Karabiner Mountaineering Club

May 2004 Forthcoming Meets

All note the following small print when taking part in meets :-

May 16^th - Stanage - Sheena Hendrie

In an unimaginative moment last year, I suggested Stanage for a spring meet. It seemed a safe bet at the time but I must admit to not feeling inspired about Stanage again. So I've tried to find a section of the crag where I don't think we have been for a while - Marble Wall is therefore our start point before working onwards towards the popular end as we run out of routes the meet leader can lead. Entertainment value will be provided by me tackling Terrazza Crack- maybe. There is a reasonable selection of grades, with Crow Chin not too far away.

I expect to get to the car park (The Planation about 10:30). Hope to see you on the day.

May 22^nd/23^rd - Borrowdale Camp/climb - Virginia Castick

The chosen campsite is Hollows Farm at Grange, G.R. 249167. This is a lovely wooded site but the facilities are a bit naff. I intend to go to Great Gable on Saturday to climb and then walk over the summit. A mass ascent of Napes Needle would be fun. On Sunday there are plenty of potions in the valley. Corvus, Doves Nest Black Crag Falcon crag, I could go on and on. Dust off your camping gear and come and have fun in the sun.

May 29^th/31^st - Ty Powdwr, Clogwyn Du'r Arddu - John Evans

Ok folks, we tried this one last year and as far as I know there was no climbing at Clogwyn Du'r Arddu on account of heavy showers. Try again I reckon.. There is the possibility of bivvying at the foot of the crag by the lakeside depending on the weather (by the keen!), which would be ideal. Climbing-wise there are many possibilities, a whole bunch of classic routes VS and upwards, provided the conditions are OK (the curious are advised to consult the relevant guidebook!). Failing that, there are the usual alternatives available, climbing, walking, festering and so on. A long weekend as well, so more time for plotting and even activity!

The good news (or possibly bad news if you don't like curry) is that my glamorous assistants and I will be preparing large quantities of curry on Saturday night, which attracted 20-odd victims last time. There will be several dishes, all vegetarian (feel free to make meat-based alternatives!) with rice and certain trimmings, and I'll need consumers to chip in approx 2 quid... I shall be in the area estimating levels of interest in the coming weeks. We might even get on the cliff this time, you never know!

June 5^th/11^th - Glen Brittle, Skye - Dave Wylie

The annual KMC trip to Skye is evidently as popular as ever! Despite having the entire Hut (18 places) booked this year, the meet is already almost "sold out". Only a handful of places remain unfilled (as of mid-April), with plenty of interest from other people who have yet to commit themselves. Anybody who has told me that they want to come, but have not yet paid, should get the £21 to me ASAP to ensure that they do not lose their place.

If even more people want to join the meet, there is a chance that a couple of extras may be squeezed into the Hut, though this will depend on the goodwill of the Warden. Other options are the Glenbrittle camp-site just down the road from the Hut, or various bunk-houses further up the Island.

The Hut is booked for the Saturday night through to the Friday night, so we travel up on Saturday the 5th and back on Saturday the 12th. Contact me if you want any more information or would like to try and co-ordinate travel arrangements. I'm usually down at the Pub on a Thursday evening, otherwise 'phone me or e-mail me.

June 12^th - Burbage North - Heather Brooke

Due to request of landlord for no large parties to use Rivelin Crag, the meet on Saturday 12^th June has been changed to Burbage North.

Burbage North has many classic routes at both the lower and higher grades and therefore I hope to see lots of KMCers climbing there on Saturday. I will be at the crag for about 11am near Knight's Move.

June 13^th - Millstone Climbing - Dave Dillon

After climbing all over Rivelin on the Saturday (12^th) come for a relaxing day at Millstone. I'll be at the large area in front on the Embankments at 10:30, as the sun comes round onto the climbs. Plenty of space for KMC creche to operate. Climbs at most grades with good spectator galleries. Located on the north side of the A625 about 2 km from Hathersage going towards Sheffield.

June 20^th - Llangollen World's End Walk/Climb - Iain McCallum/Sheena Hendrie

Walk - Iain McCallum
Start/finish: Car park on the left of the road (A539) as you approach Llangollen, by the river just before the town bridge ( GR. 218421).

