Mountain Biking 1st Nov 2015

The Misty Marple Circuit.

Just lucky I had printed off so many maps and instructions, god knows what would have happened if I had thought to suggest people catch the train to the start! and thanks to Mary for providing a front wheel for me, wasn’t looking forward to a day’s unicycling. Goes without saying we had a fantastic weather day, too good for cycling should have been climbing really. Plenty of variety having to stop at the Mill Inn with a great water wheel then later stopping at roman remains.
Bill

Kinder Scramble 8 November 2015

7 hardy souls met and set off for some wet gill, slimy rock scrambling. Although the clag was down the weather was good to us with only a couple bits of light drizzle whilst scrambling. Up a scramble, down a scramble and up another scramble. Were we lost? NO – just having a good time. Our couple of 4 leg friends survived the day with one heart stopping moment from Scout and Tiggy well into the role of the parcel in the game of pass the parcel up the gill. Thanks to all for an enjoyable day. Mary

Windgather Meet Report 13.09.15

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Lovely day at Windgather with sun in the morning and some cloud in the afternoon. The initial 4 (2 late due to coffee and croissants) joined quickly by others so in total – after a mountain biker needing even more exercise attached himself to us, there was the grand total of 8 plus the dog. Great to see 2 non members on the meet. First time I have been to Windgather and well impressed and not only for the loads of climbs I could attempt. One of highlights of the day was Steve W beginning his challenge of 1000m of ascent  before next June. Rumour has it he hasn’t done this much in the past decade! Anyway good start with some confident leading.

Thanks to all for a great day.

Mary

Bamford Edge climbing – Sunday 26 July 2015

Those of an observant nature will have noticed an early post this morning re this meet, from The Organiser. This seriously disturbed a number of members still in bed at the time. Despite dire warnings from the Met Office, a grand total of 8 members and one welcome newcomer, Janet, felt obliged to answer the summons, flooding towards the crag in waves.
Remarkably the crag was still dry as we assembled before 10am and frantic rushing about led to a number of ascents, even during the course of a heavy shower.
The Organiser, expecting more rain, even took to hanging upside down and wimpering under an overhang before eventually emerging to finish in the dry.
However, by 12.30 a more serious downfall led a retreat after a remarkable number of ascents given the short time available. As CMC tradition demands, it was full speed to Hathersage and the Citronella Tea rooms [Outside was full], before serious gear shopping resulted in many pounds being spent and shares in Paramo rising as a result.
As usual, The Organiser delegated her task of writing this report to the most gullible member present, which turned out to be yours truly.
Thanks Linda!!!

Paul

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Burbage South climbing – Sunday 19 July 2015

After an ominous start to the day the rain cleared, exactly as forecasted, at 9:45. The day captured the early pioneering spirit of the Golden Age as lone climbers fought their way to the ‘hard to find’ Dowel Crack, some opting for the high path and hoping to drop in at the right spot, while others opted for the jungle bash on the lower path. Having found the crag, the group of 6 were met with a whole host of awkward, green cracks on this relatively unclimbed area of the Peak. This provoked a barrage of abuse at the meet organiser with comments like, “you’re not organising any more meets”, and, “there’s a reason why this area is quiet”. The group soon realised they were actually having an awesome time climbing in the testing conditions and the abuse eased as the day went on. Safe to say that I think Mary, Nigel, Bill, Hugh, Ellen and Simon all had at least one interesting/horrific experience on what was an awkward crag in testing conditions. Routes ranged from HVD to HS with some well earned ascents of Dowel Crack HVS 5a on a top rope thanks to Ellen and Bill.
Simon

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Wasdale weekend – 3-5th July 2015

The meet began 24 hours before most weekend away meets and
by Thursday evening people were gathering in the bar of the
Wasdale Head Inn. There were current and past CMC members
and Smith family members. It was raining and overcast –
typical Lake District weather – but the forecast was good
for the next day.

As forecast, the weather on Friday was excellent: warm and
sunny, little wind, and good visibility. All the tops were
clear. A party of 16 headed up the Shoulder route (southwest
ridge) of Lingmell. There were attractive views over
Wastwater on the ascent. At the top we had a coffee break.
This was Andy & Rosy’s 213rd Wainwright since retirement;
just one more to do: Scafell Pike. We dropped down to
Lingmell Col where we joined the busy tourist route coming
up from Brown Tongue. A ‘tedious half-hour’ (according to Mr
W) brought us to the top of the Pike. The highest point in
England was predictably crowded but we squeezed our way onto
the summit platform and popped our champagne corks to enjoy
a glass of bubbly in celebration of completion of the
Wainwrights and Andy’s 70th birthday. A quieter spot was
found nearby for a picnic lunch which included Rosy’s yummy
homemade ginger cake and a pork pie with a candle on it!

