County climber spring 2010

• •

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.

• •

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.

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

Note: Winter indoor 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.

NMC County Climber

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:

taken by the author of the article.

Committee 2010/2011 President – John Mountain Vice Pres. – John Dalrymple Secretary – Caroline Judson Treasurer – John Earl Membership – Sam Judson Access – Colin Matheson Hut Co-ord. – Neil Cranston Hut Bookings – Derek Cutts Magazine Ed. – Peter Flegg Social Sec – Eva Diran Librarian – Sam Judson Web – Ian Birtwistle General: Malcolm Rowe, Peter Bennett, Ian Ross, Gareth Crapper & Andrew Shanks.

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.

secretary@thenmc.org.uk

Cover Shot

Photos

Cliff Shasby leading, John Flitcroft belaying on a WI3/4 route at Maltatal, Austria, by Kin Choi

Unless otherwise stated all photos in this issue were March 2010

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What’s in this issue?

Weekend meets

Wednesday evenings meets .......................... 3 Weekend meets............................................. 3 Yosemite for Bumblies................................. 4 NMC News ................................................... 7 Armchair book review .................................. 9 Obituary: Alistair Aitken ........................... 11 Gerikbayiri, Turkey .................................... 12 Spain again... .............................................. 13 My first ice climbing experience ................ 16 Annapurna Sanctuary ................................. 19 Dolomites: a beginner’s guide.................... 21 Squareface, Beinn a Bhuird ........................ 24

The follow list shows the weekend climbing meets currently arranged.

Wednesday evenings meets No need to call anyone—just turn up with all your own equipment. The NMC website has crag location details (www.thenmc.org.uk), also check the website forum for indoor wall alternatives if the weather is not good. Meet afterwards at the pub shown in italics.

31 Mar 10

Shaftoe - Highlander

07 Apr 10

Rothley - Dyke Neuk

14 Apr 10

Curtis - Highlander

21 Apr 10

East Woodburn / Wolf –

You MUST contact the meet leader in advance, as any accommodation may be limited or already fully booked.

10-11 Apr 10

Bowderstone - Working Meet—Neil Cranston 0191 270 2648

17 Apr 10

Northumberland—Ian Birtwistle 07828 123 143

1-3 May 10

May BH – North Wales— Peter Flegg 07765 264 397

8-9 May 10

Bowderstone – Ladies Meets—Alison Jones 07506 888 065

15-16 May 10

Bowderstone – new members—John Dalrymple 01670 519 629

29-31 May 10

Spring BH – Scotland— Martin Cooper 0191 252 5707

19-20 Jun 10

Bowderstone – Family Meet—Neil Cranston 0191 270 2648

3-4 Jul 10

Annual Dinner—John Mountain 01670 505 202

17-18 Jul 10

Lakes—Eva Diran 07824 627 772

7-8 Aug 10

Peak District—Gareth Crapper 07768 464 396

28-30 Aug 10

Bowderstone - BBQ Meet— Sam Judson 07793 522 261

11-12 Sep 10

North Wales—John Mountain 01670 505 202

25-26 Sept 10

Bowderstone - Working Meet—Neil Cranston 0191 270 2648

9 Oct 10

North Yorkshire—Chris Davis 07967 638 826

31 Oct 10

MTB Meet— Neil Cranston 0191 270 2648

18-21 Nov 10

Kendal Mountain Film Festival—DIY

Highlander

28 Apr 10

Jack Rock - Northumberland Arms

05 May 10

Simonside - Turks Head

12 May 10

Peel - Twice Brewed

19 May 10

Wanneys - Highlander

26 May 10

Bowden Doors - Salmon

02 Jun 10

Crag Lough - Twice Brewed

09 Jun 10

Kyloe Out - Percy Arms, Chatton

16 Jun 10

South Yardhope / Sandy - Bird in the Bush

23 Jun 10

Callerhues - Cheviot, Bellingham

30 Jun 10

Kyloe In – Salmon

07 Jul 10

Simonside / Ravenheugh – Turks Head

14 Jul 10

Wanneys - Highlander

21 July 10

Crag Lough - Twice Brewed

28 Jul 10

Back Bowden - Salmon

04 Aug 10

Simonside / Coe – Anglers Arms

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March 2010

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Yes we can: Yosemite for Bumblies Dave Hume (aka Bar-rat O’bumble)

You’d be forgiven for thinking the Yosemite Valley is a bumbly-free zone.

