County Climber Autumn 2013

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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.

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: NMC County Climber

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Copy of the quarterly magazine.

BMC Public Liability Insurance for climbing incidents.

Discounted NMC guide books.

Discounted entry at certain indoor climbing walls and shops.

Access to the extensive NMC library.

Access to huts of affiliated clubs

Committee 2013/2014 President – John Dalrymple Vice Pres. – vacant Secretary – Andrew Shanks Treasurer – Eva Diran Membership – Adrian Wilson Magazine Editor – John Spencer Social – Sarah Follmann Librarian – Eva Diran Web – Ian Birtwistle General: John Mountain, Pete Flegg, Ian Ross, Ed Sciberras, John Vaughan

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 £25 •Prospective £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: magazine@thenmc.org.uk

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: secretary@thenmc.org.uk

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.

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 John Vaughan storming up Pitch 6 on Vestpillaren (E2, 5b), Presten, Lofotens (John Spencer)

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

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What’s in this issue?

Club Meets & other events .................................. 3 Editorial ............................................................... 4 The Glencoe Meet (June) ................................... 5 The Galloway Meet (July): three versions .......... 6 Truth and Balance: the Key to Living the Dream…………………………………… ........ 11 A Tale of Two Ropes ........................................ 17 Greece for Grumpies ......................................... 21 BMC Festival of Climbing and Walking .......... 22 8000 metres - Alan Hinkes' new book .............. 22 But What Have We Done On Grit? ................... 23 Club Business .................................................... 26

14-16 February

Muir Cottage, Braemar – Tim Catterall 07704 614 814

7th-9th March

Lagangarbh, Glencoe – Eva Diran 07824 627 772

21st -23rd March

CIC Hut, Ben Nevis – John Spencer 07813129065, or john.spencer@ncl.ac.uk

Wednesday Evening Meets We’re back indoors at Hadrian Leisure Centre, Burnside Community College until the end of March, every Wednesday from 17.45 21.45hrs. Remember officially you’re supposed to show your membership card on demand, £5 entrance. After climbing, adjourn to the pub unless there is a talk or slide show in the lecture hall. At the time of writing the autumn/winter social programme has not been finalised – more information will be available via the Newsletter and the Winter issue of County Climber.

Other Events 15-18 November

Kendal Mountain Film Festival – DIY

1 Dec

President’s Walk - John Dalrymple 075971 242 339

Winter Weekend Meets Listed below are the winter meets. You MUST contact the meet leader in advance, as any accommodation may be limited or already fully booked.

Note: A deposit may be required to reserve your place on a weekend trip. Once booked, please let the Meet Leader know as soon as possible if you are unable to join a meet then your place can possibly be reallocated. If you cancel after booking a place and your place cannot be filled then you will still have to pay the cost of your place in the hut.

10-12th January

Mill Cottage, Feshiebridge – Adrian Wilson 07970 823 483

31st Jan – 2nd Feb

Raeburn Cottage, Laggan – Ed Scibberas 07789 280 847

NMC County Climber

Matthew Westwood making easy work of Russet Groove, Bowden Doors - surely the biggest V Diff sandbag in the NE! (Martin Cooper)

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Editorial John Spencer

I penned the editorial for the last issue as summer finally arrived, and am writing this as it very definitely appears to have gone.

But what a great summer it turned out to be.

Although personally I only managed a few outings into the County and/or across to the Lakes – and one wonderfully nostalgic visit to my old stomping ground Wilton 1 Quarry, arguably the best crag in the world <winks mischievously> - I had a fantastic 3 and a half week long trip to the Lofoten Islands in Arctic Norway. The first 12 days were with my wife Gail; we had near-Mediterranean weather for most of the time and enjoyed some lovely walks into and around the mountains in the south. We then headed north to Henningsvaer, the ‘hub’ of climbing activity, Gail returned home and I was joined by John Vaughan for some fun on the rocks.

Although the weather was not quite as good, in between the spells of more characteristically Norwegian weather (grey, wet and cold) we managed to climb 7 days out of 12, including the customary epic (see page 17), but culminating, on the very last day, with an ascent of Vestpillaren (E2 5b) on Presten, considered by many to be one of the best routes in the world at its grade (Central Route in Wilton 1 excepted, of course!). We spent nine hours on the route, 12 hours car-to-car, which was not bad for a couple of old gadgees. A fabulous and memorable route for sure.

So now for most of us it’s back onto the plastic or out on the bike in anticipation of what the tabloids are threatening might be the most severe winter for however long – whatever, bring it on!

What’s in this Autumnal issue?

There are three accounts of weekend meets, in Glencoe, Galloway and the Peak.

None were blessed with perfect weather, but undeterred, our intrepid friends grappled with damp rock, thuggish grit, uncertain route descriptions, dodgy belays, midge attack, gin contests, and the surreal notion of ‘easier routes’ at Lawrencefield (an oxymoron apparently) and a new grade of NMC County Climber

‘My Arse’ – seems a fine time was had by all.

Former Club member Craig McMahon describes his (figurative and actual) journey from Stanley to Stickle Ghyll chasing ‘the dream’. Thanks to John Dal for suggesting this; Craig seized the opportunity to tell his story when invited, which I think has helped him put it all into perspective – good for him , and Vickie (not forgetting Crags Adventures of course!).

Mr Vaughan with two new ropes (see page 17) – even with a generous 20% discount, at Norwegian prices they cost ~£160 each!

In ‘A tale of two ropes’ Mr Vaughan tells the tale of our epic in the Lofotens and offers a series of lessons that should have been learnt from it.

Dave Hume grumbles about the lamentable state of climbing in Kalymnos and asks just what is it all coming to these days?

Finally, Ed Scibberas reports on the very successful Festival of Climbing and Walking held in July, run by the BMC with input from the NMC and Wanneys Clubs.

Enjoy! 

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The Glencoe Meet (June 14th–16th) Mike Poremba

Friday night We arrived at the luxurious Alex McIntyre Memorial Hut. Once we’d eaten, the sophisticated electronic kit was produced and the weather forecast examined.

Unfortunately, all hopes of Glen Etive and other serious venues were dashed as the rock would be too damp. With the prospect of cloud and rain we decided to do something easier and longer, choosing between two classic routes: Curved Ridge, Buachaille Etive Mor [Adrian & Natalie Wilson] or Great Ridge, Garbh Bheinn [Martin Cooper, Eva Diran, Richard Pow, Lucian Peterca, Peter Smith, Sarah Follmann, Tina Evans, and me].

6 were quickly reduced to 5 as Eva, who had been fighting off the dregs of the previous week’s illness, decided to return to base camp i.e. the cars - to be plied, as we later found out, with herbal teas of a dubious nature by the caravan owners,. After a brief walk, we started up what was understood to be an easy scramble to join the large grassy ledge at the top of the Direct Start. However, the ‘easy scramble’ turned into a stream and required belays. Lucian, Martin and Peter set up a belay and protection and we all paddled to a stance set up in a mossy gully. I drew the short straw to lead the next pitch. Several

Saturday Preparations: fuelled on precision-made wraps, Adrian and Natalie left the hut for ‘The Buachaille’. The rest of us filled the remaining 2 cars and caught the Ardgour ferry, crossing Loch Linnhe to arrive in Corran about 10am. We parked the cars near to 2 caravans next to the stream we were about to follow. Setting off in the sunshine and T-shirts we found the rain after about an hour. Drizzle initially, then sustained rain enjoyed by some of the local residents.

