A week of ML's in Connemara

A blog to cover the last year???

I am not going to try and fill in the whole year that has passed since I last blogged here, but a few highlights may be of some interest.

Much has changed for Sinead, myself and TORR Mountain Training as a company over the last year.
At the end of Summer 2010, we packed up home and business and moved down to the Cork/Kerry border into the heart of the Pap mountains.
From our new base here in Kerry we have continued to run our business of teaching and guiding, but have also found time to expand into some more interesting areas of the outdoors.
Although we still run the full range of Nationally recoganised leadership qualifications for rock climbing and mountaineering, we have also added number of more interesting and user friendly course and assessments to our services.
The success of the Trail Walking Guide and Day Walking Leader courses that we designed and implemented through 2009/2010, spurred us on to continue to adapt courses that we though you wanted and we were interested in running.

One of the essential factors that have allowed us to successfully expand our course range is our willingness to continue to work on our own personal up-skilling.

For Sinead this has involved pushing her own comfort zones through her own personal mountaineering and exploration of the outdoors. A number of winter trips to the Alps earlier this year, provided the ground work for her expedition to explore an uncharted part of the Greenland icecap. A truly adventurous trip like this provides experience and essential character, that can be paramount in providing true and real training experiences for others (this does not mean that she teaches igloo building on MS1 now!). She has also somewhat returned to the roots that first planted her firmly in the outdoor industry and can now often be found leading sea kayaking trips around the coast Kinsale for H2O Sea Kayaking.

For myself I seem to have found a pleasant new niche in wandering the valleys of Cork and Kerry, exploring nature and poking sticks into bushes to see what happens! I have returned to my studies of Geology and Meteorology and I am again one step closer to being qualified enough to wear tweed cap and cloak, smoke a pipe and balance a monocle with an air of knobbiness. Until that day, I still trudge through the mountains and rock faces of Ireland trying to pass on the passion that has kept my feet moving and my head high for now over 25 years.

There are of course many other changes that have pushed us forward into a new life here in Kerry. We have learnt that changes are good, changes keep you alive, alert and fresh for the unknown. We encompass the unknown through our work and we try and help guide and assist you all to come with us. Above all we will make it interesting and worthwhile.

I should not go without mentioning Shoobs. The most I can say is...he continued to grow!

Looking for a new home?

A true break to Kerry - picnics, swimming, beach combing, house hunting, friends visiting, Tommy Tiernan showing, fish and chips and pints of Guinness! Enough to tire even hardened mountaineers out!

We spent a good deal of time trawling the cost line of the Iveragh peninsula looking at properties for sale. Some of the most dramatic scenes Ireland has to offer. Great slabs of mountainous sandstone sliding down into the depths of the Atlantic, appearing again now and then as steep impressive mythical looking islands. How busy the land here must once have been. The network of walls fielding the land is broken at every convenient spot by the remains of what once have been a family working home.

We were particularly taken by Hogs Head, a jut of land reaching out towards the Schellig Islands surrounded on three sides by the sea. The road that leads out to the tip of this land is only traveled by people with time and thought on their hands. There are a number of houses, but very very few lived in full time. It was here at the very end of the road, through a gate down a long winding lane that Sinead and myself found are dream home. Fortunately we had permission from the owner to go down and look around, unfortunately he seemed to be very happy where he was and had no thoughts of selling it to us for a ridiculously low price. Still we can dream on!

The rock scrambling, bordering and coastering were excellent out here. Even the water looked inviting enough to jump in. Not so much as a swim as a hold your breath, close your eyes, jump, scream and panic splash back to the rock. Still nothing better to clear the head!

After "swimming around" for all 1.24 seconds, it was quite interesting to find we were sharing the local waters with a couple of unsuspecting jelly fish the size of basketballs. Although probably one of the most beautiful creatures you could see and undoubtedly just drifting around going about its business. In that time and place the only thought you have is that it will at any minute jump towards you, cling to your face and suck your insides out through your nostrils. Ahhh...yes, I am sure I could have given Jacque Cousteau a run for his money!

Feeling a bit caged up.

TORR Mountain Training (Sinead, Tim and Shoobs) is heading to Kerry for some personal training over the next week. A much-needed break from the ins and outs of working in the outdoors, is to head into the outdoors with the complete freedom of no agenda. A little walking, a little climbing, a wee bit of scrambling, some full on beach combing, a sea kayaking trip or maybe just a bit of intoxicating sea cliff jumping… who knows? Shoobs has packed up his travel bowl, food and enough poo bags to last a month. See you in a week (or so!)

