County climber spring 2014

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Transcript of County climber spring 2014

Page 1: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 1 of 24

Page 2: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 2 of 24

About the Northumbrian Mountaineering Club (NMC) The NMC is a meeting point for climbers, fell walkers and mountaineers of all abilities. Our activities centre on rock-climbing in the summer and snow and ice climbing in the winter, and hill

walking in both. Meets are held regularly throughout the year. The NMC is not, however, a commercial organization and does NOT provide instructional courses.

NMC Meets The NMC Members’ Handbook (available to all members) and the NMC website list the dates and locations of all meets. This magazine lists the meets arranged for the next few months. Non-members: Are always welcome to attend meets. Note: Winter indoor (wall) meets require a minimum of prospective membership (see below) due to venue requirements for third party insurance.

Membership Details Members are Prospective until they fulfill the conditions for Full Membership (see membership form.) Full membership is valid for one year from the end of February. Prospective membership expires at the end of March each year. Membership gets you:

Copy of the quarterly magazine

BMC Public Liability Insurance for climbing incidents

Discounted NMC guide books

Discounted entry at certain indoor climbing walls

Access to the extensive NMC library

Access to huts of affiliated clubs

Join the NMC Download a Membership form from: www.thenmc.org.uk Send the signed and completed membership form with a cheque made out to the NMC for the membership fee (see below) to the Membership Secretary at the address shown on the membership form. Membership Fees •Full £23 •Under 18 or in full-time education £15.00

Magazine articles This is YOUR magazine so please keep it running by writing about your own climbing experiences. Even beginners have something to write about. Send contributions to: [email protected] or the Editor at: [email protected]

Black & White Photos? If you received this magazine as a paper copy, then you are missing part of the picture as the download version of the magazine is in colour. To arrange for email notification that the latest issue of the magazine is ready for you to download, contact the membership secretary at: [email protected]

Photos Unless otherwise stated all photos are taken by the author of the article.

Committee 2014/2015 President – Ian Birtwistle Vice Pres. – John Dalrymple Secretary – Andrew Shanks Treasurer – Eva Diran Membership – Adrian Wilson Magazine Editor – John Spencer Social – Ed Scibberas Librarian – Ed Scibberas Web – Ian Birtwistle Genera -: David Angel, Alastair Boardman, Gareth Crapper, Pete Flegg, Ian Ross.

Copyright The contents of this magazine are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission of the NMC. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the NMC.

Cover Shot Nigel Hooker leading pitch 1 of Parto Gemellare (WI3+), Epinel, Val d’Aosta (John Spencer)

As an affiliate to the BMC, the NMC endorses the following participation statement: The BMC recognises that climbing, hill walking and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.

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What’s in this issue?

Editorial p4

Winter Skills Weekend (Jenny Wright) p5

The Dog’s Bollocks (John Spencer) p6

From Babu to the Ben via Burnside (Ed Scibberas) p9

One Day Like This A Year Would See Me Right (Paul Quin) p15

Domestic Winter (Jim Rigg) p16

Kiwi Steve Comes To Town (Gail Young) p17

Peak Rock – a Book Review (Dave Hume) p19

Mouth-watering Menu p19

Snow on the Edge (Martin Cooper) p21

Club Business p21

Wednesday Evening Meets The club meets outdoors every Wednesday night, weather permitting, between April and the end of

September. Just turn up (bring your own equipment) and join in! The full list of venues (and the pub in which

the thirsty craggers meet afterwards) is published in the Handbook. Note, however, if the weather is bad, it’s

important to check the NMC website (or Facebook or Twitter if you’re into those sorts of things) for details

about alternative venues.

Weekend Meets (including accommodation where relevant, and meet leader)

19th

-20th

April (Easter weekend), Northumberland, Ian Birtwistle (07828123143)

2nd

-4th

May (Bank Holiday weekend), North Wales, Shrewsbury MC Hut, Deiniolen, Alastair

Boardman (07768268850)

11th

May, North Yorks Moors, joint meet with Cleveland Mountaineering Club, leader tbc

16th

-18th

May, Great Langdale, new members Spring meet, joint meet with Wanneys

Mountaineering Club, Adrian Wilson (07970823483)

22nd

June, Yorkshire day meet, Alastair Boardman (07768268850)

25th

–27th

July, Galloway, Solway View Campsite, John Dalrymple (07591242339 )

9th

August, Peak District day meet, Adrian/Gareth (07970823483)

23rd

-25th

August, Pembroke, Glebe Farm, Bosherston, Ian Birtwistle (07828123143)

13th

–14th

September, North Wales, Clogwyn Mountaineering Club Hut, leader to be confirmed

Other Dates for Your Diary 8

th June, Crag clean-up and joint meet with Wanneys, venue to be decided (probably not Crag

Lough), John Spencer (07813129065)

11th

-13th

July, BMC Festival of Walking and Climbing, Wooler (Friday night pub quiz, Saturday

climbing Bowden Doors, Saturday night ceilidh, Sunday climbing Kyloe Out)

2nd

August, Club Annual Dinner, Battlesteads Pub, Wark, accommodation Demesne Farm

Campsite and Bunkhouse

6th

-7th

September, BMC Crag Lough Clean-up, camping

7th

December, President’s Walk, venue to be decided, Ian Birtwistle (07828123143)

Winter Weekend Meets Below are listed the dates of next season’s official Club meets. Meet leaders have yet to be identified.

23rd

–25th

January, Cairngorms, Mill Cottage, Feshiebridge

6th

-8th

February, Cairngorms/Meagaidh, Raeburn Cottage, Laggan

20th

–23rd

February, Torridon and NW, Ling Hut, Glen Torridon

6th

–8th

March, Glencoe, Alex McIntyre Hut, North Ballachulish

20th

–23rd

March, CIC Hut, Ben Nevis

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Editorial John Spencer

What a strange winter it’s

been. OK, people whose

work takes them into the

mountains or those folk

climbing the Grade VIIs and

IXs and who know the right

place to be (and usually live

on the doorstep) seem to have

enjoyed a reasonable season,

judging from postings on

UKC Winter Forums and/or

Scottishwinter.com. But for

the rest of us, the punters, it’s

been rather frustrating.

I made 5 forays north after

the New Year (trips north

being more or less pointless

before then) for which I have

to show: two routes (both

fun, but neither in particularly

good nick); three new

Munros (93 to go!); and a

visit to Ice Factor. Oh and I

fell in a river! But the craic

was good, the scenery

spectacular, and being in the

midst of some of those

conditions was exhilarating

(sort of), so I guess I

shouldn’t complain. Most

other folk I know have had

similar experiences. Two

NMC winter meets were

cancelled and even Big Al

Horsfield, he of last season’s

‘Forty at 40’ apparently

managed only one outing.

There’s been much talk

about these kinds of

conditions – stormy, mild,

unpredictable - being the

pattern for the future. I was

amused, therefore, when

browsing through some old

climbing magazines (I’m a

hoarder) to come across the

following extract from the

Scotland Area Report by

Andy Nisbet in the May 1989

edition of Climber and Hill

Walker, penned in late

March: ‘Winter has finally

made an erratic appearance

this month, although those

prone to blinking may have

missed it. The weather has

been stormy with dramatic

thaws and freezes. The thaws,

usually accompanied by

heavy rain, have been too

deep for sustained conditions

but the sudden freezes have

brought ice routes which rely

on drainage water, into

excellent condition very

quickly, usually to disappear

again just as quickly….So

those whose keenness has

survived and with a good eye

for conditions have done

some excellent new routes.’

Twenty five years on, it

seems plus Ça change, eh?

Anyway, although most

people’s thoughts will have

now turned to rock, winter

adventuring remains the

theme of most of the articles

in this Spring issue.