Eventually it was time to leave and we dropped down to Broad
Crag col, and then down the somewhat unpleasant scree gully
to reach the Corridor Route to Sty Head. Before reaching the
latter, we left the path and descended to join the old
bridleway down to Wasdale Head (except for a splinter group
of four who continued over Great Gable). On the way, four of
the party enjoyed a dip in the Emerald Pool below the
confluence of Piers Gill and Lingmell Beck. It had been a
great day out in the mountains. That evening 21 of us sat
down for a celebration dinner in the historic dining room of
the Wasdale Head Inn (the ‘birthplace of British climbing’),
surrounded by old photos of tweed-clad and nailed-boot-shod
climbers with hemp ropes tackling local and Alpine routes.
Afterwards the birthday cake was cut and consumed while we
enjoyed reminiscing about past days out in the hills.

After a wild night (wind, thunder, and heavy rain), Saturday
dawned wet with with the cloud down on the tops. Some of
the campers packed up and headed for home. The rest of us
split into different groups: some for low level walks and
others heading higher. A group of 10 walked to Overbeck
Bridge and climbed Yewbarrow. We were in cloud at the top as
we ate our lunch. Then it was down to Dore Head over Stirrup
Crag, which involved some mild scrambling. From the saddle,
three dropped down into Mosedale. The cloud was lifting off
the tops by now and the rest of us had a pleasant walk down
Overbeck back to the road. The weather had improved so much
that we could see the scene of yesterday’s achievement: the
top of Scafell Pike.

On Sunday, people headed off to different destinations,
mostly homeward. On the way a party of 6 of us walked from
Bigert Mire (above Ulpha) to the top of Whitfell, and were
rewarded by good views: a panorama of the high Lakeland
fells to the north; a view over Walney Island and Morecambe
Bay to the south. From here, two continued on a ridge walk
and four returned the same way.

Many thanks to everyone who has sent me some of their
photos. There are some great pictures there. I have put a
selection into a Picasa Web album which you can find here.

Andy Smith

Andy and Rosy completing their final Wainwright on Andy's 70th birthday

Andy and Rosy completing their final Wainwright – Scafell Pike – on Andy’s 70th birthday

T shirt weather - looking towards Sty Head Tarn

T shirt weather – looking towards Sty Head Tarn

Andy cutting the cake

Andy cutting the cake

Higgar Tor climbing – Tuesday 23 June 2015

The File on another day

The File on another day

On a lovely summer’s evening, a select group tackled some of the notoriously difficult routes on the Leaning Block at Higgar Tor, the down climb off of the block being equal in commitment to the routes themselves. Lucky we had Jez to rig an elaborate rope system to get us all off safely. The highlight of the evening must have been “The File” which Jez led with a lot gear, a lot of grunting and a quite a few expletives. I found myself pondering why it was called “The File” – maybe it’s because it’s long and straight, like a file………..Having returned home and seen the amount of skin that was no longer on the back my hands, I realised where it’s name must have come from. Check out some of the other route names on the block!

Simon

Burbage Valley Bouldering – 4 June 2015

Wow, the evening was physical!  Eight club members met up at Fox House and from there, under beautiful clear blue skies, charged into the heart of the Burbage Boulders to do battle; and what a battle it was. Starting off tentatively at Pock Block where we spent a while figuring out how to boulder and how to actually read the guide book. Warmed up, and now vaguely understanding the guide book, the group then advanced into the heart of the boulders, laying siege at The Brick and climbing the majority of what it had to offer. That done, the group made it up to the Armoured Car, all under the watchful eye of The Tank where they sessioned a particularly strenous and awkward 5+. About twenty boulder problems in all were figured out, ranging from font 3+ to 5+, and were climbed in varying styles. One thing was certain, we left the Boulders knowing we had been engaged in a struggle: bloody and split fingers, healing wounds re-opened, grit rash galore, grazes, burning finger tips and cramping feet – what more do you want? Excellent evening.

Simon

Simon bouldering in his high vis kit.

Simon bouldering in his high vis kit.

