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September 2008 Meet Reports
June 15th - Ladies Luncheon Club Cycle Ride - Lorna Marsland
Members present: Sabina Cosulich, Linda Crossley, Trish Cranston,
Cathy Devine, Michelle Harvie, Sheena Hendrie, Lorna Marsland, Ann
Sanderson.
Guests: Zoe Clarke
Inspired by the popularity of last year's event which took us to the
Lakes for the weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to recreate
the outdoor scenario by organising another activity for us all to
enjoy together and came up with a bike ride. With this plan in mind,
Christine Beeston and I spent a very hot and sunny Saturday in May
trialling the route I'd planned, checking out the distance,
refreshments, navigation etc and trying to calculate how long it
would take, which just goes to show that it's impossible to predict
anything about the LLC, other than their capacity for conversation!
We all assembled at Parsley Hay car park on the Tissington Trail,
which is where the route began. I was a little surprised to see our
numbers had swelled by 50% from those who'd confirmed attendance, but
no matter. We are all getting older and those senior moments when
the once reliable memory plays tricks on us, seems to be affecting
some more than others, but me in particular.
Having estimated that the keen cyclists among us would romp around
the route, I'd reserved a table at the pub for 12.30pm. However, I
had failed to take into account the faffing and gossiping which
automatically ensues when a crowd of us are together, and looking
behind me after 500 metres, saw the bulk of our party cycling 'granny
style' in the distance, those of us who had got onto their bikes at
that point, that is! The enormity of the task in front became
immediately apparent as I desperately searched my memory for a
short-cut.
We left the Tissington Trail at Hartington and headed downhill into
the village, by which time Sheena and Sabina had caught up with me.
At least I won't be dining alone, I thought! Gradually over the next
couple of miles as we headed through Hartington towards Hulme End, we
became a more concentrated party so that by the time we set off down
the Manifold valley we looked more like an extended version of the
Famous Five, yahooing along in search of adventure. The Manifold
valley is incredibly pretty and there were many oohhs and arrhs as we
caught sight of Thor's Cave and Beeston Tor, together with the odd:
'Isn't that where N fell off S?' It had been many years since a
number of us had climbed there, so inevitably there followed a series
of recollections of previous triumphs and tribulations.
Moving swiftly on, as we did to begin with, until the hill up to
Wetton proved too challenging, for me at least, and it seemed
interminable as I frog-marched my bike up the hill. I'd just like to
say at this point that it was obvious to me that the other members of
the group had been indulging in some secret training which powered
their legs like pistons, whilst I struggled feebly behind. But since
I had the map, they had to wait for me!
Sadly, no sooner had I reached the top, than we began descending
towards Alstonefield where the first adventure began in the shape of
loose sheep. We'd become quite strung out by this time and since it
was a downhill section, many of us were travelling too fast for the
flock moving slowly towards us, propelled from behind by a boy on a
tractor, completely unconcerned. Fortunately there were no pile-ups
at this stage, and we began the more gradual ascent into
Alstonfield, which I managed this time without pushing, and it wasn't
long before we all pitched up at the George for lunch.
I had been rather concerned about this lunch stop, for although much
recommended for the food, it had proved very busy when Christine and
I visited some weeks earlier and the manager had assured me we would
need to book to be sure of eating. Added to this it happened to be
Father's Day and therefore more popular than usual. However, we were
not late and the table was available, though not for the number we
actually were, but since the weather was fine and sunny, we sat
outside. Having rearranged the tables in true Ladies Luncheon style
and to accommodate our large contingent and the prominent tree roots
positioned to de-stabilise the tables, we tucked into some lovely and
very welcome food.
I had thought we might spend more time than we actually did eating,
as service for a large party is not usually prompt, but in this case
it was and we were able to resume our ride just over an hour later.
Having organised the route to provide for a more relaxed
post-prandial meander, I led the way towards our last hill of the day
before rejoining the Tissington Trail. I was obviously in
'laid-back' mode as I set off confidently out of the village towards
Mill Dale, and I was therefore a little disconcerted as it became
evident that the road on which we were travelling, which was becoming
increasingly narrower, was the wrong road. Eventually, as the road
reduced to a track, we emerged at the bottom, only to spew out over a
number of tourists enjoying a Sunday afternoon by the river. So, we
weren't where we should have been, but it proved a minor and very
attractive detour and we resumed our route up the hill to rejoin the
Tissington Trail at Alsop-en-le-Dale.
