Wednesday 23 October 2019

Club walk Sunday 27th October

 Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly
© F. Maguire
Clonmacnoise. 10-12 km road walk/ 2.5 to 3 hours duration.
Meet Shannonbridge Church car park at 9.30am. Bring hi-vis vest/snack. Tea/coffee and scones afterwards in Lukers. Leaders: Maura and Eileen.

Thanks

Huge thanks to Rory, Trevor and Brendan from GMRT for a brilliant night last night in Gullanes. So great to listen to speakers who are so passionate and knowledgeable. Thanks also to all club members,  members of the Athlone Walking Club, the Slieve Bloom Walking Club and the Clare Outdoor Club for coming along and making the evening so worthwhile. Delighted to meet everyone too.
Section of the audience last night, all ears!


Club Treasurer Jim presenting cheque to GMRT team 
Demonstrating the bothy bag

Monday 21 October 2019

GMRT talk Tuesday 22nd October

Just quick reminder to about the Galway Mountain Rescue Team talk tomorrow evening at 7.30pm in Gullane's. All very welcome.

Wednesday 16 October 2019

Wanda Rutkiewicz-Mountaineer


Celebrating Wanda RutkiewiczThose of you who use Google might have noticed that today's Google Doodle by Kevin Laughlin (see right), celebrates the noted mountaineer Wanda Rutkiewicz, the first Polish woman (in fact, the first Polish person) to summit Mount Everest. Today, October 16th, marks the 41st anniversary of her ascent.  A noted mountaineer, she summited many of the 8000m plus peaks and was the first woman to summit  K2 without supplemental oxygen. An engineer by profession, she went missing during an expedition to Kanchenjunga in 1992 and her body has never been recovered. More on this inspirational woman, who overcame many obstacles in her short life, can be found in her biography Wanda Rutkiewicz-A Caravan of Dreams, written by Gertrude Reinisch. Further info here  https://culture.pl/en/article/death-before-failure-wanda-rutkiewicz-the-golden-age-of-polish-mountaineering  

Tuesday 15 October 2019

Reminder re Registration

Rosway registration for new and returning members this coming Thursday 17th October in Gullane's foyer from 8-9pm. You can download and print Registration Form in advance here. Gear lists also to be found on right hand side of blog page.

Thursday 3 October 2019

GMRT talk Tuesday 22nd October 2019

Members of the Galway Mountain Rescue Team (GMRT) have kindly agreed to come to Ballinasloe and give a talk to the Club on


  • How to prep for hillwalking
  • What gear/ equipment you should take
  • Likely hazards to watch out for
  • Contacting Mountain Rescue and how you can help them to get to you
  • Mountain Rescue capabilities and equipment


  • The talk will take place on Tuesday October 22nd at 7.30pm in Gullane's Hotel. Refreshments afterwards.

    Please support your club and support GMRT by making the effort to attend.

    Just out of interest and especially for newer members who mightn't be aware of it, I've attached a link to a newspaper article about a successful challenge to climb the highest point in each of the 32 counties over one day in 2011 in aid of Mountain Rescue. It was a real club effort, with teams planting flags on the summits of each mountain/hill and returning to 'base camp' in Ballinasloe that evening to celebrate. It's been a long time since we've done something like that. Maybe 2020 will be the year for it? Article here.