Carrauntoohil
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Carrauntoohil,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carrauntoohill or Carrantuohill (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell;Template:NbspTemplate:Langx {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, meaning "Tuathal's sickle") is the highest mountain in Ireland at Template:Convert. It is on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, close to the centre of Ireland's highest mountain range, MacGillycuddy's Reeks. Carrauntoohil is composed mainly of sandstone, whose glaciation produced distinctive features on the mountain such as the Eagle's Nest corrie and some deep gullies and sharp arêtes in its east and northeastern faces that are popular with rock and winter climbers.
As Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil is popular with mountain walkers, who most commonly ascend via the Devil's Ladder route; however, Carrauntoohil is also climbed as part of longer mountain walking routes in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range, including the Template:Convert Coomloughra Horseshoe or the Template:Convert MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk of the entire mountain range. Carrauntoohil, and most of the range is held in private ownership and is not part of any Irish national park; however, reasonable access is granted to the public for recreational use.
GeologyEdit
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Carrauntoohil is composed of sandstone particles of various sizes which are collectively known as Old Red Sandstone.<ref name="jimr"/> Old Red Sandstone has a purple-reddish colour (stained green in places), and has virtually no fossils; it dates from the Devonian period (410 to 350 million years ago) when Ireland was in a hot equatorial climate.<ref name="jimr"/><ref name="MAS"/> The sedimentary rocks of the Iveragh Peninsula are composed of three layers that are up to Template:Convert thick (in ascending order): Lough Acoose Formation, Chloritic Sandstone Formation, and the Ballinskelligs Sandstone Formation.<ref name="jimr"/>
Carrauntoohil was later subject to significant glaciation during the last ice age, the result of which is deep fracturing of the rock, and the surrounding of Carrauntoohil by U-shaped valleys, sharp arêtes, and deep corries.<ref name="jimr"/>
GeographyEdit
Carrauntoohil is the central peak of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range, and has three major ridges.<ref name="collins">Template:Cite book</ref> A narrow rocky ridge, or arête, to the north, known as the Beenkeragh Ridge, contains the summit of The Bones (Na Cnámha), and leads to Ireland's second-highest peak, Beenkeragh (Binn Chaorach) at Template:Convert. The ridge westward, called the Caher Ridge, also an arête, leads to Ireland's third-highest peak, Caher at Template:Convert. A third and much wider unnamed south-easterly ridge, or spur, leads down to a col where sits the top of the Devil's Ladder (the classic access route for Carrauntoohil from the Hag's Glen), but then rises back up to Cnoc na Toinne Template:Convert, from which the long easterly ridge section of MacGillycuddy's Reeks is accessed.<ref name="jimr">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="dillon">Template:Cite book</ref>
Carrauntoohil overlooks three U-shaped valleys, each of which containing their own lakes. To the east of Carrauntoohil is the Hag's Glen (Template:Langx), to the west is Coomloughra (Template:Langx), and to the south is Curragh More (Template:Langx).<ref name="jimr"/><ref name="dillon"/>
Template:AnchorCarrauntoohil has a deep corrie, known as the Eagle's Nest, at its north-east face,<ref name="jimr"/> which is accessed from the Hag's Glen, and rises up through three levels. At the top, the third level, is Lough Cummeenoughter, Ireland's highest lake.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Eagle's Nest gives views of the gullies on Carrauntoohil's north-east face: Curved Gully, Central Gully, and Brother O'Shea's Gully.<ref name="kmr2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sometimes the term Eagle's Nest is used to refer to the small stone Mountain Rescue Hut that sits on the first level of the corrie, where the Heavenly Gates descent gully meets the Eagle's Nest corrie.<ref name="jimr"/>
Carrauntoohil is the highest mountain in Ireland on all classification scales.<ref name="collins"/><ref name="dobih"/> It is the 133rd-highest mountain, and 4th most prominent mountain, in Britain and Ireland, on the Simms classification.<ref name="dobih">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carrauntoohil is regarded by the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) as one of 34 Furths, which are defined as mountains above Template:Convert in elevation and meeting the SMC criteria for a Munro (i.e. "sufficient separation"), and which are outside (or furth), of Scotland;<ref name=SMC2/> this is why Carrauntoohil is also referred to as one of the thirteen Irish Munros.<ref name=SMC2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Carrauntoohil's larger prominence qualifies it to meet the P600 classification and the Britain and Ireland Marilyn classification.<ref name="dobih"/> Carrauntoohil is the highest mountain in the MountainViews Online Database, 100 Highest Irish Mountains.<ref name="collins"/><ref name="mountain">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
