Report from Ronan Duddy

A little summary of the year.

Early March

Skiing in Austria for a week with Fiona, and brother (plus partner) and my friend. Sant Anton was the venue. I had not skied before and it was utterly brutal. Snow plow turns felt like turning a container ship. Fell a lot, surprised I didn’t break anything. Fiona had skied before and did great. By the end of the week I was getting the hang of parallel turns.

Early May

Climbfest at Malin Beg. Fiona didn’t climb as in the first trimester. I climbed a lot with George, did some great climbs (thanks George!). Seconded one of Warren Poots’ E2s with a Welsh climber .

Mid May

Climbed at Lower cove.

Spent the weekend at Fairhead camping and climbing. Finally succeeded on a popular multipitch route a friend and I had bailed on spectacularly last year (slight epic on that occasion where we left the house at about 8am and got home at 3am). This time the route went smoothly. The following day I did more climbing with George. Post on weekend: Weekend-at-fairhead

Went climbing at Dalkey sometime before the ban during the year too… can’t remember when.

Late May, Early June

Fairhead meet. Talk by Hazel Findley. George and I paired up for more climbing (in the rain!). David peddling CCC guidebooks. Post on CCC website: Fairhead-meet-may-2025

Fiona and Ronan Small Crag Fairhead 

Mid July

MI meet in Chamonix. Our first time. Stayed for a week. Did some walks, climbed with Marcin and watched the climbing world cup. Fairly relaxed time given pregnancy. Chamonix/alps seem family friendly which is good to know.

End of Aug

Climbed at Fairhead. Took the furthest fall I’ve ever taken in my life, inches away from the top of Thunderhips at the Prow. Was starting to feel like a caged animal towards the top and didn’t have big enough cams for the final part. Left heel and back still a little sore.

Ronan on Midnight Cruiser Prow Fairhead 

End of Nov

Baby is due. All’s going well thankfully.

A report by Philip  Mannus

It has been a very busy year. I passed my Winter ML on 5/2/25. I spent two weeks in Aviemore Area doing some grade 1 routes and practising for the assessment. I also passed my Climbing wall development Instructor qualification in May of this year.

 I soloed Marmolada at 3,343metres, the highest mountain in the Dolomites by its Via ferrata. It was challenging because a lot of the Via Ferrata wires were frozen and buried in snow and ice meaning that I had to solo climb over patches without any safety crossing some major drop offs. I climbed the mountain on both the ascent and descent via the VF. The return route took 11hrs. This was following 10 days attempting to climb Mont Blanc via the Grand Mullet arete onto the Dome. We had to turn back at 4,100metres due to a storm.  As a result of the weather we travelled to Orpierre and climbed there for 2 days on multi pitch bolted routes.

View of The Mont Blanc Du Tacul from the Cosmiques Hut. The conditions were not in for an ascent and the avalanche in the pic was a further indication that conditions were not in. The guides in the refuge also advised against it.

The walk to the Cosmiques hut from the Aiguille du Midi was interesting as the climb down the arete out of the tunnel was sketchy at best. Much easier coming up than going down.

I returned to Mont Blanc with Séan Convery in September. We took the standard route but there was nothing standard about it. Heavy snow made it pretty tough going, a real slog in 30cm of fresh snow. At one point we were lucky not to have been near an avalanche just up from the Goutier. 

Top of Mont Blanc

Séan was fighting a very bad flu, otherwise he would have left me in his trail. Thankfully we made it to the top!  The peak was a nightmare, very dicey around the summit, with some guides giving it a miss and staying at the Tete Rousse hut. 

Pics of the May/June attempt to climb Mont Blanc from the Grand Mullet Hut. Crossing the series of crevasses and coming down from the hut.

We spent the previous two days looking at Mont Blanc du Tacul from the Cosmiques hut, but the conditions weren’t in and we just went to the hut from the Aiguille du Midi.  At least it got us acclimatized.   While on the Mont Blanc trip with Séan we also did some local sport climbing and a via ferrata.