Summer nearly over now?

With the dry weather still predominating, our last need and hope rests on this evening and Sinead’s thirtieth birthday party BBQ. When out on the hills last Thursday with the TWG students, I realised that it was the first time in weeks and weeks that we had worn full waterproof gear and used a compass in anger. However with their Mountain Skills Assessment fast approaching, the weather will again undoubtedly turn back to memories of the training – wet, windy, cold and pea soup!

Sinead had some good news this week, with word coming in for the go ahead for the next David Coleman TV show and her continuing involvement. Families in the wild will begin filming at the end of the summer and has yet to be decided on the exact location.

Shoobs is to be put forward into his first doggy show this Sunday. The Brockagh center in Laragh will be hosting the International Happy Dog Show (my name, not theirs). If anything we at least hope to come away with the drooliest dog prize!

We had a great Mountain Leader Training week run through the end of April and into the beginning of May. With a great mix of different students over the five days we also had a good variety of mountain tutors brining it all together. Sinead and myself took turns in course directing, while we also employed in the expertise of Darach O Muruchu and Carl Maddox. I am going to leave this blog in the hands of one of the participating students to have the last word on their feedback of the training week –

“Just a quick word to let you know how much I enjoyed ML Week. I enjoyed everything on the course especially the night nav, rope work and the camping. I want to compliment you on a well structured and well delivered course. The format and flexibility of the course was great. All of the Tutors were professional, courteous and fun at the same time, and imparted their knowledge with enthusiasm. During the week, I learned a lot about the Mountains, looking after myself and groups in the mountains, flora and fauna of the mountains and general mountain awareness and appreciation. I also learned a lot about myself during the week, and I also learned a lot about my fellow man. I learned that everyone has something to contribute, and no matter how small or insignificant that contribution may be, it is important, and should be listened to. I learned about the importance of Leadership and also the importance of working together as a team. I could go on about all of the positives I got from the week. I had not one negative thought during the week and feel that I have finished the course a more caring and understanding person. Any way, I’am sure that you get the gist of what I’m saying, and I realised that this is really only the beginning of my training as a Mountain Leader, but I really am looking forward to the journey ahead, the people I am going to meet, the things I am going to learn and also the mistakes I am going to make. I’m sure I will learn from them as well, and I also look forward to passing on what I learn on my journey to other people and hope that they get as much enjoyment from it as I have.”

Me legs are turning pink.

A couple of weeks of sunshine equal a couple of week’s blog free. Just the perfect outdoor weather Ireland has to offer, dry, not too hot and most importantly still too early for the dreaded midge. As we sat outside in the beer garden of Lynam's yesterday evening, fresh off the hill and eyeing up a fine dirty pint of Guinness, the topic of conversation turned to - what we now do with our extra free time in the evening that used to be dedicated to sorting out our soaking wet hill gear! Inevitably, when that first wet day comes back and we are all standing like drowned rats at the bottom of the hill gazing into a pea soup view that welcomes us for the next five hours of trudging aimlessly across squelching bog….we will again remember how good it is to be Irish?

The work schedule for TORR continues to be busy. We finished up the last of our assessments for the Delphi centre in the West and were straight into running SPA training for the K2 outdoor course based in Connemara. With the back to back work leaving Sinead and myself slightly out of kilter with the “real” world, we have organised to get someone in to work for us this weekend while we go off and enjoy ourselves….probably try and clean up the garden….after all, have you witnessed what comes out of a Great Dane?

The TWG course continues to progress and develop. I am still so very impressed that we have managed to hold onto all twenty students after so many months of hard work. They really proved themselves last weekend when they through themselves into assisting the Tinahely Walking Festival, helping make it an enormous success from what I heard on the radio. There is still quite a bit of work to be done on the overall development of the course and the possible subsequent Trail Walking Guide award, however I do feel that on the ongoing learning basis, everyone still continues to benefit greatly. The current focus for all the students is very much the upcoming Mountain Skills Assessments. This will be an important stage in their progress, hopefully presenting them all with a nationally recoganised personal proficiency award.

Fluffy towels and folded toilet paper.

