This fascinating YouTube series demonstrates how a team of five workers is building stone steps to the summit of Croagh Patrick in County Mayo.
The videos, posted by David Doyle on the Climb the Reek YouTube channel, highlight how the team harvests stones from the mountain before carrying them by hand to be used as steps.
The team has been working on a stone path to the summit of Croagh Patrick since December 2020 in a bid to make the mountain trails safer and more secure for the hundreds of thousands of people who climb Croagh Patrick every year.
The two-meter-wide path will also help combat erosion caused by the heavy footfall on the mountain, with erosion scarring becoming wider and deeper each year.
The team consists of Doyle, Bernard Burke, Frank McMahon, and Tulio d'jesus, and is led by mountain path expert Matt McConway, who has spent more than 30 years building paths in Ireland and the UK.
Doyle's video showcases a step-by-step guide of how the team is tackling the arduous task of building steps up the mountain.
Each morning begins with a stone harvesting from a "boulder field" on the side of the mountain, with the stones then carried down the mountain using a rope system.
The team then carries the stones by hand until they reach the steps, with each worker then digging a ditch in the side of the mountain to house the harvested stones.
The stones are finally hammered into place, leaving a safe and secure staircase to the summit of Croagh Patrick, also known as the Reek.
Doyle told IrishCentral that he expects the project to be completed by March, with maintenance set to be carried out for years to come.
Croagh Patrick stands at an imposing 764 meters and is Ireland's fourth-tallest peak. It is especially popular among pilgrims, with many electing to walk up the mountain barefoot.
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