Well it wasn’t a couple of years ago, because even I went there, got plenty climbing in, and in a small but satisfying way, briefly shared rock space with the elite.

The ‘Valley’ (as we habitués call it), dominated by the ‘Captain’ (as we habitués call it) is just stunning. For decades – quite a few under my harness now – I’d drooled over magazine photos of huge walls of immaculate granite with tiny figures circled so you could get the scale. It was surely a club lounge for climbers with underpants over their tights who get changed in phone boxes, and beyond the grasp of a fumbling incompetent. Well, most of it still is. But I breached its defences by saving up enough to fulfil a dream and go there with a more competent partner, and found plenty scope for those with modest grade ambitions and a healthy fear index.

Our first vista on arrival in late May at Tunnel View (as we habitués call it) was disheartening. Rain and mist drifted around the Captain, and Half Dome was invisible.

Next day though, out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain.

To get the feel of things, we opted for easy starters. I secretly hoped this was how it would continue. Manure Pile Buttress didn’t sound too fragrant, but After Six, our first steps on Yosemite granite, was.

This 6-pitch, 600 foot Severe has a stiff first pitch followed by varied cracks and face climbing, and an awkward off width which takes a size 9 shoe sideways perfectly, making my style more froglike than usual. There are lots of variant pitches if you start late and need to overtake anyone, but that was not a problem for us because (a) we started early – 7 a.m. and (b) I’ve never overtaken anyone. The route ends on a Shepherd’s-like belvedere with NMC County Climber

great views of El Cap East Buttress and across the surprisingly narrow valley to Cathedral Rocks.

Sunnyside Bench is close to Camp 4, and gave us a chance to try some classic Yosemite cracks. The benchmark here is a 2-pitch 5.9 route imaginatively called Jamcrack: exactly as it says on the tin. I hate that route to this day with all that was left of my skin. This is a popular top rope area, so some routes have a bit of polish, unlike most of the rock in the Valley and we did another 5.9, a layback called Lemon, and a couple of harder routes – Bummer and Lazy Bum, both thin cracks at 5.10c and 5.10d (that’s E2/E3 in Imperial), which I helped Ross to tackle while I stood sentry over our gear at the base. This cliff also contains the Valley’s easiest multi-pitch, Regular Route, which at 5.4 (Hard V Diff) was obviously beneath me so we didn’t.

By now we felt up for bigger things and headed for the űber-classic Royal Arches Route. This is 1400 feet in 16 pitches. It’s mostly about Severe, with an optional 5b/c section on pitch 8, which can be avoided by a pendulum move on an in-situ knotted rope. I opted and avoided, but in good style. You can get down in 10 abseils… errr… I mean raps… using good chains on the steep slabs to the left of the line. Top tip – an old Reverso hits over 60°C after lots of successive full-length abs, and if you wear shorts, take care where it dangles when you stop. This is a brilliant route. It needs an early start to avoid the crowds, including some dudes with external underpants using it as a solo to access North Dome above.

It was hot most days in late May and early June, and camelbaks proved their worth on longer routes. Things higher up remained cold – the road to Glacier Point summit and the pass to Tuolumne Meadows were still closed with several feet of snow. However, adventure fever was on us, and we set off up the Muir Trail to bivvy at the base of Snake Dike on Half Dome. This is a famously run-out 5.7 March 2010

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leading to the top of the iconic Half Dome.

Equipped with our obligatory Wilderness Camping Pass and bear canister from the Ranger’s office, and an 8' x 6' piece of orange plastic for a tent, we left the marked trail after 3 hours to bushwhack for another two through pine forest to the start of the route. There is no path here, and it is heavy going over fallen trees and false leads until the scrambly approach slabs appear. I now offered my son the lead as he wanted to be first to see a rattlesnake. I paid for my generosity - he unknowingly woke them up as he passed and 5 yards later they rattled at me.

