Sky's the limit for Westmeath crew after Mont Blanc ascent
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On their way! The group and some other climbers on their journey to the top of the highest mountain in Europe, Mont Blanc; more photos on page 4.Image 2 of 14
Conditions were very testing and at times there was very low visibility.Image 3 of 14
The Mullingar group at the top of Mont Blanc.Image 4 of 14
Howard Whelan, Ballinalack (left) and Ciaran Wright from Milltownpass.Image 5 of 14
Four of the members in action on their trip.Image 6 of 14
Relaxing during their trip.Image 7 of 14
Ciaran Wright from Milltownpass.Image 8 of 14
Ken Delaney on left, with Tom O’Donoghue, Athlone and Iveta Mangulsone originally from Latvia.Image 9 of 14
Delight on the face of Iveta Mangulsone originally from Latvia and now living in Shandonagh.Image 10 of 14
Enda Wright, Milltownpass and Tom O’Donoghue, Athlone with the world at their feet.Image 11 of 14
Atop the mountain with their expedition flag.Image 12 of 14
On top of the world! Kate Walsh from Milltown Rathconrath.Image 13 of 14
Donal Daly from Multyfarnham taking it all in his stride.Image 14 of 14
Wrapped up against the minus fifteen temperatures, Andrew Bollard from Rochfortbridge.A group of Westmeath hikers are this week on a high after scaling Mont Blanc, which, at 4809m, is Western Europe’s tallest mountain.
The 11-strong group are all members of the Mullingar Hiking Club, founded in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, they have a series of other large peaks in their sights – and for some, the ultimate ambition is an ascent of Everest, reveals Ken Delaney from Rochfortbridge, founder of the group.
It took the Mullingar group three days to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. Not alone was that an impressive time, but Ken points out that the weather was so challenging that a number of other groups attempting the ascent at the same time abandoned their efforts.
“It’s a three- to four-day climb, weather permitting, but my crew did it in three days. “Unfortunately, the weather came in very heavy at the top and a lot of other companies and people turned around – but we’re a pretty stubborn group and we’re a pretty fit group. We do a lot of training in Connemara in terrible conditions, so we are kind of used to bad weather – but it was minus 15, zero visibility, 40 kilometre winds.
“I personally am very proud that they all got to the top.
“We got such great feedback on social media that I’m planning to run a trip next year as well.”
Frustratingly for Ken, he was unable to participate in last week’s climbs as he is recovering from a broken leg. As event organiser, though, he was with the group for their nine-day trip to Chamonix, coordinating from the ground and keeping their families posted on progress.
“I organised the whole thing and it was our first big expedition outside of the country, and I just didn’t want to miss it,” says Ken, who by profession is a high-end professional tour guide.
“Before doing Mont Blanc, we took on this really famous ‘Traverse Ridge’, in the French Alps as well, just for acclimatising and training,” says Ken.
“And then on the third day, they went through the Mont Blanc tunnel into Italy, and they also climbed – as a training mountain – Gran Paradiso, which is over 4000 metres. And that’s the highest mountain in Italy, so that was amazing as well.”
While they are called the Mullingar Hiking Club, members are from across Westmeath, and some are from neighbouring counties.
“I started this group during Covid Because I work in international tourism and that was all gone. So I just set it up one evening in my house, and it just completely snowballed and we have over 120 members now,” says Ken.
Most members wouldn’t be of the level of those who have just done Mont Blanc: “We’re for beginners. The hikes we do in Ireland are for beginners, and you can come along on every single hike because we go at a really slow pace to suit everybody.”
Hikes take place around once a month and group membership is 70 per cent is female.
“Most people who have joined have come on their own and now they’re all friends and car-pooling from the Park Hotel once a month and we head off all over Ireland and then annually we go to Snowden in Wales, and we do Ben Nevis in Scotland, the highest mountains over there as well.”
Returning to the Mont Blanc climb, Ken says that in preparation, the participants had done a lot of training in rope skills, dealing with ice, and using crampons.
“It’s as technical as you want it to be. So we’ve been learning all these winter skills over the last nine months; we were equipped and we were ready.
“It’s technical, but at the end of the day, it is a hike. It’s an extremely dangerous hike and some of the parts they were on were only two foot wide with 1000-metre drops each side.
"Those sorts of heights are not for everybody because they’re extremely dangerous, but I have to do it because that’s what I love and I have a lot of people in the group who want that adrenaline rush, for want of a better word.
"But then the other 80% of the group are just normal people that love to meet once a month and who would go for a three-hour hike somewhere around Ireland – and [Ireland is] just stunning.”
Ken has set himself the target of scaling the seven summits – the tallest mountains on each continent: “First we’re looking at the Matterhorn. We’re looking at Denali, which is the highest mountain in North America, possibly 2025.
"Next year, we’re looking at repeating Mont Blanc, and also looking at a mountain called Lobuche in the Himalayas, which is a 6000-metre peak, all through the Mullingar Hiking Group – and yes, Mount Everest is on the cards for anyone who wants to scale the seven summits, and there’s about eight people in the group who want to do that.”