As we arrived at the base of the Great Ridge, there was some debate as to exactly where the Direct Start actually started. Once it had been located, Richard set off, despite the wet rock and ignoring a few slips

One of the local residents

(obviously included to increase the entertainment value for the rest of us) with Tina following on as his 2nd. The remaining NMC County Climber

“Easy scramble” - Sarah and Peter clearly enjoying the weather

grassy ledges and loose rock later, I set up a belay and we were close to the Great Ridge.

Our targeted grassy ledge was an easy scramble from here and we reconnected with Richard and Tina on the Great Ridge. The wet rock was now blessed with friction (gneiss..!) and we prepared to enjoy a classic route. Climbing as two pairs and a trio we made good progress with the view to Ballachulish and the hills beyond appearing and disappearing as the rain and cloud rolled across the sky.

As Peter and I approached the top (885m), the light faded. Martin informed us there was a descent route which would be quicker than retracing our steps. So we headed down a steep hillside towards the road. After about 10 mins the sole of my right boot decided this was more than it had signed up for and departed company with the leather. After a brief running repair, which consisted of wrapping the laces around the instep and sole, I continued, the glens echoing to the seaside sound of flip flops! We got back to the cars and were Autumn 2013

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ready to return to the hut at about 10pm – too late to get the last ferry – so had to

Meanwhile, Lucien and Martin climbed Right Wall on Styx Buttress (V Diff). We

The Great Ridge, Garbh Bheinn, Ardgour

drive up to the Fort William/Glenfinnan road, spotting deer and a barn owl en route.

We arrived back at the hut around midnight.

Enjoying a late night feast, the famous five (plus 3) ate a hearty supper and discussed the thrills of the day.

headed back south at about 4pm with the required stop in Tyndrum for fish and chips.

A wet weekend, but nonetheless a bit of an adventure. Thanks to Adrian for organising the meet. . 

Sunday

The Galloway Meet (July 26th–28th) – three accounts

At breakfast we learnt that Adrian and Natalie had enjoyed Curved Ridge, had returned around teatime and were in their beds by 9pm. After packing our gear for a swift departure and hoping the cloud would lift, we decided that Glen Nevis would be the best venue for some serious climbing.

We parked near Polldubh, an area with about 40 crags, with the intention of climbing on Cavalry Crag and……...Adrian and Natalie took on Heatwave / Vampire Combo (HS), followed by Sarah and Tina sharing the same start, but continuing on to Storm (HVS 5a). Peter and I started Vampire (HS), but abandoned it due to the amount of gardening required. We moved along the crag and followed Tina to climb Heatwave / Vampire. The weather was better than Saturday, with only the odd rain shower. However, the midges were vicious and buffs, hats and mosquito nets were required.

NMC County Climber

Heather Tait, Alison Jones and Alastair Boardman

Heather Tait Friday: Rhiannn, Alastair and I arrived at Solway View by lunchtime on Friday to find Tricia and Trevor pitched, ready and awaiting fellow climbers with bated breath.

Quickly we pitched our tents, ate lunch and in brilliant sunshine and a light, warm breeze set off for the Fox Craig greywacke on the Meikle Ross peninsula.

This year we got the walk-in sorted and had minimal clambering over uneven ground through bracken, brambles and thistles to reach our destination. With the sun glinting on a beautiful blue sea we liberally applied sun cream and set out to play on warm friendly rock. Trevor, Rhiann and I started Autumn 2013

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with Twin Cracks, a very enjoyable S 4a while Tricia and Alastair breezed up Alligator Crawl a super HVS 5a. Belay anchors are a long way back from the edge and consist of nothing more than a large fence post, some dodgy looking fence posts and, if you are lucky to be in line, two stakes.

Saturday: see Alison’s entry below…..

Sunday: we awoke to the sound of heavy rain beating against the tent. Grumpily, Rhiann and I turned over again and drifted off only to wake much later to the sounds of John, Adrian, Alison and Ed breaking camp.

We peeked out, or rather I peeked out as Rhiann was pretending she was still asleep, to see glum faces.

Oh no, no climbing today!

Perhaps it might not be raining in the Lakes? Maybe we could climb in the Eden Valley?

Adrian hastily texted a friend.

No, it was also tipping it down in the Eden Valley.

Last year due to crashing waves, wind and seagull cries communications proved to be difficult.

However, this year, the ever resourceful Alastair, he of the 'Lucian hammer' fame, came prepared with walkie-talkies Hey what a good idea! So we had brilliant comms The rain for our fantastic stopped but it was crag experience. damp and had no Alastair and promise of drying Tricia followed out. So while John through with headed off for a Twin Cracks, slap-up Sunday Fats Waller (E1 lunch, Alison to a 5b) and Rez's slap-up Sunday Route (VS 4b), sandwich, Adrian while Trevor, and Ed to a wet Teams in action Fox Craig, Meikle Ross Rhiann and I did Sunday whatever, a crack and arête Tricia went for a route marked on the guide as Left Arête (VS cycle in the wilds of Dumfries, Trevor for a 4c), the grade of which, after some debate, leisurely drive along the coast before we agreed to be a very pleasant Severe of a heading off for a slap-up Sunday meal with debateable name. Not to be outdone, though, his dad, and Alastair, Rhiann and I pottered I now have a repeat of last year’s tenuous about slowly taking down tents, wondering entry in my log book with the only VS I can what to do next. However, by half past lead! eleven it felt a bit warmer and the sun started to peek out. Alastair sat pouring over the While I tagged on with Tricia and guide book while Rhiann and I Alastair to whizz up a final route, Trevor procrastinated. Eventually Alastair came up and Rhiann headed off to do a spot of with a plan. How about checking out mackerel fishing from the rocks. Rhiann Thirlstane? If things dry out we might get a returned, new rod in hand, with a big smile few climbs in while Rhiann and Evie the on her face having caught a fish, a bit too pooch can play on the beach. Yup, that small for tea though - it had been spared the sounded good, so off we went. fate of the barbecue and Rhiann's gnashers East of Southerness Point is the dramatic and had been returned to swim another day. little sandstone crag of Thirlstane. It rises So a fabulous day was had by all. from an almost exclusively shell beach and NMC County Climber

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try. The route would take us up the right hand side of the cave mouth, up a groove, bridge across the cleft, move up under a roof and then top out up a wall on the left. It looked great.

After consulting the guidebook I announced it was indeed an established route, a 14m S (4b) called Cave Route taking a groove to the right of the cave entrance, bridges across the cave and into a constriction to emerge on the other side. Brill, let’s get cracking. Half way up I was beginning to think this looked rather hard for a Severe. Hmm.. Alastair began to huff and puff.

Hmm. I think this harder than a Severe he called.

Yup, don't normally hear the huffing and puffing on a Severe thinks I. Crunched up under the overhang now, lots more huffing and puffing. Hell’s teeth! There’s a huge spider’s web up there.

Hanging around on Catechumen Groove (Severe 4a), Thirlstane, Dumfries & Galloway Reach up, we shout, there’s a great hold above is cut through by a narrow, roofless tunnel your head. My calls now echoed by a that presents a fine array of boulder friendly bearded climber from Devon with problems. The face of the crag features big hat. That’s it, now up the side wall and several V Diffs, Severes, a VS, a couple of over. A big smile appears over the edge.

HVS and several Es, ranging from 7m to Think that was at least VS, Heather, see 14m in height. what you think. Oh wow. What a climb.

