Midweek Meets
Please read the following if you are considering coming along to one of
our meets:
BMC Participation Statement
"I accept that climbing and mountaineering are activities with a risk of
personal injury or death. I am aware of and shall accept these risks and wish
to participate in these activities voluntarily and shall be responsible for my
own actions and involvement."
Over summer 2006 the KMC had mid-week Climbing meets at local crags every
Wednesday evening, weather permitting. Crags for each week were nominated
by those keen people who actually got out and climbed the week before.
We also have the lists of mid-week meets (and any reports from them) for these other years:
2003,
2004,
2005,
2007
2008
Midweek Meets from 2006
| April 26th | | Troy Quarry (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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An excellent turnout for the first evening meet of the year. Dave Dillon, Scott Sadler, Duncan Lee,
Dave Wylie, Al Metelko, Mark Ashley, Trish Cranston, Karen Kennedy, Lucy, Socks the dog, Anna Neubert,
John Cox, Roger Daley and about half a dozen others (sorry, I don't have a full list!) put in
an appearance. The usual routes -
"One Way Street",
"Rapunzle",
"Stacked Deck",
"Left Siamese Twin",
"Right Siamese Twin",
etc.
all saw plenty of traffic.
Climbing continued until well after sunset, then most people headed off to the pub (once
we found one that wasn't already packed).
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| May 3rd | | Anglezarke (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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Another well attended evening meet, on a warm sunny evening. Al Metelko, James Richardson,
Dave Wylie, Duncan Lee, Vicky Alderton, Scott Sadler, John Cox, Roger Daley, Dave Dillon
and several others came along to enjoy the delights of the quarry. So did the midges!
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| May 10th | | Wilton 3 (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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Good fun, loads of sun, some climbing by moon light, went to the Black Dog in Belmont afterwards...
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| May 17th | | Hobson Moor |
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Amazingly, despite the weather, this evening meet actually took place!
On Wednesday James Richardson headed to Hobson Moor Quarry with Al Metelko.
Al did a couple of lengths on the back wall and then left James to it. He
spent the next hour there bouldering around and even got a couple of routes in.
He then headed to Stalybridge Station Cafe for a beer and met up with
Dave Bish and Katie.
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| May 24th | | Yellowslacks |
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This crag was originally developed by the KMC, in the early days of the Club. The local
farmer didn't like the idea of people climbing there and tried to blow up the crag!
Several years later, some members went back and did lots of new routes on the re-shaped
outcrop. The farmer then blew it up again. The current routes were put up by climbers who
were not from the KMC. Hopefully, now that it is on designated Access Land, it should be
safe to climb there without fear of detonation.
A fine, though rather cool, evening only tempted three KMCers out to this infrequented crag:
Dave Wylie, Mark Ashley and Andy Grantham. In addition, on the way in, Dave encountered Gary
Cook who was out for a walk, but not climbing.
Dave soloed/bouldered some micro-routes on the craglets on the edge marked as "Yellow
Slacks" on the map, before proceeding to the main crag ("Dog Rock", according
to the Ordnance Survey). Here he found Mark starting up his first route: Curbstones (V-Diff).
Andy and Dave followed him up this. Next, Mark decided to have a go at Mantelshelf Buttress
(Hard V-Diff). Perhaps this was a poor choice, as he revealed that he can't actually
mantelshelf! Instead, he ended up in the grassy corner off to the left of the lower part of
the route. By the time Andy and Dave had also scrambled up this, it was getting late and
very cold, so they called it a day.
Where was everybody else? Who were the climbers on Shelf Benches on the other side of the valley?
Who left the broken vacuum flask littering the craglets? Will anybody turn up at Cow's Mouth
Quarry Next Week? Find out, if you can...
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| May 31st | | Cow's Mouth Quarry (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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This proved to be popular venue. Al Metelko, James Richardson, Vicky Alderton, Dave Wylie,
Duncan Lee, Robert Clark, Mark Ashley, John Cox, Roger Daley, Dave Bish, Jamie, Mel, Wozzname
and Erm all turned up at this evening's meet.
Much soloing was done (though the final moves were avoided on routes where the finish was too
chossy). Plenty of roped action too, including aid ascents of "Overhanging Crack"!!
The neighbouring route, "Z Crack" also proved interesting: Mr. Clark did a good lead,
but Mr. Bish was repulsed by the finishing moves - though he did later cleanly second it.
