|
May 2008 Meet Reports
February 23th/24th - Raeburn Hut - James Hoyle
Having been spoilt by a week of almost continually glorious weather
on the West Coast in the run up to the Raeburn Hut meet I was in high
hopes for some great climbing over in the Cairngorms. The hut is a
great cosy little place and I spent Friday afternoon planning
potential routes whilst the others battled their way up North. On
Saturday unfortunately a strong wind had got up and the prospect of
climbing looked less than appealing. Whilst full of admiration for
Dave Bish and Colin Maddison who stuck it out and headed for the
Northern Corries I decided to take the rather easier option of a
relatively low level walk. Myself, Kate, Trish and John Evans walked
up Creag Dhubh, a Cairngorm monster at 756 metres. To be fair I was
glad we weren't going any higher and that we had picked to walk in an
easterly direction as the wind was fierce. We dropped down to
Newtonmore by early afternoon and the other three relaxed at the hut
awaiting news from the climbers. I decided that 5 days climbing over
8 days wasn't a bad ratio and the final day of my school holidays
might be better spent in Manchester. I may have made a bad decision
there however as I believe Sunday saw much better climb conditions
but I will leave others to tell the tale.
Members present: James Hoyle, Dave Bish Colin Maddison, Trish
Cranston, Katie Horgan and John Evans.
March 1st/2nd - Working Party Meet - Roger Daley
Attendees: Ian McCallan, Dave Wylie, John Castick, Kirsten, Annie,
Hecla the hound, and Me.
Arriving at midnight Friday I surprised to see cars queing at the
first gate. An amazing turn out for the KMC; could it be a resurgence
in enthusiasm for all things Hutty?
But no... an administrative error meant that the WP inadvertently
coincided with the Croydon Mountaineering Club annual dinner... woops...
18 of them. However, they were very understanding and although the
extensive cleaning of the kitchen was curtailed lots of important
work was completed. A special thanks to Dave who balanced on the apex
of the roof for most of a rather cold and windy afternoon.
As the CMC annual dinner took over the kitchen Saturday night was
spent at Pete's Eats followed by scrabble and drinks back at the hut.
|
Repair to North end of hut roof
|
Dave Wylie
|
Repair to kitchen sink wooden shelf
Installation of wall safe
Food and cups of tea
|
Ian McCallum
|
| Litter pickup and rubbish disposal
|
Dave Wylie / Roger
|
| Ladder holding
|
Kirsten / Roger
|
| Cleaning Ladies
|
Kirsten
|
| Cleaning Gents
|
Roger
|
| General cleaning
|
Annie
|
| Preparation of new front lobby signs for future installation.
|
Annie
|
Removal of blockage from Cess pit!
Gorse cutting
|
John Castick
|
| Stick redistribution and chewing
|
Hecla
|
Sunday
A splendid hill day: Dave Wylie and Kirsten drove over to Ogwen to do
Tyrfan North ridge and Bristly ridge; Helca and I hitched a lift and
ran / walked up the Devils Kitchen over Y Garn over the tops and back
to the hut.
Annie remained at the hut and John gave the Gorse a damn good
thrashing.
An excellent weekend, lots of work done in good company.
March 8th/9th - Alex Mac Hut Meet - Roger Daley
Attendees: Sean Kelly, Mark Ashley, Lester Payne, Andy Grantham,
Richard Yorke, Roger Daley.
Andy and I travelled up on Friday morning with the intention of
getting a walk/climb in the Southern uplands; eventually settling on
a leg stretch up to the North East Corrie of Beinn on Dothaidh;
weather very changeable but pleasant enough.
Eventually got to the hut for night fall to meet up with Sean, who
had been at the Alex all week and had enjoyed some 'blue sky Alpine'
days before our arrival!!
Later that night Mark and Lester arrived, with Richard appearing in
the early hours.
Saturday
One of those days that makes you wonder why we drive all this
way?.persistent rain with high winds; so all, but Sean, decided on a
circumnavigation of Buachaille Etive Beag. We river jump our way up
Allt Lairig Eilde to the top of the pass; then descending towards
Glen Etive and back through Lairig Gartain. A wet walk but remarkably
good in the circumstances.
Not sure what Sean did but it must have been just as horrid.
Saturday Night
We drove down to the Clachaig and shared a taxi back. A great evening
...enjoyed good food, live music and a selection of whisky; served by
man who appeared to have sampled fifty + malts already that evening.
Sunday
Weather started very grim ...but did improve.