Absolutely brilliant, great fun, lots of When we arrived the sun was out and the bridging and balancing, didn't even think rock had dried off perfectly. Wow, what a about the gigantic spider’s web as I climbed fabulous little crag and what a setting, it’s through. What do you reckon? says he. Yup, just lovely, idyllic and, as we were about to harder than Severe, possibly VS. You find out, a joy to climb. We started with a climbing Rhiann? No chance, copped a look super 9m steep, juggy V Diff. called Left at that spider’s web.

Arête. Rhiann liked the climb so much that she decided this is to be climb she would Back on the ground Alastair casually like to do as her first lead. We moved on to perused the guide book. Oh, says he. Do you do a Severe called Left Wall and then had a think you might have read this wrongly? Oh, delightful climb up Catechumen Groove (S says I. Hmm... Yes. You reckon it was this 4a). After this Alastair stood gazing at the HVS 4c thingy called Zigzag, described as crag before eventually announcing he’d surprisingly intimidating? Ahh yes.... That's worked out a brilliant route he would like to it. Hmm... Guess the constriction meant a NMC County Climber

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climb up to top out through the roof of the cave. Oh Yes... That sounds right.

Postscript 1. Remember to clean specs before reading guide book.

2. Wait a while, soggy days may dry out.

3.This little crag is well worth a visit.

Alison Jones Arrived Friday evening at the lovely Solway View campsite, in time for an evening walk along the beach and looking forward to climbing at Meikle Ross the following day.

On Saturday Adrian, Ed and Trish headed off to Little Zawn, the rest of us went to Fox Crag. I have limited experience of sea cliff climbing – just a little from Mingulay earlier this year. In my opinion this crag is an ideal place for beginners.

There are a variety of grades as well as easy access, just a short scramble over some interesting rock formations. It was an extremely hot day. I don’t think I have climbed in such hot conditions, and after the first climb was already feeling the effects of the heat.

John D led the first climb, Sharks Tooth – it’s a V Diff, made interesting by some loose rock. John then led Left Arete – in the guide is a VS but there was some debate about the grade. It has three stars and rightly so, a fantastic route. There are some metal stakes at the top of the routes for belays which were put in between 2008 and 2010 according to the John Biggar guide. We had plenty of fun practicing with Alistair’s walkie-talkies on climbs during the afternoon. We then headed to Crab Slab and abseiled in. I understand the slab is named because of the various crab remains left around the place presumably by sea birds.

There are various rock pools containing tiny fish and wonderful curved rock formations, we could spot a huge nest high up on the rock , presumably belonging to a falcon.

What a privilege to be in this atmospheric place. This led to my first ‘serious’ sea cliff climbing, this time a bit more committing as the access was more tricky. Heather leading on Tropic of Cancer (S 4a). Alistair and Trevor started off climbing next to us on Crab Eye (HS 4a).The original place I chose NMC County Climber

to belay from was soon under around a metre of water (!), it was a bit unnerving watching the tide come in so I was looking forward to get on to the route, also was relieved to see Trevor abseil back down towards me - he explained this was almost high tide so we were unlikely to drown (OK, Trevor, I trust you on that one!).

Eventually retired to the camp site for a relaxing (and warm) evening with fab company and listening to John playing guitar (Trish’s delish flap jacks deserve a special mention here). It rained all Sunday night and morning, so I got a lift back with John Dal, (not too disappointed to be leaving early as still cautious not to over do things post injury). Headed for home on a high, loving the climbing and rock in Galloway and with a new passion for sea cliff climbing.

My route – grade MA (‘my ars*’) Alastair Boardman Two fantastic days in Galloway, sun, sea and climbing! Plus wine and two good evenings’ craic. Then the sound of rain on the tent on the Sunday morning put the dampers on everything. I arose to the world when the rain had slackened to nothing more than a Scotch mist, to be greeted by others on a high from the previous days climbing, but drained from those exertions.

Gradually after checking weather forecasts people started to head off home, it might be fine now but everywhere has been soaked was the general opinion. For some it was Sunday lunch out, cycle rides on the forest trails, or just home seemed more appealing than climbing!

Not really interested in any of these, so what to do? Rhiann looked secretly pleased at the lack of climbing prospects for the day, ‘Can we go to the beach?’ was her cry. But wait, isn’t Thirlstane on a beach? Those amazing rocks in John’s guide to the area…on a beach!

So Thirlstane it was, the sun came out and the beach party was off. What an amazing place, a very small area, but dominated by the cave through the rocks giving a silhouette of a whisky still! After a couple of routes Rhiannn was impressed - ‘When I do

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my first lead climb, I want it to be this one’ she said after seconding a superb arête!

Standing looking at the scene, I was eyeing up a line which dominated the area, it would involve bridging up the long narrow top of the cave, then round a couple of overhangs to top out on the slab above. I looked a lovely line but hard, lots of bridging and two overhangs. ‘It is a route’, said Heather reading the guide book, ‘it’s a Severe, 4b’.

We read the route description, and sure enough, Severe 4b. There must be some amazing hand holds for it to be Severe past the two overhangs, I thought. ‘Do you want to try it?’ I said, and without hesitation ‘Yes’ came the answer.

getting harder, and the big overhang still to come!

I leant back with my fingers in a good small hold to reach round the overhang hoping to find that ‘Thank God’ hold.

‘Reach a bit higher and to the right’, came a shout from a stranger’s voice on the beach.

Oh no! I’ve become spectator sport on this obviously wrong climb. He was right, and with the better handhold I bridged across full stretch onto a tiny foothold to exit the overhang, then stepped up to finish on the easier slabs.

Wow what a superb climb. Knowing it couldn’t have been the one in the book I was just pushing on up to my limit in unknown territory, thinking it looked like there should be a line, one of the most exhilarating climbs I have done. ‘It’s not Severe, don’t know who graded this one, it’s hard!’ I shouted down before starting belaying.

Heather strolled up to finish as fresh as she started, ‘What a fantastic climb, I want to lead this one sometime’ she said on arrival at the top, ‘but it’s definitely not Severe.’

Heather looking through the guidebook at the bottom of the climb utters ‘Oh no... I’m sorry it’s the wrong climb… it wasn’t Severe at all, it was HVS… I’ve been reading the wrong climb… Oh no I am sorry, the grade was miles out, it was HVS!’ ‘What - HVS?!’ A smile creeps across my face, ‘that seems more like it’. Worn out after a few days of hard climbing, the thought doing a lead at HVS might have put me off. ‘Well done Heather, If you had told me that at the start I might not have done it’, one of the best climbs I’ve ever done!’ And you know why? Because I soon knew it wasn’t the

Alastair Boardman inventing the grade of MA, Thirlstane, Dumfries & Galloway (Rhiann Tait)

Off I set, leading up the right hand side of the mouth of the cave until it narrowed enough to enable bridging to the top, the climbing was tricky but exhilarating. No way is this Severe, I thought, who graded this one?! The climbing was excellent but NMC County Climber

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climb in the book, I was doing my own thing which gave it something extra. To me it was my own route! 

Truth and balance: the key to living the dream Craig McMahon

August 2010 I’m single and living the life of a sponsored climber and carefree crag rat, the main difference between me and the real sponsored athletes being about six E numbers (on a good day) and the fact that my sponsor (i.e. employer) has no idea they are paying me to climb every day. I wake to the sporadic pitter-patter of light, morning rain on my bivvy bag. My elbow is wet because it’s been outside my bag all night. I peel the cold, damp Gortex from my face and peer out. It’s grey and misty, a far cry

I’m there simply to show my face as I’m already planning my escape. I try to look busy, I mess with blueprints and scale rules, I answer the telephone, I flick aimlessly through emails, I make up a story about contractors and what happened on site yesterday so colleagues will think I was actually at work and not at Shaftoe. I laugh at people’s crap jokes and pretend I’m interested in last night’s TV, how bad their relationship has become, or how lairy their weekend was. In truth I’m being fake; I have to be as I have nothing at all in common with these people. I love life and would never end up as one of life’s negative people, ‘a settler’. To all those who spend all day complaining about their ‘crap job’, I say, just find another one!

