The obsession

Anyone who has read the blog for awhile knows of our obsession with Croagh Patrick, the holy mountain where St. Patrick fasted for 40 days and nights before starting out to evangelize Ireland.  The Reek, as Croagh Patrick is known, dominates the skyline in Westport and for many miles around.  Its distinctive conelike summit makes it easily identifiable throughout the region.  You may remember that Candee and I tried to climb to the summit each year for several years, finally making it to the top on our fifth attempt.  It was a proud moment - it's a rigorous climb, some 2500 foot rise in elevation from start to finish.  The last third of the climb is completed on a steep incline of loose rock and many people who attempt the climb suffer leg and/or head injuries.  One of our good friends here, Mary Sheridan, volunteers with the group Mayo Mountain Rescue - super buff and well-trained hillclimbers who regularly race up the Reek to provide first aid and stabilization while determining whether to summon an ambulance or helicopter to evacuate the injured.

Candee and I stopped by the foot of the Reek the other day to watch folks climb and to inquire about their experiences of completing this physical challenge.  We encountered one young man, part of a group celebrating the family patriarch's 60 birthday.  He was quite shaken, saying that someone in another group had acted foolishly on the cone and started running down the shale and rocks, losing his balance and tumbling head over feet for "a couple hundred meters."  The misguided fool had blown out his kneecap - "it was gone" - and suffered extensive facial injuries - "his nose was peeled back from his face."  It was only due to the heroics of one brave soul who jumped on him and stopped his descent that kept him from falling off the side of the mountain.  Falling off the Reek is not a common peril, but his fall had taken him seriously offline toward the edge.  Climbing the Reek is not to be taken lightly...

A more benign view of the Reek, taken from the road to our cottage.