Sean left early for the long drive back to Devon.
Andy, Richard and I set off to North Buttress on the Buachaille Etive
Mor, but after couple of pitches of slimy rock we decided to traverse
around to do Great Gully. Reasonable snow conditions although very
windy with poor visibility on the top, so reversed the route and back
down for soup before the drive home.
Mark and Lester went for a hilly 6k 3walk, on Stob Beinn and Beinn
Chrulaiste.
Think we made the most the weekend given conditions. Thanks to all
that turned up for the weekend.
Sunday March 9th - Peak District Walk - Iain McCallum
Members Present : Ken Beetham, Roger Dyke, Alan (L'pool) Jones, Iain
McCallum, Lorna Marsland, Alan Peck, Phil Ramsbottom, Nigel
Rosenbaum, Chris Thickett, Dave Wylie.
Guests Present : Zoe Rosenbaum.
We were blessed with a cool but sunny day for our tramp around the
upper Edale valley. Leaving the foot of the Winnats we followed the
track up past Treak Cavern and the Blue John Mine to Mam Nick.
Decision time! Alan Jones decided to carry on with us over Rushup
Edge. As we tramped along the Edge, we were joined by Nigel and Zoe
who had raced after us following a late start. Towards the end of the
Edge, Ken hove into view heading for the summit. At the junction of
the paths leading into the Edale valley and across Colbourne it was
decision time again. We decided to lengthen the walk by going over
Brown Knoll, Kinder Scout and Grindslow Knoll to Edale. While Alan
Jones decided to head directly for Edale and Cooper's Cafe. Our
elevenses were rudely interrupted by a gaggle of motor cyclists
thundering passed us along the track from Edale.
Colbourne lived up to its reputation as boggy morass. Eventually we
squelched up through the black porridge to the trig point on Brown
Knoll. Still the intrepid walkers were not deterred and more by luck
than judgement we soon found ourselves on the "yellow brick road"
taking us down to the top of Jacob's Ladder. Good progress was
maintained with a short pull up on to Kinder and then along the edges
by way of Pym's Chair, the wonderfully shaped stones known as the
Wool Packs and Crowden Tower. We stopped for lunch in a sheltered
spot by the side of Crowden Brook and were rewarded with splendid
views over the valley below and across to Lose Hill and the Eastern
Edges. From here the party headed for Grindslow Knoll and Edale.
Cooper's Cafe was busy and its DIY service system - not a patch on
the Old Cafe! We joined Alan and Ken for tea. No doubt they were
awash with tea as they had been there for some time awaiting our
arrival.
Following the tea break Ken and Alan departed in Ken's car and we
made our way down the road, crossing Grinds Brook opposite the
church. Then across the fields to the road and along the track to
Hollins Cross. In the bright sun light we descended the hillside down
to the old Mam Tor road returning to our cars via the Odin Mine.
(Distance about 14 miles)
A grand day on the hills with good company and good weather. What
more can one ask for ?
Thank you all for your support - Iain McCallum.
Sunday March 30th - Yorkshire Boar Hunt - Dave Bone
Present: Dave Bone, Dave Wylie, Lester Payne, Bob Kelly (G), Alex
Kelly, and 2 hours later, Trish Cranston.
Not expecting anyone to be there, I was the sole occupant of a car
that arrived at the end of the Uldale road in good time, to find the
Kelly's already gearing up on the only dry spot at the road end.
Fortunately there was a rough layby for the rest of the 'mob' ¼ mile
down the road. I had forgotten that the nice grass verges would be
car death traps in winter. The conditions weren't cheerful, a steady
light rain was falling in a stiff breeze, and the hill tops were
invisible but there was a forecast for a bright day. Giving
latecomers every chance, we waited till the appointed time then set
foot on the hillside. The guidance of a wall did not help too long
before we struck off for a prominent side stream below murk level,
debating how many would turn up later, having not set their clocks,
even to those who could just have got it doubly wrong. Little did we
know?
Being prepared, at the last landmark the compass came out of pocket,
and we continued on a bearing slanting across the grassy hillside.
The shelf that should have held Sandy Tarn soon faded in out of the
grey. I knew I had aimed off, but heading leftwards, no tarn
appeared. A quick elevenses was had in a cluster of rocks back of
some shallow pools, and then afterwards the real Sandy Tarn (very
black sand!) popped into view round the corner 100m further on. We
would never of guessed that we had walked over the outflow. From the
back of the tarn, we headed straight up the escarpment edge on a
bearing for the Trig point of Wild Boar Fell on the plateau above. We
heaved over a mini snow cornice to find the target almost straight
ahead - we had it to ourselves not surprisingly.
