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Do you have what it takes to claim one of Ireland's top-3 annual challenge hillwalking awards? If so, we are delighted to offer you that chance. The Irish Challenge Hillwalker of the Year award is a unique outdoor sports competition designed exclusively for challenge hillwalkers. The award is open to all hillwalkers who successfully complete any of our single-day Irish hillwalking challenges listed on this page in 24 hours or less during the Sport Hillwalking season. To take part, challenge hillwalkers must log all of their chosen challenges' respective summits while on location using the Peakhunter app.
To make it onto the competition scoreboard, a participant must make the halfway cut in the All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships AND score at least 100 points from their single-day challenge completions before the season ends on 31st August. All challenge point-score values are listed in the tables below.
This competition is as much about a hillwalker's real navigational skills as it is about their fitness. If a hillwalker is entirely dependent on electronic devices and / or smartphone apps for navigation, they aren't actually doing any navigating themselves and should not be taking part in this competition. For this reason, we require photographic evidence to demonstrate the absolute minimum level of competency (i.e. that they are at least carrying a relevant hardcopy map and a traditional magnetic compass on the day of their challenge).
The Irish Challenge Hillwalker of the Year award is the highest level of recognition in this specialist Sport Hillwalking discipline. A dedicated award is also available in each of the other two disciplines: Highpointeering and mountaineering.
To compete in this competition, challenge hillwalkers must also take part in the All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships - the official national-level multi-discipline Sport Hillwalking competition open to all challenge hillwalkers, mountaineers and Highpointeers in Ireland.
Take part
In order to take part, hillwalkers must submit a Sport Hillwalking Entry Form AND score at least 50 points in the All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships before the halfway cut-off point of the Sport Hillwalking season (11:59pm on 30th June). New for 2025: Championship participants who make the halfway cut must also complete at least 100 points worth of single-day Irish hillwalking challenges to appear on the Challenge Hillwalker of the Year scoreboard before the end of the season (11:59pm on 31st August). We will update the scoreboard manually during July and August based on the Hillwalking Challenge Completion Forms we receive. So far, we have set up 32 different Irish hillwalking challenges for this competition. To score points, challenge hillwalkers must log all of their chosen challenge's respective summits in under 24 hours while standing at each of them using the Peakhunter app AND submit an online Hillwalking Challenge Completion Form for each challenge no later than one week after completion day.
Instructions
- Take part in the All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships. Click here for step-by-step instructions for the Championships.
- You must complete and submit a Sport Hillwalking Entry Form AND sign up for Round 1 (May) and / or Round 2 (June) of the All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships.
- Undertake your chosen single-day Irish hillwalking challenge(s). Log all required summits on the day of each challenge while present at their respective locations using the Peakhunter app. You can only earn points for a hillwalking challenge if you complete it in less than 24 hours during the Sport Hillwalking season.
- All required summits have been added to the Peakhunter database as virtual markers. Please be aware that multiple markers for the same summit may exist on Peakhunter. Only one marker carries competition points for each summit, so please check your logbook in the Peakhunter app before you leave its location to ensure that you have logged the correct one. If you log the correct one, an orange "C" icon will appear in the logbook. If this does not appear, you need to seek out the correct one, otherwise the points will not be added and you will fail the challenge. It is your own responsibility to make sure that you log the correct marker before you leave each summit. Please note that some Peakhunter marker names may not match summit names on published hardcopy maps. It is therefore important to compare these as part of your pre-walk planning. We may accept the accidental logging of a duplicate marker but we will not accept the omission of any required summits.
- Submit your logs to Peakhunter as soon as possible to avoid accidentally loosing any of your hard-earned points. You need to do this in the logbook section on the Peakhunter smartphone app. You may be able to do this on location if you have sufficient mobile network signal. If not, you can wait until you get back to civilisation.
- If you successfully make the halfway cut in the All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships by submitting a Sport Hillwalking Entry Form AND scoring at least 50 points by 11:59pm on 30th June, you must also complete at least 100 points worth of single-day Irish hillwalking challenge completions to appear on the Challenge Hillwalker of the Year scoreboard before the end of the season (11:59pm on 31st August). Your score for any single-day Irish hillwalking challenges you complete during season will be manually added to the scoreboard by us during July and August.
- For a single-day challenge completion, you will score the respective weighted point-score for each summit featured in that hillwalking challenge. For example, a single-day completion of the Mourne Mountains Challenge would earn you 121 points. An incomplete challenge will earn you no points. A challenge completed in more than 24 hours will earn you no points.
- To claim points for completing a hillwalking challenge in a single day, you must provide the absolute minimum evidence to prove that you are a competent challenge hillwalker. The evidence we require is a photo you have taken at one of the challenge's summits which shows your own hand holding a traditional magnetic compass and a hardcopy of a map recommended on the respective single-day Irish hillwalking challenge's page on The Ireland Walking Guide website. Under no circumstances will we accept electronic compasses and / or digital mapping. We only need to see the map's front cover with its title clearly readable so please fold the map for the photo. The image must be attached to one of your Peakhunter logs. You will be asked to supply the URL of this log entry when you submit the Hillwalking Challenge Completion Form. This image is the minimum evidence of hillwalking competence we require, and points will not be issued without it.
