Autumn Gathering 2016

Hosted by Laune Mountaineering Club

Friday October 14th – Sunday October 16th

Supported by Kerry County Council

Laune Mountaineering Club

The formation of the club in 1966 coincided with the foundation of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team. For some 25 years the Team and the Club were almost synonymous. Members did valiant service on rescues and searches, in training and fundraising. The commitment got tangible expression in the construction in Killorglin of the first purpose-built mountain rescue station in the country.

If only to be good Mountain Rescue Team members, familiarity with the hills in the southwest was essential and weekly climbs and walks saw to that. The enjoyment meant that other areas had to be explored and Easter Camps regularly took members to Connemara, the Comeraghs, the Galtees and Beara. A motoring trip to Austria was organised very early on. Club members were among the first batch of qualified Mountain Leaders in and there was a strong commitment to mountaineering nationally, providing the founding chairman of the FMCI, later MCI, now .

Members helped with adventure training and were active in the early development of orienteering in the country. A visit to Tollymore, Northern Ireland, led to the conception of what now is the Cappanalea Outdoor Education Centre. The Club put up the deposit for the 55-acre site on which the Centre stands. Organising a number of National Adventure Meets promoted the Cappanalea project and introduced sports people from all over Ireland to the area and to one another’s activities – canoeing, orienteering, hillwalking, rock climbing, surfing, etc. The annual MacGillycuddy Reeks Climb, organised with the other Kerry clubs allowed walkers from throughout the country to sample high ridge climbing in controlled conditions, something that was needed before clubs acquired trained and experienced leaders.

Autumn Gathering 2016

We will be using the CMYS Centre in Killorglin town centre as our base for the entire weekend. The Centre provides meeting room space as well as a large hall for the Saturday night dinner and entertainment. There is also a car park behind the Centre which will act as a pick up and drop off point before and after walks on Saturday.

As always, we work very closely with the host club, Laune Mountaineering Club, to create an event which showcases the local area from a walking and climbing perspective as well as supports the local economy. Killorglin is ideally situated close to both the mountains, the Kerry Way walking trail and also the coast which provides wide ranging and challenging walking routes to suit all abilities.

As always, Saturday is the main day of activities during the weekend with walking, climbing and various workshops available to choose from. We limit numbers on most of our activities so please make your selection at the time of booking online. Following the schedule from the Spring Gathering this year, the member’s forum and an EGM will take place in the CYMS Centre from 18.30 on Saturday evening. We will go straight into dinner and entertainment at 20.00.

Local musicians Finbarr, Dara and Brendan will be playing after dinner in the CYMS Centre so keep some energy for a bit of a dance on Saturday night!

Sunday morning will again see a range of 3 hour workshops some of which have an additional cost associated with them. Again, please book your choice of workshop online as places are limited. Cappanalea Outdoor Education and Training Centre will be running several outdoor workshops for us and transport will be available for them from the public car park next to the CYMS Centre.

Accommodation:

There are plenty of accommodation options in Killorglin itself including B&B, hotels and self- catering cottages. Please click here for more details on accommodation in the town.

Cappanalea Outdoor Centre is also offering ensuite accommodation at discounted rates starting from €30 per person for the weekend. Cappanalea is approximately a 15 minute drive from Killorglin. Transport will be provided on Saturday evening from the centre to Killorglin. Please contact Cappanalea directly (066 9769244) for more information and to make a booking.

See below map of central Killorglin

The Kerry Mountains

Kerry is a favourite winter and summer hiking destination for Irish walkers. Boasting several diverse mountain ranges, walks for this year’s Autumn Gathering will include the MacGillycuddy Reeks as well as walks around the Rossbeigh and Glenbeigh area. With short transfer times, we have included two longer challenging walks and one moderate walk taking in peaks such as , Caher, Beenkeeragh, Tomies and . There are also three moderate to easy walks exploring part of the Kerry Way and the hills above Rossbeigh beach and Seefin – definitely something for everyone and weather permitting, stunning views along all routes.

Programme of Events:

Friday October 14th

Why not start the weekend with a short circuit of Drung Hill with members of the Laune Mountaineering Club. There is no need for advance booking – please meet your walk leaders in the entrance to the CYMS hall just before 2.30pm. You may be asked to car pool.

19.00 – Meet at The CYMS Centre, for registration.

20.00 – 50 Years a-Climbing, 50 years a-Changing – Sean O Suilleabhan

Sean is a member of Laune Mountaineering Club and has been climbing (and guiding) for 60 years. He has enjoyed wide interests: mountain leadership cert; guidebook author; mountain rescue service; initiation of the Kerry Way walking trail; outdoor education; founder chairman of the Federation of Mountaineering Clubs of Ireland (FMCI, now Mountaineering Ireland).

Saturday October 15th

Variety of walks, climbs and workshops departing from the car park behind the CYMS Centre. We have given an indication of the level of difficulty of each walk below, however, please read the description and look at the route map to choose one which is most appropriate for you. Please remember that, as with any upland area, the weather in Kerry can change very quickly. Please ensure you have full waterproofs, a hat and spare gloves and of course a packed lunch! We would recommend wearing hiking boots with good ankle support even for the easier walks.

Choose from: Click on the title of each walk to get the corresponding map. Please refer to OSi Sheet 78.

Walk 1. Carrauntoohil via Caher (Challenging) 08.00 A challenging approach to Carrauntoohil taking in the magnificent Caher Mountain. Walk starts and finishes at Breanlee.

Distance: 11.6 km. Walking Time: 7 hours. Height gain: 1039m

Walk 2. Coomloughra Horseshoe (Challenging) 08.00 Arguably the best mountain ridge walk in Ireland! This classic loop walk starting and finishing at Breanlee takes in Beenkeragh, crossing the narrow ridge to Carrauntoohil and descending via Caher.

