Mick braves snow drifts for guests
A WARDEN operating in the An Óige’s Glenmalure Youth Hostel went above and beyond the call of duty on St Patrick’s Day after braving a six kilometre hike through snow in order to get some food for starving guests.
Mick Morgan and guests staying at the hostel woke up on St Patrick’s Day to find heavy snow drifts covering the surrounding landscape.
‘We woke up to about six to eight inches of snow covering the whole valley and severe drifts in places. Guests began to panic a bit as the hostel was officially open only for one night. Once I reassured them that I was going nowhere and that I wouldn’t be closing up and evicting them to the mercy of the freezing elements, they started to calm down,’ said Mick.
Seven guests were staying in the hostel at the time, including a family with two young children. One family made a break for it but were forced to return because all routes were impassable.
‘Almost immediately, a family who were staying with us attempted to drive through the snow, despite it being frozen solid. They didn’t get very far though as two hours later they were back after having only made it less than two kilometres before getting stuck on the inclines just beyond Baravore bridge,’ said Mick.
The heavy snowfall overnight had taken everyone by surprise, and a lack of supplies started to become an increasing worry.
‘I had about three days of supplies with me and if I shared them with the others, we would all be on starvation rations. Plus, two of the guests were vegetarians and my food wouldn’t get them very far. There was nothing for it, I knew I’d have to hike six kilometres in the blinding blizzard to the nearby Glenmalure Lodge to see if I could purchase food.’
Mick, accompanied by two guests named Shannon and Adam who had stayed the previous night, headed out into the blizzard on their way to Glenmalure Lodge, some six kilometres away, in order to pick up some supplies. None of the three could see more than two feet in front of them for the majority of the journey, but they eventually reached Glenmalure Lodge, albeit freezing cold and a little worse for wear.
‘The first thing we did when we reached the lodge was thaw by the roaring fire, as each of us were covered from head to toe in massed snow and icicles,’ said Mick. ‘While the others got something to eat, I negotiated for supplies to bring back to the hungry guests, and within an hour I set off loaded up with food, water and cigarettes. Shannon and Adam stayed behind to enjoy the comforts of the warm lodge and only ventured back to the hostel around 9 p.m. later that night,’
In the meantime, a snow plough had cleared most of the route, so Mick was able to get a lift back to the hostel from a neighbour.
‘With everyone warm, fed and watered, we settled in for the night and told each other stories to pass the time. Everyone took it in great spirit and embraced the situation. The following morning we dug the cars out of the snow and set them up for travelling. The Son of the Beast from the East did its best to disrupt our Paddy’s weekend, but we were all safe, fed, watered and warm, with a fun story to take away.’