Still with the compass, as the itinerary included the other top, we
struck out across the wet plateau amid the swirling drizzle.
Admittedly a faint path soon proved we were on the right route and
the next top with a well built cairn appeared, perched on the edge of
the drop off into Mallerstang. Though the larger map showed 'cairns',
this hadn't prepared Dave for the line of spindly, tall cairns
running off into the distance (but not as good as Nine Standards
Rigg). Back across the plateau the group trudged in line abreast,
dodging lagoons and kicking soft snow patches, to pick up the ridge
south. Dropping down to the saddle, we dropped below the rising cloud
level, to see keyhole views away in Garsdale and over to Morecombe
bay. It was beginning to break up. The wind was blowing it away, and
we were grateful for the shelter of the wall crossing Swarth fell,
before we took a righthander down to Holmes Moss. Crossing this was a
tad wet and on 'bouncy' ground too. Everything had improved on
approaching Rawthey Gill foot, blue skies abounded and a warm sun was
out, and the ground was drier now on Limestone. The first walking
group of the day was crossed, on the ill-frequented valley path.
Lunch was had in a pleasant spot on some wonderfully water carved
limestone by the river. The day was now good and time for a major
adjustment of clothing before setting off following the left bank of
the stream (which was quite full). The only other person on the hills
was met here, a fell runner descending. This way led deep into the
heart of Baugh Fell alongside waterslides and pools, and a proper
waterfall too. This led to a junction at Gill head - we took the
left. Trish two hours later took the right, cutting out the final two
Tops to save time. Out on the wide open ground, after negotiating the
maze of tarns and bogs, we picked up the first Top of the fell
(perhaps this block marked the spot - the OS weren't too helpful -
this was still a vague aerial survey spot height). Anyway we had a
wall to guide us over the final Top, with Trig point. Too good a
guide - those romping away in front had to be reined in and directed
right lest they enjoy the fleshpots of Sedbergh. Big sky country
crossing the huge plateau, bound for another landmark cairn on the
northern edge, and the nearby lonely West Baugh Fell tarn. Fantastic
views now. We had to leave the high ground and a final sharp drop had
us sliding onto the faint path on the south side of the the River
Rawthey. The last ½ mile downstream was particularly attractive with
plenty of waterfalls and other features, before crossing a footbridge
and back up under the Rookery to the road out to the cars.
A day that turned out well, proving that perseverance is a virtue.
Thanks to those who came, sooner or later.
April 5th/6th - Cairngorms Mill Cottage - Dave Lygate
Members Present: Duncan Lee, David K. Lygate &Amp; Al Metelko.
Cancelled through pressures of work & illness - Roger Daley, Dave
Bish & Vicky Alderton.
Mill Cottage was originally booked for twelve, however since the
chosen weekend was the only common weekend / cross-over weekend for
the English Schools Easter Holiday, not many could attend. With three
last minute cancellations, there were only three on this meet.
Friday
In the morning, DKL raced back early from a week away in Sandsend
(near Whitby) to pick up the hut key which hadn't arrived in the post
prior to leaving a week earlier. Unfortunately, the key still hadn't
appeared & a few phone calls were required so that arrangements could
be made to pick up a replacement key from the Hut Custodian.
Therefore when DKL finally left Manchester to pick up Duncan & head
north, it was a few hours later than planned. Unlike the year before,
the journey was fairly uneventful (except hitting the Glasgow /
Stirling rush-hour traffic) & after picking up the hut key in
Kingussie, we met Al in Cairngorm Hotel for a couple of pints of
Stag. Al had taken advantage of the good weather & had been up on the
hill, he had walked over Cairngorm to explore over the back on
snowblades & returned on the blades via the ski centre. We had
decided it was almost time leave the pub when Duncan pointed at DKL's
half full pint glass & it instantaneously exploded. None of us had
touched it & when we told the Barman, he was completely unfazed,
apparently it happens all the time. All thoughts of Duncan's
paranormal powers were dismissed when the barman quickly appeared
with a fresh pint of Stag, pure magic! Finally at Mill Cottage,
Duncan cooked up a delicious curry & we had a few glasses of red
wine. Luckily the curry had just the right amount of heat to keep
Duncan warm through the night, since he had forgotten his sleeping
bag.