This part of the trip was not entirely uneventful in that Sheena fell
off and we lost Michelle and Trish. This was the last hill of the
day but by far the steepest, as Sheena discovered as she valiantly
but unsuccessfully searched for a lower gear, whilst struggling to
disengage her PSBs from their clips. So embarrassing and so easy to
do with those bloody shoes! Meanwhile Michelle and Trish, who being
far too fit and will be weight-handicapped in any subsequent trips,
had bombed up the hill without noticing a fork to the left leading
onto the trail. The rest of us continued to the junction of the A515
and the Tissington Trail where we waited for our over-zealous team
mates, whilst soaking up the sun and debating whether we should
introduce another detour since it was only 2.30pm.
Originally Linda Specs had enquired if the village of Tissington was
on the itinerary as she was interested in purchasing from one of the
craft shops there, another wrought iron candlestick holder for her
new cottage in the Lakes,. This echoed from a former lifetime when
we used to do an Easter cycle ride and she had terrified on-coming
riders as she approached them with true KMC grit and zeal, bearing a
wrought iron candlestick holder lashed to her bike rack! No doubt
she wanted to indulge in some similar behaviour today. There was
also the added incentive of a teashop (not to be sneezed at) so their
followed a lengthy debate focusing almost exclusively on whether the
teashop was the same direction as the candlestick holder shop, and
this proving to be so, there was no further opposition and the motion
was carried. By this time Michelle and Trish has appeared and were
more than happy to extend the ride to accommodate further
refreshments and so we set off for Tissington.
We found a teashop with sufficient space to seat 9, once we had
evicted some unsuspecting visitors who we managed to persuade didn't
want to sit at 'our' table after all, and ordered a decadent supply
of tea, coffee, cakes and scones as befitting a gnarly high altitude
expedition such as this. We sat in the sun, put the world to rights
and investigated all shops which could possibly be thought to sell
anything metal. Sadly there was nothing which could meet Linda's
exacting standards, on this occasions, so we'll probably have to go
back! Trish almost bought a hanging basket although she had only
wanted the parrot attached to it, and the rest of us, returned to the
Tissington Trail empty-handed.
The return route was a steady incline on the trail up to Parsley Hay,
which should have been very relaxed and would have been but not for 2
incidents. Cathy's friend suddenly remembered that she was on a
hired bike, which needed to be returned by 5pm and it was now 4.30
and we were about an hour away. It had obviously been a leisurely
tea stop! Frantic searching for mobile phones, numbers and a signal
ensued, closely followed by Cathy and Zoe speeding off to return the
bike before the shop closed. We all returned to a more relaxed pace
and were savouring the last rays of the day whilst simultaneously
tying up all loose ends in the gossip department, when Michelle upset
a couple of seriously lycra-clad cyclists, travelling in the opposite
direction, who berated them for riding 2 abreast on the trail and
chatting! Hard to believe! I think it was a great pity no one had
bought a candlestick holder or two?
Arriving back at 5.40 we thought the fun was all over, but no. There
followed a Crypton Factor-style challenge which saw Trish and
Michelle trying to squeeze Michelle's bike into the back of Trish
Fiesta. This was made more challenging by the fact that Trish's bike
was already there, and it generated a surplus of help and advice from
us all - just what you don't need. It would have been easier if
Trish had not spent the previous night camping at the Roaches, which
meant she had sufficient gear in the back of the car to re-stock
Blacks, and this had to be removed first. Added to that, the
tailgate didn't open so the bike had to be inserted via the passenger
door. We all piled in pushing and shoving the bike, rubber gloves
were donned, both wheels were removed, and eventually the objective
was achieved and both ladies and bikes could be accommodated, albeit
a little uncomfortably. I thought at this point it would be prudent
to depart before any further challenges emerged. So we all said
goodbye, basking in the enjoyment of another successful LLC event,
and looking forward to the next one - over to you I think, Ann, for
Round 2 of the LLC Cycle Challenge!
Thanks to all who came along and made this such an enjoyable day out.
July 11th/25th - Lofotens - Dave Bone
This is not a proper meet report as due to the lack of people, it
dropped to the status of a private meet well before.
Members present: Dave Bone, Tony Major.