During the summer, Sean and I also set up a few new routes in Donegal, one named after my twin brother, who passed away 5yrs ago and it was called “A nod to Davey”.

Had a three-day trip in Glencoe where I guided a very nervous fellow climbing member around the CWD arete, Buachaille Etive Beag and Ben Stava. Fantastic views except for Ben Strava which was covered in mist.

Oh yes, and I am off to climb Aconcagua in Mendoza in Jan.

A report by Helen Harris

• Elevation: 5,137 m
• Duration: 10 days
• Route: Southern Route from Doğubayazıt
• Camps: Camp 1 (3,200 m) and Camp 2 (4,200 m)

The Mount Ararat expedition began with an acclimatisation climb on Mount Arto (3,560 m) near Lake Van — a windswept volcanic ridge.

Mount Arat

The team, which also  included Colmciller Jackie Wade, then travelled east to Doğubayazıt, the frontier town beneath Ararat’s immense snow dome and drove up rough tracks to the trailhead and began the ascent to Camp 1 (3,200 m). 

Camp 1

To prepare for the summit push, the team made a rotation from Camp 1 to Camp 2 (4,200 m), carrying light loads and spent a few hours there to acclimatise, taking in the sweeping views over Armenia and Iran before descending back to Camp 1 for the night.

Summit Day

Three of the team left Camp 2 in darkness with headlamps and crampons donned

The final 1,000 metres to the top were a slow, rhythmic grind in the thin air. By around 8:00 a.m the summit of Mount Ararat (5,137 m) was reached under clear skies. The view was extraordinary: the white cone of Süphan Dağı to the west, the peaks of Iran to the east, and far below, the green patchwork of the Aras Valley.

After taking photos and a few quiet moments on the summit, the long descent back to the trailhead began. Unfortunately, the descent on rotation between camp two and camp one  brought an unexpected and serious challenge. I sustained a fall on loose scree, suffering a fractured tibia and fibula with ankle dislocation.

Descent by Horse

With no official mountain rescue service on Ararat, our guide acted quickly. After stabilising the injury a horse was brought up from the lower slopes, allowing for a difficult  evacuation to the roadhead. From there, I was transported to Doğubayazıt Hospital for emergency treatment and surgery 

Mount Ararat gave us everything a great expedition should: beauty, challenge, and humility. Yet the accident was a sobering reminder of how quickly things can change in remote, high-altitude environments

Report by Paddy O’Brien

The Belmullet peninsula was the venue for this meet with Scotchport bay as the base. This bay on the NW side of the peninsula makes a great base, quiet, level parking, some camping space and a calm sheltered bay for swimming with ever changing views.

The crags are 1km north at Dún na mBó and are reached by just 10 to 15min pleasant walk from the upper car park. If you have an eeeeeebike you still have to walk, unless you can persuade someone to carry you! The days were warm and sunny which energised everyone into tackling the crags. Six new crags were opened up, some existing routes and a total of 19 new routes were climbed, ranging in grade from V Diff to HVS and 10m to 30m in length on good rock.

Valli produced her ever reliable wood burner and a very pleasant, mild, midge free evening was had. There was no music or song but who needs Alan or Frank when you have DW after one or two glasses of red!

This area has plenty to offer and there is lots more potential, it’s well worth a visit.

Thanks to everyone who came along and for making it a memorable weekend.

Report: By Nigel Miiler

While on a downhill skiing trip in Leogang, Austria, in February 2025,  I introduced the guys to ski mountaineering.  Once everyone was fitted out with the correct equipment (Helen Fairbairn swapping her snowboard for two planks) we headed to the starting point which conveniently followed a groomed piste for a short distance.  Once Anthony had his skins attached to the skis he immediately did his usual and took off straight across a groomed piste on the brow of a hill.  The team, which also included PJ and  Valli, skinned up a total of 700m through forest tracks where our resident downhill ski instructor became detached from her skis and face planted on the snow. 

