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July 2009 Meet Reports
April 19th - County Durham Biking - Katie Horgan
KMC Members: Sue Brooke, Pete Hughes, Katie Horgan.
Sue & Pete arrived Saturday pm and had an explore before the meet
leader arrived around 4pm. We did the desultory blue route then
headed to the campsite. 4 tent pitches and a similar number of
caravans with a very friendly and helpful proprietor. The pub did us
a good evening meal and we headed back to the tents. Being the North
East, it was dry but cold! Sunday was overcast but dry and we headed
back down to the forest to tackle the red route - quite enough for
the meet leader's skills but I'm sure Sue and Pete could have happily
sailed around something more technical and longer. However, tea and
cake in the tearoom beckoned and we succumbed. The consensus was it's
a nice place for family rides but the reds weren't like Welsh ones
(bike trails not dragons, there aren't any in England) - which
probably means the blacks aren't dead tough either. We were all
pretty impressed by the completely nuts downhillers, though.
All in all, not up to KMC biking standards but it was nice to revisit
old haunts!
May 2nd4th - Pembroke - Dave Bone (by default)
Well the meet leader couldn't make it and so most of the KMC were put
off.
Members present: Dave Bone, Tony Major, Al Metelko & Trish Cranston.
The forecast for south Wales was pretty good for a BH so despite
inconvenient high tides and the height of the bird season Tony and I
set off for Pembroke - a long time since the last visit. We arrived
late Saturday morning and headed straight for Stack Rocks (the Stacks
were covered in birds, the cliff edge in bird watchers) to bimble
about on the popular Crystal slabs in excellent weather, though one
had to keep a eye on the swell to avoid a dousing. At the end of the
day we opted for the simplicity of the original Bosherston campsite -
a large group was there with double Manchester mini-bus support, but
no other KMCer. Oh well - off to the pub for the evening - absolutely
heaving but no KMC.
Sunday off to St. Govans for some classics in classic Pembroke good
weather. The Tide was in and the swell was up, some quick sprints
were required at times. A particularly stupid Gull had its nest by
the foot of the descent chimney. Front line, Tactician, The Arrow,
Munchies and Hangover (which is punishing) were the day's haul,
followed by a slightly less crowded pub and a fleeting encounter with
Al and Trish who wished to be registered as being on the meet.
On Monday it dawned dull and grey with a keen westerly breeze. Out at
St. Govans car park it spattered with rain. Giving it time to stop
and dry, Tony and I headed for the East side of Stennis head for some
shelter only for the rain to start again on arrival. After hanging
around for the rock to get thoroughly wet, we decided it wasn't going
to dry out any time soon, so staged a strategic retreat in the search
for dry rock, which ended up back at home unsatisfied.
A poor show from the KMC.
May 23rd/29th - Skye trip 2009 - James Hoyle
Members present: James Hoyle, Kasia Hoyle, Bob Kelly, Mike Freeman,
Chris Williams, Andrew Ketley, Rachel Ketley, Dave Bone, Julie
O'Regan.
Guests: Rachel Flynn, Naomi, Jim Nicholson, Fluff.
Members spotted on fly by: Dave Garland, John Evans
After weeks of planning and anticipation the big week drew closer.
Gallons of rain seemed to fall on Skye the week before our visit was
due according to the BBC. Great, I thought, it's bound to be better
the week we go. Sadly however the forecast never seemed to change
and with Saturday approaching the forecast for the first part of the
week was not good. As Kasia and I reached Keswick the heavens opened
and it never stopped raining all the way to Skye. The splendour of
the journey through the Highlands is never diminished however and as
we drew up in Portnalong the sun finally managed to come out and we
got our first reminder of how every part of the island looks totally
magnificent whenever it does.
Everyone arrived at pretty much the same time and we were soon down
at the pub in Carbost making plans. Poor Mike had already been on
Skye for a week and had already put up with some rough weather and
was considering packing it in for the better weather down south.
Thankfully I was able to convince him that things could only get
better and we began to make plans for the week. As we did so Dave
Garland and John Evans were spotted supping on a pint each in the
corner. They had been to Skye the week before and had done a fair
bit of climbing when it had stopped raining in the afternoons.
With rain and high winds forecast on the Sunday a coastal walk seemed
the best option and the group drove down to Loch Eynort to walk north
along the coast to Talisker Bay and then on back to the hostel. It
was a day that got rid of the cobwebs and filled the lungs with salty
sea dog air. With cloud down to the cliff tops it was not a day for
appreciating the views but by the time we got to Talisker Bay the
cloud lifted and the views got better.
On Monday Kasia and Bob had a guide hired to help them traverse the
ridge during the week. Off they went early in the morning with light
drizzle and cloud the order of the day. The rest of us had decided
that Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr nan Gillean looked like a great option
given the showers and low cloud and headed off down to the Sligachan.