Logistics: We flew out with SAS from Manchester via Oslo (long wait)
to Harstad-Narvik (Evenes) Airport on the Norwegian mainland arriving
at 8pm. This is actually miles from either town so we hired a car -
the Lofotens are now connected by road with a spanking new 5km tunnel
through the hills of Hinnoya. Make sure you have a passenger who is
awake - to keep the driver from falling asleep at the mind numbing
50, 60 or 80km/hr speed limits. It takes around 2½ hours to reach
Austvagoy, the principal climbing island. We put the tents up in a
dry bog (no rain for some time) at midnight - in the sun (this takes
a couple of days [nights?] of getting used to. Even after the
midnight sun it was light enough to read all 'night'. All supplies
were picked up at around double UK prices in Svolvaer at one of 3
supermarkets. Gas cylinders (all types, Meths also available) were
obtained from a petrol station on the northern side of town. Get your
maps from the Tourist office - weather forecast sheets printed out at
~10am, though for longer term are about as 'accurate' as the UK. It's
only a short drive to Henningsvaer - we spent the entire fortnight
camped at the free rough camping area below Gandalfveggen near there.
Water available from the town's water pipe, washing in the sea (the
rocks are quite warm at 9 in the evening) - very popular and crowded,
though spread over an area, and with grandstand views of climbers on
Gandalf (Top 50 VS) at midnight (because they can).
Conditions: We arrived at the end of a long dry spell so the first 2
days were mainly blue skies and sun, though more unsettled conditions
asserted themselves dotted with odd excellent days. The tendency was
for light rain or drizzle with low cloud late evening into the
morning, but climbable from midday into the evening. We climbed every
day except the last two, though we could have done one more
afternoon, but I at least was too tired by then. High winds on one
day only - on the day we were on Presten. Temperatures were
comfortable, averaging 14C and not dropping much at night. Insects
were not significant - no need for protection. Just one or two
mosquitoes in the tent, a few flies on hot days and no midges - well
maybe one. Look out for large flies landing on your ankle - could be
a horsefly, able to chew a large bloody hole in a second or two. Only
saw two - and they're dead now. The rock was excellent, the routes
long and mostly well protected and the Rockfax guide generally
accurate. The walk ins and general walking - well these can be
challenging - the less popular areas have little sign of a trail so
you are left wading through deep, wet vegetation (ferns mostly)
uncertain where ground level is, and forcing your way through Birch
thickets. Beware the 'new' approach to Vagakallen - beyond the upper
lake you are on your own. The approach to Rana is shall we say,
'exciting'. Good boots and gaiters vital.
The costs (it doesn't have to be as bad as you think):
For 1 person (expenses having been shared equally, and roughly
converted to £).
Flights (SAS economy): £251
Car Hire (14day, Economy): £253
Petrol: £34
Fuel: £9
Food supplies (plus a can of beer on a few nights): £119
Total for Trip: £666
Other Notes: There isn't much of interest on a wet day (unless you
like art). Finding somewhere to recycle was difficult - don't crush
your cans/bottles as cylindrical recyclables are returned to a
machine in the Svolvaer Co-op entrance for a refund.
Now, finally some memories of the climbing to report. The main thing
to note is that our routes featured a lot of finger jamming,
sometimes finger tips, so the digits suffer. Not much pure slabs and
a moderate amount of hand-jamming - quite a variety of climbing
really. Paradiset - a 3D maze with lots of short routes (a bit like
Sennen). You may see where your target is, but getting there? Good
for poor days - indeed don't waste good days going here. Rum and Cola
- find your own way there with wet feet. Protection sparse in places
and the route gets the maximum out of the cliff by a lot of slab
traversing. Out to the right for 15m, up 5m and back 15m - you're now
5m above your belayer, hauling a small liner even though you've only
got 2 pieces on the traverse - bizarre. Oh and a fine example of a
steep descent on deep grass above nothing - grass climbing on Lofoten
is SERIOUS. Rana - a long forgotten traditional route - add in the
ascent and descent and it's quite an expedition. The best pitch
probably is the cracked slab before the technically crux pitch (over
shortly). Three lessons - on the approach (from hell), when it
flattens, keep going diagonally up to the right. On the way down -
follow the ridge down for a long way with the abseil a long way down
at the foot. Gear up at the car - leave nothing behind at the start!
Bare Blabaer - superb route and a great introduction, but do try some
of the other routes (more appearing). As for the 5- grade conversion
to HS, sorry no. The cracks hereabouts are bottomless and really do
eat ropes - take prussiks to go back up.
Unknown on Lundeklubben (6) at Festvag. The 3 pitch route continues up the square cut grove with capping overhang.