Saturday
When we headed off the next morning we knew that it must be cold
since shortly after leaving the hut, we saw a heard of deer crossing
the road in front of us. On route to the mountains, we had to quickly
pop into Aviemore as DKL had ordered a new pair of climbing skins for
his twin tipped youth fun park skis (with telemark bindings of
course), so had to drop off the skis so that the skins could be
shaped & fitted. Then it was up to the ski centre for the walk into
Coire an T-Sneachda, we were on snow straight from the car. When we
got into the Coire Al went through thin ice into one of the lochans
up to the top of his legs & had to swim through the surface snow to
get out. Bravely, he decided that since he was wearing touring
trousers & plastic boots, he would stay warm enough to carry on. In
the low cloud we spotted some ice that looked in condition on
Aladdin's Mirror Direct, a 25m Grade IV,4*, this is a route part way
up Aladdin's Mirror (180m Grade 1). So with some excitement we
started to climb up the grade 1 towards the ice. Unfortunately, the
ice was a little thin & detatched in a number of places, so we
skipped the route & continued up the grade 1. The weather & Al's
soaking dictated that it wasn't a day for hanging about, so we headed
through the blizzard & high winds back to the ski centre via the
plateau & down the ridge. Back at the car park, Al treated us to the
sight of him pouring at least a pint of water from his plastic boots.
It was then back to the Cairngorm Hotel for the Grand National, where
Duncan correctly predicted that Comply or Die would win & applauded
Aintree for lowering the fences so that the horses would have a safer
race. After a pint of Stag (in non-exploding glasses this time), we
picked up DKL's skis & new skins & headed back to the hut for dinner.
Mill Cottage as usual, had it's own little micro-climate of calm &
everything felt peaceful as we gorged on pizza & wine.
Morning at the Hut [David Lygate]
Sunday
We woke to be greeted by 4" of fresh snow, but the winds were very
high again. We packed up & left , but it took a while to get the cars
up to the road, as both needed a push from Duncan to get up the snow
covered track. On the way to the ski centre, Al heard on the radio
that all the rescue teams were out searching for a light aircraft,
which had come down in the Cairngorms & that wind conditions had not
improved.
Knowing that the climbing conditions in the Coire would be especially
rough, & since there was plenty of snow, we decided to complete a
mini ski tour at the edge of the ski centre, both in sight but away
from the piste. The ski touring was a good fun couple of hours & we
got up to the cairn at the top of the ridge above the ski centre.
Here the cloud cleared & we got a brief glimpse into the Coire & saw
that nobody was climbing, there were just a few groups practicing
snow craft, so we felt we had made the right decision. We then skied
down all the way to the car park via the ridge & the deep drifted
snow in a disused T-bar track. Duncan did especially well, as he had
walked up to ski down with Al's snowblades attached to his leather
climbing boots, not easy to do especially off-piste. Heading back
into Aviemore for a chip lunch, we were firstly impressed by people
still out & about on their mountain bikes, but this was bettered by
those out running through the snow. However, nothing compared to the
penny Farthing we passed, especially as it was being cycled with a
child seat! After a haggis supper, chips etc, we said good bye to Al
& headed off home via Kingussie to return the key. Getting home early
is great when you arrive in time for a take away curry & a glass of
wine. However I was still jealous when I found out that Al had taken
advantage of the light evening & a break in the weather to return to
the mountain & had walked to the Chalamain Gap, but unfortunately
just as he got there the weather closed back in.
And for the record books? [David Lygate]
We had been a little unlucky with the weather, but despite getting
little of note done, we had a splendid weekend. With the following
few days seeing a drop in temperature & the additional snow, the
conditions are looking great in Scotland. This season proves that
sometimes April can have excellent winter conditions & it also has
the bonus of the lighter evenings, so very early starts are not
always essential. It is a shame that this is the KMC's last winter
meet, as I can easily envisage this season stretching well into May.
Sunday April 13th - Hot Pot & Slide Competion - Andrew Croughton, Katie Horgan
Hot Pot Bimble:
Iain MacCallum, Frank Wiliams, Margaret Williams (early starters, or
at least not late!); Neville MacMillan, Roger Dyke, John Castick
(breakaway group on a 'short' walk); Trish Cranston, Andrew
Croughton, Brian Street, Katie Horgan (meet leader), Kirsten Mundt,
Kasia Hoyle, Phil Ramsbottom, Dave Wylie, Harvey.