The bivvy sites among boulders below the route looked well used, but we were truly alone, 5 hours from ‘civilisation’. We assembled a generous ammunition pile of giant fir cones to throw at bears, and dutifully placed our bear canister containing our food and toothpaste at 100 feet from our bivvy. It was a long cold night at 8000 feet. A coughing bear nearby kept us awake, and from time to time we shouted in deep manly voices and chucked

our deterrent projectiles into the darkness.

If we’d had cough sweets, we’d have thrown them too. We never saw the bear, yet at daylight our canister was, like us, disturbed but unharmed. Dawn brought gales and horizontal hail from the west, and after a pretence of ‘giving the route a go’, we abandoned our attempt and slogged down what we had slogged up the day before. Local habitué tip – in summer, if the clouds build from the East, it’s OK. If they build from the Pacific, it won’t be.

Back in the warm bosom(s) of the Valley we headed for the huge slabs of Glacier Point Apron, and enjoyed several multi-pitch faith and friction padding routes here, of which the Grack Center, a lowly 5.6, fully deserves its 5 stars, especially the top crack pitch (an ‘awesome splitter’ as we habitués say).

Back on the north side, Five Open Books is renowned for its easier (that’s ‘mellow’ in Valleyspeak) 3 and 4 pitch routes, and of these we enjoyed Munginella (5.7) the most. Back up towards the Park entrance is the compact crag of Knob Hill, which has

Glacier Point Apron – big run-outs on perfect slabs

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some great face climbs up to 5.10 on huge chickenheads – ‘Knob Heaven’ says the topo. Well, Karen from San Diego, with the cool shades, who we met here, seemed to agree.

A special hazard is the goby – the local term for jamming blisters and skin tears on the back of the hand. Taping up is for wimps – we gnarly bumblies always go commando. Then we pay later. Later in our trip, our starts got later too, thanks to two other hazards - Yosemite bitter and cheap malt. By 10 a.m., back at Manure Pile Buttress, the popular 200m 5.8’s Nutcracker and After Seven sported big queues (that’s ‘awesome lines’ as we dudes would say). We aimed to do some of the easier short routes at the base of El Cap itself, but crowds, some scary rockfall and painful gobies got in the way this time.

Sadly, we didn’t have time to slackline the Lost Arrow Spire either… I was gutted.

The Valley bottom is a big tourist draw, and drew the biggest tourist bottoms, and drawers, I’ve ever seen. I felt positively svelte. Free buses ply a handy loop route, but once you take 5 steps from a flat path and a pizza bar you lose the tourists immediately. Humans are not the only wildlife. Bears are regular night raiders judging by the screams and shouts around the campsites, where bear lockers are provided, but only good bears were around for us – heard but not seen (or is that the other way round...?). Rattlers rattle, you stop, they or you go another way. Mule deer, coyotes, raccoons, eagles, peregrines, marmots, squirrels, cute lizards and acres of perfect granite – if paradise is half as nice, I’ll be happy to go but, you know, not quite yet. The people we met were very friendly, even the weird ones, like the spaced-out dude in a red leather suit (honest) in a bar who was so sorry that our lovely Queen had died in that car crash.

When my naughty smoking partner said he was going outside to smoke a fag, this guy remarked “Dude, if I was carrying a piece I’d come out and do one too. I hate fags.”

Divided by a common language indeed.

NMC County Climber

You need to practise saying ‘dude’ and ‘awesome’ a lot more than you’d think.

It was worth saving up for. We focussed on multi-pitch routes, and there are dozens to go at in the 5.7 – 5.9 range – that’s about 4b to 5a. Add the single pitch and the many top-rope routes, and there are enough in these grades for many trips. It has been said that a dream fulfilled is one dream destroyed. Not in my case. I want to go again, please. Yes I can. Repeat after me, “Yes I can…”

Bar-rat O’bumble also masquerades as Dave Hume when he’s not too busy being a habitué and aspiring awesome dude.

Membership Renewal Reminder Membership expired on 31 January 2010—from 28 February those who had not renewed became lapsed members and are therefore no longer covered by the BMC insurance that NMC membership provides.

