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Do you have what it takes to claim one of Ireland's top-3 annual mountaineering awards? If so, we are delighted to offer you that chance. The Irish Mountaineer of the Year award is a unique outdoor sports competition based on the official Irish mountain list (i.e. the Irish Hewitts). The award is open to all hillwalkers who visit mountain summits throughout Ireland during the Sport Hillwalking season. To take part, mountaineers must log their visits on location using the Peakhunter app.
The Irish Mountaineer 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 challenge hillwalking.
To compete in this competition, mountaineers must also take part in the All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships - the official national-level multi-discipline Sport Hillwalking competition open to all mountaineers, Highpointeers and challenge hillwalkers 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). Championship participants who make the halfway cut will be issued a link which allows them to sign up for the Irish Mountaineer of the Year competition on Peakhunter. Points for any mountain summits they logged during May and June will automatically appear when they sign up. Once registered, they need to keep visiting mountain summits throughout Ireland for the remainder of the Sport Hillwalking season and log them on site using the Peakhunter smartphone app. Each of Ireland's 209 proper mountain summits (Hewitts) can be counted once between 1st May and 31st August.
Instructions
- Take part in the All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships. Click here for step-by-step instruction 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.
- Log visits to mountain summits in Ireland while on location using the Peakhunter smartphone app. All 209 proper mountain summits (Hewitts) 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. 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 will not be manually adjusting any scores as a result of logging a wrong marker or missing a summit.
- 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. Please note that there are weekly deadlines for submitting your logs to Peakhunter during July and August as explained in paragraph 8 below.
- 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 will receive access details allowing you to sign up for the Irish Mountaineer of the Year competition on Peakhunter. This will also provide access to the live leaderboard which will update automatically throughout the competition season. Your score for any mountain summits you logged during May and June will automatically appear when you sign up.
- Continue to visit mountain summits in Ireland for the remainder of the competition season. Log each visit while present at the respective location using the Peakhunter app.
- Each mountain summit has been assigned a weighted point-score value based on its elevation and prominence. When you log and submit to Peakhunter your first mountain summit of the competition season, your score will automatically appear in the real-time leader board after you sign up.
- During July and August, you must submit all new logs you create before the weekly deadline of 8:00am on each Wednesday. This new rule is being introduced for 2025 to ensure that the live leaderboard is kept up-to-date so that it reflects the actual state of play as closely as possible. In the interest of fair competition, this will allow all competitors to see exactly how their scores relate to everyone else's at any given time. If you fail to submit new logs on a weekly basis during July and August, it could result in having all points deducted for the respective week(s) when logs were not submitted on time. Please note that logbook entries are only stored locally on your phone until they are submitted to Peakhunter. Unsubmitted logs and all points associated with them are at risk of being lost. For this reason, we recommend submitting each log as soon as it is created.
- The Sport Hillwalking season generally starts on 1st May and ends on 31st August each year. During the four-month-long Irish Mountaineer of the Year competition, you are permitted to count each mountain summit once.
- You can keep track of all participants' scores throughout the competition on the live leaderboard.
- You are also welcome to take part in the Irish Highpointeer of the Year and Irish Challenge Hillwalker of the Year competitions as well as the All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships.
- We aim to announce all competition results by mid-September.
Winner selection
- Each Irish mountain summit has a point-score value based on its elevation and prominence. Points are automatically applied to the participant's score when they log a mountain summit on Peakhunter.
- The highest-scoring man and woman on Peakhunter's live leaderboard at the end of the Sport Hillwalking season will each earn the title of Irish Mountaineer of the Year and will each receive a Gold award.
- In the event of a draw, the winner will be top-scoring individual who logged the most mountain summits.
- The 2nd and 3rd highest-scoring men and women on Peakhunter's live leaderboard 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 Mountaineer of the Year competition will take place between 1st May and 31st August.
- The results will be announced in September 2025.
2024
| Placing | Name | Score | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Man | DOLEBOY | 1,015 pts | GOLD |
| 2nd Man | ANSAR | 977 pts | SILVER |
| 1st Woman | ELENAM | 596 pts | GOLD |
| 2nd Woman | MOUNTAINTOP TASCHA | 393 pts | SILVER |
| 3rd Woman | NAN | 385 pts | BRONZE |
| 3rd Man | PADDYOB | 384 pts | BRONZE |
2023
| Placing | Name | Score | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Woman | CAROLYN HIKE ON | 140 pts | GOLD |
| 1st Man | ANSAR | 115 pts | GOLD |
| 2nd Man | GALTY JACK | 94 pts | SILVER |
| 2nd Woman | MADMAR | 92 pts | SILVER |
| 3rd Woman | ELENAM | 90 pts | BRONZE |
| 3rd Man | PADDYOB | 81 pts | BRONZE |
2022
| Placing | Name | Score | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Man | MOUNTAIN MIKE | 184 pts | GOLD |
| =2nd Man | DILLON LYNCH | 162 pts | SILVER |
| =2nd Man | PADDYOB | 162 pts | SILVER |
| 1st Woman | NAN | 45 pts | GOLD |
| 2nd Woman | CAROLYN HIKE ON | 44 pts | SILVER |
| 3rd Woman | N/A | - | - |
