Destination Donard - Slieve Donard Summit Camp

[Typo-On]

So on the receipt of a call on Thursday asking if I was up for taking a stab at Donard again I literally jumped at the chance. With most of our little summit camp bagging crew going to attend how could I resist!

So a swift plan was concocted with the aim being the summit of Slieve Donard and working down from there if conditions didn't play the game. It was also agreed that we could ride out any bad weather in the summit shelter although two being romantic three would be uncomfortable I had been watching the weather all week and it seemed like a Ménage à trois wouldn't be required

Both myself and Fred headed up earlyish to try and get a start on our snow hole and Rumblebum followed after work.
A stunning walk up the Glen river path greeted us which was a nice counterpoint to the repulsive mess they have made of the second bridge through the forest. I'm astounded that those hand rails actually seemed sensible to someone.

Following the route up, the river crossing was completely covered in snow and further up if I didn't look back at Newcastle I could well have been following Fred on an Alpine adventure.







The going was good and only on the steeper sections did it become precarious with either just plain old ice or ice masquerading as snow as it only had a thin sheen of snow on top.



Fred was more than happy to provide the knowledge and as it turned out most of the muscle required to build a snow hole
and the views were epic although some were better than others





We had a couple of visitors around 12am after we had all retired but I stayed cosy in the hole and Fred went out to find a couple of Eastern Europeans who had made their up and where going to go back down.

I awoke to Rumblebum cooking some burgers for breakfast which was great as all I had to do was consume mine

I was ready for the Snow zombie apocalypse but Rumblebum was practicing for a music video




I enjoyed every minute of our little adventure, who knows when we will have enough of the right snow to do it again! I think it's now ranked as my number one camp! I couldn't believe the difference inside the hole compared to out it was almost silent and seemed much warmer.

Thanks guys for making it one to not only remember but never forget!


A few more pics

[Mourneman]

fliping amazing lads,so jealous  some epic photographs.

[Jules]

Looks absolutely class!  Some stunning pics.   Some day......

J

[RedLeader]

Jaw on floor. Brilliant guys, I'm stunned at the sheer awesomeness of this. Well done...

How hard was it getting up there in such deep snow?

[Typo-On]

Jaw on floor. This is brilliant guys, I'm stunned at the sheer awesomeness of this. Well done...

How hard was it getting up there in such deep snow?

The snow was pretty consolidated so it was pretty firm, a few places it was pure ice

[FlapJack]

Karma applied, awesome camp. thanks for sharing the pics as well.

[whoRya]

Really awesome, one to remember for a lifetime!  Fair play, a gutsy plan that paid off.

Hey gringo, this town ain't big enough for the two of us.

[Big Dod]

Amazing lads and excellent photos.
Definite Karma for that one.

Will look for yer hole when we get up there Monday 

Did you need crampons or was it just boots as normal?
And, any space up there to pitch a 3 man tent?  (F10 Vortex 300)

Thanks,
Geo...

[Fred]

It was an amazing night. I have visited donard on many winter days but never seen so much snow on top. The snow was nice and firm so a snow hole was a viable shelter. It took a couple of hours to dig, hot tiresome work, but very worthwhile. Afterwards we had hot snacks in the summit shelter. In the cramped confines of the shelter we used a petrol stove to provide a constant supply of hot water from melted snow. This took a surprising amount of fuel, probably because everything was so cold but a gas stove would have struggled. Although we didnt have a thermometer, I would guess that the air temperature was minus 5 to minus 10 degrees. Unfortunately we couldnt light a firelog anywhere since the snow was too deep to find a suitable platform so three firelogs had to be carried home again. The snow hole itself was very comfortable, quiet, draught free and warmer than outside so we had a very cosy nights sleep, probably more comfortable than Alans tent. On the subject of tents, pitching in the snow with ordinary pegs is pointless. Dave provided some large alloy pegs and we used walking poles as pegs as well.

On the following morning we collapsed the shelter in case some unsuspecting walker might fall through the roof. As we were packing up a young lad arrived on the summit and asked us...
"Did you guys spend the night up here?"
We proudly replied "yes"
He asked "why?"
I had to laugh but I havent got a satisfactory answer!
The weather on the way down was beautiful and with all the snow, the mournes had a real alpine feel about them. Thanks to Typo-on and Rumblebum for coming along and making this a great trip.

Here are a few more photos

[Fred]

Big Dod, if you want to pitch a tent, you should bring a shovel to clear a platform and some large pegs, as I have mentioned. We didnt have crampons and most other walkers didnt either. With care it is possible to do without them but if you dont mind carring the extra weight, they may be useful.

Fred

[Big Dod]

Thanks for the prompt reply Fred..  and the excellent photos

Got quite a few rock pegs now I'm off to find a suitable shovel - It-Is-On!!

Cheers Lads...

[ChuckMcB]

Nice...very nice! Top marks +karma

He asked "why?"

[Fred]

Big Dod, if you need to buy a shovel, maplins do a decent one for under a tenner.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/3-piece-aluminium-snow-shovel-532730
Dave brought a plastic bodied one but it broke. Those little army entrenching tools are too small, you need something larger.


Have a great night
fred

[specimanYak]

Completely epic, well done to the three of you, amazing photos, karma.

[Rumblebum]

It was an amazing night. I have visited donard on many winter days but never seen so much snow on top. The snow was nice and firm so a snow hole was a viable shelter. It took a couple of hours to dig, hot tiresome work, but very worthwhile. Afterwards we had hot snacks in the summit shelter. In the cramped confines of the shelter we used a petrol stove to provide a constant supply of hot water from melted snow. This took a surprising amount of fuel, probably because everything was so cold but a gas stove would have struggled. Although we didnt have a thermometer, I would guess that the air temperature was minus 5 to minus 10 degrees. Unfortunately we couldnt light a firelog anywhere since the snow was too deep to find a suitable platform so three firelogs had to be carried home again. The snow hole itself was very comfortable, quiet, draught free and warmer than outside so we had a very cosy nights sleep, probably more comfortable than Alans tent. On the subject of tents, pitching in the snow with ordinary pegs is pointless. Dave provided some large alloy pegs and we used walking poles as pegs as well.

On the following morning we collapsed the shelter in case some unsuspecting walker might fall through the roof. As we were packing up a young lad arrived on the summit and asked us...
"Did you guys spend the night up here?"
We proudly replied "yes"
He asked "why?"
I had to laugh but I havent got a satisfactory answer!
The weather on the way down was beautiful and with all the snow, the mournes had a real alpine feel about them. Thanks to Typo-on and Rumblebum for coming along and making this a great trip.

Here are a few more photos

I had an awesome camp with you two twits, its definately gonna be hard to find ourselves put to the test again like we were on friday night,
and im looking forward to chewing the fat round the camp fire with youse shortly, i have some pretty nice pics and will get them uploaded soon, thanks for the night guys!