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Two lifelong friends have scaled Ireland’s tallest mountain in a bid to prove they are at peak fitness and to celebrate bilateral relations with Bahrain.
Shane McCarthy and Nazar Yousif, both aged 17 and in Year 12 at St Christopher’s School, toppled the 1,038m Carrauntoohil and posed proudly on the peak with the flags of the two nations.
Shane and Nazar met when they were just five and became pals in the playground at infant school. Their mums, Caroline and Colleen, both grew up in the Irish city of Cork and knew each other through a mutual friend as teenagers, but when both moved overseas they lost contact.
As is often the case, it proved a small world in the kingdom when their two boys ended up in the same classroom. Like their parents, they soon became best friends and remain so to this day.
Caroline said: “The boys like a challenge and like to keep fit and active - they are both very invested in sports and appreciate the outdoors. During a school holiday back in Ireland it proved to be a natural fit and also a chance to celebrate the long history between our two countries.”
Carrauntoohil towers above the MacGillycuddy Reeks Mountain range in County Kerry, and on a fine day, views extend more than 100 miles to the far away mountains, lakes and farmlands of West Cork and Kerry.
Shane is currently a house captain and a member of the St Christopher’s swimming team. He has represented the school both locally and internationally, holding a number of records. Nazar is a passionate footballer and has captained the school football team, the Arsenal Soccer School Bahrain and Tekkers teams, being named ‘player of the year’.
Shane said: “It was a fantastic and entirely unique experience. Usually when someone goes on holiday they think of relaxing by the sea, but here we were scaling a mountain in freezing winds, trying not to fall off the edge! “The transition from the warm and humid summer environment found here in Bahrain, to cold and damp weather up on Carrauntoohil gave me a glimpse into what it must be like for serious climbers taking on much bigger mountains. The trek also gave me a real appreciation for what they achieve because I can now say, first hand, it is not easy.”
The trip was not without its challenges. The boys had taken practice climbs over smaller peaks in the weeks leading up to their adventure but nothing could prepare them for the thick fog that descended when they got near the top of the main mountain.
They were barely able to see a metre in front of them, making it hard to tell whether they were on the right path or about to fall off the edge of a sheer drop. Not only that, but they were forced to scramble up almost vertical rock faces to actually reach the top.
Nazar said: “It was an unforgettable experience. Being able to say that you conquered a mountain and managed to reach such heights does indeed fill you with pride as well as the fact for me personally being the first Bahraini to climb it … that did feel very special.
“Being able to overcome my fear of heights and get to the top after a long, tough journey was extremely satisfying. The views were incredible on the way down and the feeling of success and accomplishment made the journey worthwhile and very rewarding.”
As for the next step, the boys are hoping to scale Kilimanjaro next year … and then take it one mountain at a time.