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The Nose of Presten. Vestpillaren generally follows the light-shade boundary. This is the evening light at 10:30!
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The island of Gimsoy from under Presten at 11pm, around sunset.
Goodbye for now, back again in an hour or so?
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Gandalfveggen - queues almost guaranteed, no problem with the walk in
or descent, and dries very quickly. Gandalf is an immaculate 3 pitch
VS. Gamle Rev - we haven't actually done it but we know every move
having watched ascents every evening. Festvag - strewn with superb
6s, and a fair 5+ or two. Lundeklubben (Puffin club) equates to a
steady E1 (6), watch out for the wooden Puffin. Four Pitch Route (6)
- dull name, but the climbing on it is as good as the big starred
routes. Skiloperen (6-, HVS) despite the description, you can save
your skin as jamming is only required on a couple of moves. Presten
is a glorious 400m nose of granite, emitting a constant siren's call.
Even if not certain you're up for it, the absolute classic of
Vestpillaren (6, ~E2 5b) offers 12 pitches of unforgettable climbing
(no need for the car when based at Gandalf). The holiday is complete,
just about anything else is an anti-climax.
July 27th - Almscliff Yorkshire Grit - Heather Brooke
Members: Heather Brooke, Daniel O'Brien, Sheena Hendrie and Dave Wylie.
Guests: Christine Stark and Mike Freeman.
After realising quite how scary the upper section of Almscliff crag
is (this is Yorkshire you know), a hasty retreat to the easier and
nicer area of the Low man was ordered by the meet leader. Here,
despite the heat and warmth of this amazing summer day (one of only a
handful we have seen this year) lots of climbing was done, including
multiple ascents of Stew Pot, Pinnacle Flake Climb and V Chimney and
Traverse.
An amazing summer's day with some great routes - what more can you
ask for from a KMC meet?
August 2nd/3rd - Stanage Camp and Climb - Chris Williams
Present: Chris Williams, Trudy Young, Dave Wylie, Al Metelko, Andy
Grantham, Christine Stark, Roger Dyke, James Oswald.
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I turned up at North Lees Campsite on Friday with somewhat mixed
feelings, the weather was not looking that fantastic, having been
away I had not spoken to any members recently, many KMCers were
either already in the Alps or were about to go. Would I spend the
weekend bouldering by myself? So it was with great relief that as I
registered I noticed some familiar names had booked in for Saturday
night! All was not lost! This was shortly followed by an enthusiastic
call from Trudy confirming she was coming with "rent a crowd". (The
crowd didn't quite make it in the end but never mind!).
After a rather damp start on Saturday morning the weather picked up
enough to head off for High Neb. Trudy soon arrived and we started
off with Eric's Eliminate followed by an exhausting struggle up
Eckhard's Chimney - never again. Trudy led Boyd's Crack and was
determined to place every piece of gear in her rack, just to make
sure! Around midday Dave arrived closely followed by Al, Andy and
Christine who made all sorts of excuses for being late... something
about buying a tent for a trip to the Alps?
A whole raft of routes were ticked off by all those present including
Twisting Crack, Tango Buttress, and the classic top 50 climb High Neb
Buttress. Al showed us all up by soloing several of the routes in
bare feet, but the start of High Neb Buttress Variations proved to be
a worthy struggle for him. As usual the KMCers were last off the crag
and regrouped in the Little John for an excellent meal, when it
arrived! The happy campers, Trudy, Chris and Dave retired to the
tents for cheese and wine while the others drove home.
The weather on Sunday was not quite as bright as the previous day,
but the three campers were soon joined at Crow Chin by Roger and
James. Dave made easy work of Autumn Gold together with Trudy and
Roger, followed by a bold lead on Bright Eyed. October Slab and
Kelly's Eliminate along with several other routes were tackled by the
group. James was hungry to test his new found lead skills and did an
impressive job on several routes. Urged on by all of the group he
rounded off climbing on the crag with a very impressive onsight
(almost) of The Marmoset, demonstrating the joy of youth. There was a
distinct lack of volunteers to second the route so it was fortunate
that James didn't need to place any gear further up! Roger and James
were keen to climb longer so walked along to High Neb where they both
led another route each.
All in all it was a great weekend out on some classic grit. We
enjoyed the sun on the odd occasion it came out but it did remain
dry, which is something for this summer! Even the midges seemed to
stay away which was a relief!
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September Newsletter Index.
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