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Winter delight for Inishowen
climbers
19.01.10
by Linda McGrory
A GROUP of Inishowen climbers got to ditch their
usual visit to foreign winter snows recently when
the big freeze brought perfect Alpine conditions to
Co Donegal
Columba McLaughlin from Carndonagh and Alan Tees
from Culdaff said it was "surreal" to experience
real winter mountaineering in their home county. |
Columba and Alan joined
their team-mates from the Colmcille Climbers Club
for the dream expedition when sub-zero temperatures
brought once-in-a-lifetime conditions to Donegal's
highest peak, Mount Errigal, in early January.
"Donegal generally has very mild weather and for a
climbing club, there is little hope of ever
experiencing true winter mountaineering," explained
Columba.
"Usually the members of the Colmcille Climbers Club
have to travel to Scotland, the Alps or Norway to
experience winter mountaineering but the recent cold
snap that hit the whole of Ireland provided us with
a golden opportunity to experience these conditions
in our own hills."
Columba and Alan, who is president of the
Mountaineering Council of Ireland, started their
trip by setting off for |
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Dunlewey and booking
into the local youth hostel. There, they met up with
fellow club members Marty McGuigan, Valli Schafer
and Emmett Johnston.
Columba explained: "In the morning, Errigal and all
the surrounding hills were covered in frozen snow
and ice conditions. The hills surrounding the
Poisoned Glen looked immaculate.
"This could have been anywhere in the world and it
seemed somewhat surreal that it was at home in
Donegal." |
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The local climbers made
the most of the unprecedented conditions and scaled
Errigal's North Face via a number of different
routes.
"Over a period of two weeks, all of Errigal’s main
ridges and gullies on the steep North Face were
climbed. However, the hills of the Poisoned Glen and
Maumlack provided a lot of sport and we found great
conditions in all areas.
"We climbed deep gullies and frozen waterfalls.
Overall, it was a great experience for local
climbers who usually have to travel to foreign
countries to experience similar conditions," added
the Carndonagh climber. For more exploits from the
Colmcille Climbers Club visit
www.colmcilleclimbers.com . |
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