Jenny Wright, Enthusiasm

Personified, though not a

Club member, joined us on

the Feshiebridge meet in

January and writes about her

very positive experience of

the Winter Skills course and

‘what happened next’.

By the end of a decent

winter season, you will likely

have experienced all or most

of the following: wondering

whether you’re still on route

or indeed on a route at all;

encounters with

unconsolidated snow, cruddy

ice, and crap gear; an

unexpected thaw or freeze (or

both) mid-route; a near-fall,

maybe even an actual one;

getting your ropes in a fankle;

and topping-out in the dark.

On page 6 I tell the story of

an outing (with a canine

theme) in which all of these

were experienced in one long

and epic day.

Ed Scibberas seems to

have had a more productive

winter than most, culminating

in an ascent of Tower Ridge

in Alpine conditions. He also

lays claim to having been, for

a glorious few minutes, the

highest Malteser in the

world!

There are a couple of

short anecdotes about aspects

of ‘the winter experience’,

from Paul Quin and Jim Rigg

respectively, and a wintry

poem from Martin Cooper.

Meanwhile, the only

outside speaker we managed

to organize over the winter

was New Zealander Steve

Bate who, in a talk at

Burnside in January,

described with great candour

(emotions and all) his solo

ascent of Zodiac on El

Capitan - he’s registered

blind, by the way. Gail

Young, who happens to be

the Editor’s dear wife, and a

non-climber yet long-

suffering climber’s partner,

who met Steve and came

along to hear his talk, offers

her perspective on his feat

and asks some questions

about the mindset of a person

that enables them to

overcome fear and do

something amazing.

Finally Dave Hume

reviews the recently

published magnum opus

‘Peak Rock’ which attempts,

apparently successfully, to

bring to life 130 years of

history ’in one of the UK’s

main forcing grounds for

standards’.

Happy reading!

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Winter Skills

Weekend

Jenny Wright

So here goes, my first

attempt at translating my

experience onto paper. Being

in the early stages of my

winter climbing career I was,

and still am, keen to gain as

much experience as I can, so

when I was told that the

NMC were organising a

Winter Skills

weekend

course to be

led by Tim

Hakim (MIC),

I thought this

would be the

perfect

compliment.

Especially

when

considering

the length of

walk-ins to the

climbs and

generally

being exposed

to such a

changeable

environment.

After packing all my kit

for the weekend, and feeling

a little apprehensive about

being warm enough, tending

to suffer from cold hands, I

was on my merry way to join

Adrian and Tim to continue

our journey to Feshiebridge.

On first meeting Tim I knew

immediately the weekend

was going to be valuable, he

had so much experience and

knowledge to offer. When we

arrived at the bunkhouse,

which had a reassuring level

of snow outside, the fire was

soon roaring. Everyone was

in good spirits and it was nice

meeting people of different

ages and with various levels

of experience. There was

little time to stop though;

Tim was very vigilant

making sure everyone had

everything they needed for

the following day.

So alarms were set for 6am,

luckily I don’t mind an early

start. The morning arrived

soon enough. After a good

breakfast the group left and

made tracks up to Aviemore

Ski Centre. The darkness

began to turn to ligh.t

We had a lot to cover over

the next couple of days but in

fact we sailed through the

syllabus pretty quickly,

clearly a very capable group

and of course we benefitted

from a Tim. We started off

simply focussing on treading

snowy and more hard-packed

snowy terrain and on steep

ground, kicking in steps,

remaining balanced. The

moment many had been

waiting for – ice axe arrests -

came after lunch. They were

a lot of fun to practice and we

saw some dramatic

improvisations. This is not to

ignore the seriousness of

learning what could be a life-

saving technique. We soon

had the ropes out and were

taught various belay methods;

each time they were tried and

tested to see how bomber

they were. Most were pretty

solid.

A fair walk-out rounded off

the day nicely, the weather

was reasonably good, with

little wind and patches of

clear skies. Tim often offered

his knowledge through the

day, with a host of helpful

tips around ice axe and

crampon use, avalanche

awareness, various risk

indicators and

more. I can

certainly say that

my skill base

grew and I

subsequently felt

that bit more

confident. After

a well earned

beer and some

dinner, we had a

talk from Tim

on avalanches,

which was both

interesting and

unnerving. We

looked at how

snow-ice can

form, the

influence of the wind etc, and

what this would mean in

terms of risk. It brought home

the seriousness of

mountaineering and the

devastating impact on life if

one is unfortunate enough to

be caught in an avalanche.

For day two, the plan was to

put our newly acquired or

refreshed skills into practice

with a winter climb, exciting

times! I was keen to lead for

the first time and this was the

time to do it. The group

headed in the direction of

Coire an t-Sneachda. I can

recall the wind picking up

and visibility being mildly

challenged. A bit more

Scottish than the previous

day! The goggles were soon

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on, along with the rest of the

kit, which was made much

more of a faff by wearing

gloves; this was difficult!

Little did I know just how

much pain I was going to be

in a few hours later.

We split into groups of

three, with Tim supervising

one group and Adrian Wilson

the other. Adrian was a super

coach during my first lead

and tolerant of my swearing,

as were David and Robin,

while I went through the

dreaded hot aches - Horrible!

David’s mitts were the

perfect cure. I wasn’t the only

one suffering, though. I

noticed a few others doing

squats and windmills at the

belay to stay warm. At the

end of the climb it felt like a

real accomplishment! Everyone had done so well,

for most of the group this was

a first. It’s amazing how the

memory of the painful hot

aches is overridden by the

memory of the rest of the

climbing experience. This

was of course largely

influenced by the

personalities of the people

with whom I was lucky

enough to share the

experience. Since that day I have kept going back to

Scotland for more winter

climbing whenévér possible,

most recently doing Spectre

V,6, and Scabbard Chimney

V,6 on Stob Coire nan

Lochan. Then in February I

had an amazing time ice

climbing in Rjukan, Norway,

where the weather was just

idyllic, but it has to be said

that it is no replacement for

the true adventure the

Scottish elements offer! Tim Hakim holds a

Mountaineering Instructor

Certificate and can be

contacted at

[email protected]

et or 07974413562.

The Dog’s Bollocks

John Spencer

“I’m off!” I exclaimed,

more out of surprise than

anything else since, well, I

wasn’t expecting to fall. One

of my axe placements in the

less-than-ideal turf had ripped

as I was stepping up a short

corner, crampons scrabbling

on not very much. In slow-

motion I barn-doored,

eyeballed the ice screw a

couple of metres below, let

go of the still-placed axe, and

launched into space. But

then, a second later: “No I’m

not” as I realised I hadn’t

gone very far and was now

dangling from the lanyard

attached to the axe still in

situ.

I was leading the 2nd

pitch

of a route called K9 on

Lurcher’s Crag in the

Northern Cairngorms. It was

the weekend of the

Feshiebridge Meet (January

10th to 12

th), and our first real

opportunity to get out onto

something steep and white,

not having had a dog’s

chance (see what I did there?)

so far on account of the wild

and stormy start to the

season. MWIS was

reasonably optimistic: no

precipitation forecast, a

decent chance of cloud-free

tops, maybe even some sun,

and, most relevant to today’s

adventure, freezing levels

down to 650 metres. We were

three: myself, and Messrs

Vaughan and Sillem Senior.

On account of it being the

first weekend showing

promise, we reasoned that the

hordes would be out to play

and that Coire an’t’Sneachda

would be hotching. None of

us had climbed at Lurcher’s

but the word on the street,

bearing in mind its base is

around 750m, was that when

it was ‘in’ there was good

sport to be had, and that it

would also likely be quiet. It

seemed like a good prospect.

