AN experienced mountaineer and journalist, who has extensive climbing experience in Europe, Asia and Africa, has shared the top class encounter he had in Killarney with thousands of readers of his column in the Derry Chronicle.
Peter Jack was more than impressed by the day he spent scaling Carrantuohill in the company of expert local guide and Killarney Rotary Club President John O’Sullivan.
In a valuable two-page feature in this week’s newspaper, Jack said while he has tackled several peaks around the globe, he had never made it to the summit of Ireland’s highest mountain which, he had heard, had a reputation for “being difficult.”
“17 people died in the Reeks between 1966 and 2000 but it now averages two fatalities per annum. Many people come ill-prepared, lacking proper gear or even a map,” Jack noted.
John O’Sullivan had been recommended as a guide and the visitor, who was accompanied by his son, Patrick, was happy to engage him.
“We were reassured by his experience and we knew we would be well looked after,” he wrote in the extensive report.
Jack was also impressed that days after the climb, his guide, a professional photographer by trade, sent him a free CD of photographs taken during their adventure.
The week before he climbed Carrantuohill, Jack had completed a triathlon in the company of a Rotarian from Dublin and he was amused to discover that John O’Sullivan is the current head of the Killarney Rotary Club.
As for his experience on the McGillycuddy Reeks, Jack wrote: “When we arrived at the summit, the mist rolled in and we could hardly see the cross let alone the majestic panorama laid out beneath us. But as the mist and fog cleared, there we were on top of Ireland, kings of all we surveyed.
“At the bottom lay real life with real problems and a constant background noise of chatter, of relentless communication, of 24/7 social media and non-stop nonsense. Up here you are free as a bird, free of clutter, free of luxuries that are meant to free us but actually imprison us.”
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