A pleasant lunch was had at the top followed by a bit more skinning and then we transitioned to downhill mode and made our way back without incident despite some initial difficulties adjusting to lighter skis and less stiff boots.  A great day was sadly tinged as we thought of Margaret who was very keen to join us, lying in hospital.

Hi Sir! Came up on my phone.  (Must be Finbarr, maybe Sean?)  Further investigation revealed the rest of the message. Hi Sir Julley Anal.  Julley means welcome in Ladakhi, so “Welcome arsehole”.  One has to presume that predictive text was responsible for anal rather than Alan, and so I did, and Paddy and I were royally welcomed by the lovely Anu to the El Castello Hotel Leh.  The manager was Arnab, a long time friend of Raja’s. Raja was tied up for some days with training 11 Lady Indian army officers in the mountains about 2 hours away.  Sounds great, I know, but Raja was less than impressed.

In the meantime we had Ashish, who introduced us to our local guide, the rather serious Ang-Mo.  She would be our town, and acclimatization, guide for the next few days along the Sham valley.  Paddy was having some problems sleeping from almost day 1, when he would doze off, he woke immediately, gasping for breath.  It didn’t happen all the time,  but was very debilitating for him. After a couple of cloudy, occasionally wet days, in Leh, the weather cleared for our 3 day hike through the Sham valley.  We used homestays, shared with assorted Israeli Hikers, and all went to plan.

On return to Leh, we would move to Lhato, but as Paddy’s breathing was still a cause for concern, he would stop at the hospital in Leh, and get it checked out.  The service was quick and efficient at this dedicated tourist clinic, His oxygen saturation was excellent, no fluid in the lungs, so he was good to go.  This was short lived, as he had a bad night at the Lhato homestay 4000m, so the newly arrived (and much stressed Raja) decided to get oxygen sent from Leh. We had a 400m  ascent up the lower Staryuk under our belt, so we headed up to BC.   Raja, who was waiting for delivery of the oxygen, would follow.

It was probably the worst 800m of ascent, up endless, featureless, stoney hillsides, I have ever done, and Paddy and I were totally wasted by the time we got there.  Even our guide Ashish, was sick on the way up.  The horses had passed us, en route, and Lakpa was busy erecting the tents when we arrived.  I recovered quickly, but Paddy did not, and it became clear that he was in a pretty bad way, declaring the if the Oxygen did not arrive before nightfall, he doubted that he would survive.  The oxygen had been delayed, and Raja was unaware of the urgency of the situation, as there was no phone coverage at BC, (and Raja’s phone had disappeared down a crevasse while working with the army group).   Cometh the hour, ……….(6.00PM).the heroic Lakpa abandoned his saucepans and volunteered to run down in the gathering darkness, collect the cylinder and apparatus, and bring it back up.  He got back just before midnight with Rivu, and Paddy got 6 hours of oxygen to get him through the night.

He descended in the morning, meeting Raja on the way up.  Raja persuaded Paddy to go back to the hospital in Leh for further tests, which he did.

Back at base camp, we (Rivu, Ashish, Lakpa and self) started to carry loads to Advance BC, an idyllic spot 1.5-2 hours further up the valley, that we shared with about 100 wild Yak.  On the fourth day, we would vacate BC leaving the Mess tent and two bigger tents in situ.  It became clear that Paddy would not be rejoining our group.

Near the high point of the ridge

I looked through Paddys tent at BC before we moved, to ensure that nothing of value was left, and found his tickets and passport.  I had thought that, in the circumstances, Paddy might decide to fly home early, having been Dumped ( in his own words) from the trip, but this meant that he couldn’t go anywhere.  When I mentioned this to Raja, he just said Paddy is safe in Leh, and Arnab ill look after him.  When we moved to ABC, I reluctantly took Paddy’s Passport with me.

Strayuk Valley North central peak. Left ridge was our objective.