Other routes, such as "Sandy Crack", "The Romeo Error", "Flake Crack",
"Groove", "Groovin", "Cornette", "Route One", etc., etc. all
saw plenty of attention as well. At least one person disappeared into the bowels of "Curving
Chimney", though exactly how/where/if they emerged is not clear.
As the sun started to drift towards the horizon, the quarry was gradually abandoned for the
warmth of "The White House" pub - the early absconders just managing to make it
there in time to get the last two portions of chips before the kitchen closed!
Once everybody was in attendance, the full democratic process began to select the crag for
next week. The Webmaster's suggestions of Pordenack Point, Fox Promontory and Chair
Ladder weren't taken seriously, even though they will be "local" for him at
the time of the next meet...
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| June 7th | | Egerton Quarry (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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Evening climbing
A sad, bedraggled, quarry
Ten days later, cleaned!
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| June 14th | | Witches' Quarry (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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Over a dozen KMCers made it out to Witches' Quarry, including: John Cox, Mark Ashley,
Dave Wylie, James Richardson, Duncan Lee, Vicky Alderton, Roger Daley, Scott Sadler,
Al Metelko, Karen Kennedy and Andy Grantham. There were also a few other climbers
around and at least one of these may have been persuaded to come along to the Club!
We were also joined by rather a lot of sheep and a few midges.
The routes proved to be generally good, though with a few areas of loose rock near
the top. The anchor points installed in the grass at the top of the crag were a bit
sparse, requiring some cunning (and at least one tree-root) to set up safe belays.
"Belladonna", "Broomstick", "Problem Child", "Elizabeth",
"Serenity", "Nance", "Cracklap" and several other routes
all saw ascents by various people.
The post-climbing pub was the Assheton Arms in Downham, where the usual democratic
process for selecting the next mid-week crag took place.
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| June 21st | | Aldery Cliff in Earl Sterndale |
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We had a good turn out for this meet, 9 in all: James, Scott, Al, Karen, Roger Daley, New John, Anna + 2 Others.
Weather was fine until 10 but very windy.
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| June 28th | | Millstone |
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Millstone was very good last night, fantastic evening sun. Quite a
few routes were done, including James making a mess of the crux on Great
Portland Street (his first proper HVS lead). Roger did Great Slab,
Gimcrack and some others. Scot had failed leads on Regents Street and
an HVS off-width.
Attendees:
James, Scott, Al, Roger Daley, Karen, Gary Cook, New Andy, Jamie.
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| July 5th | | Pule Hill (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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At least two Johns, two Daves, a Trish, a Roger, a Mark and a Jamie turned up. The two guys from the Rucksack Club
were not there for the KMC meet, so they dind't count. Neither did the minibus load of kids, nor any of the other
random people who were passing. The ominous thunder over to the West also failed to get a meet tick as it stayed
dry at the crag all evening.
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| July 12th | | Blackstone Edge (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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Another respectable turn-out by the KMC, with regulars Dave Wylie, John Cox, Mark Ashley,
John Guest, Trish Cranston, Dave Dillon and Al Metelko being joined by newcomers Matt from
Milnrow, plus young Gordon (who climbed) with his Dad (who supervised).
A brief (and rather incomplete) summary of the routes climbed is as follows:
- South Chimney (Diff): Dave W. (solo)
- North Chimney (Moderate): Dave W. (solo, twice), Trish Cranston (solo), John Guest (solo)
- Pendulum Swing (VS, 4c): Mark Ashley (lead), John Cox (second, then lead), Trish (second), Dave W. (lead), John Guest (second with lots of blood)
- Pendulum Swing Direct (HVS, 5a): Dave D. (top-rope), Al (top-rope)
- Twin Cracks (V-Diff): Dave W. (lead, right hand crack only)
- Central Groove (Severe, 4a)
- Central Crack (V-Diff): John Cox (lead)
- Belly on a Plate (VS, 4c): John Cox and Mark Ashley (comedy lead/second combo)
- Random bouldering
By the end of the evening, at least half a dozen from another (non KMC) group had also turned up,
so this small gritstone outcrop was getting pretty crowded!
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| July 19th | | Tonacliffe Quarry (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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Dave Wylie, John Cox, Mark Ashley, Dave Shotton, Trish Cranston, Karen Kennedy,
Roger Daley, Al Metelko and Young Gordon visited this small quarry just North of
Rochdale. A superb, warm, sunny evening with just enough breeze at the top of the
crag to prevent people being roasted. Most of the worthwhile routes in the low
to mid grades saw multiple leads. Given the small size of the quarry, most of
the routes done actually seemed very good!