This week new standards were set when I found myself staying at the Delphi Mountain Resort in Connemara for a two day Mountain Skills Assessment. The wow-factor bedroom suite with living room and large balcony sure surprised me on arrival. Not the normal TORR Mountain Skills Assessment accommodation I had become accustomed to. Unfortunately, since I was out plodding through the sodden bogs of Connemara until after midnight and then again up for 7am to correct written papers, the wow-factor never really got a chance to sink in. And so with teased eyes I departed my lap of luxury opportunity, just pausing long enough to breath in the soft scent of my unused fluffy bath towel and admire the neatly folded ends to the toilet rolls. Then it was back to the real world of sleeping in the back of the Bongo and searching out service station toilets not decorated with projectile vomit.
It was however a great assessment with real testing conditions for both students and assessors through some of the worst weather Connemara can offer. It was also really great to see the standard these eight students had been trained up to under the guidance of Carl Maddox. By the end of the two-day assessment, I had no question as to the results of passing all eight candidates comfortably.

It was then back to Wicklow for the next Mountain Skills mock assessment for the TWG students. This week we headed out to the far side of the Wicklow Gap just above Hollywood and took in the locality of Lowban. Clear, warm and dry conditions made this a stark difference to the previous couple of days and left us all with a real spring feeling. This was truly evident in us having our debrief session together outside in the beer garden of the Hollywood Inn.

Sinead has spent the last couple of days in Cork with some of her youth groups, taking in a bit of surfing. They were heading into the capable hands of Jon Hynes and his surf school on Garretstown beach. As she is due back tonight, Shoobs and myself will again be back to normal and not have to survive on takeaways and sleeping in front of the TV.

We have a small SPA training course on this weekend in Dalkey quarry – one day for me and one day for Sinead. Then it’s back down to Connemara again on Sunday night for another Mountain Skills Assessment. Hopefully we will see this weather holding out for a little while yet; maybe this is in fact the summer - take it while you can.

Hang on...I thought it was Spring!

TORR Mountain Training is back to its epic work schedule and pretty much back to back courses. Last weekend we were running both a Mountain Leader and Mountain Skills course, both successfully full and enjoyable. The ML in particular was a pleasure to run surrounded by the warm, sunny Connemara hills and good keen students.

After a previous somewhat over exciting week with the TWG students, this week proved to be far more controlled and comfortable. We were lucky enough to be able to secure the services of Diarmuid Crowley for one of our hill days. As one of the students later said to me, he is the kind of guy you could just drop anywhere in the hills and he could safely sniff his way back to safety. Diarmuid is an experienced Mountain Leader and one of Mountain Irelands latest approved MS training providers. We also had the first of the TWG mock Mountain Skills Assessments. All went well and hopefully all involved came away more at their ease about what lay ahead for the real run.It was also beautiful to be again walking the snowy Wicklow hills in glorious sunshine and plenty of ice. This Winter is quite simply “mad Ted”.

Sinead was then off doing a Single Pitch Award Training rock climbing course with Dave Gaughran and the Irish army. The most impressive part of this particular training course according to Sinead, was the fact that when it came to lunchtime in Dalkey quarry, the students had their lunch delivered to them on site by the military cooks. Hopefully she was not dropping hints to me that TORR Mountain Training should be considering hiring in private catering for every course from here on in!

This weekend we have a Mountain Skills Training part 2 and then straight into a Mountain Skills Assessment over in the Connemara region. With the changing of the clocks this now means staying out on the hill until about 10pm to get in a bit of night navigation. Considering I am usually in bed for 9.30pm, this is always very exciting….life to the extreme!!!!

Probably though the biggest news of the week was booking Shoobs in to the vet to get him done! (sorry, there is no other way I can describe it) If you are unsure as to what I mean by “getting done”, even writing this I have to sit with my legs crossed.

Great Dane on guard!

Getting back home, getting back to the “normal” routine and experiencing the normal Irish weather is truly upon us. Sinead's is just back from running a Mountain Skills Training course in the Cork/Kerry area, while I concentrated on getting the house back in order after our break in. It did cross my mind that maybe I should not brag about my ongoing holidays on my blog, leaving the house obviously home alone. However, on reflection….I really wonder how many potential house thief are sitting down in the evening following my blog?

I was back with the TWG students last week for a half day indoor catch up session and then a trip out to the Devils Glen. Everything seemed to have gone extremely well over the last few weeks, with the students now competent first aider's, leave no tracers and that bit more educated on heritage and communications. A special thanks to Ronan Lenihan for the First Aid training, Aodhnait Carroll for the Leave No Trace and very much Helen Lawless for keeping the whole thing active.