Strangely Rachel, who had decided to camp at Glenbrittle, failed to
show up. A little puzzled we all set off down the glen. Several
hours of pretty serious scrambling and one scary abseil later we were
all perched on the summit in time to enjoy the reappearance of the
sun and views again in the late afternoon. Pinnacle Ridge is a
fantastic mountaineering route and shows that there is still some
amazing stuff to do on Skye even when the clag is down. Back at the
hostel we returned to find Bob and Kasia had done their own classic
mountaineering route with a traverse of Clach Glas and Blaven.
Everyone seemed very content with their day, except Rachel, who
hadn't made it to the Slig as a camper van had got stuck in a soft
verge down the Glenbrittle track meaning she hadn't been able to get
past!
Better luck was in store for Tuesday. The morning brought yet more
drizzle but it got better once again as the day went on. Naomi,
Mike, Rachel and myself opted for a day exploring Coire Lagan,
scrambling up East Gully and following Collie's Route towards the
bottom of Arrow Route. With the rocks still soaked it wasn't really
a day for this so we continued up the gully and squeezed under a huge
boulder blocking the gully and out onto the ridge. Fairly easy
scrambling took us to the summit of Sgurr Alisdair before a return to
the valley via the Great Stone Shoot; still the fastest walking
descent route in the UK? Andrew, Rachel and Chris took it easy in
the morning before going off to do some sea cliff climbing in the
afternoon as the weather improved. Bob and Kasia were now doing the
ridge over 4 days given the weather and managed Sgurr nan Gillean, Am
Bhasteir and Bruach na Frithe in a big day of scrambling.
That evening brought 2 new arrivals in the shape of Jim Nicholson and
Dave Bone. With the forecast not looking too hot for Wednesday
either, I opted to have a "rest day" and went for another coastal
walk with Dave along the Duirnish Peninsula. This was a 2 car walk
as we went from Orbost to Ramasaig past some of the most amazing
coastal scenery in the UK. Every turn revealed yet another fantastic
stretch of coastline and yet again as the clouds lifted the day got
better and better. For the first time in the week I was able to use
my sunscreen! Jim and Rachel headed up the Trotternish Peninsula to
do some climbing on the cliffs [and didn't find the crag]. Mike and
Naomi went off to do their own thing and Bob and Kasia managed to do
the Inaccessible Pinnacle even though it was very wet and windy.
Even the guide was nervous! It was pretty late when Rachel, Andrew
and Chris got back to the hostel and I was relieved to see them as I
was beginning to worry. They had done the Clach Glas to Bla Bheinn
traverse and in the conditions had found it a tough and serious
proposition. I am sure they will enjoy the memories for years to
come but some sections are definitely serious especially when wet.
Great down-climbing practise for the Alpine season however! A note at
the hostel told me that Julie had arrived and was now camping down at
the Sligachan.
Thursday was a very wet day and whilst Dave went off to explore some
more of the coastline I couldn't muster much enthusiasm and went for
a coffee in Portree after trying to find Julie on her campsite,
before a short stroll around Greshornish Point. Kasia and Bob
managed Sgurr Alisdair via Coire Lagan whilst Rachel and Andrew
visited the rock formations of the Old Man of Storr and the Quirang.
[I found some sunshine on the East and more rock formations, then
back into the clag on the west for a visit to Skye's longest seacave
at low tide. All of 150ft long, I found the torch battery dead -
quick as a flash I thought "Camera"! So up to the end of the cave lit
by camera LCD screen. Ed.]
Friday finally promised some good weather and plans were hatched to
do some proper climbing. We kept our options open. Would it be
Coire Lagan, Marsco or the sea cliffs? In the end it had to be the
sea cliffs as despite the sunshine the Cullin were still in the cloud
and a fierce wind blew down Glen Sligachan. Mike, Naomi, Jim, Dave
and I headed off up north to Flodigarry and were joined for the day
by Kasia who had finally had enough of 1000m daily ascents and
descents and fancied something a bit different. Bob saw it out to
the end and managed to complete the southern end of the ridge. Top
marks for endurance! Flodigarry was an interesting experience.
Scary abseils and awful top outs were the order of the day so the
climbing didn't exactly flow [we won't go into that, Ed.] but some of
the situations were awesome, especially the rappel down to a block
along side a cave right through the headland. The top of the block
gave a nice finger jamming crack called Lucy in the Sky (HVS) [thin
crack right of Jim - the 'bar' across the arch window is the route
"Spantastic" and attracts a weight limit], which Jim and Dave
enjoyed. There were also some good slabby severes which the rest
enjoyed and it was nice to sit at the top of the cliffs and soak up
the sun. Fish and Chips late on Friday in Portree harbour and a
couple more pints in the Old Inn ended the week perfectly.
The weather on the drive home on Saturday was stunning! Kasia and I
did loads of routes on Castle Naze on the Sunday but there's more to
Skye than climbing and whatever the weather the options available are
all great. A massive thanks to all those who attended and enjoyed
the variety. It was a great week and it was a pleasure to spend my
holiday with you all.
July Newsletter Index.
Copyright © 2009 Karabiner Mountaineering Club
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