Route: Llangollen - Dinas Bran Castle - Edges above Trevor Rocks and Eglwseg Mountain - Bryn Goleu - Offa's Dyke Path - Craig Arthur - World's End - Horseshoe Pass - Moel y Gamelin - Pillar of Eliseg - Vale Crucis Abbey - Canal Towpath - Llangollen. Distance 13/14 miles.

Meet at 9.30am for a 9.45am. start Maps OS Explorer 255 Llangollen & Berwyn, 264 Denbigh and/or OS Landranger 116 Denbigh & Colwyn Bay area, 117 Chester & Wrexham.

Climbing - Sheena Hendrie
The initial suggestion for the climbing venue on this meet was Craig Arthur. However, since the majority of grades at Craig Arthur itself are beyond the reach of ordinary mortals, I think we need an alternative venue.

I've had a look at the guide book with the aim of providing something to interest people climbing across a range of grades. That is not easy to find on one crag, nor is parking in the middle of the valley straightforward - so I have a compromise. I suggest we start at Pinfold South Buttress (GR 222453) until lunchtime (1230-1300) when the walkers can join us. Then, depending on interest and group wishes, we can move to one of the other crags further north - Pinfold North Buttress, Twighlight Gully area, or Worlds End. For those looking for a choice of grades, Worlds End looks the best bet but my recollection is that routes there are polished?

Car parking for Pinfold South is in the Rock Farm area (layby on right of road travelling north). For Worlds End its uphill from the ford (450m) in a layby on the left. Anywhere in between is problematic - there is space for about two cars beneath the Twighlight area. Worlds End in particular has had a reputation for car thefts - I've not had a problem on occasional visits but you have been warned.

If you climb in the valley that day, you can have a tick even if your visit to a particular crag does not coincide with that of the meet leader! Let me know what you do - but I hope the plan above meets with general concensus. Hope to see you on the day.

PS If its wet, I'll join the walk - hope you do the same.

June 26^th/27^th - Ty Powdwr - Sue Brooke

This meet for myself serves a dual purpose: to extend a reciprocal invite to members of the Craven Pot Hole Club who have agreed to members of the KMC joining them on the winch meet at Gaping Ghyll and to celebrate John's birthday. So far I have had a response from one member of the Craven Pot Hole Club who is first and foremost a keen climber and who said that he is looking forward to the luxury of sitting in a hut in Wales and watching it rain, rather than sitting in a tent. I have assured him that it is definitely not going to rain on my meet and that he will meet many like minded people. I personally am so unfit that I have no definite plans for the weekend, but hope that the walkers amongst you will join me on a walk on Saturday (injuries permitting) and that I will still be able to move on the Sunday to do a little climbing. The one thing that I can assure you is that I will be there to socialise and celebrate with you all on the Saturday evening and listen to all the tales of 'daring do' that I cannot be part of myself, so the theme of the weekend is come along, do whatever you like and enjoy!

Sunday July 4^th - Ten Edge Challenge - Rick Davies

Enjoy climbing? Enjoy doing a route or two in the Peak District? Up for a bit of a challenge?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above then this is the meet for you!

The Challenge: To complete a route on each of ten specially chosen crags in the peak district, without the use of any form of wheeled transport (other than to get you to the starting point).

So, think you can handle it?

Walkers! A special request to the walking fraternity of the club, I would be very grateful if any of the clubs keen walkers would volunteer a little of their time to help out as marshals on the day.

If you fancy the meet, or would like to volunteer help then please telephone me or email me.

July 24^th/25^th - Ty Powdwr - Seddon/McCallum/Anderson

Saturday - Walking and Climbing - to be arranged nearer the day.

Evening - Birthday celebration with beer, wine and soft drinks.

A meal will be provided at about 7.30pm.