The other big items of news this week was the shaving off of the beard and the end of the RTE Teens in the Wild series. This four week series saw Sinead’s debut in front of the camera and left us trawling the internet seeking cheep one way flights to Hollywood. Unfortunately we were most disappointed to find no airport yet built in West Wicklow and have resigned ourselves to continuing with TORR Mountain Training. Even though…. Wasn't’t she brilliant?

Shoobs of course is also happy to be home to his familiar settings and has returned to his continuing study of cat trauma with no loss of vigor.

Scotland, better than the Alps?

Yes…..another “what a week in Scotland!” For all of you who had lost hope in the future of skiing, winter climbing and snow walking in the UK, the past few days and the outlook for the next few days are summarized as – clear, calm skies – warm sunny days with freezing levels keeping low - mounds of snow and ice in most locations – stable low avalanche predictions. The only down side of the climbing routes at the moment is the massive but stable cornices overhangs, creating heart stopping exits in many areas.

A tame enough week for TORR Mountain Training in Scotland with a nice balance of personal climbing days out, walking Shoobs days and a couple of days instructing clients. Probably the most impressive day out of the week was when Sinead and myself came across a rater unusual sight for the Scottish highlands (no, not the battered Mars bar). It took us by surprise and certainly made us rethink our basic understanding of the flora and fauna of the area…however we are still both convinced that the camel is not native to the UK….and surely it should at least migrate for the winter!

Climbing wise, we spent more time in the Northern Corrie's of the Cairngorm's trying to clock up a few routes for ourselves. Although with all the snow and ice some of the routes are becoming slightly easier in the grade, the search for gear placement has become a nightmare. Many of the cracks for placement are crammed with ice and dusted with rime and snow, creating an unyielding battle to search them out. However after the busy weekend, many of these routes should now be hopefully cleaned out a bit making them a little more inviting.

The weekend for me was spent with a couple of clients doing general winter skills and a bit of climbing. We had a play around in both the Lochaber and Cairngorm area and were generally surprised at how few climbers were out considering the conditions. On reflection however, the ski slopes were jammers and the cornices hanging over routes were huge. Still we found plenty to do and finished off with a good long and atmospheric climbing day yesterday.

Not decided yet about the next week ahead. The ice on the Ben is meant to be insanely beautiful, the ski slopes are long and fluffy, the sun is pouring into the forested valleys….and to top it all of the coffee is strong and the gear shops all have sales. Too bad the MCI Scottish Winter Meet was pulled for this year. Well at least I am keeping dedicate in my own little world!

O yea! and the Bongo also met a friend....

Snow like no snow before.

After a couple of days literally snowed into our cottage it has finally stopped and we are able to move around again. Darach has headed off to do some work on the West coast mountains (Glen Coe / Ben Nevis region), leaving Sinead, Shoobs and myself to explore the local area. We have based ourselves in the Crubenbeg Highland Holiday Cottages near Newtonmore. This gives us good access to a number of regions including the Cairngorm's Mountain National Park, the Mamores and Creag Meagaidh; alone enough to fill a lifetime of exploration. The cottages are beautifully set amongst hills and forest with an abundance of wildlife. They are also, most importantly very dog friendly and are providing lots of play friends for Shoobs.

Yesterday we took a trip over to the West coast Ben Nevis area where Sinead went skiing for the day with Brian, Alison and family. Aonach Mor was looking breathtaking with the sun sparkling on the well covered slopes. This is a sight less seen in Scotland in the last years and was certainly getting taken advantage of by the crowds heading up on the Gondola.

Shoobs and myself headed off for our own sea level adventure and found some good beach combing territory. I thought it was well worth taking a few pictures of the mountains from the beach, it shows the true extent of mountaineering in Scotland. What I mean is, when you start to climb such mountains as Ben Nevis you generally start from sea level (zero meters). There are no high passes or alpine huts to start from, it is pure 1344m of slog.... great fun! For the more adventurous this also means that you can stretch the legs on a fairly level route into the infamous North Face and then climb almost the full height to what ever technical difficulty you care to take on.

The next few days are forecasted to be clear, dry and cold. Hopefully Sinead and myself will get out to do a couple of climbing routes together in the Corrie's of the Cairngorm's. Shoobs will hopefully be happy with some day time TV?

A great mixed start to Scotland so far...!