You can renew your membership by sending a cheque for the annual fee of £25 to Sam Judson (membership secretary) made out to the Northumbrian Mountaineering Club: 31 Kenmore Close, Wardley, Tyne & Wear NE10 8WJ

Note: This will be the last copy of the magazine for those not renewing.

March 2010

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NMC News Kin(g) of Scotland?

Hut working meet

NMC member Kin Choi has taken a starring role in the Scottish national press—he appeared on the front cover of The Scotsman on January 11th photographed soloing an ice route. A copy of the photo can be viewed on UK climbing at:

The next Hut Working Meet is to be held on the weekend of 10/11 April.

www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.html ?id=133675 Contact Kin if you would like to see a PDF copy of the front cover: k_h_choi@hotmail.com

All you need to do is volunteer your services to help keep the hut in good order, for which you get to stay in the hut on Friday and Saturday for free and you can expect more of the same gourmet cooking as provided last year by our resident chef aka Hut Booking secretary Derek Cutts!

Contact Neil Cranston ASAP to reserve your place 0191 270 2648

Family Meet BMC Club Rep. elected NMC general committee member Malcolm Rowe has been elected North East area Representative on the BMC Clubs Committee.

Committee members Many thanks to the following who served last year and have now retired from the committee: Richard Pow, Andrew Coverdale, Piotr Bamberski and Adrian Heath.

This is a new idea for the club: a family weekend at the Borrowdale hut from Friday evening 18 June to Sunday 20 June.

This meet is open to all NMC members with children—ie those who don’t expect the usual peace and quiet of a rural location!

Contact Neil and Caroline Cranston on 0191 270 2648

Colin Matheson who was elected a general committee member at the AGM has filled the Access Officer position.

Magazine Deadline Articles for inclusion in the June issue of this, the County Climber magazine, need to be submitted by June 7th:

Magazine – change of name

Send photo files separate from the text file, submit text only in DOC, RTF or TXT format to:

As is often the case things need to be reinvented from time-to-time and so we have decided that the club’s magazine should be given a title that is meaningful to the members of the NMC. Beginning this first issue of 2010 the title changes from ‘Quarterly Magazine’ to ‘County Climber’—we hope you agree with our choice.

NMC County Climber

magazine@thenmc.org.uk

March 2010

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NMC Annual Dinner

Menu

The NMC annual dinner is being held, at the same location as last year: at the Blue Bell Hotel, Belford. The meal is on Saturday evening 3 July 2010.

Starters: • Soup of the day served with fresh crusty bread • Goats cheese wrapped in bacon, pan fried, served on mixed leaf salad accompanied with a rich onion compote • Gravalax smoked salmon served with a shallot and caper dressing accompanied with brown bread and butter • Red Pepper and sun blushed tomato terrine. A blend of mixed peppers, tomatoes and cous cous, oven baked with salad and sweet chilli sauce

Weather permitting, there will be climbing on the Saturday and Sunday at local crags.

The Blue Bell is offering an accommodation/meal package: •

£60pp in a double room

•

£70 in a single room.

The meal only will cost £19.95.

Deposits are required: •

£20 pp for the accommodation package

•

£10 for the meal only.

The menu is shown below—please send your menu choices with your deposit cheque to John Mountain: Linden, 20 Olympia Hill, Morpeth Northumberland NE61 1JH

Annual Dinner Camping Bryn Roberts is organising the camping for the Annual Dinner weekend, utilizing the campground near to the Blue Bell.

Contact Bryn to reserve your camping place: 07921 436 955

Mains: • Northumbrian Lamb • Rack of locally sourced lamb, seared and finished in the oven with a chilli and mint jus • Cod Supreme • Glazed Cod with Lime Beurre Blanc & Tomato, Ginger and Basil Salsa • Chicken Supreme • 8oz Chicken Breast Stuffed with Sun Dried Tomatoes & Goats Cheese served in a Garlic Butter Sauce • Stilton & Wild Mushroom Risotto • Selection of Sautéed Wild Mushrooms with a Hint of Rosemary coated in a Creamy Risotto Rice & Finished with a Rich Blue Cheese Accompanied with Wild Rocket & Parmesan Deserts: • Vanilla Ice Cream with Freshly Picked Strawberries and Vanilla scented Cream • Peach and Almond Cheesecake with Fresh Pouring Cream • Sticky Toffee Pudding with Hot Toffee Sauce Tea & Coffee

NMC County Climber

March 2010

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Armchair book review Alison Jones

The Book Wainwright his life from Milltown to Mountain - by WR Mitchell Published by Great Northern Books, October 2009.

