Carrauntoohil via Devil's Ladder

Welcome to Carrauntoohil. Ireland's highest mountain — one thousand and thirty-eight metres at the summit cross — and the only Irish peak that would qualify, by common hillwalking definitions, as a proper mountain in Alpine terms. This audio tour covers the most-walked route to the top: the ascent from Cronin's Yard via the Hag's Glen and the Devil's Ladder. Distance: twelve kilometres round trip. Time: six to seven hours. Grade: difficult. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt Carrauntoohil in poor visibility, in winter conditions, or alone, unless you are an experienced mountaineer. People die on this mountain every year.

The name Carrauntoohil comes from the Irish Corrán Tuathail — Tuathal's sickle — referring to the serrated, crescent-shaped skyline the mountain presents when viewed from the east. Tuathal was a legendary High King of Ireland in the early centuries. Whether he ever climbed the mountain bearing his name is, as with most of the Irish mountain legends, a matter of myth rather than record.

Start at Cronin's Yard. The Cronin family, seventh-generation farmers of this upland, have been welcoming walkers to their yard for as long as anyone can remember. There is a small car park, a café, hot showers (a luxury on Irish mountains, trust us), and a genuine local knowledge of the mountain's moods. Sign the book at the start. Sign out at the end. This is how the family knows, over the course of a day, whether everyone who went up has come back down.

Set off west along the farm track. The first kilometre is flat, following a valley with sheep in the fields on either side. The farm track deteriorates into a path, then into a stone-pitched trail as you enter the Hag's Glen. Cross the first stream on the stepping stones. Cross the second on the small wooden bridge. At about two kilometres, the path splits — stay left, following the sign for Carrauntoohil.

The Hag's Glen. This is the great bowl of the Reeks — formed by glaciation, rimmed on three sides by Ireland's highest peaks. You are now surrounded. On your left rises Cnoc Íochtair, on your right Cnoc na Péiste, and directly ahead the wall of the mountain itself. Two small lakes — Lough Callee and Lough Gouragh — sit in the glen floor. Black water, deep, quiet.

The name Hag's Glen comes from the old Irish word for the supernatural — the Cailleach, a Celtic figure of seasonal change, whose breath turns the mountain white in winter and green again in spring. Locals will tell you that if you see a woman in the glen at dawn you do not know, do not speak to her. Walk past.

Approaching the head of the glen, the path turns sharply right and begins to climb steeply up the Devil's Ladder. This is a deeply eroded, stone-filled gully rising about four hundred metres to the mountain ridge above. It is a scramble, not a walk — you will use your hands in places. The surface is loose. Stones get dislodged and fall. If there are walkers below you, shout a warning before you dislodge anything. A falling stone on the Devil's Ladder can kill.

The Ladder takes forty minutes to an hour depending on fitness. Take it slowly. Rest. Drink water. Do not push through.

At the top of the Ladder, the ground levels and you are on a broad ridge between Carrauntoohil to the west and Cnoc Íochtair to the east. Turn right. Walk west. You are now above one thousand metres. The view opens up — on a clear day, the whole of the Reeks is visible, the Beara Peninsula to the south, the Dingle Peninsula to the north, and the Atlantic beyond. On a cloudy day, visibility can drop to fifty metres and the path becomes a navigational challenge. Know where the summit is. Know where you came from.

The final ascent to the summit is another four hundred metres of climbing, on a well-worn but rocky path. You reach the summit cross — a large metal crucifix, erected in 1976 by local mountain men. It has weathered decades of Atlantic storms. Touch it. You are now higher than anyone else in Ireland.

The view from the summit is as good as Ireland offers. To the west, the Atlantic and the Skellig Islands. To the north, the Dingle Peninsula and Mount Brandon. To the east, the Killarney Lakes and the Paps of Anu on the Cork border. To the south, the Beara, and beyond that the Mizen and Sheep's Head peninsulas. On a clear day you can see for a hundred miles in every direction.

The descent is the reverse of the ascent. The Devil's Ladder is more dangerous on the way down than on the way up — the loose stones, the fatigue, the greater exposure if you slip. Go slowly. Face the slope where necessary. Use your hands. If you fall, try to fall sideways, never backwards.

Back at the foot of the Ladder, the return through the Hag's Glen is a long but easier walk. The café at Cronin's Yard will have tea waiting for you. Sign back in.

Thank you for walking with us. Carrauntoohil is an Irish classic, and you've done it. Treat it with respect — come back in a different season to see it in a different light.