Sinead's (and Shoobs) are not due over until late tonight, so the last couple of days I have had the "pleasurable" company of Darach to break me back into the Scottish winter mountains. The conditions to date have taken on the stories of what only the older mountaineers were once able to yarn. Constant long term freezing conditions and regular top ups of snow have led to some classic mountaineering endeavors returning to the Scottish hills.

Even though there is still some lacking in places. Some of the infamous ice routes are very thin and dry looking, and some of the greater walls lack the substantial snow pack needed for adventure. However on our trip into the Northern Corrie's of the Cairngorm's yesterday, many routes looked in great condition, if not unfortunately a little battered in places. Glorious blue skies, still air and over night temperatures dropping close to minus twenty degrees Celsius (cold enough to turn the diesel in the Bongo to an icy sludge!), brought a mid week madness to Corrie an t-Sneachda. Although some of the top outs appeared to have extended horribly steep scarp slopes, most of the easier classic routes seemed to have at least one party ascending during the day.
Probably the greatest sight of all, and one I do not think I have seen within the last fifteen years, was the amount of off-piest ski tracks, tracing sweeping curves on almost every conceivable inch of slope.

Also worth mentioning was the spectacular thick layer of surface hoar frost that has built up. Crystallized flakes the size of your thumb nail swept every shaded slope, reaching down to a delicate and fragile depth of a few inches. Beautiful to walk through with the firm well iced layer below and the sun reflected off through all angles.

What a change twenty-four hours can bring! This morning we set off extra early to travel back up into the N. Corrie's and to try a route with a little more Ummff!! (technical climbing term). Parking up at the ski station car park we stepped out into a fresh, gusty snow laden wind. In the true spirit of what the heck, we pushed on regardless and back into the corrie's through a almost perfect whiteout.

An hour of good compass work found us on the lower slopes of our planned route, facing a foot of fresh soft unstable snow. This avalanche hazard, along with the strong gusting winds and zero visibility led us to a "get the feck out of here" decision.

Since retreating off the hill the snow has continued to constantly fall. It will be interesting to see what the next few days bring, most likely drifting unstable avalanche prone wind slab. At least I hope Sinead makes it tonight, then we can concentrate on some olympic snow man building in safety.

Thanks to Darach for the excellent photos. Darach is probably the most dedicated mountain explorer that I know. He dedicates his life and work to sharing this with others through his photos and guiding service. Please let him know that you appreciate his work by texting "I like your photos on Tim's Blog" to +353 (0) 872153758.You can also check out more of what Darach offers on his web site - www.inmyelement.ie

I love the Weather God

With another SPA training course completed I am now feeling like an expert in creating awkward scenarios for rock climbing sessions, or at least I am probably due an oscar for my dedication to role playing! Again we were awarded for our troubles with dry but cold weather. That's five SPA training courses since the beginning of the year... and nearly all dry days! Someone must be saying their prayers before bedtime.

It was a nice break for the TWG students this week. We all packed up our hill walking gear and headed South to the Comeragh mountains for a couple of days.
Stunning scenery, glorious weather and a table full of food made this a memorable trip that I hope will be the first of many. A big thanks to all the students that organised the trip and put so much time and effort into making it work. A special thanks to Santiago and his unyielding dedication to running the course on garlic and salsa.... although a little disappointed that I never got any of the christmas cake?

The end of the week was taken up with piling every bit of winter mountaineering gear we own into the Bongo and starting off on our three week adventure to the Scottish highlands. The weather is looking good, the mountains are said to be frozen solid, starting to feel a little fitter..... indicator wall, here I come?

We will try and keep an update of our trip going here on the blog over the next couple of weeks, and throw up a couple of good photos.

Thanks to Adam for this blog's photos of the Comeragh trip.

Time to grow a beard

The weekend ML2 started with blue sky, sunshine and stillness reflected in the mountain lakes. We took to the hill East of Waterville determined to explore some ground that held the appearance of virgin territories, untouched by man. Ascending dramatic rock formations siding a stunning waterfall we did seem to travel where no man had gone before, at least no man with the aim of practicing ML rope work and eating cheese sandwiches!

