The Blinding Fog

Barrslievenaroy (Highest point in the Maamturk 702m)

Another early start, leaving at 4 I sped towards Barrslievenaroy but upon arrival at the foot of the mountain at 6 o clock darkness still engulfed my surroundings, so I was forced to wait till light began to creep into the world which was at around half seven in the morning. When the sun rose the surrounding mountains valleys and lakes which spread out to the horizon became visible, the twelve pins could be seen in the distance wearing their peak of fog and mist, while directly to my left the Maamturk rose up towards the clouds, a beautiful start to the day and a glorious sight to be greeted by in the morning. I began to climb following a winding river which twisted and turned up towards an open valley.
                    As I walked next to the valley and the ground became steeper the stream widened and waterfalls began to appear as the slope began to increase. I looked up at the mountain peak and saw it to be shrouded in mist and fog mimicking the twelve pins. I hoped it would clear before I summited the peak. Preparation had been at a minimum for this trip and I had not fully planned out a route to the top. I had worked out the general way to the top from the valley floor but had not planned which way to make the ascent, so I followed my gut instinct in finding the most direct and challenging route up, without of course putting myself in harms way. From the valley floor I veered left and began picking my way along the edge of the mountainside having walked for around a half an hour up the mountainside I stopped for a break and to decide on were I was going from here. The view as always in this part of the rugged west was spectacular and I spent longer then intended taking in the view. The bright greens of the young forests contrasted sharply with the muddy brown colour of the marshy lowlands while the dramatic rock face formations of the mountains loomed in each direction dominating the surrounding landscape, and the soft trickle of water flowing from the mountain peaks could be heard through the stiff morning breeze. I continued on my way once my visual trance had been broken.

Surrounding landscape

Foggy peaks, fog thickened as I walked further on

I continued on upwards not on any particular trail but as before going with what felt right, a mixture of instinct and stupidity, this made the climb overall slightly more challenging as the mountain and trail changed as I walked upwards, from squelching along the wet grass on the side of the cliff straight to climbing up a rock face, the slope of the rock faces gradually grew as I continued on up the mountain, until towards the end many were near vertical or a grade 3 or 4 in rock climbing which added massively to the walk. I felt a break in conditions at this stage the winds died down and the fog was not so thick and I felt it was going to be fully cleared by the time I reached the top of the mountain.
                    The top of the first ridge was a level plain which I walked along for a short time before the next rise upwards. I sat to take in my surroundings the fog had lifted but in the distance I could see dismally dark clouds and miles and miles of dense fog coming my way blanketing the surrounding countryside as though someone was gradually pulling a misty curtain over everything and would soon shut out my own vision, and so I moved on quickly so as to hopefully get a view from the top the ground at this stage became much damper and I lost my footing on many occasions. A very swampy section of the walk the ground gives way at times to large sink-holes which I became stuck in more than once and also the ground has soaked in gallons upon gallons of water and so is very soft and moist. Like walking across a sea of sponge. Bits of sc-

ree which had broken off the mountainside through mechanical erosion then became visible first small piles of scree then small sections of scree until towards the top the entire slope was scree covered. The fog had caught up with me at this stage and I was engulfed in its emptiness, the wind had also sharply risen and due to the fact that the higher section of the mountain is all rock and rock formation the wind was whipping through the rocks at a huge pace and I was chilled to

my bones by its relentless dirve.
                    My vision became obscured as I made my way towards the top barely able to make out what was 10 feet in front of me. it gradually got harder and harder to see. I knew before the fog had hit that I was more or less at the summit of the mountain and so made my way along the ridge looking for the highest point . I made my way along the top of the maamturk dancing along their walls, in a quest to find their highest point and to set foot atop it. I walked along although blinded I was content in the feeling of being at this height, then thankfully I got a small break in the bearing mist and spotted the top of Barrslievenaroy standing much taller then the other points surrounding it, I made directly for it and was climbing up along the last stretch of scree when the fog returned. I reached the top at half 9 that morning and placed a rock atop the mountain. It felt for a time that all that existed was me and the top of the mountain for all around me was dense whiteness which seemed to be closing in at each moment. The fog was not giving way and so I made for home.
                    As had become the norm on this climb I followed my gut in coming back down and recognized some landmarks I had taken in as I walked. The cold and the mist made for a quick descent as I was in no mood to remain perched on the side of the freezing mountain. I reached the scree slope and half ran half slid my way down the side of it . Then I began to make my way down the rock faces intermingled with the marshy land. It was then that I had a moment of confusion. I came out from the blanket of fog to a surrounding which felt very alien, the forest rivers and surrounding plains and peaks were not the same as I had seen earlier on. I began to make my way along to the left hand side towards were I knew the valley to be ( I thought ) and to my delight I spotted my car and recognisable surroundings once again, and continued on my way towards the car and home. I reached the bottom of the mountain at around half 11, and when I glanced back up at the top of the mountain to my dismay I saw that the fog had lifted entirely, you win some you lose some. The fog added a different dimension to the climb and utterly confused me a situation which is good to become used to .

“It's a tough lesson: There is no summit that comes before you expect it.” 
― Mark Obmascik