An hour back in the office is all I can bear. The sun is back out and I’ve had a message summoning me to Kyloe. I ring my office number from my mobile and pretend to have a conversation. I speak loudly so people can hear. ‘Really?!.....the foundations?...I’m on my way!’ Before I know it I’m in the car and I’m gone! I’m completely free of ties and responsibility, have a mass of disposable income, am surrounded by friends and never short of a climbing partner. It may sound idyllic.

However, on reflection, the balance isn’t great. I’m 28 and living in a box-room at my Mam’s, with a real feeling of going nowhere. I have no hope of moving out anytime soon as I don’t save, instead spending every last penny on climbing and living in the ‘now’. Deep down there’s a feeling of loneliness - I feel like a bum.

August 2011

Craig when still a ‘sponsored’ climber, Mingulay, May 2010 (John Spencer)

from last night as the rolling hills of the county soaked up the last of the evening’s golden light. I waste no time in making a brew and lighting a cigarette. The hot mug reminds me how damaged my tips are after last night’s session on the font block. I pack my gear and head home for a shower, then to my job as a building surveyor.

NMC County Climber

I’m 29, still unofficially ‘sponsored’ but am now in love and engaged to be married.

It’s come at a cost, though - I’ve acquired two children and a mortgage! I no longer smoke, my diet is much better, I climb daily and have a purpose - I feel I’m going somewhere in life. Perfect, right?....Wrong!

I’m neglecting work and every time my boss shouts ‘Craig can I have a word?’ my heart sinks. ‘Oh God, he knows I climb every day... he’s caught me out!’ Every day I live with the worry that if he finds out and sacks me I’ll lose everything, the house, the car my credit score, and won’t be able to blame anyone but myself. Also I have less

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disposable income and climbing holidays have gone from four a year to one.

As we eat our bacon sandwich we notice the outdoor company is back, parked in its usual spot. They put the billboard out

Crags Adventures in action

I spend all my time climbing alone during work time so as not to neglect Vickie and the kids. Soloing easy stuff, and bouldering or climbing with Vickie; very much a beginner, has resulted in me climbing only easier routes. In short I’m becoming a punter. I try to con myself that I don’t care, that climbing is about just getting out, and that grades don’t matter. However, I’m ashamed to admit that they do.

I wake in my sleeping bag, but this time I’m in a tent on a CAMPSITE! Unthinkable a year ago but now I have Vickie and kids lying beside me. I can hear stoves and radios, catch parts of conversations, kids are screaming and parents with weary voices are snapping at each other as the stress of the week’s holiday catches up. The smell of bacon filling the campsite lifts my spirits and I peer outside and look towards the Langdale Pikes. It’s a stunning view as the sun casts shadows across the mountains through the soft white fluffy clouds; the fells look inviting. A surge of excitement helps me forget I’m in a campsite. I head to the shop to get fresh bread while Vickie nearly blows the tent up with our posh stove.

NMC County Climber

advertising rock climbing in the morning and ghyll scrambing after lunch. Every day they take around 10 punters both morning and afternoon. Vickie looks at me and notices I’m paying extra attention today. All I’m thinking is ‘Jammy bastards, what a great job’ possibly taking more notice as I’m heading home tomorrow, back to office politics and pulling out my fake smiley face.

I start thinking about how increasingly hard it has become to get the balance right in my life. As it fills with more responsibilities something or someone always gets neglected. If I spend lots of time with the kids my climbing gets affected, if I climb lots my family life is affected. I have upped my ‘sponsorship’ game and am now doing ALL my climbing during the working day, leaving me time to spend with Vickie and the kids in the evening. Every Friday on her day off we climb together so she can get her fix, and when the kids go to their dad’s we cram in as much climbing/bivvying as we possibly can.

I’m distracted from my revery as Vickie starts to talk.......

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‘You would love to do that wouldn’t you’?

‘Massively, do you think we’ll ever end up living here one day? I know we said we would when we are old, but is it just a pipe dream?’

‘Let’s just move.’

‘What?!!’ I nearly choke on my sandwich.

‘Finish your qualifications and let’s move in a few years when the fixed mortgage runs out.’

‘You would do that? Uproot the kids and move for me?’

‘For all of us! What’s keeping us in Shields?

It’s a much better life for us over here!’

I do some quick maths, ‘10 people in the morning, 10 in the afternoon, £25 each, so that’s £500 a day, that’s £3500 a week and there are around 10 weeks of holidays, that’s £35K. Jesus that’s possible.’ I am no longer devastated about going back to work.

We have an escape plan!

August 2012 I’m 30, even deeper in love and, to put it mildly, some major life-changing events have taken place. We now live in the Lake District and have our own outdoor company called Crags Adventures. Our five year plan to move to the Lakes fast-forwarded to ‘Let’s move ASAP.’ This was partly due to some differences I had with my boss, I really couldn’t stand seeing his cocky arrogant face every day and hated the fact he held the strings to my life. The main reason, however, was a health scare I blew out of all proportion that ended up being absolutely nothing, but which nevertheless forced me to come face-to-face with mortality and put life into perspective.

I needed to take control. We only get one shot, I wanted to spend every day with Vickie, I wanted to spend every day climbing, to be in charge of my own life and be my own boss, to enjoy every aspect of my life. No regrets, no faking, no bullshit, just happiness, adventure and love. I knew what the key to happiness was and what really mattered. Some people don’t get this ‘til it’s too late. I bet no-one sits on their death bed and wishes they had made more money or had a Gucci watch.

From the moment the house was on the market we started walking round work with a smug look. It didn’t matter how many times my boss was being a prick, you just NMC County Climber

couldn’t knock the grin off my face. I felt like I was walking on air. I was untouchable; no-one could get to me anymore. I laughed along with their crap jokes, took an interest their boring lives, even pitied them for believing they were trapped in a life they hated. In reality what separated us from the rest of the herd was the fact we didn’t care about possessions, status or what other people thought. All we wanted was to be happy even if it meant taking a risk. We are both positive people, so much so that in reality we hadn’t even considered failure we had each other and two fantastic kids, what more could we want or need?

After 5 months my smug grin was starting to fade along with the hopes of selling the house. On top of that we had a never ending ‘To Do’ list; website, insurance, qualifications, research schools etc. Feeling like the dream was out of reach I headed to the wall one evening where a friend suggested renting our house. We could re-mortgage on a buy-to-let and borrow a little extra to pay for the set up of the business. I put the new plan to Vickie and without any hesitation we decided. Our haste however almost cost us our dream as we nearly ended up with the worst mortgage offer in history until the computer crashed upon approval!

With a fresh head we visited the financial advisor and got approval for the new mortgage and it was on! The dream was officially a reality, I could hardly believe it. .

Our house was rented out within a few days and we had one month to arrange everything.