A pleasant walk in the

breaking dawn along the

track from the Sugarbowl car

park took us on a contouring

line round the base of the

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Northern Corries from where,

across the valley, we could

see a steady stream of cars

heading up to the main car

park, seemingly vindicating

our choice

of venue.

We passed

through the

Chalamain

Gap, scene

of one of

last

season’s

avalanche

tragedies,

and turned

into the

Lairig

Ghru. Here

the

ambience

changed,

with a stiff

breeze

blowing

and more

of a ‘big

country’

and serious

feel to

things.

Our

original

target was

‘Window

Gully’, a

single star

IV/4, the

highlight of

which is climbing up behind

an ice curtain, cutting a hole

in it – the eponymous

window – and climbing

through back onto the route.

It sounded fun, but when we

finally located the lines on

the craggy hillside it was

clear the screen was not fully

formed. However K9, to its

left, looked to be present with

some interesting-looking ice

high up. Also graded IV,4 it

seemed worth a punt, so we

thrashed our way up a steep

snow slope to the start of the

route.

The first ascent was by

Allan and Blair Fyffe in

March 1996, and although

there we could make out a

line we struggled to fit the

route description to what we

saw above us. It mentioned a

‘lower icefall’ leading up to a

big roof; the latter was

obvious, not so the icefall.

Ah, well.

Mr Vaughan led off up a

corner comprising a mixed

pitch of snow-covered rock,

generally cruddy ice, and not-

very-frozen turf, with little

gear to boot. It was clear the

freezing level was well above

750m. However the belay

was good and Mr Sillem and

I followed. My lead next. The

route description said ‘After a

pitch trend

left across

mixed

ground.’

Hmm. This

would avoid

what looked

to be the

main

challenge of

the route, a

splurge of ice

breaching the

left end of the

roof. The

‘mixed

ground’ was

not appealing

anyway, and

neither was

the thin-

looking

continuation

groove above

the belay,

which would

have given

direct access

to the ice -

this was the

first route of

the season

after all. So I

headed right

up a snow

ramp, then

back left towards the ice,

protected now by a warthog

hammered somewhat

optimistically into a clod of

turf. Twenty feet higher a

solid-feeling screw in an

icicle provided psychological

protection to tackle the short

turf-choked rock corner.

So there I was, gently

swinging on my lanyards. I

chuckled, part nervous

laughter, part genuine

amusement at this unexpected

turn of events.....but only for

Mr Vaughan leading the first pitch of K9 (roof breached

by ice pillar directly above)

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a couple of seconds as I was

jolted back from slow-motion

into real-time. I wasn’t that

confident, either in the short

stretch (literally) of

elasticated fabric or the still-

in-situ axe from which I

dangled. With “Take it

steady, John” booming up

from the belay, I swung back

onto the route, found the nice

hook in a slanting

crack I should have

found first time

round, took a deep

breath and thrutched,

not very gracefully,

hands, knees and

everything, up the

corner. With a couple

of satisfying thwacks,

I found good

placements with

which to pull onto the

ice. Phew! It seemed

sensible to belay at

this point. I kicked a

ledge and placed two

bomb-proof screws

and a thread round an

icicle.

Safe now, I

brought up the boys,

just a little pleased to

hear a bit of huffing

and puffing when

they reached the

tricky corner, even

the odd exhortation to

“Watch the rope”.

Meanwhile, the sun

had at last emerged, the sky

was blue, and the views down

the Lairig Ghru and across to

Braeriach were magnificent –

a great stance. A party of two

had arrived at the base of the

route and were making their

way up the first pitch. And of

course by now our ropes were

the inevitable dog’s

breakfast.

Mr Vaughan led off up a

steep wall of ice leading into

a cave/recess beneath the

roof, from the back of which

sprouted an assortment of tat.

Protected by this and a screw,

he stepped down and out of

the cave and onto an ice

bulge. A chandelier of icicles

loomed overhead, the ice

below it all weird and bubbly

from the constant drip and

freeze of meltwater. Heading

left and upwards, the angle

eventually eased, although it

still looked pretty ‘out there’.

Our intrepid leader made

light work of it, obviously in

control although not so much

that the spoilsport would

pause for a photo. The pair

below us had meanwhile

grown tired of waiting – sorry

guys, climbing as a

threesome is always slow if

you’re not simul-climbing,

and we weren’t – and they

were climbing a groove

system to our right; it looked

quite pokey – a new route, we

wondered? The freezing level

had dropped over the course

of the afternoon and by now

everything, the belay, the

rack and John’s sac hanging

from it, the rope and indeed

Mr Vaughan himself, were by

now covered in a thin coating

of clear ice.

We were getting

tired, it was cold

and we’d had little

sustenance since

breakfast at 6.30,

other than a

handful of raisins

and nuts and a swig

of water, so the

chocolate biscuits

produced from the

depths of Mr S’s

rucksack provided

a most welcome

boost to both blood

sugar and morale. I

led off up a series

of shallow icy

grooves, with the

occasional

awkward step,

leading up to a

heathery and

bouldery slope. The

top pitch, described

as ‘the upper icefall

running down a

corner’ was visible

some 50 metres or

so up and to our

left, quite a way off

the natural line. We

scrambled up to its base.

Although climbing it seemed

rather contrived, light was

beginning to fade and cloud

was descending, it looked

enticing – it had to be done.

I was pushed forward to

the sharp end. The

temperature drop had taken

its toll, so to speak, and the

ice was now rock-hard and

brittle, thus placements

required a bit more effort (or

The ice pillar leading through the roof on K9, mid-February

(photo by Simon Richardson, reproduced with his permission)

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NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 9 of 24

was it just that I was

knackered?!), and the ice was

more easily shattered, thus

the boys below were

showered with pieces of ice

of various sizes. All in all, a

bit tougher than was at first

apparent, and, as with the

roof pitch, the grade felt more

like 5 than 4.

The top. By now darkness

had fallen, and cloud was

enveloping the summits – we

were going to have to

navigate our way off.

Customary shaking of hands,

grunts of appreciation,

sorting of gear and slurping

refreshing cup of lukewarm

tea followed. Mr Sillem led

the party off the hill, compass

in hand, our headtorch beams

drilling into the darkness. The

descent route was very

straightforward, a trudge to

the ridge then a gentle stroll

on more or less the same

bearing, to avoid the

Chalamain Gap, but on

excellent crunchy névé.

We reached the almost-

empty car park ten hours or

so after setting off. A full-on

day for sure, with a bit of

everything thrown in for

good measure. We dropped

by Tesco in Aviemore where

Mr S purchased an armful of

craft beers. When we got

back to the hut, I slumped,

dog tired, in front of the fire,

popped open the first bottle,

and slowly slipped into that

wonderful glazed post-full-

on-winter’s-day-out state as

the rest of the hut bustled,

excitedly recounting their

adventures.

Postscript None of us had

heard of K9 before our visit

to Lurcher’s. When we got

home, browsing Simon

Richardson’s excellent

Scottishwinter.com blog, it

transpired that just a week

before our ascent, none other

than Andy Nisbet partnered

by Susan Jensen, had been on

the route, forging a direct link

between the top of the first

pitch and the ice pillar

through the roof, the line I

avoided (it looked a darned

sight fatter in their photo).

However, the blog entry

(titled ‘A dog’s life’!) also

mentioned that on the FA in

‘96 conditions were not very

icy, in particular the pillar

over the roof was not ‘in,

hence the traverse over mixed

ground, and the attraction of

the top icefall.

K9 also popped up on the

blog a few weeks later (one

might say that every dog has

its day – I’m sorry, I’ll get

my coat!), the issue this time

being the fact that people

were climbing the line

thinking it was Window

Gully, indeed confusion

seemed to reign about the

location and descriptions of

several of the routes at

Lurchers. The next

guidebook writer will have

some work to do! Whatever,

all seemed to agree it was a

cracking route. The dog’s

bollocks, in fact.