SummitEdit
In the 1950s, a wooden cross was erected on the summit, a privately owned commonage, by the local community.<ref name="examiner dec 2014"/> In 1976, the wooden cross was replaced by a Template:Convert steel cross. In 2014, the cross was cut down by unknown persons,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> who filmed the felling and said it was in protest against the Catholic Church.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was re-erected shortly after.<ref name="examiner dec 2014">Template:Cite news</ref>
Because of the dangers of the steep north-eastern and eastern faces of Carrauntoohil, the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT) have placed danger signs on the summit, and particularly above the Howling Ridge sector (the ridge between the north-east and east faces), whose initial section can be mistaken for a hill-walkers descent route.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
NamingEdit
Carrauntoohil is the most common and official spelling of the name, being the only version in use by Ordnance Survey Ireland,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the Placenames Database of Ireland,<ref name="pdi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and by Irish academic Paul Tempan, compiler of the Irish Hill and Mountain Names database (2010).<ref name="peak">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carrauntoohill has also been used in the past, for example by Irish historian Patrick Weston Joyce in 1870.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=PWJ>Template:Cite book</ref> Other less common spelling variations have included Carrantoohil, Carrantouhil, Carrauntouhil and Carrantuohill; all of which are anglicisations of the same Irish-language name.<ref name=PWJ/>
Paul Tempan's Irish Hill and Mountain Names notes that Carrauntoohil's Irish name "is shrouded in uncertainty", and that "Unlike some lesser peaks, such as Mangerton or Croagh Patrick, it is not mentioned in any surviving early Irish texts".<ref name="peak"/> The official Irish name is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which Tempan notes is interpreted as "Tuathal's sickle", Tuathal being a male first name.<ref name="peak"/> Patrick Weston Joyce previously interpreted it as "inverted sickle",<ref name="peak"/> translating from the Irish language term {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} meaning left-handed but according to PWJ, "is applied to everything reversed from its proper direction".<ref name=PWJ/> From yet another perspective, one of the earliest written accounts of the mountain by Isaac Weld in 1812, calls it Gheraun-Tuel,<ref name="peak"/> and Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) calls it Garran Tual;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> suggesting the first element was {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('fang')—which is found in the names of other Kerry mountains—and that the earlier name may have been {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('Tuathal's fang').<ref name="peak"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
OwnershipEdit
The climber and author Jim Ryan noted in his 2006 book Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks that the actual mountain of Carrauntoohil, including most of the Hag's Glen, is in private ownership.<ref name="jimr"/> The freehold is owned by four families: Donal Doona, John O'Shea, John B. Doona, and James Sullivan. Their great-grandfathers bought the land from the Irish Land Commission, "paying the sum of eleven shillings and two pence (€0.70 in today's money), twice a year for many decades".<ref name="jimr"/> Ryan's book commended the owners for providing access over the years,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> despite damage to their farms.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A state-sponsored report into access for the range in December 2013 titled MacGillycuddy Reeks Mountain Access Development Assessment (also called the Mountain Access Project, or MAP), mapped the complex network of land titles.<ref name="MAS"/> Unlike many other national mountain ranges, MacGillycuddy's Reeks are not part of a national park or a trust structure, and are instead completely privately owned.<ref name="MAS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The ownership situation has raised concerns in light of the material rise in visitors to Carrauntoohil (and the range in general), and the erosion and lack of infrastructure that other state-owned sites have been able to address.<ref name=IE5>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2019 the Irish Times reported that the MacGillycuddy Reeks Mountain Access Forum, a cross-body group of landowners, commercial users and public access and walking groups set up in 2014 with the aim of "protecting, managing and sustainably developing the MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountain range, while halting and reversing the obvious and worsening path erosion", had achieved some success laying down new pathways in the Hag's Glen approach to Carrauntoohil; however, the Irish Times still wondered, "Should the Kerry reeks be a national park?"<ref name=IT5>Template:Cite news</ref>