Raja and Rivu went back to BC to lift more food and a better functioning stove, but when they came back up, Raja was unwell with a recurrence of an old lung condition. He said he would go back to BC until he recovered.  I said that I felt that I had done enough, and was happy to descend to Lhato/Leh to return Paddy’s documents.  Raja initial plan was that we would all stay at high camp and climb at least 3x 6000s, but a compromise was reached, that Lakpa and I would attempt one peak only, and descend to ABC, then BC, terminating the trip 4 or 5 days early. I was going well, having been up to the glacial lake for a swim, and even to high camp for a recce. The glacier was in great condition, unlike many, but seriously foreshortened, so the trudge to high camp carrying everything was exhausting.  Two small dark tents were put up to accommodate Lakpa, myself and Ashish,  the translator. It’s always cold, camping on ice, little sleep was had, but I was in good form starting up the rocky ridge to this unclimbed 6000m peak at 5.00AM in the bitter cold. The climbing was mixed rock and hard snow, the best.  About half way up , Lakpa started pulling ahead, then the wheels came off the wagon for me, I just couldn’t get enough oxygen.  Being staggery isn’t a great idea on an exposed ridge, so I turned back, followed by Lakpa, we lifted High camp and Ashish, and eventually made it all the way down to BC, despite  having been charged by some of the yaks at one stage.

The mighty Lakpa between base and advance base camp

The next morning I went down towards Lhato, guided by Ashish.  On arrival at the homestay we were astonished to hear the Paddy had just gone up with two female guides to get his passport, and the stuff that I had just brought down.  Ash had taken us a different route, so we had not seen them.  (You couldn’t make it up).  I left his stuff with Ashish, and took a lift to Leh, to the usual welcome at our hotel.  The Leh festival was in full swing, and the place was alive and vibrant.  Paddy got back later that day and we arranged to meet next morning. Paddy was incensed, as he felt that Raja had abandoned him, he had no clothes, couldn’t change money as he had no passport( I hadn’t thought of that) and to compound things, he had fallen out with Arnab, and left his hotel, so had no support.

Things didn’t get any better for him, as the next day, when we walked into town everything was closed due to a civic protest, and his cash cards didn’t work either.  “Should be open again tomorrow”, but it wasn’t, and things were taking a serious downward turn. Curfews, hunger strikes, riots, shootings etc made us decide to get the hell out, and we got a good flight deal through Sharon of Premier Travel in Derry.  The problem was that my big bag had not made it down before the army closed off the roads, so it may have to be abandoned.

Arnab to the rescue this time. He drove to Lhato overnight, and my big smelly bag was there at reception when I got up in the morning. Ashish Lakpa and Rivu came to say goodbye, at my hotel, picked up Paddy from his, and we were on the 12 oclock flight to Delhi, (along almost every other tourist in Leh).  Delhi was difficult, but we got home to Dublin by 1.30 PM on Saturday, and I made McGrorys for 7.15 thanks to a bus driver in a hurry, and Anthony and PJ.

In Sep 2019 myself, PJ, Rab, Nigel (along with Niall Kielt) tried to climb Naranjo de Bulnes (Picu Uriellu). It was a bit of a Hail Mary project, the last possible day of climbing in a squeezed week of overlapping leave. Sadly our route-finding let us down and we ended up on something grade VI instead of grade IV. We bailed and ran for the ferry, vowing to return.

Come July 2025 we were ready for another attempt, this time approaching from Las Arenas in the north of the Picos de Europa (we’d trekked from Fuente De in the south last time).

A weather window and the last few places in the hut prescribed a potential wet Thu hike up to Refugio Uriellu but a clear dry Fri. We bussed to Poncebos but found the funicular to Bulnes fully booked and opted to bus on to Sotres instead. It’s a 4 hour hoof that way and we were glad of the cloud cover and occasional cooling mist.

It was the usual hut experience: decent food and beers but broken sleep from the endless snorers, screamers and midnight toilet-goers. We were up and away by 7:30am for the hour long steep climb to the East face. Three groups (2 guided) had beat us to the start but that gave us the opportunity to follow the correct route line this time!

