Tuesday 28 May 2013

Adventure Tourism in Ireland

 And Sho, a week of visitors to Donegal from the United States and Canada. The weather was suitably atmospheric with high winds, the odd deluge and a tad of nautical rage from our old friend Neptune. Which off course, made finding suitable adventurous places to play out at a tad more interesting and made the already adventurous locations a wee bit more terrifying. :-)
 First up for a wee adventure were Bob and Dorothy from New Mexico and with a visit to Cruit Island we made an ascent of a classic or three. We ended a day of bright sunshine on the island with a full ascent and traverse of the mighty Cave Rave. The following day a sheet of very low laying cloud meant a clifftop walk along the Slievetooey Peninsula from An Port was a tad emotional with pretty much 20m visibility for the walk into Glenlough Bay and the Ends of the Earth Crag. The only solution to the crisis was a visit to the summit of The Realm of the Senses Stack overlooking the Port road End. Now, no visit to Donegal under large sea conditions would be complete without a wee play on Tor na Dumhcha this outstanding sea stack just off the Gweedore coast line provides an excellent day out getting very close to an angry Neptune indeed.

Extreme Ireland Film

An Port Bay, Donegal       

Sea Stack Climbing in Ireland

An Port Sea Stack Summit


 The following day Alex and Zee from Toronto, Canada came for a wee play on the coast and with a swift sea stack summit en route to Ends of the Earth Crag, the day was set, for the sea was ramping 20 footers from the West. Thus making this a super atmospheric location to abseil onto a hanging ledge above the rage on Ireland's most remote climbing location. A strange anomaly exists at this crag as when the sea is pounding a fissure at the high tide mark sends explosions of atomised salt spray, at times higher than the crag with a resounding sonic boom. :-)  

Tormore Island, Ireland's Highest Sea Stack

Cruit Island Climbing

 Our third set of troopers were Josh and Clayton Sloan from Minnesota and they came to play on a day of UBER low spring tides. Which allowed us to climb two of the An Port Road End stacks with a coastaleering approach from Triple Arch Stack onto Fortitude in Distress Stack. This was the 2nd ascent of Fortitude in Distress stack and pretty much guaranteed 1st USA ascent of this mildly scary summit.    

Sea Cliff Climbing in Ireland

End's of the Earth Crag

Gweedore Rock Climbing


 Donegal Sea Stack Climbing is by far the most adventurous commercially activity in Ireland by a very long way and there is no requirement to have ever rock climbed before. All that is really required is a sense of adventure and perhaps a sense of humour.
 Lend me your eyes and I'll change what you see. :-)




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