Madam, - A report in your edition of April 4th mentions the disintegration of the Devil's Ladder, the route taken by climbers wishing to scale Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil in Co Kerry.
The article also details the utter lack of amenities in the area and the deplorable accessibility. Having myself climbed Carrauntoohil on several occasions over recent years, this disintegration has indeed been most evident.
On a recent trip to Cuba I decided to climb her highest peak, Pico Turquino. Despite a transport crisis gripping an island which seems to be blocked from dealing with the world at large for some unfathomable reason, it is possible to reach the base of this mountain by public transport. On reaching the trail's beginning one finds a cabin complex with park rangers ready to take the modest fee and supply a local guide to take the trail with the hikers.
Once one reaches the trail proper, damage through overtrekking has been controlled by a series of steps being created in the trail. It is a wonderful climb, and one can stop for coffee at several points where local men take two-week stints on government pay living on the mountain to maintain the integrity of the trail. This on an island starved of capital. This on an island where the people are in all dignity reduced to their knees by a vengeful hegemon.
Heritage is the most important thing gifted us by our forbears. Heritage is the most important thing we can pass on to our children, along with the wisdom to respect and protect that heritage. Cuba, an island crippled by embargo, has the foresight to recognise this. What of Ireland, the island John Paul II warned against the ravages of an all-worshipped materialism? Carrauntoohil is shrinking. The tribes of Ireland gargle gold while her mountain disappears into the sea. - Yours, etc.,
DECLAN McGAURAN, Chelmsford Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.