"Layback /n./ what a climber looks forward to at the end of a day. - Anon"
The IMC Hut
| The IMC Hut is owned and ran by the Irish Mountaineering Club and has been around since 1957. It's in Glendassan near Glendalough in Co. Wicklow. The club uses the hut for some of its events and club members also regularly use it for their own activities. It's very useful for staying close to the climbing and bouldering areas in Glendalough. The accommodation is very basic but it has running water, toilets and central heating. There are good cooking facilities: gas stoves, pots, cutlery, plates and a fridge. There's a room with a fire and plenty of space in the kitchen for people to sit around. There is one shower and it's generally cold. Sleeping is upstairs on alpine-style bunks, (think concentration camp). For the IMC hut it is really important that you bring at the very least a suitable sleeping bag and warm clothes. The heating only runs when people are awake to keep it on, (it turns of every fifteen minutes) so when you're asleep there's no heating. Of course you'll be indoors and probably won't be actually back packing so you could just bring a few blankets in the back seat of your car if you don't have a sleeping bag. You need food and drink too, even the basics like milk, it's pretty isolated. Thankfully, there's a hotel jst down the road in Glendalough so if you're stuck you can sort yourself out there. They can give you cash back on a Laser card which is always useful too. The closest shop is in Laragh and has the basics. The best piece of advice you can get is that you should think of it like camping indoors so bring stuff like headtorches and lighters, (and whatever else you'd take camping). Directions To get to the IMC hut, head to Laragh by whatever route you normally take, (follow the brown signs for Glendalough from the N11 at Kilmacanogue or other towns around the area). From Laragh, follow the signs to Glendalough until you reach the fork in the road at the entrance to the national park. The right fork will take you up a hill away from Glendalough and into Glendassan. The IMC hut is a short drive up this road. There are a number of red-herring gateways along the way. You are looking for a gateway on the left hand side, (usually open unless you're the first to arrive) marked with a rusty steel barrel lid on the left pier with "IMC HUT" painted faintly on it. The driveway drops down from the road and you should be able to see a standard stone farmhouse close to the road with a few cars outside and an obvious party in progress. |  |
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