- To add points to your Irish Challenge Hillwalker of the Year competition score, you must complete and submit the online Hillwalking Challenge Completion Form. We strongly encourage you to submit this within one week of completing each challenge. A prompt form submission will speed up the admin side of things at our end (i.e. verifying completions, updating the leaderboard, issuing Certificates of Completion, etc). We reserve the right to disregard forms received more than a week after completion day.
- The Sport Hillwalking season generally starts on 1st May and ends on 31st August each year. During this four-month-long competition, you are permitted to count each hillwalking challenge once.
- Each summit visit can only be counted towards one hillwalking challenge. This means that you cannot claim points for completing two or more challenges simultaneously (e.g. the Mourne Mountains Challenge and the Mourne 700s Challenge). Each challenge must be undertaken separately.
- You can keep track of all participants' scores throughout the competition on a scoreboard which we will be manaully updating during July and August based on the Hillwalking Challenge Completion Forms we receive..
- You are also welcome to take part in the Irish Highpointeer of the Year and Irish Mountaineer of the Year competitions as well as the All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships.
- We aim to announce all competition results by mid-September.
The Challenges
Sport Hillwalkers can score points in the Irish Challenge Hillwalker of the Year competition by completing any of the single-day challenges listed on this page in 24 hours or less during the Sport Hillwalking season. At present, 32 challenges have been set up for this competition. Other challenges are currently under development...
Mountain Challenges
There are 23 range-specific mountain challenges in Ireland. These are all listed in the table below. Each of these local summit list challenges features at least 3 proper mountain summits including at least 2 Slievemores. Click on a challenge's name in the table to find out more about it over on The Ireland Walking Guide website.
700s Challenges
There are 9 range-specific 700s challenges in Ireland. These are all listed in the table below. Each of these local summit list challenges features at least 3 proper mountain summits which are all 700m+ high and include at least 2 Slievemores. Click on a challenge's name in the table to find out more about it over on The Ireland Walking Guide website.
| Challenge name | Locations required |
Competition score |
|---|---|---|
The Comeragh 700s Challenge |
4 summits | 40 points |
The Dingle 700s Challenge |
8 summits | 81 points |
The Dunkerron 700s Challenge |
4 summits | 44 points |
The Galtee 700s Challenge |
6 summits | 61 points |
The Macgillycuddy's Reeks 700s Challenge |
14 summits | 144 points |
The Mourne 700s Challenge |
6 summits | 62 points |
The Mweelrea 700s Challenge |
5 summits | 49 points |
The Nephins 700s Challenge |
3 summits | 40 points |
The Wicklow 700s Challenge |
14 summits | 132 points |
Winner selection
- A single-day challenge completion will be verified on Peakhunter after we receive a Hillwalking Challenge Completion Form.
- Each challenge hillwalker's total score will be calculated based on all the Hillwalking Challenge Completion Forms we receive.
- The highest-scoring man and woman at the end of the Sport Hillwalking season will each earn the title of Irish Challenge Hillwalker of the Year and will each receive a Gold award.
- In the event of a draw, the winner will be top-scoring individual with the highest average score across all of their completed challenges. If this still produces a draw, the winner will be the top-scoring individual who completed their challenges in the shortest time (i.e. the time between the first summit they logged in their first completed challenge of the season to the last summit logged in their last completed challenge of the season.
- The 2nd and 3rd highest-scoring men and women at the end of the Sport Hillwalking season will each receive a Silver and Bronze award respectively.
- The award winners will be announced in early September.
Previous results
- The 2025 Irish Challenge Hillwalker of the Year competition will take place between 1st May and 31st August.
- The results will be announced in September 2025.
2023
| Placing | Name | Score | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Man | PADDYOB | 851 points from 12 challenges | GOLD |
| 1st Woman | CAROLYN HIKE ON | 596 points from 12 challenges | GOLD |
| 2nd Man | DILLON LYNCH | 212 points from 2 challenges | SILVER |
| 3rd Man | BENDOHERTY | 84 points from 2 challenges | BRONZE |
| 2nd Woman | NAN | 59 points from 1 challenge | SILVER |
| 3rd Woman | N/A | - | - |
2022
| Placing | Name | Score | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| =1st Man | DILLON LYNCH | 140 points from 17 challenges | GOLD |
| =1st Man | PADDYOB | 140 points from 17 challenges | GOLD |
| 3rd Man | MOUNTAIN MIKE | 121 points from 17 challenges | BRONZE |
| 1st Woman | IDAWICKLOW | 93 points from 10 challenges | GOLD |
| 2nd Woman | OLIVIA JOYCE | 23 points from 4 challenges | SILVER |
| 3rd Woman | JOSEPHINE O'BRIEN | 20 points from 4 challenges | BRONZE |
