Day 7 - The finish line!

Man gets tired, Spirit don't

Man surrenders, Spirit won't.

Day seven of the challenge and the body is tired.  I can't help noticing that mine is not the only tired looking climber in the car park.  Mixed feelings this morning.  Delighted that I am fit and well and able to turn up for the final day and a little hint of sadness that it is all over after today's climbs.  Its been some week.  Another early start today.  I arrived in the car park at 7.30 am and spotted Lisa and Caroline.  I haven't seen Caroline since Matt 365 Loughrey's Valentines climb on the 12th of Feb when that gate to the real world I mentioned in yesterday's blog had some very unwelcome news for her.  It was her first time back to the Reek since and it was good to see her!

I found my climbing partners for this morning's climbing loitering around the coffee pot.  They were keen for me to get a coffee before we set off.  I think it was their need for coffee and recovery time needed rather than my welfare that they were interested in!!!  Late night in Campbell's methinks!  I am of course referring to Dermot and Karen who have been great company for various climbs over the week and I think I am partly responsible for dragging them up the mountain more times than they had intended!!  Good to have met you guys and we will climb or have pints someday soon!

The climb is so routine at this stage it is more about who you meet than where you are on the mountain.  I think I got to met and speak to every one I have met throughout the week today which is good.  My brother in law, Henry and Harry were with us on the ascent for a while and if it were not for Dermot and Karen stopping to talk to every dog that passed we probably would have stayed with them to the top!!  

Eamon and Henry

I also got to meet my old friend from an earlier bolg entry who flies up and down the mountain despite the double knee replacement!!  I didn't get his name so if anyone has it pass it on!  Here he is on his way up this morning for his third time this week.

Down in good time and we refuelled and waited for the arrival of my wife Dairin who was doing my final climb of the week with me.  Dairin has not climbed the mountain since she was a teenager and then did it in a pair of winkle pickers!!  Preparation and the belief in onself is all you need to tackle this mountain and Dairin was well prepared and I had belief.  I was prepared for a leisurely hike up the mountain but I was mistaken.  Dairin set a good pace and we reached the summit in around the 1h 30 mark.  Impressive!  Quick snack (yes Colette it was chocolate!!) and a photo or two and off with us! We made it back down in about an hour and twenty minutes.  I am very proud of Dairin and I couldn't have chosen better company for my 14th climb of the week.

Met loads of people on the way up and I think Dairin enjoyed the camaraderie between climbers and the respect and support shown to each other.  Met Aoife, Ann and Co again and they have become one of the compulsory stop and chat groups!!  We also met the happiest man on the mountain all week, Patrick, climbing with his brother today.  What will you all do tomorrow?  Sleep more than likely!!  You all deserve it!

The track was almost clear at this stage with just a little stubborn snow hanging about near the top.  Made for safer and easier climbing although the melting snow did make the gravel slippy in places and difficult to get ones footing on the cone.

Some other people we bumped into today included Matt '365' Loughrey (I wonder if the insertion of 365 in his name is annoying him yet?!!!) who was climbing with Rory and his camera.  Looking forward to seeing some of that footage!  If you enjoyed this blog and the whole climbing the Reek this week I suggest you follow Matt's page on Facebook  (Croagh Patrick 365)  Matt is climbing the mountain every day for a year and has already completed 286 of those.  You know how it feels to have done 7 in a row so just try to imagine what this guy is going through.  You will never hear him grumble either.  I have had the pleasure of his company on a few occasions on the Reek and hope we will climb together again before 365.

Ian Mc Keever started out this week with the intention of climbing the mountain 5 times a day for the five days.  Many said it was not possible and I would be included in that number before I did a bit of research into the man and subsequently met the man.  I as yet did not hear if he has completed his challenge but I did meet him on his third ascent of the day and 33rd of the week and he was in good shape.  I would say the pain that man is in tonight is something else but hats off to you sir that is some achievement! 

I also met Ann.  I have seen her a few times over the week.  She qualified for Team Marry which is a group of people that are attempting to climb the Reek 12 times in under 24 hours.  To qualify for this team you had to climb the mountain 3 times in under 5 hours.  She did and I think is now regretting it!!!

