We are heading to the Swiss and Italian Alps next week. The Tour of Monte Rosa is our adventure. If this is a route that appeals to you, let us know we can include it on our 2018 calendar.

Our training courses provide a great and practical introduction to hiking we introduce the basics of navigation, and provide a solid foundation for personal proficiency in the mountains. We are fully accredited by Mountaineering Ireland, the National Governing Body for mountaineering in Ireland. Our Mountain Skills 1 course covers: Personal equipment Map reading and understanding Navigational techniques, map and compass How to recognise natural features on the map and outdoors Mountain hazards and dangers Measuring distance Safety and emergency procedures

Great to see articles like this in the media. Well done The Irish Times. See you on the Maamturks Challenge next year?

Hiking on Brow Head, West Cork

Sunshine on the GR20, see you here in 2018?

The Lug Challenge is on this coming weekend. 2017 marks the 40th Anniversary of the Lug Challenge Walk. I look forward to meeting walkers from far and wide on this epic hike. 50K long, 2,400m height gain and covers 17 summits. This and the Maamturks challenge are the hardest challenge hikes on the calendar. Thanks to The Irish Ramblers Club for hosting the event and best of luck to the brave 100 taking part.

We have a couple of places left on our Mountain Skills 1 course on the 10th - 11th June. We will be based in Glendalough. Two of our expert instructors will be presenting the course. Message us if you are interested.

As some of us are training for the Lug Challenge on the 24th of June, we did a training hike yesterday. From the Wicklow gap to Sally Gap and back, slightly wet underfoot in parts but overall great conditions. We had cloud inversion, steaming bog and some signs of soil erosion on Mullaghcleevaun. Hike distance was 34k ascent was 1700m.

We had a big corporate group out on Saturday. Nearly 50 people on a charity hike up Galtymore, we had plenty of sunshine between the showers, thats summer in Ireland. Thanks to Niall, Tina, Emily, Fergal and Andy who were leading on the day. Thanks also to Kings Yard in Knocknagalty for the friendly welcome. It was great to see our friends in the Irish Ramblers Club who were out hiking there also.

A cloudy Lugnaquilla summit awaits our 26 clients on last Saturday. We were greeted to some tough conditions on top. Everyone reached the summit, well done to all. If you are planning a challenge hike please contact us if you need guides.