I was nervous setting off to climb Carrot Ridge. Not because the climbing was going to be particularly difficult; my previous long multi pitch (FM) was far more technical, but because of the remote location and more challenging ground. The Twelve Bens are steep, rocky mountains and the weather conditions in Connemara are notoriously changeable, even for the west coast of Ireland. Although only a Diff level grade, the pitches are long and strung out, with sparse protection and more exposure than I am used to. This is, after all, only my second year climbing outside and Carrot Ridge would be my second long multipitch route as the lead climber.

Carrot Ridge, along with Howling Ridge in Kerry, is one of the premier mountain routes in Ireland. There is about 500m of ascent to the top of the ridge, with about 300m of that classed as scrambling/climbing. Carrot Ridge sits on the side of Benncorr (712m) which is the 2nd highest peak in the Twelve Bens. I hadn’t really expected to have the opportunity to do the route this weekend, but when the forecast showed it would be clear of clouds, which is not all that common, we decided to go for it. We might not have had another chance when we are around and the route is in season.

We parked at Gleninagh, after requesting permission from the land owner, and set off with a full day’s provisions for both hiking and climbing. The walk in to start the climb took about 90 minutes, including a good 200m of ascent to the base of the ridge, mostly across floating bog. This is a notoriously uncomfortable and midge filled journey but, although the midges were voracious, it was not as bad as we were expecting. Either the guidebooks had over-egged the discomfort or the writers had not experienced the hardship of bogland in the Wicklow Mountains!

There is the possibility to extend the climb and the grade up to V-diff by adding a 50m slab at the base of the ridge. Although easy, it is made less appealing by the lack of protection for both the climber (only 1 piece) and the belayer (nothing). The belayer stance is on a small ledge at the top of a very large and steep slope next to a waterfall, so not great. The rock (quartzite) looks almost like glass when wet, and this part of the climb was still wet enough to be dangerous. We therefore decided to skip it and, instead, scramble up to the commonly used alternative start: a large ledge below the ridge.

The first pitch proper was nice, simple climbing with multiple alternative ways up without straying too far from the Diff grade. It is always a relief to get the first piece of protection into the route, and doing so settled my nerves and allowed me to focus better on the task ahead. This first pitch is about 30m and the best protected on the ridge, allowing me to warm up without too many strung out sections to worry about.

Amy followed and we arrived at a large ledge at the base of the first step. Here we debated where to start the next climb as there are multiple options, differing between the guidebooks and in the end we chose to start next to a large boulder that provides bomber protection for the belayer. This 2nd pitch includes a steep vertical section: about 15m of large, flat holds that were more comfortable for the feet than the hands. The only issue here is that the next piece of gear is at the top of this series of steep moves and I had to endure a tense few minutes working my way up slowly, with my heart in my mouth, towards safety. It felt like the rock was pushing me backwards and it took all my effort and concentration to not start shaking dangerously…

When I did finally get some gear in, thankfully a very safe feeling cam placement, all I could do was keep repeating “fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…” while waiting for my composure to return. As the adrenalin kicked in, I continued to climb. The moves got easier and the rock was good enough that, although only being able to place limited gear, I wasn’t worried about how sparse it was. The step can be done as a single 45m pitch, but I chose to do it in two: belying at the base of a chimney which we subsequently climbed to the start of our 4th pitch.

This next pitch was about 90m of scrambled traverse along the arete. The rock here was dry so we felt it was safe enough to pack up the rope and save time by moving together. We roped up again at the bottom of the second step for the next 45m pitch, which is probably the best climbing on the entire route.

This (5th) pitch started with a short vertical section, very much like that of the first step, only this time not quite as lengthy. I consciously climbed this first part without placing any gear, as rope drag would be impossible to control later on in the route if I had. After this, the next 35m was sublime easy climbing, with a view back down the entire route below. There were only 3 gear placements in the whole 45m section, which gave an incredible feeling of exposure even if the individual moves were easy. It was exhilarating to be looking so far down (the views were incredible) and to be so high above my last piece of gear. Rather than being frightened, I just relaxed into it and enjoyed the experience.

The final pitch was 100m of scrambling to the top of the third and final step. Again, we unroped for this and, after reaching the top, shared a high five and a hug. We decided we had enough juice in the tank to continue hiking – we were already so near the main mountain ridge. We chose not to include the summit of Bencorr, as this would have been too much for a single day, instead aiming for Bencollaghduff (696m), the third highest peak in the range. From here we continued along the ridge, due to steep cliffs at either side, eventually finding a safe col to descend back into the valley.

Continuing to this mountain peak was a great decision. I go on a lot about wonderful views in Ireland, and there are many, but the views from the Twelve Bens are on another level. For a start, the mountains in this range are incredibly striking, appearing to rise up almost vertically from their flat, glacier carved valleys, incredibly rugged and remote. Surrounding the mountains there are large loughs, each with their own tiny islands and inlets to add character, and beyond these the sea laps at the peninsula on three sides. Out to sea there are more islands (including Inisbofin, the Aran Islands and Inisturk) and looking along the coast you can see the Burren in one direction and the Mweelrea mountain range in the other.

The walk down from the tops is long and painful. It took us over 10 hours to complete the entire circuit, but it was worth it for everything that we managed to fit into the day. I can’t believe how amazing Connemara is and I can’t believe it has taken us so long to visit it. Carrot Ridge feels like a good achievement for beginner climbers like us and is one of the most scenic routes I have done so far. This could be our last big day out of the summer, but what a way to finish!