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Hi All,
Slight change of plan. Having spoken with Ali we have decided to make this a combined meeting. We will start at approx. 6.30 to arrange meets from January through to March. Mainly walking but I’d like to get at least one scramble in per month.
Then from approx. 7.15 we will start the climbing meets planning from April onwards.
All welcome but feel free to just attend the session you are most interested in getting involved with.
Again, if you can’t make it on the night can you let myself or Ali know what meets you’d like to see on the 2024 calendar and any dates you can coordinate.
Thanks
Kial8 members stayed at the Gwern Gof Uchaf campsite at the base of Tryfan, (Eryri). We were blessed with good weather over the weekend. Activities were all climbing based, myself and Andy Ward, Leon & Andrew tackling Direct Route on Glyder Fach whilst Mary & Geoff climbed Slab Route alongside us. Julian & Marcelina opted for a day on Little Tryfan joined by a passing visit from Pete Hammond. The following day we decided to keep low down for an easy retreat before the forecast rain rolled in; Geoff and Mary heading to Milestone Buttress, Leon & Andrew going to Little Tryfan with the rest of us heading to Bochlwyd Buttress.
Best achievement of the weekend goes to Mary for getting a crane fly out of her tent all by herself.
Best gear rescue: came from a couple from Sheffield following myself and Andy up the last pitch of Direct Route.
Thanks everyone for another great away meet.Photos can be found in MeetUp with the following link (Can other attendees add their pics to the album? It would be good to have them all in one place).
https://www.meetup.com/castle-mountaineering-club/photos/33920394/Have people managed to get booked in at the campsite?
I’ve had a couple of people saying they can’t get through on the phone.
Who is going that hasn’t managed to get booked in yet? If there is a few then we need a concentrated effort from all and whoever gets through first should book everyone else in at the same time….I have two more dates to fill, we should have a local climbing venue during the Torridon away trip on the 15 & 22 Oct. If anybody can fill these dates please message or call me directly.
Thanks
KialOriginal message with info for this meet can be found here:
Hi Dick. No you don’t need to download any software, you can join via the web as you mentioned.
I think (not 100% sure) you will have to sign in with a Microsoft user name i.e a .hotmail or .live account. Free to sign up to if you don’t already have one.
You can try joining the meeting now, its a live link. Obviously no one will be in the meeting but at least you can check you are able to log in ahead of time.Kial.
August Tuesdays evenings are now in the calendar, Bill Boley is the coordinator. We decided to re-run some of July’s venues as they were rained off, lets see if August is kinder to us.
I’ll fill in the rest of the dates shortly.
Kial
Seems to be lots of confusion so please follow this link for the correct hostel…
14 members embarked on Ailefroide in the Ercins National Park in the southern French Alp, spread over a 3 week period.
The early arrivers managed to secure a big enough area on the campsite to house us all in.
The main activity was the multi-pitch sport climbing crags which littered the area within walking distance. This was mainly on granite slabs so a few of us decided on the single-pitch crag first to get used to the rock (and the heat!). Luckily there’s enough for everyone in terms of grades and if you wanted to top up your tan or stay in the shade.
Other activities people got involved in were the local via ferrata 3 miles away and another at Vallouise which was a Grade 3 and up up up, rather than in the gorge.
E-mountain bikes were hired by Lorna and Simon for the day to test out and although they weren’t a fan of the bikes, the tracks and trails were all a must.
The local walk took you to the Alpine meadow on the way to Clapouse, this was less than 2 hours walk from the campsite and had stunning views, a small snow field, beautiful meadows and the usual chamois. Gemma ran back down the mountain but later confessed she got overtaken by 2 kids!
More adventurous hikes took you on a loop to Lac d’Euchauda which involved a bit of scrambling.
A couple of mountain huts were stayed in including the Refuge du Glacier Blanc, Refuge de Pelvoux and the Refuge du Ecrins. Different parties took on different expeditions from the huts although the overall outcome was the ground was loose and melting. The guides and hut guardians told us that many weren’t going to the summits due to the conditions being harder now due to warmer temperatures. And even those that had visited the area 15-20years ago noticed that the glaciers had receded dramatically.
All those that took part in the expeditions made it back to the campsite in one piece although it was only Gemma that took to the cold-water therapy of late afternoon dips in the glacial melt water stream that ran through the campsite.
All in all, a brilliant venue for sport climbing for all abilities as well as access to the mountains of the Ecrins. No doubt the club will be visiting again in the future (before all the snow goes?!).
We should start and have an annual summer abroad trip for mountaineering and climbing so all get your thinking caps on for a 2024 venue….Thanks for all the responses I had for this. I think all climbing dates are now filled for this year.
I’ll get the calendar updated when I return from France.Cheers
KialOnly a couple more weeks to go until Ailefroide.
So far I have confirmed as attending:Kial & Gemma
Lorna & Simon
Pete McGlynn
Mark & Adele
David & Linda
Geoff & his mate PhilCan you let me know and/or add your name and dates to the spreadsheet if you are coming along.
I’m creating a WhatsApp group for the trip, let me know if you want to be added.I’ve got myself a few guides for the area:
GR54 tour of the Ecrin guide
Classic routes in the Ecrins mountaineering guide by Editions Constant
Classic snow, rock & mixed climbs by Vertebrate Publishing
Briancon Climbs the French & English selected rock climbing guide
David is also taking along a few from the club library.Activities people are planning:
Walking – long or multiday
Climbing
Mountaineering
Bikes?Hope to see you there
Kial & GemmaDue to this being cancelled with a lack of interest I propose to utilise one of the four venues as Sundays meet.
We haven’t visited or due to visit Hen Cloud this year so this will be the new meet for Sunday 18th June.
Meet in the roadside parking at 9am (it fills up early, you will get a parking ticket if you aren’t in a designated parking spot).Please let me know if you intend on going.
Cheers
KialJust to point out that the email you’ll all have received from Gemma’s original message didn’t contain links (the message board gets rid of these when sending the emails out).
So please refer to the message on the website message board to access the links to ticklists, cycle route info & registration to make planning and co-ordination possible.
Thanks
Kial