Distance: 12 km. Walking Time: 8 hours. Height Gain: 1039m

Walk 3. Purple Mountain and Tomies (moderate) 09.00 Starting and finishing at Kate Kearney’s cottage, this walk takes in the two peaks dominating the eastern side of the Gap of Dunloe

Distance: 14.8km. Walking Time: 5 hours. Height Gain: 930m

Walk 4 Seefin (moderate) 10.00 An out and back walk starting and finishing in Glenbeigh. Initially following part of the Kerry Way, the route then moves on to minor tracks and open mountain.

Distance: approx. 10km. Walking Time: 3 hours. Height Gain: 350m

Walk 5. Rossbeigh Hill (easy/moderate) 10.00 The walk starts and finishes at Rossbeigh Beach and loops over Rossbeigh Hill giving stunning views of the surrounding countryside and sea across Dingle Bay to Inch Beach and the Dingle Peninsula.

Distance: 10km. Walking Time: 4.5 hours. Height Gain: 274m

Walk 6. Kerry Way (easy) 09.00 A walk along old highway and butter road through the ancient Kingdom of Drung with superb views over Dingle Bay and out to the Atlantic. This walk starts at Cahernaman, Kells and finishes at Fara, Glenbeigh

Distance: 13km. Walking Time: 4-5 hours. Height Gain: 300m

09.30 Environmental Officers’ Workshop The Environmental Workshop will be looking at path erosion in the Reeks and the work of the Reeks Forum in training local landowners to maintain upland paths. We will start with an indoor session in the CYMS Centre providing an update on Mountaineering Ireland’s work in the area of Access and Conservation and then an introduction to the Reeks Forum from Patricia Deane, Rural Recreation Officer for Kerry. Most of the day will be spent walking and talking in the Hag’s Glen with Patricia, looking at the work that has been done, hopefully meeting a couple of the farmers that have been involved and discussing the main repair works proposed for the next few years.

09.00 Rock Climbing There will be the option to climb independently in the area. Please bring your own equipment.

Mountaineering Ireland EGM and Member’s Forum

Mountaineering Ireland will be holding a short EGM on Saturday evening to review our Memorandum of Articles and make some administrative updates. The member’s forum is open to all MI members whether you are attending the whole weekend of activities or not. This is an open forum led by the Chairperson and CEO of Mountaineering Ireland. It is an opportunity to air any concerns or queries with the Board, staff and other members either individually or on behalf of your member club. It can also be used as an information sharing facility. Topics discussed are generally of interest to all individuals and clubs so we would encourage as many of those attending the Autumn Gathering as possible to come to the member’s forum and feedback to your member club afterwards.

17.30 Meeting of Honorary and Individual members, if required

18.30 Mountaineering Ireland EGM – CYMS Centre, Killorglin (upstairs)

19.00 Mountaineering Member’s Forum – CYMS Centre, Killorglin (upstairs)

20.00 Dinner at the CYMS Centre (main hall downstairs) followed by after dinner entertainment from local musicians Finbarr, Dara and Brendan.

Sunday October 16th

There will be a variety of workshops available from 10:00 to 13:00 (except Yoga which is a shorter workshop) on Sunday morning. Some workshops will take place at Cappanalea Outdoor Centre and will incur an additional fee which can be paid as part of the online booking facility (click on ‘additional items’). Numbers are limited on the workshops so please remember to make your choice at the time of booking online to avoid disappointment. Transport will be provided to and from Cappanalea.

1. Navigation Refresher (Cappanalea Outdoor Education and Training Centre) A perfect opportunity to brush up on navigational skills including map reading, feature recognition and using a compass

Cost: €22.00 per person (min. 8 participants)

2. Yoga (Cappanalea Outdoor Education and Training Centre) Stretch out the body after the exertions of the walks on Saturday and the dancing on Saturday evening! Please note transport is not included and car-pooling to and from Cappanalea will be necessary. This workshop will last approximately 60 – 75 mins.

Cost: €15.00 per person (min. 10 participants)

3. Intro to Scrambling (Cappanalea Outdoor Education and Training Centre) Expand your walking terrain by learning the basics of scrambling.

Cost: €25.00 per person (min. 4 participants)

4. Club Development Workshop – CYMS Centre, Killorglin

This workshop is free and open to all club members and will look at a variety of current topics which affect all clubs. The Club Development Workshop is an opportunity for clubs to bring up queries from their own experiences and get feedback from other clubs present and/or members of Mountaineering Ireland staff. Topics covered in the last workshop included insurance, safeguarding and membership management. We encourage as many club committee representatives to attend as possible.

In addition, there will be a short presentation from Get Ireland Walking (GIW), a Sport Ireland initiative, partnered by Mountaineering Ireland and several other stakeholders such as The Irish Heart Foundation and the HSE. GIW aims to maximise the number of people participating in walking in Ireland, for health, well-being and fitness. We are creating a pathway for GIW walkers to progress on to become Mountaineering Ireland members and hope MI clubs will forge links with local walking groups.

If there is a particular area you would like to discuss or get information on please send an email to [email protected] beforehand so we can prepare the necessary material.

5. Environmental Walk – Insights into understanding a sandstone mountain environment Led by a National Parks Education Centre field study instructor, this hands-on walk will start and finish at Cappanalea Outdoor Education and Training Centre and will look at the varied natural habitat in the area.

Cost: €22.00 (min. 10 participants)

As always, there is the option to walk or climb independently on Sunday morning.

13.00 Gathering Ends