From Babu to the

Ben via Burnside. Or the story of an unlikely winter climber and an unlikely winter season

Ed Scibberas

Driving back from Fort

William gives time for a lot

of reflections. Mountains

mirrored on Loch Lomond on

a still night, the glint of a

silver Subaru across a

gleaming car showroom as

well as the blinding reflected

glare of driving sleet in full

beam headlights. But

returning from the NMC

meet in the CIC Hut on Ben

Nevis (March 21st-23rs), my

thoughts were centred on

looking back at the past

couple of months that have

been this year’s winter

climbing season. My unlikely

conclusion was that this wee

lad from the sunny

Mediterranean, who started

his apprenticeship bolt

clipping at the Maltese

klettergarten known as Wied

Babu, notched up the greatest

number of metres of climbing

from all the winter NMC

meets in 2014, a heady height

of 1275m!

Starting off with that

bombshell therefore, the

story kicks off at Mill

Cottage, Feshiebridge, over

the weekend of 11-12

January. A winter skills

course was organised for

this meet, bringing the hut to

full capacity with its six

participants, including three

climbers from the Wanneys

Climbing Club. The Johns,

together with Robin Sillem

had a cunning plan that

Lurcher’s Crag would be in

the best condition given the

(balmy?) weather, while

Simon and James, as well as

Tim C and myself went for

the more conventional Coire

an t'Sneachda. With high

morale, Tim and I headed in

for our first climbs for the

year. I was keen to get some

scratches on my ice tools,

which looked

embarrassingly shiny,

having only recently

graduated to the newest

haute couture that is

leashless climbing.

Page 10: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 10 of 24

‘Tremendous Tim’ made

a beeline for Aladdin’s

Buttress and after a quick

assessment of what was free

(and a quick “Get orf my

land!” or two to climbers

eyeing the same route) we

trudged up to the base of

Patey’s Route. One hundred

and twenty metres of perfect

névé later, we topped out

with awesome grins all

round. Quick bite of lunch,

and The Lamp soon fell to

Catterall’s assault, adding

another 100m to our tally.

Two good routes, and great

conditions made for a

stonking day. Back at the

hut, the other parties slowly

trickled in. James and Simon

had bagged Spiral Gully and

were looking well chuffed

with themselves, while the

Winter Skills crowd had

been practicing their ice axe

arrests with Tim Hakim and

Adrian Wilson.

But what of the intrepid

Lurchers? They made it

back to hut at around 8pm,

with an epic story to tell.

The route of choice, K9 (see

John’s article), had bitten

back, having turned out to

be a rabid, out-of-condition

mongrel. Melting ice,

cruddy ice, pokey and

contrived, were all used yo

sum up the route. John

Spencer meanwhile was

singing Grivel’s praises for

their spring leash which had

just proved its worth when a

turf placement had ripped,

the good doctor having been

caught in the fall by the

leash. This heroic moment

was summed up by Robin

as, “I heard a commotion, I

looked up, and you were

slightly lower than you were

before.”

Tim needed to get his

snowboarding time in too,

John V and Robin elected on

a rest day, while Simon and

James decided that the

forecast high winds would

make for an uncomfortable

day. That meant the Prof and

I were paired up for the

Sunday, with Sneachda again

being the target. The Winter

Skillers were to practice what

they’d learnt on some easy

ground in the corrie on what

was forecast to be a very

windy day. This narrowed

our choice towards Aladdin’s

Buttress once again –

Doctor’s Choice was free, so

onwards marched Doc John

for another 105m of the

Cairngorms’ finest, bringing

Chapter I to a successful

close.

Chapter 2 was withdrawn

by the printer from this year’s

almanac. The Raeburn

Cottage was to host the NMC

for the Laggan meet at the

beginning of February. All

eyes were glued on the

weekend weather forecast. In

the end, even Tim Catterall’s

enthusiasm was restrained

when notified that the A82

was shut. The NMC stayed in

Newcastle.

The next chapter made it to

the final print, albeit a brief

affair. The Lagangarbh hut in

Glencoe was the venue. This

time the forecast did not put a

stop to our efforts, and

Saturday morning saw

myself, Adrian W and Tim C

geared up and aiming for

Stob Coire nan Lochan for

the most sheltered climb we

could think of, given the

wind and avalanche forecast.

By the time we had driven

from the hut to the layby,

Ed on the 2nd

pitch of Doctor’s Choice (John Spencer)

Page 11: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 11 of 24

however, the rain had turned

to torrential mode. Much

oohing and aahing in the car,

and the absence of anybody

else, plus the fact that Adrian

got soaked just fetching his

boots from the back of the car

meant that a visit to the Ice

Factor in Kinlochleven was

in order. The issue

was that our

unbounded

enthusiasm had

seen us in the

layby for 7.15, the

Ice Factor not

opening till 9. I

have since learnt

that on a rainy

morning there is

bother all to be

done in

Kinlochleven

before 9!

A morning was

spent under cover,

with the rest of the

gang gradually

trickling in,

having had their

lie-ins and second

breakfasts. In

order to earn our

day, we decided

that a walk back

to the hut via the

West Highland

Way from

Kinlochleven was

in order, seeing us

arrive just in time

to watch the final

minutes of the

rugby at the

Clachaig.

Sunday was more hopeful,

with whispers of “Aonach

Eagach” wistfully heard.

However the day dawned

grey and wet, and over the

two hours spent looking out

of the window, the whole

spectrum of shades of grey

was seen, before we decided

that Newcastle was a better

choice. Lewis, Sue and

Alison decided to stick it out

and explore The Lost Valley,

while Eva, Richard, Victor

and Ali went skiing. Total

route length – 0m!

The grand finale was the

Ben Nevis meet only two

weeks later, and with a less-

than-ideal forecast once

again, hopes were not too

high. The CIC hut was

booked for the weekend so

Adrian, Tim Hakim and

myself decided to make an

extended sojourn and head

north on Thursday night,

staying in Fort Bill before

heading up to the hut on

Friday morning. After a quick

lunch we headed out towards

Douglas Boulder, and started

off on Fawlty Towers (III),

with Mr Wilson kindly taking

the lead on pitch 1. This

proved to be rather thin, both

in terms of any consolidated

white stuff as well as

available gear. Pitch 2 was

handed to yours truly,

and manifested itself

as a 60m swim. Gear

was plentiful on this

one though. Finally

Tim led the final

stretch onto Tower

Ridge, by which time

it was getting slightly

dusky and snowier.

We abbed off into the

Douglas Gap and

descended back to the

hut, to find the Johns

making the hut

homely.

Other hutters

trickled in through the

evening, Robin

turning up around 8,

and Lewis and Tim

Catterall arriving past

midnight amid

incessant snow. This

proved to undermine

everyone’s climbing

plans for the next day.

Most parties headed

towards Northeast

Buttress to find

something doable in

that area, with Adrian

and myself eyeing

Slingsby’s Chimney.

The walk up involved

wading through the

deep overnight snow, then

standing saide for the parties

retreating from the crags!

There was a general feel that

climbers were getting to the

crag, attempting a route, then

bailing off as it was simply

proving to be an exercise in

the breaststroke. This indeed

proved to be the case as we

got closer. At this point,

John on the third pitch of Doctor's Choice

Page 12: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 12 of 24

futility was the order of the

day as we waited for the

Johns who were in a similar

predicament. CIC Hut Direct

was agreed upon as the most

appropriate route, via Retreat

Central Buttress, which was

getting quite busy with all the

other climbers taking their kit

out for a walk.

The Tims turned up about

an hour later, having

attempted Platform Rib but

then bailing before even

reaching the first belay. Intel

had suggested that Robin had

done the same, but Lewis was

giving it another go.