 These are the Lawrence Brothers from Ballina.  Gas men.  Said I could take their photo if it would be in the paper!!

Peggy works with Johnny and Pat and climbed four of the days but has been bitten by the bug and will more than likely be a 7 day climber next year.  I met Peggy on all 4 of her climbs I think.

This is Jimmy.  I climbed with Jimmy once last year and although I didn't climb with him this year we met and chatted every day in the carpark or on the mountain.  Jimmy has a real interest in everyone he meets!  His misson this year is to climb the mountain 60 times.  Good luck to you sir.That's Pats Mum and my dietitian for the week!

 There was also Lorraine and the girls who we met most days and today the were resplendent in green!!  "Are ya mad doing it two times in a row?" came the shout followed by "fair play to ya".  Well fair play to you girls.  You did seven days in a row!! I'm sure a lot of people said fair play to you too as I have said to Enda Lonergan who has completed 15 climbs this week and I will say to anyone that climbs the mountain only once.  It is an achievement for anyone this week whether it is one climb or 35 climbs never mind 365 climbs!!!

We have all heard about and seen people climbing the mountain in their bare feet and today there was a lot of people doing so.  I stopped one young man and asked him how they were feeling to which he replied "not as bad as I thought they would be" and then I asked "why?" to which he said "I had nothing better to do today!"  He had his shoes on him on the way down!!

I have paid credit to all the crew that are behind the challenge in earlier entries but it needs to be said again.  The effort that goes into the preparation for an event starts not long after the the previous event ends.  The closer the event come the more time is put into it.  It becomes as busy as a full time job to make sure everything goes according to plan and everyones needs are met.  I don't know about you but I found the whole challenge better than many business and services I use on a regular basis.  The main man behind the admin in the build up and during the event is big Pat.  Always the smile and chat for every climber be it a one or seven day climber.  Cheers Pat and Siobhan!!

Not forgetting the team of caterers that worked all day every day to keep us all fed and watered all week.  Never left waiting for your grub when you came down and they always served with a smile and a kind word.  Disappointing however that they never got my full Irish breakfast organised for me!!! 

And then of course there is Johnny!  Always on the mountain making every climber welcome and always first with the news of whats happening on the mountain.  He spent more time on the mountain on his one climb a day than some of the double and treble climbers would spend on all their climbs.  Todays news for us was that one climber proposed to his girlfriend on the summit and as Johnny was on a radio interview at the time he got the proposal on the airwaves!!  We were later to hear that the girl that got engaged fell near the bottom of the reek and broke her wrist!!! Ouch!  Anyway, Fair play Johnny you played a blinder.  I only have the one shot of Johnny this year so apologies for the repeat picture!

So once again we were nearing the end of a climb.  This one more significant than the rest as it was the final one.  As part of my current studies I am learning about group work and how difficult it can be for group members to acknowledge the ending of a group.  When confronted with an end, the group invariably finds many good and logical reasons for continuing.  All of us involved in the 7 days were a group whether we realised it or not and we behaved like any group does.  Any of you involved in groups at work or school/college should see the similarities.  On the first day you recognise someone you know and form an attachment.  Maybe you meet some one at registration and spark up conversation, maybe you set off on your own but as the week goes on you start to make connections with people, notice peoples routines, form groups, etc,etc.  Well it is no surprise.  We all had an obvious commonality.  So like any group towards the end of of the week people started to look for a way out of the end of this group!  Did you say or hear said at any stage in the last two days "what will we do with ourselves next week?" or "we'll have to do this at least once a week from now on"  Well ended it has.  The only 7 dayer that is going to be on the mountain tomorrow is Matt for as he said to me on the phone during the week "sure I have to go up anyway"  The rest of us will be chilling out tomorrow no doubt and for those of us that have to work will be telling of our heroics over coffee with colleagues.  My ending came when I reached the babbling brook towards the end of the climb that signaled the start of the each climb and provided the soothing music that played for each successful return from the holy mountain.  Until next time.........

Thanks you to all of you that have stopped by to read the blog and that have made a point of coming up to me on the mountain to let me know that you have read and enjoyed reading.  Blogging is another first for me in a week of firsts!

Greg