Maamturks Safety

Safety on the Maumturks Walk.

This is not a walk for beginners. If you haven't done walks with about 1500m climbing (5000 ft) or more, or if you haven't done walks that take over 10 hours you aren't ready for it. Try doing the county tops or a shorter "long walk" such as the Galtees or the Blackstairs. Work up to it with a club. Apart from the physical challenge there is the difficulty of navigation and route finding. At least 6 days out of 10 there is mist on some of the route and sometimes on all of it.

There is a local weather system on the Bens and the Turks which makes things even more variable than elsewhere. A day starting out in bright sunshine may change to rain/ mist with high winds. Get instruction from a club or course on navigation and practice before you try here. My routecard, this site or guidebooks don't replace your effort. And get the gear. On each of the organised walks of 1997 and 1998 someone was sufficiently injured to need to be ferried to hospital by helicopter.

I understand that apart from the fatal accident in 1999, there was another rescue also. Don't go without first aid gear, bivvy bags etc. Be prepared to look after yourself and this does not mean relying on a mobile phone and expecting that will solve a problem. On many days on the higher ground it is unlikely that a helicopter could reach you in the mist.

The nearest mountain rescue team could easily take half a day to reach you.