I barely slept the night before I handed in my notice. We both worked at the same place and took our bosses aside at the same time so we could deliver the news personally before it leaked. My talk wasn’t as civilised as Vickie’s - I had a few things to get off my chest. Never once did we panic or worry, we ignored all negative comments, aware that most of the people we told only appeared to understand what we were doing; secretly they thought we were stupid or would return in time to the life we were leaving. They were so wrong. As I was leaving work for the last time lightning struck the Tyne Bridge and a monster storm took hold.

Houses destroyed, cars floating in the street, everyone stranded in the city. No way in or Autumn 2013

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out. We didn’t even consider this as a sign from above nor the removal van breaking down ‘after’ we’d packed it. We took it all in our stride. Little did we know that the storm would carry on in what would turn out to be the wettest summer on record. We didn’t care; we were far too excited about our new life.

August 2013

We now spend every day together, are the happiest we’ve ever been, no fakeness or bullshit anymore, the kids love it, life is stress free and at our Wedding Day own pace.

Perfect?......No - we are spending all of our time fixing up our new home, entertaining the kids and reccying potential venues instead of climbing. The holidays mean the kids are off so we can’t climb - family and babysitters are two hours away. We’ve taken clients out but they were all friends of friends etc; we only have a few weeks of the main holidays left and our buffer money is dwindling. We had naively thought that once our new fandangled website (courtesy of Mr Birtwistle) went live people would start enquiring. In reality we were on page 30odd of Google. No-one will ever find us till it moves onto at least page 3. However we have been proactive and made contact with a caravan park I’ve been going to since I was a child.

NMC County Climber

I’m now 31 and married. I have an unbreakable bond to Vickie, the kids are settled in the Lake District and we have a new addition to the family.....a dog. It’s been without doubt the most life changing and eventful year to date so far. The caravan park contact turned out to be the key to success in surviving the first season. I would jump out of bed every day barely believing I was living in the place I’d dreamed of living since I was a child and was working for myself doing what suits me best.... doing what I love.

I would sing as I drove to Greenhowe Caravan Park in Langdale. I vowed never to take the scenery or our situation for granted. I love it when I crest the hill at Elterwater and the landscape opens up to reveal the Pikes, my favourite part of the journey. I would quietly pull into the site and get my homemade billboard out, wait for the customers to stir then let them book up. I am not pushy or salesmany at all. I have left being fake behind in the North East. I spent every day taking the customers of Greenhowe out on adventures and it filled me with pride we were the highlight of their holiday. I would occasionally envy the fact they were on holiday as I was unsure whether we’d ever be able to afford a one again.

However, I would also remember I was effectively on permanent holiday and how lucky I was when they left at the end of the week and I was still here. I would drive home with a pocket full of money and a smile. When I got home I would take the kids and Vickie out for a swim or a hike or wild camping. Life was so exciting. The dream was a reality.

The season drew to a close in October by which time we’d started to get out climbing a lot more. Money was tight but we managed to budget and be creative with meals - I pretty much lived on homemade jam and bread. The ‘idyllic’ house started to

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show its true colours as winter crept in and the temperature never rose above 7 degrees in any room except the living room till late May. It was definitely character building

We still loved it here, we appreciated the hardship knowing that when we eventually started making money again we would really appreciate even the smallest things.

and it turned into a full time job scavenging for and chopping wood for the sole wood burning stove.

With Christmas approaching and uncertainty about how long winter would last or how much extra our wedding would cost, I decided to get creative and make wreaths and reindeers from scavenged wood. All we wanted was £100 to help us along but £200 would be great. Half jokingly and semi-embarrassed I gave a few items to my sister who has a beauty salon back in Stanley. To my disbelief there was a market for them and orders came flooding in. I spent the whole of November and December sitting in the shed making Christmas decorations in bulk. We sold hundreds and before we knew it we were expanding into slate products to give us a year round wage.

I kick a bunch of dead leaves and Bear the dog dives into the brown, rusty cloud, snapping. I was on my usual walk and had watched these beech leaves turn from green to a fantastic yellow before falling to the ground. It was now February and the winter felt like it had lasted years. I have never had such a rough time. We were down to our last pennies, the house hadn’t been warm since September and our usual attire for bed was two fleece tops, two pairs of pants, a hat, dressing gown and two pairs of socks. We were happy though, ridiculously so in fact.

NMC County Climber

Through my entire time with Vickie we

Honeymoon Trad

have still never argued and have been through a lot of experiences that most would find taxing and stressful. Life was still great.

I was finding I had other skills and had started cutting my own hair, fixing my own car and generally being as independent as I could to save. On a positive note we were climbing or hiking most days and were the strongest and fittest we have been. Real happiness isn’t measured in monetary value.

As I leave the wood and enter the field I feel a strange sensation, an alien one almost - the sun! I can actually feel its warm rays on my face and it feels magnificent. I stand with arms outstretched in worship – we’ve made it, it’s warming up. I’m not ashamed to say I felt like crying with happiness. I had taken central heating for granted all my life and never really appreciated the feeling of spring coming and the earth warming up.

It was short-lived and winter returned a week or so after that day and lasted till April! During that time we got our first Autumn 2013

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customers but it was still cold enough to affect business. It was the coldest Easter on record to follow the wettest summer. I figured if we could survive this year we could survive any. We approached campsites and caravan parks on the basis it

By March we were on our stag and hen nights, and a few weeks later had the best day of my life and married Vickie after soloing Little Chamonix a few hours before the wedding. The honeymoon in Skye, sleeping in the back of the car, lasted 7

Craig on the FA of Wobble Block (VS), Upper Fall Crag South

had served us so well last year. We updated our website endlessly and were now on page one of Google. We climbed every day.

What’s better is I had decided at New Year to set myself a target for all the 7’s - E7, English 7a, French 7c and Font 7c - by the end of the year. I had no excuse for climbing punter routes anymore with Vickie. She was strong enough to follow me now. The hard work and effort had paid off. I no longer needed another climbing partner. I slowly upped the grades and she never failed to impress. Every day the kids were being dropped off at school and we were cramming as much as we could into 6 hours before picking them back up.

hours in total; the horizontal rain helped us decide to spend it in the Lakes. My first route as a married man was to solo an E1 followed by an E2 lead. It might not sound much but it was a milestone in our climbing.

Vickie was leading now and taking to it with ease. Her gear was bomber and I was no longer a bag of nerves watching her.

There are still slight downsides to our life, I miss out on Mingulay every year as it’s my busy period and I missed the Scottish winter scene due to having no spare cash and no partner, but we eventually got the conditions we needed in the Lakes and I found a few people to get out with. By the end of the winter season Vickie showed an interest, and who knows maybe I won’t need a winter partner one day either.

All the winter training is paying off. For the first time in ages I’m on-sighting E3 again, climbing E5 ground up and soloing E1/2 on-sight. I’ve even climbed my first E7. All this with Vickie who’s now leading Severe but I’m the one holding her back as I want her to serve her apprenticeship.

NMC County Climber

Work started to flood in again, and from May and it was clear that caravan parks were no longer required. We are booked in advance and no longer need to tout for business. The website is doing its job. This is our year, I can feel it and we are climbing hard.

June was our busiest month to date and we have contracts with Leeds University and Autumn 2013

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a couple of scout groups and I have to involve freelancers more and more. We also have international work lined up and our climbing is through the roof. I put up a new E5 6a (see footnote) and we decided new routes are where the action is; we have new crags lined up, the idea being that Vickie does the easier routes and I will do the harder ones. July was even busier but I managed to squeeze in a Direct start to my E5 before the kids broke up and I’m now the proud first ascentionist of E7 6c.

