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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Cnoc Na Péiste
Cnoc na Péiste (Irish for "hill of the serpent"), anglicised Knocknapeasta, at 988 metres (3,241 ft), is the fourth-highest peak in Ireland, on the Arderin and Vandeleur-Lynam lists. Cnoc na Péiste is part of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range in County Kerry. It is one of only two 3,000 ft peaks in the Reeks with a prominence above the Marilyn threshold of 150 metres, and is the highest summit of the Eastern Reeks. In 1943, a USAAF plane crashed into the mountain, killing all five crew, and parts of the wreckage can still be seen in Lough Cummeenapeasta.

Geography

Looking westwards at the two summits of The Big Gun (left) and Cnoc na Peiste (right)

Cnoc na Péiste is the highest point in the Eastern Reeks section of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks range, which consists of a long narrow ridge that takes in several summits before ending at Cruach Mhór 932 metres (3,058 ft) and descending into the Gap of Dunloe, to the Head of the Gap, only to rise up again towards the Purple Mountain Group.

To the southwest of Cnoc na Péiste is the peak of Maolán Buí (973 m or 3,192 ft) and a generally flat grassy ridge to the col at the Devil's Ladder. To the northeast is the narrow sharp rocky arête that joins with The Big Gun (939 m or 3,081 ft), and Cruach Mhór (932 m or 3,058 ft), which marks the end of the eastern ridge of the Reeks.

Between Cnoc na Péiste and The Big Gun are two small lakes—Loch Coimín Piast (anglicised Lough Cummeenapeasta) and Lough Googh — one on either side of the ridge. A stream called Glasheencummeennapeasta flows northwards from Lough Cummeenapeasta into Hag's Glen, to join the Gaddagh River. On the other side of the ridge, a stream flows southwards from Lough Googh into the Derrycarna River.

Because of its positioning, Cnoc na Péiste is usually climbed as part of a horseshoe of the eastern section of the Reeks, starting from the Hag's Glen, and taking in Maolan Bui and The Big Gun, or as part of the even longer MacGillycuddy's Reeks Ridge Walk.

It is the 231st-highest mountain in Britain and Ireland on the Simm classification. Cnoc na Péiste 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; which is why Knocknapeasta is sometimes referred to as one of the 13 Irish Munros.

Panorama of Cnoc na Peiste and Loch Cummeenapeasta

Cnoc na Péiste's prominence qualifies it to meet the British Isles Marilyn classification, being the only other 3,000 foot Reek alongside Carrauntoohil to meet the 150 metre Marilyn prominence threshold. Cnoc na Péiste exceeds the P600 prominence threshold of 600 m (1,968 ft 6 in), which classes it as a "Major" mountain. Cnoc na Péiste also meets the Arderin, Simm and Hewitt classifications. Knocknapeasta ranks as the second-highest mountain in Ireland on the MountainViews Online Database, 100 Highest Irish Mountains, where the prominence threshold is over 100 metres.

Aircraft crash

At about 7 am on 17 December 1943, during World War II, a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) plane crashed into the northerly face of Cnoc na Péiste. The plane was a Douglas C-47 or Dakota (serial number 43-30719) with five crewmen aboard. It struck the mountain just above Lough Cummeenapeasta at an altitude of about 2,000 ft—killing all five passengers. The Gardaí were not alerted to the crash until 3 February 1944, and the following day an Irish Army detachment was sent to recover the bodies. Pieces of the aircraft can still be seen on the mountainside, and in the lake below (a rope is tied to a piece of the wreckage in the water). A plaque was placed at the shore of the lake to commemorate the victims.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cnoc na Péiste.

References

  1. ^ "Knocknapeasta/Cnoc na Péiste". MountainViews. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  2. ^ Peakbagger
  3. ^ Tempan, Paul (February 2012). "Irish Hill and Mountain Names" (PDF). MountainViews.ie.
  4. ^ "Ordnance Survey Ireland - Online map viewer". Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  5. ^ Discovery Series (1:50000) Map 78. Ordnance Survey Ireland. September 2000. ISBN 1-901496-83-X.
  6. ^ Ryan, Jim (2006). Carrauntoohil and MacGillycuddy's Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland's Highest Mountains. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1905172337.
  7. ^ Dillon, Paddy (1998). Exploring the South of Ireland. Ward Lock. ISBN 0-7063-7566-1.
  8. ^ O'Dwyer, John (6 June 2015). "Walks: The Big Gun is a blast on the Reeks Ridge, Co Kerry". Irish Times. Intimidating looking pinnacles now bar the way to the Big Gun, but generally the handholds are sound and surprisingly quickly you will be standing on the tiny summit. Regarded as the most difficult to reach of Ireland's major mountaintops, it offers the comforting thought that the crux of the route is now behind.
  9. ^ Moriarty, Con (2018). "The Ridge of the Reeks". Hidden Ireland Tours. Simply, the finest mountain traverse in Ireland with 7 summits over 3000 ft. From Kate Kearney's Cottage, in the Gap of Dunloe, to Doire na Féinne and Loch a' Chúis
  10. ^ Cocker, Chris; Jackson, Graham (2018). "The Database of British and Irish Hills". Database of British and Irish Hills.
  11. ^ Mountains – Key Facts. The Munros, Corbetts, Grahams, Donalds & Furths Archived 2012-12-04 at the Wayback Machine at www.smc.org.uk. Accessed on 5 Feb 2013.
  12. ^ "Hill Lists: Furths". Scottish Mountaineering Club. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018. The list of peaks of 3000ft or more within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland outside (furth) of Scotland. There are currently 34 Furths.
  13. ^ "Irish Highest 100: The highest 100 Irish mountains with a prominence of +100m". MountainViews Online Database. September 2018.
  14. ^ Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7
  15. ^ Warplane Research Group of Ireland
  16. ^ "1943 Crash of USAAF Dakoka into Cnoc an Peiste". KerryClimbing.ie. 2018. Blue arrow indicates the location of a blue rope which is tied to the wing in the water (and to a rock on the other end). No use pulling it: the wing is too heavy. The red arrow shows the location of a memorial plate. The plane crashed into the mountain 500 feet above this plate
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