Eventually, however, they

were back at the hut by 12.30

too! Later on in the afternoon

I got a bout of cabin fever, so

me and Adrian went on a bit

of exploration given that this

was both our first outing to

Ben Nevis, up towards Coire

Leis, where the weather

momentarily cleared giving

uninterrupted views all the

way down to the glen.

Back in the hut, plans

were then made for the next

day – Tim, myself and Lewis

had set our sights on Tower

Ridge, while the rest were

simply going to play it by ear

depending on the weather.

Tower Ridge was something

I’d been hoping we’d be able

to do this weekend, so was

mightily excited. Plus this

was my first foray at

climbing on the Ben. Ever.

Excited!

The morning, however,

did not dawn too promising.

In fact we met a group who

had just bailed off Tower

Ridge before we’d even left

the hut! Névértheless, we

decided to plod on and have a

look for ourselves. Being first

up meant we were breaking

trail, but that also meant we

were first off from the

Douglas Gap. What that also

implied was that we were

regaled at the top with an

unbroken crest of pristine

snow! It seemed a shame to

break through it, but onwards

we went, Tim leading,

followed by Lewis and

myself moving together. The

wind had meanwhile died

down, and the sky was

clearing – signs of a good

day? With a quick look at

everyone else, I could see

that this was really going to

happen.

Because of the overnight

snow and the conditions

underfoot, Tim elected to

pitch most sections all the

way up to the Little Tower,

with the groups following us

doing same. At the Little

Tower, we were outflanked

by Robin Clothier (hut

custodian) who was soloing,

Tim Hakim, first on the ridge

Page 13: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 13 of 24

accompanying a pair of

climbers. We met them again

at the start of the Eastern

Traverse which was gained

via a magnificent crest. Lewis

had been appointed official

trip photographer, so we had

frequent calls of “Stop!…this

will be an amazing photo!”

(see Lewis’ collection at:

https://plus.google.com/ph

otos/115330964987770141

274/albums/599476014906

2191377?authkey=CPeCzI

2Yq62_hgE )

With every pitch, this was

turning into an Alpine jaunt.

The scale of the whole thing

had really hit home now, with

the enormous exposure on the

route making me feel just

immensely small (well yes,

more than usual).

After Robin’s party

cleared the Traverse, it was

our turn to follow Tim.

Somewhat apprehensive, I

undid a couple of coils

between me and Lewis,

before faffing about retying

them. Mindful of the sheer

size of the drop, “Lewis, is

this the right knot??” With

the rope going taut it was

time to stick axes in the snow

and go over the edge.

Knowing this was one of the

more difficult sections,

morale was greatly boosted

when I found myself on

stonking névé. Breathe, and

smile.

We carried on together up

to the ridge above Tower

Gap, where Tim then set up a

boot-axe belay and said that,

for this section, we’d go first.

It took me a couple of

seconds to realise that it

would be me on the sharp

end, gulp! (Yes I know, it’s

actually safer to be on lead

for this bit, with the rope

above you, but still,

following was nice!) The

arête leading to the gap then

literally stopped me in my

tracks. Seriously??? That

narrow??? Is it too late to

swap with Lewis?

Fortunately another photo

moment took the edge off

things. Actually, since the

crampon marks were on both

sides of the arête, might an

unglamorous bum shuffle

perhaps do the trick? Thus

was my first Alpine au cheval

performed.

Then came the gap. Mehh.

Left or right? After much

peering, going right looked

more straightforward,

eventually seeing me hanging

off my axe, hooked behind

the boulder. But where was

the platform? Bugger, still

another inch or so to go under

my crampons! Nothing to it

but to close my eyes and

One chuffed Malteser. And a frozen Snickers bar too!

Page 14: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 14 of 24

slowly prise fingers off, until

only one was left and my

hand slid sufficiently down.

Contact! Brilliant! Breathe,

and smile again

I hastily attached myself to

the slings round the boulder

and brought Lewis over. Tim

then joined the crowd in the

gap, by which time things

were getting overly cosy.

With another awkward step,

Tim was over the gap, and

proceeding steadily up the

slope. I knew this to be

described in the guide as the

“easy ground to the top”. I

could feel the top so close

(though that could also have

been Lewis) now, though, I

didn’t dare think of the

distance to the corrie floor

that implied! With the rope

taut, time to move again, and

with each step, the axes

plunged into perfect névé.

Steep last upper section, Tim

was over the top ramp and

over the lip, with the rope

disappearing behind him,

until Lewis too disappeared

from sight. Last couple of ice

axe whacks, and suddenly the

wall gave way to flatness.

The top. And it was

magnificent.

The clarity of the air was

absolute, and wherever you

looked, the vista was white

capped peaks with Fort

William below. Cliché, but

the word ‘breathtaking’ fitted

the bill perfectly. All that was

left now was to take the

summit photos and savour the

moment as much as possible.

With a very high percentage

of probability, I can safely

say that I was the highest

Malteser at that moment in

time! With the gullies very

heavily loaded, and monster

cornices lying unbroken on

top, our descent was to be

down Coire Leis, via the

summit. The plateau was

deserted, windless, and sun

swept. All that was missing

was a frozen Snickers bar,

and I was the happiest

climber on the mountain.

Time was, however,

pressing, with the sun going

quite low on the horizon, so

we descended on to the CMD

arête to follow a trail broken

through the cornice, and into

the coire below. With a final

wistful glance, it was time to

get face-to-face with some

névé again as we

downclimbed, then trudged

backnto the hut, arriving at

about 6pm. Distance climbed,

800m. Time on hill, 10hr+.

Breathe, and grin inanely

Tim Hakim and Lewis Preston. Team leader, and official photographer

respectively. I just carried the ropes

Page 15: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 15 of 24

Adrian would be waiting

for us in the North Face car

park, so kit was quickly

packed and backpacks hefted

for the descent down to the

valley. Before leaving, I

opened the routes logbook in

the hut, and with a sense of

immense satisfaction, penned

the words

“Tower

Ridge”.

A long

drive

brought us

back South,

getting to

Newcastle

after 1 am,

giving

plenty of

time to look

back and

ponder on

the last

couple of

months.

Most

climbers

have been

talking

about the

generally

uncooperative winter, and

this was also reflected on

most of the club’s winter

meets. I considered myself

really lucky to have managed

to get as much as I did, so

thanks to all who had a hand

in this! What has this season

taught me? Well I’ve

summed it up in Three Ps:

Persevere (there will be

something in

condition…somewhere!),

Promiscuate (your climbing

partners that is! There will be

someone up for something!)

and Plod on!

Epilogue Monday morning

saw me back in the office,

feeling utterly brain dead and

generally shell shocked by

the previous weekend. Over

my third coffee of the

morning, I stole a glance

around at my colleagues, and

smiled inwardly. I had been

somewhere awesome the day

before, where they could only

dream of going. It just made

me feel alive. That is the

climber’s prerogative.

‘One day like this

a year would see

me right’

Paul Quin

On the one hand there’s

some truth in the song title*

but on the other, a great day’s

climbing in an otherwise poor

winter does leave one

wanting more. Not going to

the Laggan and Glencoe

meets due to appalling

weather was really very

frustrating so when Pete

Smith and I headed for the

Northern Corries we had high

hopes of getting something

done.

Wednesday was the most

perfect day, with little or no

wind and lots of sunshine.

We did alternate leads on

Invernookie on Fiacaill

Buttress of Coire an’

t’Sneachda, which we both

agreed was nearer IV than III

due to a lack of white stuff in

the important places. A

picnic on the top with great

views of the surrounding hills

and a lovely stroll down to

the car park in evening

sunshine via the Fiacaill a’

Choire Chais made a splendid

end to the day.

