Caher West Top
Mountain in Kerry, Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caher West Top (Irish: Cathair na Féinne, meaning 'stone fort of the Fianna')[2] at 973.4 metres (3,193 ft 7 in), is the fifth-highest peak in Ireland on the Irish Vandeleur-Lynam classification, and part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range. Caher West Top is the only Furth to have a prominence below 30 metres (98 ft).
| Caher West Top | |
|---|---|
Caher West Top from Caher | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 973.4 m (3,194 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 24.05 m (78.9 ft)[1] |
| Listing | Vandeleur-Lynam, Furth |
| Coordinates | 51°59′43″N 9°45′45″W[1] |
| Geography | |
  Caher West Top Location within Ireland | |
| Location | County Kerry, Ireland |
| Parent range | MacGillycuddy's Reeks |
| OSI/OSNI grid | V790840 |
| Topo map | OSI Discovery 78 |
| Geology | |
| Purple sandstone & siltstone, (Ballinskelligs Sandstone Formation)[1] | |
Geography
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1434483.jpg)
The mountain is located about 500 metres west of Caher East Top and is part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks of County Kerry.[3] Caher West Top 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".[4] The horseshoe takes in other neighbouring peaks such as Carrauntoohil, Beenkeragh, The Bones (including the Beenkeragh Ridge), Skregmore, and Cnoc Iochtair.[5]
Climbers refer to the narrow path that runs along the top of Caher West Top and neighboring Caher, as Caher Ridge.[6][7]
Caher West Top 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;[8] which is why Caher West Top is sometimes referred to as one of the 13 Irish Munros; it is the only one of the 34 Furths on the official SMC list that has a topographic prominence below 30 metres (98 ft 5 in).[9]
Because of Caher West Top's low prominence, it does not appear in the Irish Arderin classification, or the British Isles Simm and Hewitt classifications.[10] Caher West Top does also not appear in the MountainViews Online Database, 100 Highest Irish Mountains, as the prominence threshold is 100 m (328 ft 1 in).[11]