I was suffering a skiing shoulder injury so only had about 50% reach with my right arm. Rab had encouraged me to give it a go anyway and summon my inner T-Rex… Nigel was going to have to lead me on the whole climb. I held out hope that I might lead 1 or 2 easier pitches but the climbing was strenuous enough that that never happened.

It was after 10am by the time Rab and PJ were through the first pitch and Nigel and I got started. Everything had looked doable from underneath but you very quickly realise 2 things: the holds are well polished and the cracks (canalizos) are bottomless, so lots of pinch grips and painful toe jams.

The first 15m pitch was listed IV+ in the guide but the polish made it feel harder, about VS. We ran the next 2 pitches together for a 40m run out, again about VS to start, easing somewhat at the end.

The first party were abbing off as Nigel led off the 3rd pitch. The descending guide had already indicated that PJ was slightly too far to the left but then gave Nigel a load of instructions in Spanish. Eventually we figured out he was showing us a handy thread for a sling… Nigel had resorted to “What? Whaaaat??”

This 3rd pitch was a tight chimney but by now we were learning to trust the friction and look for the unpolished stuff. We got a bit off route on the next 2 pitches: what should have been a right, then left traverse we ended up just blazing straight up in a 50m run out. It started easy but was a tight finish, about VS again. Some climbers on a route to our right tried to help point out the belays and we got there in the end.

The last pitched climb would have been VDiff but for a difficult wee crux crack that pushed it to Severe. After that we dropped the packs and ropes and switched from rock shoes to boots / trainers. I’ve rarely been as glad to get out of rock shoes after all that toe jamming.

The last couple of “pitches” were just grade 2 scrambles up a couple of slabs and chimneys to gain the summit ridge. An easy walk / scramble to the top then to find the small huddled statue of Mary.

Time was pressing on, it was 3pm already, so we took some quick summit pics and then started the 4 abseils to get back down. It all went smoothly enough, bar Nigel dropping his phone halfway down the last abseil. On a route like this, if the only calamity is an oul phone, happy days.

It was 4pm when we’d packed up and the last bus from Sotres was 8pm. A guesstimated 1 hour to the hut and 3 back to the village meant we’d just make it. Rab and Nigel took the ropes and battered on while PJ and I returned to the hut for baggage we’d left behind. The 2 boys cheated and took a taxi from the road head, making the 7pm bus. PJ and I, unaware of this solution, hoofed the whole 5k and just about caught the 8pm one. It was a brutal walk out in the heat.

The fingertips are quare zinging today, like we’d spent a weekend climbing on Gola. We bought T-shirts in Arenas with the “Directa” climb stencilled on the back, a great souvenir for a great climb.

A July summers day, with beer in hand, I sat gazing at Les Drus. Sharp pinnacles looming over the valley in an unusually tempting shade of grey, their jagged edges catching the light of the crisp blue sky.

As my comrades Garry & Roger chatted, I had several moments drifting in and out of a conversation as my mind drifted off into the high mountains. It was easy to see that this was my first visit to Chamonix.

Our plan was simple – attempt to climb a 4000er. Not any 4000er, one that Garry had previously turned back on over a decade ago. First of all, we had to acclimate our bodies to the thin Alpine air so the following day we had a moderate hike to Lac Blanc, where we continued to try and push further to just over 2500m.

On day two it was decided to push further and to include some glacier travel and rope-work. It turned out to be a big day with 20km distance and 2000m of height gained. We managed to reach 3150m on the Glacier du Tour. The Albert Refuge was a welcome sight both on ascent and descent! 

We chatted and finalised plans that night, for what would be the countdown to a possible summit bid. Tomorrow we would catch the gondola at the Aiguille du Midi station and spend a night in the Cosmiques Refuge in preparation for an early start the following day.

It was not all plain sailing the next morning, as we stood in the queue with eager tourists there was a delay of over 30 minutes. Quite unusual, at a standstill and no explanation from the staff! It took a little persuasion from Garry and some probing questions to find out that the lift was suspended due to a storm brewing and that it was a white-out up top. After some chat, another staff member called us over and give us priority as we were, in her words “Alpin!” 

