Caher Mountain (Kerry)

Caher or Caher East Top (Irish: Cathair na Féinne, meaning 'stone fort of the Fianna')[2] at 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), is the third-highest peak in Ireland, on the Irish Arderin and Vandeleur-Lynam classifications. It is part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks in County Kerry.

This article is about the mountain in County Kerry. For the hill in County Cork, see Caher Mountain (Cork).

Caher
Cathair na Féinne
Caher Ridge, with Caher East Top (l) and Caher West Top (r); as seen from Carrauntoohil
Highest point
Elevation1,000 m (3,300 ft)[1]
Prominence99.76 m (327.3 ft)[1]
ListingFurth, Hewitt, Arderin, Simm, Vandeleur-Lynam
Coordinates51.994449°N 9.758549°W / 51.994449; -9.758549[1]
Naming
English translationstone fort of the Fianna
Language of nameIrish
Geography
Parent rangeMacGillycuddy's Reeks
OSI/OSNI gridV792838
Topo mapOSI Discovery 78
Geology
Mountain typePurple sandstone & siltstone, (Ballinskelligs Sandstone Formation)[1]
Climbing
Easiest routevia Coomloughra Horseshoe

Geography
The Coomloughra Horseshoe with Caher East Top and Caher West Top on the right, Carrauntoohil back left, and the Beenkeragh Ridge on the far left.

Caher is Ireland's third-highest peak. The mountain lies to the southwest of Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest peak at 1,038.6 metres (3,407 ft 6 in), in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range in County Kerry.[3][4]

Caher is often climbed as part of the Coomloughra Horseshoe, which takes 6–8 hours and is described as "one of Ireland’s classic ridge walks".[5] It takes in the circuit of neighbouring peaks of Caher West Top, Carrauntoohil, The Bones, Beenkeragh, and Skregmore. On Caher's western slopes is the townland of Derrynafeana (Irish: Doire na Féinne, meaning 'oak wood of the Fianna').[6][4]

Climbers refer to the narrow path that runs along the top of Caher West Top and neighboring Caher, as the Caher Ridge.[7][3][4]

Caher is the 200th–highest mountain in Britain and Ireland on the Simm classification.[8] Caher is regarded by the Scottish Mountaineering Club ("SMC") as one of 34 Furths, which is a mountain above 3,000 ft (914.4 m) in elevation, and meets the other SMC criteria for a Munro (e.g. "sufficient separation"), but which is outside of (or furth) Scotland;[9] which is why Caher is sometimes referred to as one of the 13 Irish Munros. Caher's prominence qualifies it to meet the Arderin classification, and the British Isles Simm and Hewitt classifications.[8] Caher does not appear in the MountainViews Online Database, 100 Highest Irish Mountains, as it is below the required the prominence threshold of 100 m (328 ft).[10]

Climbers on the summit of Caher East Top with Carrauntoohil in the left background and The Bones in the far left background. To the right of Caher's summit is the long eastern section of the Reeks

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caher.

References
  1. MountainViews: Caher (Cathair)
  2. Paul Tempan (February 2012). "Irish Hill and Mountain Names" (PDF). MountainViews.ie.
  3. Ryan, Jim (2006). Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1905172337.
  4. Dillion, Paddy (1993). The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits. Cicerone. ISBN 978-1852841102.
  5. "Route Descriptions". Kerry Mountain Rescue Teams. 2018.
  6. Derrynafeana. Placenames Database of Ireland.
  7. "Hiking Carrauntoohil: Everything you Need to Know". Outside.ie. 2017. The trail will take you along the really scenic Caher Ridge Path with great views and takes in the summit of the Caher Mountain, before you descend a little to the col on the way to Carrauntoohil.
  8. Cocker, Chris; Jackson, Graham (2018). "The Database of British and Irish Hills". Database of British and Irish Hills.
  9. Mountains – Key Facts. The Munros, Corbetts, Grahams, Donalds & Furths Archived 2012-08-22 at the Wayback Machine at www.smc.org.uk. Accessed on 5 Feb 2013.
  10. Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7
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