Foolishly we thought we

were on toa winner when we

went up again on Thursday.

What a difference 24 hours

makes! Strong winds, even

stronger gusts, tons of new

powder and spindrift soon

had us in retreat after a cold

Pete enjoying the crux on Invernookie

Page 16: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 16 of 24

food stop huddled in the

boulders. I got blown over

coming down but we had

great fun meeting people on

the way up and speculating

how long they would stick it.

Some appeared to have bivvi

gear – character building or

what?

Two contrasting days

which gave us a stark

reminder of what Scottish

weather can throw at you. .

(*Footnote: ‘One day like

this a year would see me

right’ was a single by Elbow,

released in 2008).

Domestic Winter

Jim Rigg

I just had to get out into

the hills and test the system.

The domestic winter had

been a non-event with two

mid-week CIC hut bookings

cancelled (once because the

hut was virtually buried and

once because the forecast was

appalling). Then to cap it all,

illness set in resulting in a

period of almost three weeks

of inactivity, antibiotics and

noticeable weight loss. One’s

level of fitness was close to

rock bottom! Slowly a

recovery of sorts was

achieved and all that was

required was a decent

forecast.The plan was to do a

respectable Lakeland walk

and live to tell the tale.

The weather forecast for

Monday March 24th is ‘fit for

purpose’ and after an early

start I am to be found

affecting final preparations at

the top of Dunmail Raise by

09.00 hours. A tricky

verglassed path leads up

Raise Beck, past Grisedale

Tarn and down to Ruthwaite

Lodge. From the lodge it gets

more secluded - not many

people head up into

Ruthwaite Cove and I would

say even fewer ascend the

East ridge of Nethermost

Pike. Steep in places with a

cosmetic covering of scenic

snow that lacks any real

substance, the final section

provides just the sort of

challenge I need. Once on the

‘highway’, easy going leads

to Striding Edge. Crampons

on, down the steep slope, up

the little pinnacle, crampons

off. Steady going along the

level section sees me passing

several people enjoying a

‘mostest fantabulous’ day.

“The standard of

equipment of some people on

this ridge beggars belief”

opine a couple of experienced

looking, polite gentlemen.

“You mean those two up

ahead?” The ‘two up ahead’

are a young couple. He is

equipped with the cheapest of

bendy boots, and a rucksack

about the size of my

sandwich box. She is attired

in a pair of fashion boots with

minimal tread. Ice axes?

Walking poles? No chance.

We part company. I’m

beginning to think I’m over

equipped with my ‘Grivel

G14s’, ice axe and full winter

clothing. Meanwhile a reality

check comes in the form of a

lengthy slope of the

proverbial iron-hard névé.

Crampons on, descend,

crampons off, lunch in the

sun at Red Tarn.

I figure I can ascend

Swirral Edge without putting

on crampons. All goes well

Paul topping out

Page 17: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 17 of 24

with the plan until the drop

on each side starts to become

that little bit steeper. A

thought occurs to me: my

wife would kill me if she

found out I’d fallen off here

and it was discovered that my

crampons were still in the

bag! Crampons on, upward

progress now much easier.

Holy moly, here they are

struggling down. “Well, I’m

glad to see you’re still alive.

Your equipment is a fucking

disgrace, and you should not

be here.” Bland expressions

and a nervous smile see me

on my way only to meet, at

the top of the edge, the two

gents with whom I had

spoken earlier. “How did they

get down there?” “I have no

idea. I ‘lost it’ and swore

profusely at them. Now I feel

guilty - I should have given

them my poles and axe and

helped them down.” Such

thoughts rumbled through my

mind as I walked along the

tops and back to the tarn and

thence the car.

By the time I got to Needle

Sports I’d cooled off. I hadn’t

seen or heard any rescue

helicopters so I reckoned

they’d got away with it. My

body survived the trial in

reasonable order (the first

400mg of ‘vitamin I’* was

consumed at the car!) and it

was a great day to be out. .

(* Vitamin I = ibuprofen!) .

Kiwi Steve Comes

To Town Gail Young

One evening in January, a

red-haired Kiwi called Steve

arrived at our house. I’d met

him before, on Mingulay, and

knew he was charming and

funny, and apparently no

madder than most of the

climbers on that trip. (To me,

as a non-climber, most of the

people on Mingulay that year

were near or beyond 2

standard deviations from

‘normal’, and delightful

company despite or because

of this.) Steve had

demonstrated his mettle in

the now famous rescue of a

certain mad professor, who

forgot his newly acquired

rope skills and was stuck

dangling above the choppy

waters of Seal Song Geo.

However, what Steve was

to tell us over tea that

evening, and later when

giving his talk to NMC,

would, in my eyes, elevate

him to another level of

eccentricity, skill, courage

and determination, and

certainly left me

gobsmacked.

Steve lives in Elgin, Moray,

and works at Bike

Revolution. In June 2011 he

was diagnosed with retinitis

pigmentosa, a progressive

condition of the retina which

results in deteriorating

peripheral vision and

Steve Bate beaming at the top of Zodiac after his solo ascent (photo by Andy Kirkpatrick, taken from Steve’s blog)

Page 18: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 18 of 24

eventually blindness. Steve is

now registered blind, with

only 10% of normal

peripheral vision. After

diagnosis came a period of

shock and despair; then he

decided to respond by setting

himself a big challenge, to

climb El Capitán in Yosemite

solo while he still could, and

raise money for the charity

North East Sensory Services.

His preparation and training

took over 12 months, and

involved practising hauling

piles of tyres up a local

quarry, extremely tough

workouts daily in his

specially converted garage,

and support from Andy

Kirkpatrick in learning the

mysteries of long solo climbs.

What focus and

determination.

His trip to Yosemite in June

2013 was to be 3 weeks long,

Due to unforeseen

circumstances it looked like

Andy Kirkpatrick might have

to return home early, so they

climbed Zodiac (1800’, 5.7,

A2) in a 31 hour push as a

consolation prize. However

Kirkpatrick decided to stay in

the end, so an ascent of

Lurking Fear (C2F, 5.7), with

Alwyn Johnson in tow

followed as final preparation,

before Steve’s 6 day ascent of

Zodiac. In so doing he

became the first visually

impaired climber to do this

solo.

What made hearing his

story even more interesting

and affecting for me as a non-

climber and long-time student

of the human race was his

frankness about his emotions

during it all, especially on the

Big Day itself. He described

walking in to the cliff trying

to think of every excuse

possible to get out of doing it.

On arriving, he was terrified,

panicky and shaking. Then he

got out his iPod, started

listening to some music and

getting his gear out. Suddenly

his mind cleared, he relaxed,

and knew he was going to do

it. Then he got just on with it.

What was it that flicked a

switch in his mind at that

moment? How does that

work? I guess we have all

been there, you climbers

especially. I guess distraction

and humour can reduce fear.

Then there’s the ‘feel the fear

and do it anyway’ approach.

And from my various

experiences of ‘interesting

routes’ when hill walking

with John, and of finding

myself faced with horrible

precipices and scrambling of

a level I would névér choose,

there is the ‘Well, you’ve got

no choice’ method of

managing fear.

But Steve had a choice, and

he carried on, and achieved

something stupendous. Truly

amazing! How did he do

that??!!! How could he do

that??!!! The mindset that

must have been needed is

beyond my imagination. Do

climbers find themselves

asking those questions about

other climbers, or about

people doing other things? If

so, what kind of things? Or is

this just a rather more

extreme example of the

madness that is sort of normal

among climbers?

In his blog

(www.kiwistevebate.com)

Steve himself expresses

incredulity at having done it,

and isn’t quite sure how it

happened! It’s a very special

achievement, and whatever

helped him do it will be

useful in his new venture,

training with the British

Cycling Development

Programme, hopefully

leading to riding tandem in

the 2016 Paralympic Games.

