Pete Smith The much awaited trip to Crohy Head, which was scheduled for this very day was cancelled, (i) because the roads were looking dodgy and (ii) because we thought we'd get some ice-climbing done instead (well, it looked promising as the temperature hadn't lifted above freezing for about 5 days and -6°C had been recorded).

So, everyone was invited and the three musketeers turned up i.e. Bill LeClercGiggle-a-Lot, Alan Tees and your faithful correspondent. Off we set to Fintown, Donegal's answer to Fort William. We arrived with high hopes when we saw that Lough Finn was frozen over; we lost a bit of confidence when the local farmer told us that his water came off the mountain and had never failed; and we nearly stayed in the valley for the day when he told us that the sheep were easy to catch in the deep snow.

Suffice to say that the snow was consistently 6 inches to 3 feet deep, the ice was wet and weak (unclimbable) and the views were spectacular. We had a great day, but as hillwalkers, not as ice-climbers. AT LEAST WE WERE THERE!!!!