Unfortunately the absence of rain resulted in our borehole drying up requiring us to carry buckets to the stream to fill it until the landlord manages to sort it out.

Have I actually found a state of balance?

I think so. August was also booked up in advance and the money looking healthy. We will probably never be rich but we are comfortable. Luckily we don’t crave possessions and are content. I can honestly say I’m the happiest I have ever been. The kids are settled, I am never stressed, I’ve erased anything or anyone from my life that had a negative impact on it, avoid getting caught up in politics with other outdoor companies. I don’t care if people are busier than us. We make enough and everyone seems to have fun and hopefully leaves us inspired to enjoy life and the great outdoors.

I’m in love, never say that I’m ‘going to work’, but I’m going ghyll scrambling or climbing. There is no faking or negativity in my life and I still wake feeling privileged and never take my position for granted. I swim daily with the kids and Vickie in the lake after work with a mountain backdrop.

I’m climbing the hardest I have ever climbed, and already logged over 300 climbs this year. I’ve climbed E7, Font 7b and English 6c so don’t have too much to do to reach my 2013 goal. Vickie is rapidly improving and I can climb harder with her than anyone else I’ve tied in with. We are even moving to a warm house with mains gas, electric and water! There are still downsides. I can’t afford to fly to the Alps or Kalymnos anytime soon but who knows what the future holds? We have a long term plan, so watch this space.

I can’t recommend enough that if you have a dream then go for it. You only live once. People have said ‘I wish I could do NMC County Climber

what you have done’ - you can! Just do it.

Even my sister is heading west in the near future to expand her salon business and live in the mountains. Trust me, if a knacker like me can do it then anyone can. I’m not saying everyone should be outdoor instructors and move to the Lakes, mind - this was our dream. All I’m stating is that I believe you should do something you are passionate about and live where you want to live. If this means being an accountant and living in London then that’s great. Just be true to yourself as I believe this is just as important as balance in holding the key to your happiness. Reach for the stars. .  (Footnote: at the time of publication Craig and Vickie have notched up a few more new routes on their secret crags, and Crags Adventures is booked well ahead through the winter and into March.)

A tale of two ropes John Vaughan

Bare Blåbær* (‘Only Bilberries’), Norwegian grade 5- (about HS/MVS) ‘A pure classic and, despite its distance from the road, it is hugely popular. The name is Norwegian for a task of no great difficulty – obviously it refers to the climb and not the walk in.’ (Lofoten Rock - Rockfax) (*pronounced ‘Barer blow-bar’) The Lofoten Islands, off the west coast of Arctic Norway, must rank as one of the most stunning climbing locations in the world. A long chain of rugged islands reaches out into the north Atlantic with rank after rank of rocky peaks and ridges, separated by deep fjords, rising sharply from a clear blue sea studded with scattered reefs and skerries like Skye on steroids. The rock is granite – hard, clean and seamed with steep cracks and corners that weave their way upwards between tenuous slabs and blank walls.

Little wonder an earlier climbing guide was entitled ‘Climbing in the Magic Islands’.

However, none of this was visible as I arrived on the Hurtigruten ferry into Svolvaer in dense murk and pouring rain.

It’s worth remembering that, although the photos in the current Rockfax guide tend to Autumn 2013

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show acres of sundrenched rock basking under azure skies, this is Scandinavia and not the Mediterranean. The Doctor was

notes that Bare Blåbær is ‘One of Lofoten’s most popular favourites, this superb climb may be the most sought-after route on the islands – well protected and not too steep, it is an excellent expedition.’

The Bare Blåbær buttress at the head of Djupfjorden (John Spencer)

waiting to collect me at the ferry terminal and as we drove round the coast to our base at the Nord Norsk Klatreskole in Henningsvaer the rain eased, the clouds drifted apart and my jaw dropped I took in my new surroundings.

We started with a few days’ acclimatisation on some fine two and three pitch classics on the more accessible local crags. Given the ‘crack & corner’ structure, the dominant techniques are jamming and laybacking, neither of which rank high in my skills repertoire and I struggled to get comfortable while The Doctor cruised as we worked slowly up through the grades.

Our eventual aspiration was an ascent of the world classic Vestpillaren (E2 5b), an intricate 12-pitch line up the front face of Presten, one of the most impressive rock faces in the Islands. By way of preparation we needed something a bit longer to get our heads into ‘expedition’ mode and the obvious candidate was Bare Blåbær, a 7pitch, low-grade ‘Top 50’ classic up beyond the head of Djupfjorden. The Rockfax guide NMC County Climber

The walk-in to Bare Blåbær is long, rough and confusing as you meander through the scrubby woodland that clothes the fjord’s lower slopes – guidebook time suggests 1 hour. But the scenery is stunning, with a succession of steep buttresses of smooth grey granite, seamed with cracks and overhangs, running down from the surrounding ridges. The Bare Blåbær buttress is in full view the whole way, but having opted to bring just a photocopy of the crag topo and route description, rather than the full guidebook with its access map, we inevitably lost our way in the maze of narrow tracks through the trees and rocky outcrops, extending the hot and sweaty walk-in by an unnecessary 40 minutes.

Lesson 1: Always take ALL the necessary guidebook information with you – don’t just assume you’ll remember it OK when you really need it...

Eventually, having doubled back several times to find the right path, we arrived at the foot of the route, rested briefly and kitted up.

Having started early, we had the luxury of the whole place to ourselves.

The discomfort of the approach was quickly forgotten as The Doctor and I swung relaxed leads up pitch after pitch of immaculate layback corners, hand-to-fist cracks and the odd section of slightly spicy slab towards the final bolted belay below a broken headwall, 240 metres of pure, unadulterated pleasure, never hard but always absorbing with delightful technical moves on perfect rock in fine situations – as the guidebook says: ‘A pure classic...’ At the top we relaxed in the afternoon sunshine and solitude, sorting the ropes, taking in the magnificent view down and feeling that deep satisfaction that comes from ‘a job well done’.

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Lesson 2: Never, EVER forget you’re only halfway when you reach the top of the route - you still have to get back down….

The guidebook suggests two alternative descents: ‘Abseil back down the line of Bare Blåbær , or alternatively, abseil down to the left (facing out) down the Black Arch.’

For the second option the associated topo shows an offwidth crackline above the lip of the Black Arch and notes that you should ‘Take care when abseiling – this wide crack eats ropes.’ This sounded potentially risky and as we already knew the line of the route, reversing it seemed a safer choice than rapping into the unknown and risking the ropes getting stuck as we pulled them down after us.