President’s Update

Dear Member,

There seems to be a lot going on so I thought an update would be useful. So in no particular order:

1. A new meets list for June and July has just been sent out by Andrew. If you have not received one please contact him.

2. Nepal. The Committee decided to make a donation of £100 from club funds towards disaster relief in Nepal, a country which many of us have visited. The money will go to Doug Scott’s charity Community Action Nepal. Further information on Community Action Nepal can be found at http://www.canepal.org.uk/

3. Meets. The weather has not been kind this spring with some meets washed out or blown away! For the eleven of us who made it to Scotland over the Easter holidays the weather was warm (too warm!) following snow and strong winds earlier in the week which created significant avalanche risk. Winter mountaineering routes were climbed on the Ben and Stob Coire nan Lochan, while various Mamores were ascended in conditions ranging from 10 metres to 100 kilometres visibility! Four of the team spent a day rock climbing on Poldubh Crags in Glen Nevis resorting to shorts and T shirts to cope with the conditions. Anglesey was much colder and wetter with climbing only possible on the Friday. Llangollen was cold and windy with some rain but Linda and I managed to climb for 3 of the 4 days we were there. Five us climbed at World’s End one of the days, a crag giving some of the best clinbing in the area. The walking was also good with a large group of us being led by Josie on the Sunday. This weekend we have an away meet to Appletreewick in the Yorkshire Dales. See the meets list for further away meets.

4. The New Members Weekends/Open Climbing Meets in April were a success for new and existing members alike with the combination of indoor and outdoor climbing working well. Over 20 people climbed on each of the two outdoor days. The Committee have just approved 5 applications for membership – welcome to Ben, Matt, Glyn, Gemma and Sam. Our membership count is now 68.

5. The Annual Photographic Competition was judged by Chris Jackson and won (only just) by Martin Whitaker. We must all try harder to beat him so get snapping! The winning photos will be on the website as soon as I have resolved a couple of technical issues.

6. Training. Linda, Nigel, Jez and I attended a Mountain First Aid course run by member Al Cash in May. An excellent course leaving us all feeling more confident in responding to emergencies in the outdoors. Further details of Al’s courses can be found on his website: http://gritstoneadventures.co.uk/ Our next training session is Marian’s Navigation evening on Thursday 16 July. Marian has run similar sessions in the past with those attending impressed by how it has improved their skills in this vital area. Remember that as a BMC member you can access training courses subsidised by them. Start here to see what is available: https://www.thebmc.co.uk/active-outdoors-essential-skills-for-an-outdoor-life If you are looking to improve your skills in a particular area please contact me to see how the club can help.

7. Guidebooks. The club has a collection of old climbing guides, mainly from the 1960’s and 1970’s covering areas of Scotland, the Lakes, Wales and the Peak. They all show the signs of use. If you are interested in any of them contact me for further details.

8. 50th Anniversary. The club will be 50 in 2017 and we plan to hold a number of events to celebrate this milestone. The Committee is keen to get your suggestions, so get in touch with one of us if you have any thoughts. One possibility is an digital (and possibly printed) publication containing new and old articles by club members together with an extensive collection of photographs, hopefully documenting every year of the club’s history. If you have old photos or articles or wish to contribute new ones get in touch.

9. Stanage. There has been friction between the Peak National Park and outdoor community for several years concernring the management (or lack of) of the North Lees Estate. The Peak Park has now appointed Rebekah Newman as Property Manager for North Lees with control over all issues and budgets. The BMC supports this move and attempts to increase revenue to manage the estate. One approach involves individuals donating £15 per annum to the upkeep of Stanage-North Lees. You get a car windscreen sticker for this which enables you to park in the Plantation car park for free. These are available from Outside Hathersage or the BMC or Peak Park websites. Further details are in the latest BMC Peak Area Newsletter which is accessable from Recent News on our Home page.

David

Froggatt Edge climbing – Sunday 10 May 2015

8 members attended the club meet at Froggatt on Sunday; the weather was pleasant and a full day’s climbing was had. There was a fair bit of ‘micky’ taking by Wragg over Marks; just the kind of gentle support one needs from the belayer when one is having a nightmare day climbing. I’m sure the favour will be returned one day. The Dowling brothers teamed up and climbed some impressive routes, including the particularly thuggish Right Flake Crack; a feat that I don’t think ws repeated on the day. Matt attacked the rock with his usual enthusiasm and got a few good leads under his belt under Vanda’s care and protection. Mary made a spirited and gutsy climb of Green Gut, complete with colourful language, urged on by the rest of the group and Judith and some of her family members who also turned up support. Andrew was in fine humorous form managing to put Wragg in his place on one occasion. Later in the day, a hitherto hidden route was eventually located and climbed by the now improving Wragg and Marks partership. Baxter found many sticks and lost only one on the day, after Leon’s throw took an awkward ricochet of a rock. He didn’t, that I am aware of, nick anybody’s sandwiches – Baxter that was, not Leon.

Simon