Winter scrambling was advertised, and wintry it was! Eight brave members met in Edale at 7pm, the team consisting of Tom Arthur, Harry Collins (prospective member), Joe Dugdale, Claire Hawkins, Andy Lewtas, Paul Lonsdale, Phil Mitchell and Gareth Williams (meet leader). As we gathered in a deserted car park in the dark, some light flakes of snow began to fall, casually whipped around by the gentle easterly wind that proved somewhat character building later in the evening.

We set off with headtorches merrily lighting the way, reaching the end of the road and turning uphill towards our destination of Ringing Roger. It is said that this gritstone outcrop got its name from a monk who used to run up from Edale each day to ring bells, but it was only the internet which said this, so who knows for sure. There was certainly no running up from Edale this evening, but our team made steady progress. Terrain soon became frozen underfoot and from 300m up, the snow was starting to lie on the ground.

By the time we reached the start of the scramble the wind was making itself known and we were all very well acquainted with it before long. Snow was blowing at us horizontally and collecting on all the ledges and holds. After an easy few moves we reached our first obstacle, a steep slab with a wide crack up the middle, initially some good hand holds but a rounded top-out requiring some nifty balance and boot-jamming skills. Paul was heard to say it's the most fun he's had on gritstone!

Higher up a second steep slab with cracks near the top was overcome in a variety of ways ranging from hand jamming, mantling, smearing (yes, smearing on icy gritstone in big boots), combined tactics and of course the easy option, walking around the side. One of the nice things about Ringing Roger is it's very escapable and you can avoid any bits you don't fancy.

Upon reaching the top we discovered an abandoned pop-up tent, camp pans and food. We cleared up all the mess and loaded it into/onto our sacs to carry back down. We walked a couple of hundred yards to the top of Golden Clough and managed to find a spot out of the wind in a little dip. Here we all donned metalwear on our feet, ranging from brand new day-glo microspikes and a first outing for a new pair of crampons to more seasoned equipment such as yaktrax, allowing us to negotiate the icy clough safely. We kept the spikes on quite a way down over the frozen terrain.

We got back to Edale just as The Old Nags Head was closing, the landlord assuring us that The Rambler Inn just down the road would be open. It was, and they offered us a great welcome in from the snow storm. They stoked up the fire and explained that they has over-catered for their pub quiz, could we possibly help them finish the buffet, free of charge of course. We didn't need asking twice, but we did go back for extra helpings twice. Tom displayed some impressive film music knowledge in the second half of the quiz and would probably have won a prize if we'd stayed until the end.

By the time we left the pub the snow had stopped falling, and it seemed amazing to us all that we'd been out for the exact two and a half hours that the snow had fallen. We all agreed this (and the wind!) added to the evening. Thank you to everyone who came and see you at the next one!

This month's scramble will be Ringing Roger, a grade 1-2 scramble which is easily escaped if you don't like the steeper bits.

Weather is forecast to be cold and possibly wet so please dress accordingly and bring a headtorch and possibly a snack. Helmet at your discretion and if you feel you might need it do bring a harness. Please contact Gareth (meet leader) if you have any concerns or questions.

Meet promptly 7pm at the main car park in Edale.

Cheers,

Gareth

The idea of the Winter Scrambling Series is to encourage people to get outside over the winter months, whatever the weather. All that strength you've been building up at the wall won't help at all! The idea here is to get out for a few hours in the cold, dark and likely wet evenings of the winter, building your resilience and character rather than honing technical skills. Excellent training for those coming on the Club's Scottish Winter Meets where you'll often be out in the dark in sub-optimal weather, or just a chance to try your hand at some type 2 fun if you're not sure whether mountaineering in more challenging conditions is for you. Plus you'll keep your legs hill fit and your trad head on ready for when the weather improves. We'll pick a route from the Cicerone guidebook Scrambles in the Dark Peak and walk, scramble, crawl, claw our way up it, finishing in time for a pint in a local pub.

If that sounds a bit much, don't panic. In reality many of the easier scrambles are barely more technical than clambering over piles of boulders and folk of any ability are welcome to come along, provided you don't mind being out in the cold and wet for a few hours. You'll need warm/waterproof clothing, solid footwear, a headtorch and a willingness to get stuck in, but not a lot more than that.

We'll decide on a venue/route once I know who is coming and what you're interested in doing, so please get in touch. You can register interest via the Add Me button but all the organisation will be done via the a WhatsApp group, so make sure you get in touch if you want adding to the group.

Starting sometime around 6-7pm depending on who's coming/where we're going/what we're doing - details for each scramble will be sorted out closer to the time via the WhatsApp group.

Full, Associate, Prospective and Canine members all welcome.