“Yes, Alpin…” quite obvious with ropes draped and axes fixed to our rucksacks. Apparently we got priority. With haste, we made our way inside to wait for the next lift to the top station.

As we sped our way up the steep mountainside the weather indeed looked a little stormy. In the tunnel we roped up and made our final checks and tip-tapped our way over the iconic barrier onto the Midi Arete. As the cloud weaved it’s way over the Arete we had some limited visibility on our way down to the Vallee Blanche and finally to out trusty Refuge for the night with a view of our climb.

After a tasty meal and dessert we pondered over details of the following morning. Reports of avalanche just a few days before and the all too common serac and rock fall plays on the mind a little. Especially when you’re watching it live from the dining room window!

3am – groggy and not very well slept, we woke and had a minimal Alpine Hut breakfast and set off trudging along the glacier. It wasn’t 20 minutes until we met a guide returning to the Hut. Something to do with conditions and “not today” My mind went into a negative swirl of emotions, convincing myself that this was not going to happen. We pushed on, just investigating and listening for unusual cracks and bangs. Not much stirred.

From memory, it was around 3600m where we met another team of two retreating, this time because of sickness. It was at this point we made a decision to go for it, after the team of two had pointed out better snow conditions further up. Meandering our way around the deep crevasses and hopping a few snow bridges we were gradually making headway on the steep slopes.

With the morning sun now glowing on Mont Maudit, it was now that we knew the summit was close and that we had a chance of success. At 06:30 we could go no higher, the top of Mont Blanc du Tacul, 4248m. That was a very special feeling. I have great respect for Garry for attempting this peak for a second time and being able to accompany him was a absolute pleasure!

Well done those who got up it, in this year of our lord 2025. It’s not easy, and many have not managed it.  I was there 35 years previously in September1990, and we climbed it, but it was touch and go.

Our first problem was, the hut from which we had planned to climb it,  had been demolished the year before in 1989, (and was in the early stages of reconstruction) a fact we were entirely unaware of, it being before the internet etc. (This was not a totally new experience for us, as previously, our Eigergletcher hut base for the Eiger had been swept away in 1922 by an avalanche, and never replaced).

 I suspect the gentleman in the tourist office in Lauterbrunnen, who informed us of this, is still dining out on the story.

Undeterred, we constructed an alternative refugio of random building materials and plastic bivvy bags, tied together with our 2 x30m ropes, but this didn’t solve the food problem.  We had 2 tins of Cassoulet, (god only knows why), which we managed to heat on a fire of broken pallets.  Two guys from Cambridge CC were camped nearby, who lent us a lighter, a tin opener and a spoon. Two nights- 2 tins.

The refugio was duly dismantled in the morning , as we needed the ropes,  and the plaque at the base of the route was finally identified by the eagle-eyed Paul Marshall, after some faffing.

Who wants to lead?  Victor was the man, but he refused point blank. So muggins led off.

I seem to remember the first short pitch was the worst, but my notes say that pitch 2 was harder, after that it was ok. We would have had a problem getting down, had the other two, Paul Robinson and Victor Russell, not made it, as we had only 30m ropes, and the abseils were 30. This was also ‘touch and go’ as, although Victor was our ace climber, the technicalities of putting on a harness were beyond him, and Paul had to get him out of, and back into it, on a very small ledge indeed, and he had just led the first pitch tied into a gear loop.

 We were able to tie the two 30s together to get down.  Another night in our reconstructed Hilton, another shared tin of cassoulet, and a walk out to the flesh pots of Fuente De to the best ham and eggs I have ever tasted.  The walkout can’t have been that bad, as my notes say that I left the group to climb Pico De Horcadas Rojas.

We also did, Pena Vieja, Torre Blanca, Tesorora, Torre Llago and Pico De San Carlos, had a rest day in San Vicente, and  got very legless indeed at the Fiesta in Potes.  A full on week, maybe 8 days?