The Rucksack Club
The Rucksack Club

Tom Anderson reflects: The Coomloughra Horseshoe

Tom Anderson remembers: The Coomloughra Horseshoe is a delight to walk!  A circuit Ireland’s highest Mountain plus a great scramble en route!  I started at the Hydro road at a new car park at the west end of the circuit.  A concrete path climbs up to the lower Lake which gives a fine view of the full circuit of hills.  My route took me left on a broad ridge leading to Skregmore & on to Beenkeragh via two other summits.  All with no difficulties.  On reaching this point you reach the really interesting part of the outing.  This is the Beenkeragh Arete which no faces you!  This cannot be taken lightly!  The ridge is spectacular as well as loose & slippery with a lot of exposure so great care should be taken on the crossing.  There are two walkers routes around the high point of the ridge so you have a choice.  Continue along passing the top of a gully until you reach the col and an easy walk to the summit of Carrauntoohil.  The view from the summit is very good of the ridge of the Reeks showing the remaining 3,000ers to good effect.  The final part of the[…]

Read more

Call for Calendar Photos – Deadline 31st August

Please send your entries via email or WhatsApp using the HR button – contact details in the handbook (no need if you have already submitted to Andy for the Gallery):– high res (>2Mb to make a full page, a few hundred kb OK for the thumbnails)– Landscape format, action shots, featuring or taken by a member since Sept 2024 – filename: month_caption_credit (if you think that’s a pain, just imagine chasing the information for 50 photos 😉)Cheers, Dom 😎📷📆 Dominic Oughton Meanwhile, here are a few pics from last year to inspire you:

Read more

Parthian Climbing – Manchester

Geoff Gosling writes: Just to let our members know about this.   Farewell and Thank You from the Team at Parthian Climbing Manchester When we first discovered the St Benedict’s church building in 2003, we instantly saw its potential. With its impressive height, stunning architectural features, and proximity to central Manchester and its vibrant student community, it felt like the perfect place to build something special. At the time, Manchester was one of the only major UK cities without a large indoor climbing facility, so we set out to create a much-needed space for climbers, whether local or rained off in the Peak District. Over the past 20 years, we’ve been proud to offer a unique climbing experience, introducing thousands of people to the sport and helping forge countless lifelong friendships and relationships. We also take pride in having saved a beautiful, historic building that was once on the English Heritage “at risk” register. In the years since we opened, Manchester has grown into a major hub for climbing, now home to eight indoor centres. As the sport has evolved, especially with the rise of bouldering, the needs of climbers have changed. Modern climbing centres now require larger communal floor[…]

Read more
The Rucksack Club

Beudy – the alternative Alpine Meet

For those of you unable to get to Ailefroide for the Alpine Meet, you can always use the Club’s own ‘mountain refuge’ to explore the Welsh Alps without having those tiring marches just to get to the hut. Savour the views of Eryri from the front, knowing you don’t have to get up at silly o’clock to get on the routes – they’re on your doorstep! There’s plenty of room available and no resident Gardien to moan at you for not putting your boots in the right place. You can usually find somewhere to escape the snorers too. As ever, let me know when you want to book your Welsh Alpine trip.

Read more
The Rucksack Club

Essential Equipment

Dear Members, I am going on a trip to Nepal and Norway (and many more after that I hope). I will need a waterproof duffel bag (80L minimum size), crampons (C1 rating, boots size 5), harness and helmet. Just wonder if any of you have any of these items for sale or are looking for a second home. Please get in touch. Really appreciated and thank you in advance. Best wishes, Monika

Read more

My first triathlon with a surprise.

I hope members don’t mind me posting this. Dear All, my name is Monika and I am a lover of outdoor activities. I became The Rucksack club member in 2019. Since then I was mostly interested in hill walking, running, cycling, wild swimming…. etc. This year I decided to try combining 3 of the outdoor activities and signed up for a triathlon. It was my first one and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I finished first in my category in ladies which was a massive shock to me. On the starting line my aim was just not to finish last. Now I am reaching out to accomplish a harder challenge… hit my fundraising target for such a great charity, Alzheimer’s Research UK. Please if you can help, if it is close to your heart see my page and support a good cause. https://www.justgiving.com/page/mon?utm_medium=FA&utm_source=CL Thank you very much. Monika

Read more