Go Steve! .

Andy Kirpatrick bigging up Kiwi Steve in his show

‘Inappropriate Climbing’ at the Gala Theatre, Durham

on March 26th

Page 19: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 19 of 24

‘Peak Rock’ – a

book review Dave Hume

Thanks to Mr. S. Claus of

Lapland, this coffee table of a

book arrived at Chateau

Hume near the end of

December. Promoted as the

definitive story of cutting

edge climbing in the Peak

District, the book romps its

way through the history of

the elite and their legacy

of routes. The first few

chapters provide a very

readable and well

researched account of

the early days of rock

climbing on the crags of

Derbyshire and

Staffordshire, with many

previously unseen

photographs of the key

players in action. This

detailed approach

continues right up to the

present day, illustrated

throughout with a range

of contemporary images

and modern photos of

key routes. It’s a lot to

take in, but its focus on

how standards of the

hardest routes rose in

each era keeps the pace

rolling, despite some

obvious changes in

writing styles in some

chapters.

It’s a bit like a 130

year relay race, with the

baton of hardest routes

of the day passing from

climber to climber – you

can pick your own

fantasy 4 x 4 relay team

to cover the decades -

Puttrell passes to Pigott,

on to Proctor and then

Dawes. Or how about

Harding to Brown to

Bancroft to Moffatt? What?

How could I have missed

Kirkus to Whillans to

Woodward to McClure? Or

Herford to Street to Allen to

Fawcett? There’s no end to

the permutations as each

decade’s heroes strut their

stuff up the ladder of

difficulty and ‘last great

problems’.

I lived in Matlock in the

late 60’s and early 70’s,

within walking distance of

High Tor, Wildcat, Willersley

and Black Rocks. We rarely

met other climbers, and

unlike the close-knit groups

who were competing at the

top level, we had little idea of

what other climbers were up

to. The rarity of climbing

magazines and the absence of

an internet meant that only in

guidebooks did we learn,

long after the event, what

routes had been done and by

whom. Only a few names

were known to us, of whom

Brown, Whillans and Crew

were the most famous. So

while in 1969 I was fighting

my way up HVS routes like

Catastrophe Grooves at

Wildcat with a broken ankle,

willing myself up Saul’s

Crack at the Roaches, (then a

VS, now Rockfaxed up a

grade), and freezing my

fingers off in the iced-up

crack of Parrot Face in

Dovedale, I was unaware

that standards were going

through the roof not far

from where I was busy

bumbling. (Nothing

changes…..) Peak Rock

is the perfect reference

book for this kind of

thing, and I can now find

out that in that very year

Tom Proctor was putting

up E4s and E5s before

the grade was even

invented – Our Father

(E4 6b) and Wee Doris

(E4 5c) at Stoney

Middleton, and Green

Death at E5 6b at

Millstone. At Stanage, E4

6a was the fashionable

grade of the year, with

Simpkins and Gosling

producing routes like

Calvary, again before

grading was as precise as

it is today (?) and became

the basis of endless

debate. 1969 was also the

year that a young Ron

Fawcett made his first

roped climb, (I was

briefly climbing harder

than him then?) and

within a couple of years was

putting up new routes at E3

and E4 before he really hit

his stride later in the 70’s.

(OK, he wins).

The book is probably at its

most comprehensive, at least

in terms of coverage, about

Mouth watering menu

As listed in the translated menu in the

Hotel Fuente el Cura in Sax, near Alicante.

Starters

Anchovies of the Cantabrian one (2 filets)

Foie’s terrina with his contrast

Handmade croquettes of the grandmother

(2 ud)

Creaking of foie’s scallop

National squid of Bay to the plate

‘Callos con pata’ of beef and snout

Seasonal Vegetables Kettledrum of vegetables, Iberian ham of

acorn, and cheese goat

Creaking artichokes, ham, foie and Oporto

sauce

The Eggs

El Pecador: potatoes and fried egg and

sautéed gluttonies

Sea

Hake of ‘thorn’ to the plate

Cod poach in syrup

Land Leg of lamb in his juice

Sweets

Tart tatin of the grandmother

Page 20: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 20 of 24

the 70’s and 80’s on both

gritstone and limestone. This

was a period that could easily

be called a new golden age in

the Peak. Sticky rubber, bum-

hugging lycra and Friends

had arrived, so had serious

training and bolts – E-grades

became a realistic target for

the many rather than the few,

and climbing magazines, the

dole and even some

commercial sponsors, all

ensured that the achievements

of, and opinions about, the

activities of top climbers

were more widely reported.

Ethics were under scrutiny

too, and these chapters in

particular shed an informed

light on the issues of

chipping, hard brushing,

stealing routes, pre-practice,

yo-yoing, chalk, freeing aid

routes and points of aid, and

the advent of bolts. The

accounts of this period are

enlivened by quotes and

observations from the

protagonists themselves, and

make what could have been a

turgid procession of route

history into a highly readable

and nicely illustrated

narrative.

It is a tour de force, that’s

for sure. You’d be hard

pressed to read it in one

sitting, but it’s a rich quarry

to mine in bite-sized chunks.

Peak Rock is as definitive

and readable a history of

those who have pushed

standards in the Peak as you

could wish for, with some

rare insights into the mind-set

of the

dedicated and obsessed, some

famous, some unsung. It

deals with landmark routes

and events, like the ascents of

Promontory Traverse,

London Wall, Downhill

Racer, Linden, Fern Hill,

Beau Geste, Master’s Edge,

End of the Affair, Parthian

Shot, Revelations, Mecca,

Hubble, Meshuga, Brad Pitt –

a modern entry list for the

budding wall-bred climber?

There’s a mention too of our

own Andy Earl’s first

ground-up ascent of Careless

Torque on page 298.

For the more recent years,

ascents by Ruth Jenkins,

Airlie Anderson, Lisa Rands

and Mina Leslie-Wujastyk,

get a mention, as well as

photos of Lucinda Whittaker

and Hazel Findlay on key

routes, reminding us that now

there are two genders on

planet climbing.

It has its flaws – there’s

no proper index, which is

frustrating if you want to find

anything specific. There are

inconsistencies in the writing

from chapter to chapter, some

have dates, grades and crags

to help you navigate, other

chapters assume that you’ll

know where the routes are or

what grade they are. The

chronology jumps about a bit

here and there in an attempt

to focus on say,

developments on limestone or

bouldering, but it works. It is

also pricy, and the first print

run of 2000 has almost sold

out at the time of writing, so

it could become a rarity like

Extreme Rock, although we

can probably expect a second

print soon.

So there you have it. A

book about rock climbing

through 130 years in one of

the UK’s main forcing

grounds for standards. Get

someone to buy it for you!

The B&W cover and title,

stylish as it is, made me think

– how about a warm orange

cover shot of a County crag

for a tasty coffee table

“Northumberland Rock”?

We have the history pretty

well-documented in No

Nobler County and the NMC

guidebooks, the illustrations

of the early days must still be

around, we have many of the

key people around to

interview, though we might

have to hurry up in a few

cases, and for up-to-date

images there are some fine

photographers in the

area…..any takers to be joint

editors? Or should we stay

quiet and hope that people

stay away?.

Page 21: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 21 of 24

Snow on the Edge

White changes the world, piles up buried rock Beneath delicate crystal, falling and flocking, Spindrift blowing, lifting and melting, ice Forming, freeze-thawing, harder than stone. Chiseled teeth scrape, sharp point finds blue, Step up slowly, pole, axe, balance the crest. Cloud swirls the gust, place points where white sticks, Clamber up, neither snow nor rock will last. Breathe the cold air, kickstep the final slope, Be amazed at the distance, like a wintery World you knew was there, didn’t dare to hope For, cold clear sunlit beauty of shimmering light. Zip tight against the cold, stamp warm boots deep, Hurry along the icy ridge, smile widening, Summit of Helvellyn reached again, Mountain of winter dreaming.