Menu - melon, jacket potato with cold meats and trimmings (There will be a vegetarian alternative) and a sweet. In view of the catering arrangements it would be helpful if you could let us know beforehand whether you intend coming on this meet and whether you require a "Cold meat supper" or a "Veggie supper"

Sunday - Climbing and walking

August 21^st/22^nd - Weekend Birthday Camp - Gaping Ghyll Winch Meet - Lorna Marsland/Joe Flynn/Sue Brooke

This as an opportunity for KMC members to witness madness on a grand scale, specifically to allow members of the public direct access to Gaping Ghyll main chamber, without getting wet! Over the course of three weekends a small quiet valley in the Yorkshire Dales is turned into a tented village, compete with pub (Craven Pot Hole Club members Only), with the stream, which naturally flows down the main shaft, dammed and diverted to provide drinking water, bathing, a system to cool the winch, which in turn provides warm water for showering. All this is in order to allow the building of a plat formed structure at the top of the main shaft, down which, for a small price (£8), members of the public can be winched in a bosons chair for a guided tour of the main chamber. The Craven Pot Hole Club have agreed that members may join them at some point over this weekend (to be negotiated), which is also the weekend that Lorna will be celebrating her birthday and will be leading a walk in the area. Because this is such a grand venture anyone wishing to use the winch for free will have to provide assistance in setting up on the previous weekend, in guiding parties around the main chamber or promise assistance with closing down and dismantling. Anyone not able to assist will have to pay the same price as members of the public for the privilege. For more information or to confirm interest please contact Susan Brooke.

September 4^th/5^th - Southern Sea Cliffs Part Two - Rick Davies

Swanage, Dorset - Also known as The Beach Boys Saga!

This is the second part of my sea cliff odyssey this year it was meant to be a trilogy, but like Douglas Adams my numeracy is a little bit on the dodgy side!

Anyway, Swanage is a superb venue for a weekend's summer climbing with vast amounts of sun-kissed limestone by the sea!

So, what's there for you? Well there are routes of all grades, but to get the most out of this meet you really need to be able to climb VS (at one end of the rope anyway), as this is the starting point of the best routes. In the area there are so many quality routes that its hard to pick out some that grab the attention, at VS Freda and Old Faithful are the obvious *** routes, in the HVS range why not try Lightning Wall, Fraggle Rock, Finale Groove The Golden Fleece or perhaps the pick of the crop, Behemoth.

In the higher grades there are at least as many *** routes, Mars and Elysium stand out at E1, Gypsy and Buccaneer at E2, and Soul Sacrifice at E3.

So, where to stay? I'll be camping at Tom's Field (which does have facilities such as showers), which is near to the village of Langton Matravers, from which you can easily walk to any of the crags or most importantly, the pub! Of course if this seems all a bit to stressful there are also some superb beaches in the area which you could take advantage of (or use to soothe the ego if you find the routes a bit nasty!).

As for the weather well... I'm picking up good vibrations; she's giving me excitations, good, good vibrations....

For Further Info call me or email me.

November 6^th - K.M.C. Diamond Jubilee Anniversary Dinner - KMC

To mark the 60th Anniversary of the K.M.C., we are holding a special dinner on the evening of Saturday 6th November 2004, at the Quality Hotel Snowdonia (formerly the Royal Victoria Hotel) Llanberis.

We hope that as many current and former members, and their guests, as possible will join us to celebrate this special occasion in the club's history. The dinner will be semi-formal, followed by short speeches. Afterwards there will be entertainment and time to chat with old and new friends.

If you would like to attend please print out, complete and return the booking slip below. Tickets will not be issued, but we are hoping for a good attendance. In order to ensure that you will not miss out, please send your payment in full with your booking form as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please reserve me ____ Places at the K.M.C. 60th Anniversary Dinner at £20.00 per head.
My party requires ____ vegetarian main courses.
I enclose payment of £_________ (cheques should be made payable to the KMC)
Name: ____________________________ (Capitals) Signature: _______________

Please return the form with your payment to Julie O'Regan or Scott Sadler ASAP. Addresses available from the handbook or they can be found at the pub most Thursdays.

Rooms are available at the hotel at a special function rate of £29.50 per person, on a bed and breakfast basis. These should be booked direct by contacting the:

We hope you can join us on this special occasion and look forward to receiving your booking.

May Newsletter Index.

Copyright © 2004 Karabiner Mountaineering Club