Climbing Crew: David Bish, Lester Payne, Joe Flynn, James Hoyle, Al
Metelko, Richard Yorke, Mark Ashley.
Apologies to any climbers that I've missed.
This was a traditional KMC meet start with the meet leader arriving
half an hour late to find at least three of the party had headed off
rather than brave the cool easterlies blasting over the moors and
along the road! Two of the party (messrs Dyke and MacMilan) opted
for a shorter walk rather than the epic they suspected (little did
they know). So the main crew headed off to the track past White
Lodge on the Eastern Moors between Froggatt and Higger Tor. We then
turned down onto the Longshaw estate to enjoy not having paid for the
National Trust car park or the tearoom (although the loos were pretty
useful). Bravely on then through Padley Gorge and down to
Grindleford Cafe. 'Lo! The breakaway group were found picnicking
(well, tea drinking, they weren't so foolhardy as to eat their own
food at Grindleford Fortress). In we all trooped for tea and cake -
at which point the Cranston crumbly chocolate stuff appeared. What
risks we take in the hills! It was safely stowed when the sharp eyed
Mr Ramsbottom spied the chef on the lookout. The dog slavered and may
have successfully partaken, he certainly showered us all nicely with
a deft shake of the head! Refuelled after our arduous descent into
the valley, we traipsed through Grindleford village to join the path
through Froggatt woods where a pleasant picnic spot by a stream was
enjoyed - even by the breakaways who had picnicked once already.
Then along to Curbar village - Frank and Margaret opting for a short
cut back up to the pub. Having gained three, I had now lost two.
The remainder continued to the car park at the top of Curbar Gap, in
the hope of a non-existant ice-cream van. No rations but on we
soldiered following the line of Froggatt, in more hope of finding
some other KMCers. This time the hope was not in vain, we found them
waiting to ascend Tody's Wall. Cap'n Bish was urged upwards by the
promise of Hersheys Peanut cups... Apparently the climbing crew did
9 routes with Trish and Kasia joining in at the end of the day. Rob
Clarke made an appearance, too and was bouldering about. As for the
short walkers, I think they went further than we did and got back
first! On heading back to the pub, I was suddenly down to three, the
remainder of the group having been lost along the way. So a
successful Hot Pot walk!
April 19th/20th - Ennerdale Meet - Phil Ramsbottom
Members: Sandy Gregson. Jim Gregson, Lester Payne, Virginia
Castick, Phil Ramsbottom
Plenty of people seemed to think that this meet was 'interesting and
different', unfortunately most of them looked at the weather forecast
and suddenly discovered 'previous commitments'.
As the meet leader I did not have this option, so I was at the car
park at the promised start time, despite looking hopefully around the
other cars I couldn't find any other takers so I started on my own.
Lester did arrive later, but as I had already set off we were
destined to spend the rest of the day a couple of miles apart,
eventually we met up 9 hours later at Dubs Hut.
I had arranged to meet up with Jim and Sandy at Beck Head but I was
not at all surprised to get a phone call to say that they had decided
to miss out Great Gable summit. I, being a fully paid up member of
the 'Noble Order of Pig Headed B*****ds, continued on over the top.
As I was crossing Windy Gap on all fours I started to realise how
windy it was, looking up I could see four people trying to get down
off Green Gable, they were leaning into the wind at about 30 degrees
and still struggling to avoid being blown over the edge.
Eventually we all met up at Dubs Hut, Midge had walked up from
Honister to say hello and bring up a very welcome pint of fresh milk
and a bottle of brandy - a very kind gesture, which was much
appreciated. Her comments about 'looking forward to her electric
blanket' were not quite so welcome.
After a very hard day on Saturday I was expecting to write off the
second part of the walk, however the wind started to abate around 5
on Sunday morning, by the time Lester and I said goodbye to Jim and
Sandy it was clear, dry and only slightly windy. Jim and Sandy set
off back to their warm FRCC hut in Borrowdale whilst Lester and I
continued with the walk over Haystacks, High Crag, High Stile and Red
Pike.
Just after leaving Red Pike summit we got away from the wind for the
first time all weekend. Within twenty minutes we were sitting in the
sunshine enjoying our lunch having shed several layers of clothing.
This weather lasted all the way back to the cars.
So you were right - it was interesting, but you will just have to
imagine how interesting.
Many thanks to the four people who were prepared to 'give it a try'.
May Newsletter Index.
Copyright © 2008 Karabiner Mountaineering Club
|