Martin Cooper

Ice climbers, Cogne style (John Spencer)

Page 22: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 22 of 24

Club Business

I am grateful to Adrian

Wilson for this review of

Club activities during 2013.

The Club year

At the club's AGM on

22nd January this year, I

provided a brief resume of

club activity over the past

membership year which

seemed to be well received

by those present so I thought

I'd put together a summary

for the County Climber.

The Laggan winter meet

saw most of us heading up to

the Northern Corries, as

Creag Meagaidh was not in

ideal condition. Our Glencoe

winter meet was based at the

Alex Macintyre hut and saw

most parties in Stob Coire

nan Lochan on Saturday, with

some returning there on

Sunday with the rest split

between Buachaille Etive

Mor and skiing at Glencoe

Mountain. The final club

winter meet of the season was

at the Climbers' Club hut,

Riasg in Roybridge. Saturday

saw all of us on the relatively

sheltered Sgurr an Finisaig as

ferocious gales battered

everything higher up. Sunday

was another team outing, this

time to Beinn Udlaih in Glen

Orchy which had some

reasonable ice routes for us to

go at.

The first trad event of the

year was the new members'

meet in Langdale, based at

Raven Crag cottage just

behind the Old Dungeon

Ghyll hotel. An excellent day

was had on Raven Crag on

Saturday but heavy rain on

Saturday night and Sunday

thwarted any climbing

ambitions. Even the

canyoning option was

abandoned due to extreme

water levels, so a few of us

headed to the new bouldering

wall, Eden Rock at Carlisle

on the way home.

Next was the early May

Bank Holiday meet based at

Denoilin near Llanberis.

Teams headed to Holyhead

Mountain, Tremadog and

Gogarth over the extended

weekend and due to very

heavy Bank Holiday traffic

on the return journey there

was a spot of sport climbing

at Panearth just off the A55.

Several members made the

annual pilgrimage to the

magical Hebridean island of

Mingulay at the end of May

for a week of superlative sea

cliff climbing, kayaking,

wildlife watching and

swimming with seals

A club cleanup of

Ravensheugh took place in

early June with a handful of

us bringing some of the

classics of the crag back into

a slightly cleaner condition.

We returned to the Alex

Macintyre hut in Ballachulish

for the Scottish Rock meet in

mid June. Most opted for a

very wet, midge-infested

adventure on Garbh Bheinn’s

Great Ridge, not returning to

the hut until after midnight.

Having convinced daughter

Natalie to come, I decided

Lewis making the most of the crap weather during the Lagangarbh meet

(Alison Jones)

Page 23: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 23 of 24

that Curved Ridge on the

Buachaille was a more

suitable objective, but

everyone had a memorable

day in the end. Sunday saw a

group outing to Polldubh

crags in Glen Nevis which,

being overcast, humid and

still, was slightly midgy.

Early July was the

President's meal at the

Bluebell Hotel in

Bellingham. Saturday saw

three of us head to Queen's

Crag, some tricky climbing in

a great location with a superb

evening thereafter. Sunday

saw most of us at Peel Crag

for a very fine day's climbing

in glorious weather.

Mid-July saw us helping

the BMC and other local

clubs organise and run the

first BMC North East

Festival of Walking and

Climbing, based at the

Bluebell Hotel in Belford,

with climbing at Bowden

Doors and Kyloe Out. This

was an outstanding event

which helped interaction

between local clubs and

activists and had a

tremendous social aspect - so

good that it's being repeated

this year at Wooler.

In early August the Peak

Meet based in Stoney

Middleton saw action on

Stanage, Froggatt and the

Roaches despite a gin

comparison event kindly

sponsored by Dave Hume's

partner in climb, Mr Blood.

Later in the same month we

visited Galloway sea cliffs

with lots of Saturday action at

Meikle Ross in fantastic

sunshine. Sunday’s weather

was not as kind and some

headed home or went

mountain biking, but for

those that stuck it out another

day's cragging was had once

things dried out.

Early September was the

second year a clean-up of

Crag Lough was organised by

the Wanneys' Climbing Club

with support from the BMC.

A few club members helped

out with cleaning and

gardening to return a number

of routes to active duty, some

of which had not been

climbed for many years. A

BBQ and pub social on

Saturday night was very

welcome and on Sunday we

had great weather for a

superb day's cragging on the

restored routes. There was

even a BMC-sponsored film

crew on hand to record the

efforts and rewards of both

days.

Late September saw a

group of us staying at the

Clogwyn MC's hut with

teams visiting Tremadog, the

slate quarries above Llanberis

and Llanberis Pass in some

questionable weather but we

got the best out of the

weekend. An autumn trip to

Brimham Rocks ensured that

attendees’ hands were

suitably trashed with it being

a first visit for most!

The winter season started

with an informal invite to the

NMC from the Wanneys' CC

to their New Year's meet at

Feshiebridge which I

attended. This was a great

social trip and it was good to

meet some more of their club

members but the climbing

conditions were somewhat

suboptimal and most teams

only got routes done in the

Northern Corries on the first

day. Subsequent days

followed a pattern of

unfounded enthusiasm and

commitment drawing a

decreasing number of

participants into the Corries

to get generally pummelled

by the weather and not

actually climbing given the

snow conditions.

Things improved for the

first NMC winter meet, again

based in Feshiebridge and

included a very successful

Winter Skills course for 6 of

the attendees with the rest in

action in the Northern Corries

and Lurcher’s Crag.

All of the above meets

and events were alongside the

regular Wednesday evenings

at Hadrian Leisure during the

winter and across

Northumberland crags during

BST. I feel privileged to have

been able to attend and

participate in so many of

these and to see so many

other active club members.

Over 70 club members took

part to some extent across

these events which is well,

over half of the total

membership which is pretty

good going. So I'm looking

forward to an equally active

and successful 2014 - whilst

the winter season may not

been that great, BST is

almost upon us and time to

get out on rock.

Apologies if I've missed

any events or important

details out, my excuse is that

I'm writing this from memory

on an aeroplane bound for

Morocco for 2 weeks

adventurous trad climbing!

Page 24: County climber spring 2014

NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 24 of 24

Indoor climbing: £1 off the standard entry price at:

Sunderland Wall.

Durham Wall.

Newcastle Climbing Centre (‘Byker church’)

Climb Newcastle (‘Byker pool’) - Wednesday. nights only.

Also winter season Wednesday nights at Hadrian Park Leisure Centre, £5 entrance fee, open to NMC members only.

NMC Website The NMC has a very informative website www.thenmc.org.uk

The website includes various discussion forums, a photo-archive for members’ climbing photos, and online guides for most Northumberland crags.

NMC Guidebooks NMC members pay a discounted price for any guidebook published by the NMC. Currently available are the following guides:

Northumberland Climbing Guide

Definitive Guide to climbing in Northumberland. £12.50 to members (RRP £18.95)

Northumberland Bouldering Guide

The 2nd edition, £12.50 to members (RRP £19.95) For the above 2 guides add £2 P&P if required. Contact John Earl on 0191 236 5922

No Nobler County A history of the NMC and climbing in Northumberland. Now ONLY £2.00 Hurry while stocks Last!!! Contact Martin Cooper on 0191 252 5707

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT A NEW BATCH OF CLUB

T-SHIRTS & HOODIES

ARE NOW AVAILABLE

TO ORDER

T-Shirts (men's and

women's) £15

Hoodies £25

Various sizes and colours

available

Contact Davva to order

and/or for more

information at:

[email protected]

Photo: Near the summit of Helvellyn (Martin Cooper)