Our first difficulty became apparent immediately as The Doctor coiled and threw the ropes back ‘240 metres of pure, unadulterated pleasure….’ down the top pitch for the first abseil. The angle of the rock meant they piled up in a knotted tangle on every free. In fact the ropes had dropped several flake or ledge, – tedious and timemetres into the crack, twisted together and consuming but ‘c’est la vie’. We continued wedged tight in the narrowing depths. They downward towards the top of the Black were completely stuck and no amount of Arch. pulling, twisting and swearing would prise them loose. Suddenly, this began to look The third abseil takes a diagonal line serious – we were still four pitches up a above the Black Arch to reach a belay away remote route, over an hour from the road to our right. Once more, we coiled and threw with two jammed ropes with no-one else on the ropes. Once more, they hit the slab the crag and rain forecast. below, writhing, rolling and slipping downwards... ...and vanished into ‘the wide Lesson 3: There is almost certainly a good crack’. There was a moment of tension as reason why someone has installed an we recalled the guidebook warning but alternative abseil descent rather than sliding carefully down the ropes, The Doctor rapping back down the route... gingerly drew the spare rope from the rocky depths and we breathed a joint sigh of relief What to do? The Doctor still had enough as it came free. slack, just, to reach the next belay and I abseiled down to join him while we Re-coiling the remaining rope he cast it considered our options. On the way down I out and across the slabs towards the next peered into the crack to find we certainly anchors and continued his descent. As he weren’t the first party to meet this problem made his way down and across, flicking the as there were the remains of at least one rope free of knots and tangles as he went, it other rope lying alongside ours in the dark rolled and slithered across the smooth rock... recess. ...and dropped into a deep, three inch wide slot up which we had climbed only an hour It was clear that somehow we would have before. As he drew the ropes out, they to cut the ropes and retrieve the remaining jammed. He pulled them – they didn’t come length to have any hope of continuing NMC County Climber

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downward. As a first step I prussicked back up to the top anchor, untied the ropes, tied in and reverse aided the pitch on cams, stepping them down as The Doctor took my weight. ‘Slack, take, lower’... Slack, take, lower...’ Now, at least we had possession of the free rope, but we still had to find some way of cutting off the jammed sections if we were to make further progress – but neither of us was carrying a knife. I began to contemplate the potential unpleasantness of spending the night on a small ledge in the

some solid gear and set to work abrading one of the ropes against the rough crystalline granite. Ten minutes later a triumphant shout announced he was though the sheath of the first rope and shortly thereafter had successfully severed all the core strands.

Another 15 minutes saw the second rope cut, albeit at the cost of some severely abraded hands and fingers.

Lesson 5: Understand just how quickly climbing ropes will wear and cut though when under even limited tension over sharp rock...

With what were now two 40 metre ropes we rigged the next abseil and continued nervously downward. On almost every subsequent abseil the ropes would snake into more deep cracks and tension remained high as we gently and nervously prised them free. With short ropes we began to have to leave gear as we failed to reach the next anchors and had to rig new rap-points, but gradually we inched nearer to the ground and salvation. ‘necessitating constant un-knitting to facilitate Finally, as we reached the further progress…’ belay at the top of the first pitch, we met the only other couple we had seen all day, forecast rain while we waited for the first of just setting off on an evening ascent as the the next day’s aspirants to appear – it was forecast rain began to dampen the rock. We not an appealing prospect. made the final abseil, hit the ground and they threw down our rigging gear, promising Lesson 4: If you’re going to make a multito retrieve anything else they found and abseil descent ALWAYS carry a knife – it’s return it to us via the Klatreskole cafe (we no use if it’s sitting in the boot of the car never saw it again!). Grateful to be down we with the rest of your spare kit... packed our gear and wandered back through the maze of approach tracks to the road.

While reversing the pitch I had made a brief attempt to cut through one of the ropes Happy in that mild hysteria that always by rubbing it against the rounded granite follows such escapades, we headed for the edge of the crack, with little apparent effect.

Klatreskole cafe for some light alcoholic However, running out of alternatives, I relief – even at £9.50 a pint, we felt we’d eventually acceded to The Doctor’s earned it! On the way however, we chanced insistence that this was our only remaining to meet Thorbjorn Enevold, joint guidebook hope and he wanted to give it another try. I author and head of the NordNorsk Klatre was pretty sure he wouldn’t succeed and was Skole. Much amused by our adventures, he beginning to resign myself to only the gave us a generous discount on two new second benightment of my climbing career. ropes on which we climbed more classic How wrong could I be? Setting off back up routes through the rest of our trip, including the pitch The Doctor anchored himself to the coveted prize of Vestpillaren, in what NMC County Climber

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must truly be one of the finest climbing arenas in the world.

One Final Lesson: We went, we climbed, we had an epic and we came home safe – of such adventures are great memories made... . 

Greece for Grumpies

on photographing us reclining like beached seals. Then there's the queuing to get on the starred 6bs, to say nothing of the ridiculous length of the walk-ins to Noufaro, Kastelli and Sea Breeze. Oh how we pined for the snappy and character-forming approaches to Selby’s Cove or Henhole. But if you stretch your imagination a little, Dolphin Bay could almost be Cullernose Point, although granted there is a lack of guano on this pale imitation of a seaside cliff.

Dave Hume

The stuff you have to put up with in this game. Bloomin' sunshine every day, hundreds of routes you can actually get up, all labelled and bolted, nothing but fresh fish and seafood and moussaka and free honey balls to eat, only blooming ice cold Mythos or flower vases full of cheap wine to drink in

Every route just has to be laced with shiny bolts - no place here for the chink chink of your only wire popping out and hippety-hopping down the sandy ledges of a damp and leafy Causey Quarry. Greek Easter on Kalymnos is the worst time to go of them all. Locals blasting off their private stocks of dynamite, scaring the wildlife, enough to make an octopus leap out of its happy seabed nest onto a washing line at a restaurant. Visiting climbers are forced to join in the communal explosive atmosphere to keep the air nice and warm.

Lamenting the fact that ‘only blooming ice cold Mythos’ was available

bars near the crags, clear blue sea, and the whole place full of the young and fit, some VERY fit indeed. (photo censored) What a nightmare.

How we longed for a cool evening at Ratcheugh, with its friendly brambles and proper gnarly off-widths, or the aesthetically challenging top-outs at Wolf. There we were, struggling to find shade at Arhi instead of the welcoming chill of Peel, where the comforting sound of an approaching loose block fills your heart with a familiar thrill.

Even the ferries to Telendos are enough to make you weep, crowded with Musgrovian climbing celebrities. We couldn't get away from them at Arginonta either, where that Heinz Zak chap insisted NMC County Climber

Queues for the starred 6bs

You have no option at this busy time but to bivvy in a rough apartment with nothing but G&T's to survive on. What is climbing coming to?

The Grumpy Team, Kalymnos April 2013, consisted of Cliff Robson, Gary Brosnan, Trevor Langhorne, Mike Blood and Dave Hume.  Autumn 2013

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BMC North East Festival of Climbing and Walking (19th – 21st July) Ed Scibberas

In the first week of July, yours truly packed a bag full of posters and went around town distributing them to all the outdoor shops. I have to admit I had a very hard time convincing everyone that the Climbing and Walking Festival that said posters were promoting would actually live up to the promise of climbing on sunny rock as advertised – especially since half the posters were soaked through by the time I got to Monument! Yet our offerings seemed to please the gods, and as we drove north on Friday the 19th of July, the prognostic for the weekend weather was great!

Belford was the nexus of the BMC’s Festival, aimed at promoting Northumberland’s offerings of climbing and walking, the central HQ being the Blue Bell Hotel. The bar was appointed as the congregation point, with a surely recognisable corner being slowly taken over by fleece-wearing fellows.

session with Jon Punshon and Tim Hakim, or guided walks in the Cheviots. Meanwhile, the action shifted to Bowden Doors where in the basking sunshine everyone had a good day sampling Northumberland’s finest.

Later, back at base, it was BBQ and chillout time while everyone debated the merits and demerits of the day’s routes. The highlight of the evening was an awesome ceilidh in the main hall which probably tired everyone out more than the day’s climbing!

After checking out from the Blue Bell’s lawn the next morning, Kyloe Out was the chosen venue for the day’s climbing. This proved to be a very productive day where numerous routes were bagged, grades pushed, and a good time was had by all. By late afternoon the crowd slowly trickled down; back to Cleveland (not Ohio), Newcastleton, Newcastle and other places.