Hardback, 160 pages, £15.99.

ISBN 9781905080663.

To order a copy tel. 01274 735 056 or visit www.greatnorthernbooks.co.uk

Blunderer’s following the Coast to Coast walk was so colourful and descriptive, it definitely inspired me to do the walk.

The author was a close friend of AW’s and one time Editor of Cumbria - he read the Wainwright series of Pictorial Guides before they were published. The first adverts for the guidebooks were recorded in the Cumbria in 1955. The guides which followed it are described, amongst others his guide to the Pennine Way, A Pennine Journey, Westmorland Heritage and the Coast to Coast guide.

This book is a personal and historical account of Wainwright’s life by somebody who knew him as a friend. It starts from his birth in Blackburn, his school days, working life, his first interest in mountaineering literature then his walking in Lancashire, the Lakes and the North West areas of Scotland. It describes his life leading up to and after his eventual move to Kendal, his interest in animal welfare and later work with the BBC. It includes previously unpublished letters and photographs.

The book is written by WR Mitchell – one of a group of 4 walkers. The group became known as the ‘Geriatric Blunderers Club’, Wainwright’s wife of 30 years Betty became the president of the Blunderers. The group moto was ‘You name it we’ve been lost on it’. The Blunderers followed the guides, including climbing the 214 Fells mentioned in the first series of seven Lakeland guide books. The book includes many of the group activities, in a style and humour at times reminiscent of ‘The Last of the Summer Wine’.

The most engaging part of the book for me is the accounts of the Blunderers’ walks. The section describing the NMC County Climber

The book describes how Wainwright aimed for accuracy at a time before the Ordnance Survey re-published two and a half inch maps. The first pictorial guide was started in 1952. The first guide was then dedicated to his heroes – ‘the Men of the Ordnance Survey’.

I first came across Wainwright guides around 20 years ago and appreciated the detailed descriptions, his dry sense of March 2010

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humour and sketches and so was interested to read this new book. It is short and easy to read, appears to be written with lot of affection by somebody who clearly knew AW and his family. I was reminded that AW never did master the art of using a compass, nor did he drive – it always seems amazing he managed to complete the guides in such detail.

This book would appeal to anybody who can identify with Wainwright’s obsession with fell walking, and appreciates his huge contribution towards British walking guides, including the descriptions of what became known as the Wainwrights, the 214 fells described in the Pictorial Guides.

The author W.R. Mitchell is the author of nearly 200 books. The Outdoor Writers’ and Photographers’ Guild presented him with the Major Golden Eagle award in 2007. It is stated he was said to be ‘one of the foundling fathers of outdoor writing’.

Alison—yet to find an armchair

The following line is a quote from the book—when asked by Sue Lawley on Desert Island Discs about which items he would take to the desert island he responded “Will there be a chippie on the island?”

AP Rossiter—request for info We have received a request from Mark Lambert, who is writing a biography of Jack Longland—he wants information on AP Rossiter (one of the early pioneers of Great Wanney) who also did the first ascent of Rothley Crack with Jack.

Ladies Meet The Ladies Only meet at the Borrowdale hut has become a popular and regular event on the NMC social calendar over the past couple of years.

Mark is also keen to hear from any one with knowledge of what happened to the Visitors Book from the Gun Ridsdale.

The meet runs from Friday evening 7 May to Sunday 9 May. To reserve your place contact Alison Jones:

Any one with information please contact Mark on:

07506 888 065 Alison.Jones39@blueyonder.co.uk

lomongluddite@btinternet.com

Don’t forget your nail varnish!!!

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Obituary: Alistair Aitken Martin Cooper

Alistair Aitken, a member of the NMC from 2005 to 2007, died following an accident in Glencoe on December 12th 2009.

