Carrauntoohil — Local services in Kenmare Municipal District

"Relax," I said. "It's not K2." "I wouldn't be that cocky if I were you," said my brother Liam.

A few years ago, he and I decided to climb Carrauntoohil, and this was my constant refrain to him in the week leading up to our assault on the mountain.

He'd been ringing me daily with tips and updates. Bring this kind of jacket, pack this kind of food, the weather is predicted to be such-and-such.

"Relax. It's not K2," I repeated.

We arrived at Cronin's Yard on a dull damp day in July. The weather did not bode well for our hopes to see the views from the summit. A bunch of other prospective climbers stood huddled in the drizzle. We were split into smaller groups, climbing parties you might say, and allocated guides.

One of our guides was a fit and nimble retired guard in his early fifties. The other man to lead us to the top was a local with an in-depth knowledge of the terrain and a broad Kerry accent of the Healy-Rae variety.

We set off. I was feeling grand. After a saunter through flat fields we stopped in the Hags Glen at the Patie O'Shea footbridge, named after a community activist. Nearby was another bridge - a memorial to Angela Kenny, a climber who drowned in the area in 1987. My eyes surveyed the mountain. Let's do this.

Next up was a bit of rock-climbing. By rock-climbing, I mean a matter of 15 or 20 feet. It was, as the guides explained, to enable us to get from one level to another more rapidly and thus expedite the overall climb. I soon noticed things getting steeper in a hurry. Intermittent showers did not add to the comfort of the proceedings. It was getting really cold.

The "guard" guide encouraged us to gather some stones as keepsakes. I began to worry if I could carry myself, never mind stones in my pocket. He then offered us a high-strength glucose sweet. I sucked it greedily, praying for an energy boost. Alas, the boost never came.

High up by a mountain pool we stopped for our main food break: fortifying sandwiches washed down with Lucozade and water. This break didn't last long. Next thing I knew, I was standing by a ledge with a drop so steep that instant death was all it offered. The weather was icy, windy, wet. It didn't feel like July. It felt like Mars.

I was exhausted. I had underestimated the whole expedition. What I'd thought would be a relatively pain-free experience was dragging on into the long climb from hell. My fitness level just wasn't up to the challenge. The odd half-hour power walk would not cut the mustard for this sort of thing. Everyone else in my group was far more able.

We were only a matter of minutes from the summit. My brother, who runs regularly and does the Wicklow 200 cycling challenge every year, glided over. He was making the ascent look effortless. I was sitting on a rock, gasping for air and having my back rubbed by the Kerry guide who had grown concerned at my condition. "It's not K2," said Liam, laughing.

Somehow I summoned the strength for an undignified scramble to the top. My final push at Carrauntoohil was on all fours with tears streaming down my face.

I had been right all along. It was not K2. It was something far worse.

©...

Carrauntoohil is an absolutely beautiful hike, even in rainy conditions.  It's also moderately challenging but very doable.

Perhaps the most important note is that if you don't want to mess with the Devil's Ladder on the way up or (more likely) on the way down, you can utilize the zigzag path.  This path will, in theory, provide you with some awesome views if the weather cooperates.

Our hike started out misty, but pleasant.  I did it in a t-shirt until we reached the Devil's Ladder, at which point I used a rain jacket so I wouldn't find myself completely soaked by the time we reached the top as the rain was picking up.

The Devil's Ladder is absolutely manageable.  We used our trekking poles for extra balance at times which countered the wet and slippery rocks sufficiently.  Just be careful and deliberate with your footing.  It's a pace, not a race.  We did not chance it on the way down as it seemed like we'd be asking for injury in those conditions.

The thick clouds/fog, strong wind, and spraying rain were to be with us from that point on as we followed All Trails and the occasional cairn to the summit.

Once you see the final cairn and a cross, you'll know you've reached it.  There's also a much welcomed wind shelter at the top that makes for a good spot to sit down, have a snack, chat with other hikers, and regroup before starting the journey down.

Finding the zigzag path was easy enough using All Trails, just be careful and there's a couple of spots with steeper drops where you have to step over or around some larger rocks.  It's easy enough and only gets easier from there.

Another important note, there's a creek/river crossing you'll do on the way up using some large and well-placed stepping stones, but if it's rainy, some of the stones will have water rushing over them.  Step carefully.  On the way back, it was more intense than the way up, but we made it without issue in both directions.  Just know that the stones may disappear if there's a heavy rain requiring you to find another crossing.

While our upper bodies were dry enough, our waterproof shoes were still soaked and filled with water by the time we finished.  Likely do to the rain, mushy conditions, crossing of creeks, etc.

When you park, there's a 2 Euro fee (cash, not card), but that gets you parking and bathroom/shower access.  There's also a cafe/shop that has normal hours.

Something that surprised me was how unprepared some of the hikers we passed were.  We saw people with no water, no food, no rain gear, no map, and so on.  Granted, it's not a terribly difficult hike, but it seemed rather shortsighted as getting lost up there in the fog is certain possibly.  Getting injured as well.  People have died on this mountain.  There were 408 incidents requiring assistance in 2021 alone.  Please take it seriously and encourage others to do the same.

I drank about 2 liters of water and found trekking poles, a hat, and rain gear to be...

I give 3 stars to this place only to give some info to those who decide to climb Carrauntoohil as we wanted to. If you want to climb the highest mountain of Ireland in july, don't do it. Serioudly, choose another month 😄 July is statistically the most rainy month in Ireland (we didn't know this before). We started from the parking lot near the coffee hut and even though we were prepared for the rain, after 2 hours we were completely wet. The heavy rain and wind were unbearable. Also, since it was raining so much these last days, the water rised very quickly and the path through the river, which you can normally cross, was not possible to cross anymore. The river became very strong and we were afraid to cross it. We tried to go around the lake, but soon realised that it's too dangerous to cross the mountain with the lake under us and tons of super slippery rocks under our feet so we came back. We were disappointed that we couldn't make it even to the Devil's ladder. On our way back we were already so wet and tired, because of the heavy rain and wind, that we weren't even sad about the fact that we did not notice the green bridge which people normally use to cross the river if the water level is too high. Seriously, normally we would feel embarrased by this fact, but we didn't notice this bridge at the beginning of our way 🤦‍♀️ but since the weather was really bad, maybe it was a sign for the three of us to let it go and come back in some other, less rainy month to climb it. So, please, for your own sake, look for the green bridge and use it 😄. Wish you all a nice journey and hope we will climb it one day, because the nature around is truly magnificent and I would normally give it a full 5...