A word of thanks must go to the BMC for sponsoring the event, and Mark Anstiss and Sarah Follmann must be singled out for their work in organising the whole event.

Everyone agreed it was a fantastic event which, as well as an opportunity to get climbing, was also an occasion for climbers from different clubs to meet. 

After the introductory pints, we all moved to the main hall where the BMC’s Rob Greenwood gave an outline of his climbing escapades ‘From North Wales to the North Face of the Eiger’, followed by a pub quiz organised by Mark Anstiss from the Wanneys Climbing Club. The vets’ immense knowledge of the intricacies of first ascents and route peculiarities made short work of this quiz, but it was not enough to stymie the climbing gurus from the Cleveland Mountaineering Club!

Reconvened in the pub everyone got a proper chance to meet, with contingents from NMC, Wanneys, CMC, and a group of instructors from Rock UK at Newcastleton aka ‘the Surfer Dudes’.

Club member Alan Hinkes – you may have heard of him – has a new book coming out round about now. The flyer says: ‘Alongside Alan’s down-to-earth accounts of his climbs, this beautiful book features stunning photographs from his many expeditions to the world’s highest mountains.’ Hardback, 192 pages, £25.

Sounds like, that might make someone a nice Christmas prezzie……

Saturday saw the NMC stand set up in the main hall, together with stands by the Great North Air Ambulance Service, LD Mountain Centre and Dave Hume and his book. The idea was that interested people could pop in to see what this was all about, and could sign on for introductory climbing NMC County Climber

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But What Have We Done On Grit? The Peak Meet (August 9th-11th) Dave Hume

A happy band made up a full weekend house party again at the Derbyshire Pennine Club's Carlswark Cottage in Stoney Middleton. Despite the SM address, Derbyshire Limestone went untouched as

into the evening. Multiple ascents of Chequers Buttress and Three Pebble Slab showed the crag what we are made of, although some of the easier classics managed to give one or two leaders pause for thought and essential practice in upsidedown-climbing (Alastair) and catching microwires thrown from below (Dave).

The group went en masse to the Roaches on Saturday - except Gareth and Elliott who burned the rubber over the county instead.

We saw individual successes, for example

Dave on Chequers Buttress (HVS 5a), Frogatt Edge

the teams concentrated their efforts on Classic Grit.

Arriving early on a Friday is a new tactic played by more than a few. This may be partly an attempt to get more climbing out of a weekend with a shaky weather forecast, or more likely to get a better bunk. Even the retirees, usually first to nab a bed near the toilet (nocturnal necessity you see), were beaten to it on this occasion.

Friday Froggatt teams - Alastair, Heather, Rhiannn, James, Simon, Gary, Lucian, Mike and Dave gave the crag a good dusting well NMC County Climber

Sloth (nice lead Lukasz) and Safety Net (E1 5b - nice lead Adrian) , lots of mileage in the lower grades, a return to leading after a long layoff for new member John, and a few failures, (no names here), ending with an epic for Ed and Lukasz on Valkyrie (VS 5a).

Even the spectators were gripped.

On the last day the bulk of the group went to Froggatt, having an excellent day, and some for a rematch after Friday's session (good lead James). Details remain sketchy, but epics, rescues and loss of mojo have been hinted at. Four of us made a tactical error by giving Froggatt a miss - we had ticked the crag on Friday anyway - choosing Autumn 2013

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Lawrencefield instead, where our target routes of Von Ryan's Express (E6 6b) and Billy Whizz (E2 5c) were occupied (what a shame) so we settled for so-called easier stuff. "Easier stuff" and "Lawrencefield" should never appear in the same sentence!

Is Aldi's gin better than Bombay Sapphire? A blind tasting will tell.

Evening life in the cottage was up to standard for banter, food and a gin-tasting competition organised by Mike. An outstanding time was had by all, again.

The guilty: Adrian Wilson, Elliott Wilson, Gareth Crapper, Matthew Westwood, James Duffy, Simon Phillips, John Kilbride, Ed Scibberas, Lukasz Gorow, Alastair Boardman, Heather Tait, Rhiannn Tait, Lucian Peterca, Gary Brosnan, Mike Blood, Dave Hume.

NMC County Climber

Autumn 2013

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Hanging around, Back Bowden (John Dalrymple)

Rainbow, Lofotens (John Spencer)

NMC County Climber

Autumn 2013

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Club Business Committee There have been 2 Committee meetings since the last issue (June and September).

The main items of discussion were: 

tying up loose ends of the Bowderstone Hut;



Adrian Wilson’s stalwart efforts to drag the Club into the 21st Century and make the process of membership and renewal more efficient;



the BMC Festival of Climbing and Walking;



whether or not to adopt a single club logo, there being at least 5 in use!) – in the end we decided to do this for all club literature (though not necessarily for Tshirts etc) – see pages 2 and last page; there is also a version for letter-heading, below

(including a three-man film crew!). The weather held out on the Saturday and much work was undertaken with the help of patio knife, trowel, brush, saw, and shovel. There was a BBQ in the evening at the Winshields Farm campsite courtesy of the BMC and several stalwarts stayed over, and grabbed some decent routes on the Sunday. Well done all!

Routes cleaned          





  possibilities for further collaboration with other clubs, notably the Wanneys (this has led to an invitation to our members to join their New Year meet; handover of the Club library from Eva Diran to Ed Scibberas ;

Note the Annual General Meeting of the Club will be held, as usual, in January 2014.

John Dalrymple has served his notice on the Presidency, and a new Committee will need to be elected. Agenda papers will be circulated with the next issue of County Climber.

Crag Lough clean-up Following on the success of last year’s Crag Lough clean-up, the BMC, along with Mark Anstiss (Wanneys), organised a second round of ‘restoration’ during the weekend of September 7th-8th. There was a good turnout, approximately 15 strong, including a handful of NMC members along with Wanneys-ites (?), ‘freelancers’ and of course BMC folk NMC County Climber

     

Route 2 - all vegetation removed from Chimney, alternative direct start cleaned out Pinnacle Crack Hadrian’s East Crescent Climb Hadrian’s Highway - almost all vegetation on east side of Hadrian’s Buttress removed Evasion Groove Tarzan, Tarzan’s Mate and Jane Jezebel Hari Kiri - a harder RH variation to Hari Kiri was also cleaned Sinister Corner - two new independent lines either side of Sinister Corner were also cleaned and climbed (FAs!) Dexterity Deep Gully – dug out rather than cleaned, apparently - a very useful descent Abseil Wall Spuggies Gully Y Climb – a possible direct start uncovered by John Vaughan Grad’s Groove – notably, the huge jackdaw’s nest was removed Neglect – cleaned last year, got a tidy-up this Great Chimney

Learn-to-lead course Four members enjoyed the ‘Learn-tolead’ course on September 15th. It was subsidised by a BMC small grant, led by instructor Jon Punshon and coordinated by Ian Ross. 

Autumn 2013

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www.thenmc.org.uk 0191 236 5922 The website includes various discussion forums, a photoarchive for members’ climbing photos, and online guides for most Northumberland crags.

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.  Morpeth Bouldering Wall.

Also winter season Wednesday nights at Burnside College, £5 entrance fee, open to NMC members only.

NMC Website The NMC has a very informative website

NMC County Climber

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)

 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

T-shirts Various styles of T-shirt with printed NMC designs and logo are available.

Order direct by contacting Ian Birtwistle 07828 123 143.

 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

Bob Smith bouldering Spring 2013 (John Dalrymple)

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