RecreationEdit
VisitorsEdit
Separate statistics do not exist for visitors or ascensions of the stand-alone peak of Carrauntoohil; however, it was recorded that over 125,000 accessed the range in 2017, and 140,000 accessed the range in 2018, the majority of which are related to Carrauntoohil.<ref name=IE5/><ref name=IT5/> The attraction of the mountain has led to many accidents and fatalities over the years, and by the 50th anniversary of the KMRT in 2017, they recorded having attended more than 40 fatalities in the range, noting that many were "in the immediate Carrauntoohil area".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Accidents on the mountain have been attributed to bad weather, late departures combined with darkness on the way down and falling rocks in eroded areas.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Mountain walkingEdit
Template:AnchorTemplate:AnchorThe straightforward route is via the Devil's Ladder,Template:Efn which starts at Cronin's Yard (Template:Gbm4ibx) in the north-east, moves into the Hag's Glen, continues along between Lough Gouragh and Lough Calee, until the Devil's Ladder, a worn path from the glen to the col between Carrauntoohil and Cnoc na Toinne Template:Convert is visible.<ref name="jimr"/> No special climbing equipment is needed, but caution is advised as the Devil's Ladder has become unstable with overuse; alternatives to the ladder include the Bothar na Gige Zig Zag track (the north-east spur of Cnoc na Toinne Template:Cvt).<ref name="jimr"/><ref name=IT5/> The full route back to Cronin's Yard is Template:Convert and takes 4–5 hours.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="kmr">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Other popular, but more serious, routes to Carrauntoohil from the Hag's Glen are via the Hag's Tooth Ridge up to Beenkeragh, and then across the Beenkeragh Ridge to Carrauntoohil; or via the Eagle's Nest route to Lough Cummeenoughter, Ireland's highest lake, and up to the summit via Brother O'Shea's Gully or Curved Gully.<ref name="jimr"/><ref name="kmr2"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Template:AnchorInstead of descending via the Devil's Ladder, some climbers use a route known as the Heavenly Gates, which starts above the col of the Devil's Ladder but takes a small stone path that cuts across the east-face of Carrauntoohil, through a narrow gap, known as the Heavenly Gates (see photo), and then heads diagonally down a deep gully to the base of the first level of the Eagle's Nest corrie, where the Mountain Rescue Hut is situated.<ref name="jimr"/> This route, however, is hazardous, difficult to find as it is not marked, and particularly dangerous in poor visibility; it has been the source of several serious accidents on Carrauntoohil.<ref name="jimr"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:AnchorA strenuous undertaking is the Template:Convert Coomloughra Horseshoe, which takes 6–8 hours and is described as "one of Ireland's classic ridge walks".<ref name="kmr"/><ref name=JOD>Template:Cite news</ref> It starts from the north-west up the Hydro-Track (Template:Gbm4ibx), and is usually done clockwise, first climbing Skregmore Template:Convert, and then to Beenkeragh Template:Convert, across the famous Beenkeragh Ridge, at the centre of which is The Bones Template:Convert, and on to the summit of Carrauntoohil itself. The horseshoe is completed by continuing to Caher Template:Convert, Caher West Top Template:Convert, and descending to the starting point.<ref name="kmr"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carrauntoohil is also climbed as part of the full MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk, a 12- to 14-hour, Template:Convert traverse of the entire Reeks range.<ref name="jimr"/>
Rock and winter climbingEdit
_in_Carrauntoohil_in_winter.jpg){kind=link}
Template:AnchorAlthough the Reeks are not particularly known for their advanced rock climbing (e.g. unlike Ailladie in Clare, or Fair Head in Antrim), the east face of Carrauntoohil, looking into the Hag's Glen, and the north-east face, looking into Brothers O'Shea's Gully, have a number of multi-pitch, mixed route, rock climbing routes.<ref name=DF/> The most well-known is the Template:Convert Howling Ridge (climbing grade Very Difficult, or V-Diff), which starts at the base of the gap of Heavenly Gates, and takes the arête between Carrauntoohil's east and north-east faces.<ref name=DF>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
These same east and north-east faces are also used for winter climbing, conditions permitting, and seven routes of climbing grade V are marked amongst almost eighty routes in total.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- List of highest points of European countries
- List of P600 mountains in the British Isles
- List of tallest structures in Ireland
- Lists of long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland
BibliographyEdit
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website, Carrauntoohil
- The Database of British and Irish Hills , the largest database of British Isles mountains ("DoBIH")
- Hill Bagging UK & Ireland, the searchable interface for the DoBIH
Template:P600 mountains in Britain and Ireland Template:Irish provinces highest mountains Template:Mountains and hills of Munster Template:Highest points of Europe