The next two days gave rise to winds that forced the overnight camp to a low lakeside sheltered amongst some old ruins. Sinead had taken over at this stage and completed the three-day training course while I headed back to Wicklow. I am often left with thoughts in my head after an ML2 training, thoughts about how suitable and current is the syllabus we follow. We emphasis so much time during training and assessment on camp craft, yet I get the feedback that besides ML trainees, very few mountaineers are traveling out into the Irish winter hills to camp in a remote location. Should we be putting so much time and resources into a skill little appreciated? Are we putting many prospective candidates off going for assessment due to the trials of having to do a two-night expedition under canvas? Or am I just getting old and grumpy too much in need of my creature comforts?

The TWG course this week enjoyed glorious sunshine and excellent cold winter walking conditions. We were concentrating on fine tuning some of our newly learnt Mountain Skills navigation techniques while also taking on the role of leading our groups and presenting information on the local environment. Helen was back in this week to help out with our exploration of the Glenmalure valley and assist the students towards another logged quality day on the hill. It great to see that at least in Wicklow, you can have a fun winter experience and yet again be nine years old!

Last night we had a youth group from Bray out in Dalkey quarry doing a night climb and abseil. This seems to have now become a regular activity for the more adventurous groups. Armed with head torches and nerves of steel its amazing what you can persuade a group of teenager to do to break their normal Friday night routine.

This weekend we are back into another SPA training and will probably be making use of our usual haunts of Dalkey quarry, Bullock harbor and some of the lesser known Wicklow outcrops.

Sinead and myself are so grateful for all the continuous work we have created since the launch of TORR Mountain Training. It has amazed us just how many people are out there looking for training. We are however now looking forward to our upcoming trip to Scotland and a little personal climbing time. Three weeks in the Scottish Winter hills, walking, climbing, skiing, snow holing and of course haggis and whiskey tasting will put manners back on us. One of the founding principles of TORR Mountain Training is that all instructors, tutors and trainers that work with us, including ourselves, must be current, passionate and actively involved in what they teach. I also wanted to make bushy beards a requirement, but Sinead disagreed!

A few surprises

It was an eventful week for TORR Mountain Training, with a few additional happenings that kept us on our toes. Sat/Sun started off fine as we progressed an ML training group up through a sun drenched Gap of Dunloe. The plan was to ascend onto the reeks ridge via the head of the Gap, traverse to the far North end and then night nav down to a welcome pint in Kate Kearney. Probably one of the finest mountain routes that can be undertaken in Ireland, particularly on such a fine day with such a motivated group. Like all good true mountaineering endeavors that pursue adventure, we learn to plan for the unexpected and adapt accordingly. It was however somewhat of a surprise to find myself sitting that evening in the accident and emergency department of Tralee hospital waiting for one of the students to have an x-ray taken of a now rather interestingly angled finger. It is also a credit to the enthusiasm of the ML students, that a number of hours later we were once again up in the hills navigating by moon light determined to carry on with the course.

After the long drive back from the yet again snowy hills of Kerry, it was straight back into another SPA training course in Dalkey quarry for the Western FAS course. Yet again blessed with two relatively dry but cold days, this week we were assisted by Carl Maddox Irelands latest Mountain Instructor Award holder. Sinead was then of to the Burren for 4 days of SPA training with Dave Gaughran and the SW Kerry FAS course. That’s over 30 students we have put through the SPA training so far this year, and its only the beginning of February!

The TWG course this Wednesday was based in Avondale as we were due a visit from FAS to “see how we were all getting on”. Hair was combed, shoes shined and everyone was on best behavior. Thursday however was another matter! With a mass ascent of Lugnaquilla from the Glen of Imaal side, four groups headed off into the rain and mist of Camara hill, maps, compasses and route cards in hand. Seven hours later with the final group safely found wandering a road somewhere between Fenton’s and the M50, we all settled into the required “cup of tea” debrief that is becoming synonymous with Thursday evenings.

So Friday brings an end to another exciting and busy week in the hills and rock faces of Ireland. With a now slightly dazed head (very strong tea in West Wicklow) its back into the Bongo for the long drive back to Kerry for the second part of the Mountain Leader training.

29 January 2010

TORR getting very busy!!!

An extremely busy week for TORR Mountain Training with back to back courses right through until the end of next week. After the Walking Group Leader (WGL) weekend, we were straight into a Single Pitch Award (SPA) training course for the Western FAS course students. Thankfully the weather played ball and gave us two dry days of climbing and rope tricks. It was great to have Robbie Fenlon in to work with us for this course and present his wealth of experience to these future budding rock climbing leaders. As Sinead pointed out, what other mountain training company can claim to fly in a UIAA Guide from Chamonix to help out on an SPA course?