After a few routes, the first four of the climbers named above headed off to Roy
and Ivy Lee's Garden Party, where the venue for the following week was decided
by a unanimous vote.
Roy and Ivy wrote:
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Please will you thank the Karabiner Mountaineering members and friends for the
wonderful support at the garden evening in aid of St. Ann's
Hospice with the sale of plants and donations. £118 was raised on the night but the main
point it was lovely meeting friends again. With our other events, a cheque for £677.50 will
be sent to the hospice.
Thank you all once again,
Kind thoughts,
Roy and Ivy Lee.
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| July 26th | | Alderman Rocks |
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A number of KMCers (nk) did a number of climbs (nc) made
up of different numbers of pitches (np). The equipment used on each
ascent included a number of ropes (nr) and items of gear (ng).
Towards the end of the evening there were a number of midges (nm) in
addition to some flying ants (na). At this point the climbers retreated
to the Pub for a number of drinks (nd).
Given that:
- nk ≈ 7
- nc > 5
- 1 ≤ np ≤ 2
- 0 ≤ nr ≤ 2
- ng ≥ 0
- nm → ∞
- na < nm
calculate nd
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| August 9th | | Denham Quarry (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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The Climbers
The Weather
The Crag
The Routes
The Pub
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| August 16th | | Stoney Middleton |
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Attendees were: James, Keen Andy, New John, Karen, Gordon, Wavey, Trish,
Mark Ashley and Mat. Anna turned up for the pub but didn't manage to climb.
Wavey started off on a VS with a large number of seconds, while James
led Asparagus (VS) with Andy and Gordon. Wavey then headed off with a
large contingent to do Tiger Trott (the most exposed VD in the peak)
while James did Gabriel with Andy and Mark did Asparagus with Mat. Andy,
Mark, Anna and James then headed off to The Moon. On the way past Tiger
Trott they had a shouting conversation with Gordon, apparently most
people where lost in the cave somewhere.
All finally made it to the pub by 10.30 for a pint or two.
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| August 30th | | Ravensdale |
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This Wednesday night Al, Anna and James arrived at Ravensdale just as it
started raining. Al led a wet VD up the outside of the cave. They all
finished as it went dark and stopped raining. The walk back down was
interesting seeing as nobody brought a head torch. They then went to
the Red Lion in Litton which is a very pleasent pub.
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| September 6th | | Heptonstall |
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A warm, dry, sunny evening at Heptonstall. Just two KMCers ventured out, though - and
only one of them did any climbing.
The Webmaster arrived early and soloed "Peepod" (Diff, P1) on the Right
Hand Outcrop, then did some low-level bouldering on the Cubic Block. A thorough
exploration of the rest of the crag failed to reveal any other routes that were
easy and inviting enough to be soloed. The Treasurer turned up later, but didn't
climb.
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| September 13th | | Cadshaw Castle Rocks (see also the Online Guidebook) |
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Another fine evening on the rock. Dave Wylie, Roger Daley, Karen Kennedy and Al Metelko
turned out to this small, but perfectly formed, crag. Dave arrived early and soloed
about half a dozen easy (up to V-Diff) routes before the others arrived. Al also did
loads of soloing. Roger and Dave and Karen roped up to do a trio of severes.
The routes included:
- "The Staircase" (Mod)
- "Pagan Wall" (Severe, 4a)
- "Corner Chimney" (Diff)
- "Crack and Wall" (Severe, 4a)
- "Oak Tree Chimney" (V-Diff)
- "Split Block Climb" (Severe, 4a)
- "Curving Crack" (Diff)
- "East Chimney" (Mod)
- "West Buttress - Ordinary" (Diff)
The rock was dry, perhaps a little polished in places but that wasn't a big
problem. A few of the other routes had a some suspect rock or vegetation near
the top, but these could always be gardened or avoided! All in all, an excellent
little crag.
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| September 20th | | Hobson Moor |
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Hobson Moor was dry and well fingered by the KMC. Food in the Pub (The Globe in Glossop)
was good, as usual. Quiz results need more practice, especially in the Roman goddess
department.
As this was "Possibly the last midweek climbing of the summer"
it was decided to make sure that next week would be "Really, the pretty much,
very last midweek climbing of the summer" by going to Hobson Moor again
next Wednesday, weather permitting. Same entertainment on offer. Brush
up your Latin.
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| September 27th | | Yet another visit to Hobson Moor |
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Eight people made it out for this final mid-week evening climbing meet of 2006.
There was only time for a couple of routes and some low-level traversing before
it got too dark and the rain arrived.
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