How Howling Ridge got its name... the vertical rocks and magnificent scenery of Carrauntoohil

One of Ireland's finest mountaineering routes, this can be exhilarating — unless you're a husky dog

Climbers on Howling Ridge. Picture: John G O'Dwyer

On a February day in 1987, a Kerry man in his 20s from the Gap of Dunloe and a 16-year-old youth roped together beneath Ireland's highest mountain at a place known as the Heavenly Gates. They attached ice-climbing crampons to their boots and then began moving cautiously up a steep face on the snow-covered east face of Carrauntoohil.

Leading the climb was Con Moriarty. Known locally as the 'Mountain Man', he was already an experienced climber, having four years previously made the first ascent of the hardest route on Carrauntoohil. This was Primroses Ridge, which is rated very severe in climbing terms and dramatically separates the north and east faces of the mountain. He had just returned from a winter climbing expedition to Ben Nevis, where he had been enthralled by ascending the world-famous Tower Ridge in snow and ice. Scotland had, of course, a historically strong tradition of winter climbing, but the sport was virtually unknown in Kerry. Moriarty was now anxious to prove that challenging ice climbs could also be found in Ireland, and the severe winter of 1987 provided the perfect opportunity.