge and the biggest mountain was all downhill from here. Unfortunately, we had to race down as we had a ferry to catch over to Ireland. After a hair-raising drive along the Scottish coast we arrived at the ferry port with seven minutes to spare. Thankfully my mum lives ten minutes from the ferry port in Belfast so we got there around four am. Next day, we tackled Slieve Donard in four hours, at 2,795ft, this was our smallest mountain. We were still in the clouds at the summit though. We decided to stay another night in Belfast and have a break from driving for a day. So, well rested, we set off on the long drive through Ireland to County Kerry and our final peak.
Carrauntohil is situated in the beautiful MacGillycuddy’s Reeks mountain range. On finally finding the campsite, our sat-nav got a little confused, we were told by a very typically Irish grandmother to “just go park in the field.” After almost driving up a mountain track we had to go back and ask “which field?” We were surrounded by them! We eventually managed to pitch the tent just as darkness was falling. Next morning we set off following a well worn path along the Hags glen. All along there were cairns to show the way so after a few obligatory photos of Keri Cairns sitting on the cairns in Kerry we got to the scary bit, the Devils ladder. This is a very steep scramble up among boulders and very loose rocks. It is where most accidents happen, not from people falling but from dislodged rocks hitting them. Thankfully we made it up without any mishaps but once again we found ourselves in the clouds. After a brief sandwich at the summit we set off to scramble back down the Devils ladder, it’s actually harder coming down than going up. By the bottom we were able to relax and enjoy the dramatic scenery knowing that we only had a gradual slope to the campsite and no need to pack up and hit the road. Back at the campsite we had a well deserved bottle of fizz and an amazing sense of achievement. Including our accidental extra ascent of Crib Goch we had climbed 20,407ft, two thirds of Mt. Everest (29,029ft). Considering we had done no training and with only one blister between us we were once again in the clouds. Well, cloud nine at least.
Many thanks to everyone that supported us, you can check out the photos at http://goo.gl/photos/mugd
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