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Transcript of County climber spring 2014
NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 1 of 24
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.
NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 3 of 24
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
NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 4 of 24
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!
NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 5 of 24
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
NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 6 of 24
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
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
NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 7 of 24
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)
NMC County Climber Spring 2014 page 8 of 24
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)
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.
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)
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
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
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!
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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?.
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)
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)
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!
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:
Photo: Near the summit of Helvellyn (Martin Cooper)