After the SPA we were straight on to a couple of days of Mountain Skills Training with the TWG students. The 20 students were encouraged, persuaded and maybe even at times pushed (a little) through the wet, windy and surprisingly still somewhat snowy Wicklow hills to finalise their personal proficiency hill training. At the end of these two days of trudging and sludging, all seemed surprisingly happy, upbeat and energised as we debriefed over a cup of "tea" in Lynam's of Laragh. Big thanks to Grainne and Yvonne of Wicklow Information Network for all the background work in putting a smile on the face of 20 FAS students. Also a well deserved big thank you to Kieran (gear nerd) Creevy of the Great Outdoors shop Dublin, for his massive input to the course on Wednesday morning through sharing his comprehensive and non bias knowledge on hill gear, equipment and of course....this years fashion.

Tonight's a well deserved break, a bit of blogging, a nice dinner and maybe a late pint. For tomorrow it all kicks off again with the long drive to Kerry for a weekend Mountain Leader Training course. Even though I am feeling a bit tired now and my wet mountain boots are sitting in the corner humming away to themselves, I am really looking forward to getting out on the Kerry hills (sorry Mountains!) for a couple of days mountain leadering.

23 January 2010

TWG course back on track

What an incredible change a few days of weather can bring to the snowy hills of Wicklow. The icy crags and six foot snow drifts are now replaced by large clumps of dirty gritted snow mounds on the sides of the higher pass roads through the higher mountains. We also enter the next stage of travel problems for getting into the hill, what roads are still there after the big thaw, and which were washed away?

This week we started the Mountain Skills training with the TWG students. Sinead, Helen Lawless, Christy Stacey and myself are running this four day course, teaching personal proficiency in hillwalking skills. This course is the firm foundation that all participants will build their future mountaineering endeavors upon.
The students learn to navigate, plan routes, manage their comforts and safety, deal with emergency procedures, all while becoming aware of the uplands environment and learning to Leave No Trace.

The weather we experienced over the first block of this course (MS1) was as mixed as the individual personalities we have on the TWG course. The first day was calm, warm, bright and rather pleasant - the last day wild, windy, wet and very messy. I will let the students decide which day best describes their style themselves.

The weekend coming sees the weather improving (hopefully) as we go into a Walking Group Leader Training (WGLT) course in Wicklow for Failte Ireland.
This will be quite an intense course of pure practical hours on the now completely sodden and ready to burst bogs of Wicklow (great fun).

14 January 2010

Winter Conditions lasting in Wicklow?

Its hard to believe that as mountaineers we would be starting to give out about the snow....or at least the snow conditions. Having now had to cancel almost a week of the TWG course, an ML training weekend and now throwing a cautious worrying look towards next weeks MS training, I am truly hoping it wont go on much longer.

It would be somewhat a bargain if it would turn back to the full on cold, icy winter conditions of the first week, but this soft wet waist high snow gets you no where.

After spending a few hours last week swimming up one of the snow gullies in Glendalough with the TWG course candidates, I was left with a real feeling of thaw. Considering that the most icy part of the day was the Roundwood - Bray road, it is currently just making mountaineering real hard work.

I did however hear of a friend on the same day who had headed up the Wicklow Gap for a spot of skiing. Sounds great.... but then again I have not heard from them since!

Thanks to Dave on the TWG course for the photos.

03 January 2010

Winter Conditions on Corran Tuathail

Having spent the turn of New Year in Cahirciveen on the Iveragh Peninsula of Kerry, we were in the perfect location for the start of the "big freeze" of 2010
(I predict that this year will be remembered)
Lots of traffic on New Years day, so headed of the beaten track and up the South slope of the Hags tooth ridge. Lots of deep, untouched slab snow with a good hard ice crust higher up. However still a bit of time needed before any good climbing conditions form.... but the weather looks like it might just grant that wish. Couple of tents around up there, great to see there is still plenty of madness of spirit in Irish Mountaineering.

Day two, saw Sinead and Aodhnait heading up Collins' gully in some very picturesque settings. Still a bit thin and not truly full winter climbing yet! Unfortunately heading back for work in Wicklow now and will probably not get back to the Reeks for any more snow. Unless this spell is in until Spring!!! Just Maybe!!!

Looking forward to see what Wicklow will have to offer, Snow shoes, skies, ice axes and maybe even "God forbid" our snow holing shovels!!! Also time to test out the Bongo 4 by 4.