5th Jul 2021
It was in May. In the light of easing of travel restrictions that had been brought about at the start of the year, in response to the third wave of Covid infections, I decided to climb Galtymore. At 918m, this is the highest mountain in County Tipperary. Well, on the border between Tipperary and Limerick. Because the restrictions in place at the time stipulated that one stays in one’s own county, and because I am living in County Tipperary, I was alright.
So I put my camera gear into the car, and headed towards the Galtee Mountains.
Now, there are a few popular routes up to the summit. There are two from the south, the most well-known being the Black Route, which is also known as the “tourist route”. The climbing starts from the Galtyway Climb Car Park, which is about 4km off the old Dublin-Cork road at a point between Junctions 11 and 12 of the M8 motorway. The other route from the south is the King’s Yard route.
There is one route from the north, which is known as the Cushnabinnia Horseshoe, and it takes in a number of peaks as well as Galtymore.
The route I took was the Black Route, largely because it was familiar to me, as I have climbed it before. But that doesn’t rule out me trying the other routes mentioned in the future.
Leaving the car park, we have a relatively straightforward path, which inclines at a fairly steady rate, and it’s like that for a few kilometres. Some places along this path enable you to see certain parts of the surrounding landscape that you can’t see on others.
Eventually you will come towards something of a “fork in the road”, and it’s time to make a choice: do you bear right, and include Galtybeg, which is more or less straight ahead of you, on the way up to Galtymore or, do you bear left, and head straight for Galtymore.
On my climb, I chose the latter.
One will eventually reach a point where there is no longer a beaten track and all one can do is head straight in the general direction of Galtymore.
Having skirted around Galtybeg, trying to keep ascending all the time, albeit slightly, we reach something of a saddle, between Galtybeg and Galtymore. The soft peaty ground in places is one thing but there is also what amounts to a cliff-edge on the north face of the mountain. It is here that the surrounding lands to the north of the Galtees, including the Glen of Aherlow, start coming into view, and one finds it rather difficult to stay any more than a few feet from this edge while skirting this boggy area.
However, the said boggy area doesn’t extend too far, and the final phase of the climb is straight up, the main challenge being the steep gradient on the final push to the summit. Eventually, it gradually eases off and the summit will soon come into view.
In this instance, the summit is something of a plateau; although there is a marker made from cast concrete, of the type you usually see on the summits of mountains, you do have to walk around a bit, in order to see more of the surrounding landscape. You can’t see everything from staying in one spot.
It is often said that a gentle breeze at ground level, i.e., “down here” is a gale at the summit, or “up there”. This was the case on one climb to the summit, when the wind was such that it was impossible to hold the camera steady to take a picture; you have to put it on a tripod. Here are some places you should be able to see, and of course, depending on the weather:
- The Knockmealdown Mountains, which are the nearest mountain range to the Galtees
- The Comeragh Mountains, a little bit further east
- Slievenamon, on a clear day, with no haze
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to see Cahir from the summit of Galtymore, because there are other peaks of the Galtees in the way! That said, you will be able to see Mitchelstown and, if you happen to have a telephoto lens, the M8 motorway running along the east of the town. You will also see Tipperary Town, which is past Bansha Forest, on a small mountain to the north of the Glen of Aherlow.
They say that what goes up must come down, so it was necessary to make my way back down. Apart from the steepest bit near the summit, the way down doesn’t present any real challenges. More often than not, a descent can open up opportunities for pictures that weren’t there on the way up, if clouds have cleared or moved into a certain spot since the ascent. You just have to keep an eye out and hope there is sufficient battery charge in your camera, and memory on your card to enable some more pictures.
I can see myself returning to the Galtees, even if not necessarily to climb Galtymore. As I said, there are places that one can’t see from the summit of Galtymore, but can see from the summits of other peaks in the range. And of course, there are a few lakes on the foot of a lot of these peaks, which have photographic potential.
It’s all about getting out there and embracing nature at the end of the day!