Carrauntouhill by The Heavenly Gates.

An old buddy of mine had asked me a few months ago to take him up Carrauntouhill the next time i was there but the problem was that every time i headed up it was always with a paying group. So last week i contacted him and with the weather looking promising we struck out from Lisleibane carpark at 10am we headed up the Hag's Glen, up onto the first level, next we stopped for a brief break at the emergency shelter. From there we took the steep path up to the gap at the Heavenly Gates where we were treated to superb views across the Eastern Reeks, The Zig Zag's and down The Hag's Glen. From there it was on towards the head of The Devil's Ladder before turning Right and taking the well worn path to the summit. The cloud had thankfully stayed away which gave us a 360 degree view as far as the eye could see. The wind had been with us on and off during the day but at the summit it was blowing at possibly minus 5 or 6. With some food and a change of clothing we said farewell to the other hikers on the summit and headed down towards the top of the Devils Ladder for the 20 minute climb to the start of The Zig Zag's. From here it was an easy decent to the valley floor and the long walk back to the car park. Another very enjoyable day with great company. Cathal @ClimbIreland