A brave effort by a County Mayo climber to climb Croagh Patrick each
day for a whole year is continuing despite the bad weather.
Despite the horrendous weather conditions, which have seen
temperatures in County Mayo drop as low as -10C, climber Matt Loughrey's
bid to reach the summit 365 times passed the 200th mark at the
weekend.
The thirty two year old climber said that he got the idea for the climb when talking with friends last May.
“A few years ago I took a job as a tour guide on Croagh Patrick and
that summer I did around 40 ascents. I was struck then by the special
energy of the place and by the fact that everyone you met had a genuine
reason for climbing the mountain.”
“Then after the economic collapse I was thinking about how vulnerable
people were and how even people who had been wealthy were now quietly
struggling.”
As previously reported in ciNews his
climb commenced on June 5 2010 and he is doing the trek in aid of the
Saint Vincent De Paul society.
He said that some days he is joined by
other climbers in reaching the summit while sometimes he climbs alone.
Despite the weather Matt also confirmed that he determined to
continue the climb and will even make the trek on Christmas day
commencing at 9:00am.
His mission can be followed on his Facebook page or his website www.croaghpatrick365.com.
SIC: CIN/IE