Alistair taught Technology at Bedlington High School, but his overriding passions were travel and adventure. He frequently used his summer holidays for expeditions: to Vietnam, Peru and India and, in the summer of 2009, to Tanzania, in order to visit outlying medical posts and to deliver the money he had raised to buy bikes for doctors and nurses, their only means of transport to outlying settlements.

everything. As a work colleague he was an inspiration. His restless spirit and his ability to draw on his wider experiences meant that he could rise above the narrow constraints of our current educational system and offer a perspective far wider than most of those who run our schools.

He will be badly missed.

On December 12th Alistair had climbed Bidan nam Bian with two friends and had descended via the Lost Valley. Below them, just above the Meeting of Three Waters, a walker had fallen into a deep pool in the ravine on the right hand side of the path. Neither the walker, nor his companions, could do anything to extricate him from the freezing water. Alistair’s party arrived on the scene and immediately decided to help. As they began sorting out ropes, Alistair slipped and fell eighty feet into the ravine, sustaining fatal head injuries. The person who had originally

Alistair began rock climbing in 2004, joined the NMC and quickly became a competent climber, teaming up with a number of club members over the next two years. He also completed a number of winter routes, where his fitness and skill level contradicted the fact that he was so new to the sport. From 2006 Alistair climbed less and turned his attention to cycling, where he again performed completely unlike Alistair Aitken (right) on Buchaille Etive Mor a beginner, touring the fallen became hypothermic but survived. It Scottish Hebrides for three weeks in 2005, is of small comfort only to know that cycling solo across the Pyrenees, from Alistair died in the act of trying to rescue Mediterranean to Atlantic Coast in the somebody else. That was typical of him as summer of 2007 and completing the C2C a person. in a day. In the summer of 2009 Alistair Alistair’s positive spirit, his generosity, had the opportunity to mix work with his desire to excel and his appetite for new passion for travel, accompanying a group challenges will be missed by all who knew of Sixth-formers on a high level Alpine him. His sense of the ridiculous, his ability Trek in Switzerland. to laugh about everything and anything and As a climbing companion Alistair was his sheer enjoyment of life will not go enthusiastic, safe and enormous fun to be away. with; he saw the humorous side of NMC County Climber

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Gerikbayiri, Turkey David Webb

It was 6am in Istanbul and Lucy Farfort and I were woken once again by the eerie sound of the Blue Mosque’s call to prayer through the giant loud speakers outside our window. For us it was a call to board the TK0870 to Antalya, and the start of a week long trip to the cliffs at Gerikbayiri.

After our transfers through a seemingly never ending jungle of tower blocks we finally met with the blazing heat of the Josito camp. Five years ago, climbing in Gerikbayiri was known only to a handful of hard core climbers looking for the next uncharted route. Now it has developed into a sport-climbing valley that attracts visitors to its four rural guesthouse camps. Our home for the week was a traditional log hut about 3 metres square rising on stilts from the surrounding dust, crickets (and massive hornets!) and dwarfed by the mountain.

the stupid idea of belaying from the top with the aim of walking on the higher main wall. Half an hour later and in the fierce, 30-33°C midday heat we finally decided there was no way through the forest of olive trees, sticks and boulders that looked decidedly like the snake house at the zoo.

Trying to turn back we found another set of climbers had decided to follow unaware of us and my stupid plan, so we quietly baked ourselves while we waited for a way down. While the internet says there is a mix of sport and trad climbs here, this was definitely a sport location and there are no trad routes to speak of.

Anyone thinking of a trip to Gerikbayiri should note that it is no Kalymnos, with very little below 6a and much of the 6a and 6b routes having quite erratic grading—the rumour is that the guys who put the routes

Climbing in Gerikbayiri is roughly divided into three sectors which rise like quarry walls from the steep valley. Highest is the main wall which has about a kilometre of rock and about a dozen sections. Lower but Looking down a route to Lucy belaying below parallel is a slightly up are so good that anything under a 7 just smaller area overlooking, and within a seems the same to them. However, if you five-minute walk of our camp. Opposite, can climb around the 6c and 7 mark then the Trebenna area caters for those looking there is plenty to keep you occupied here for impressive tufas and 30 metre high, 8c and you could comfortably climb for 2 roofs. After casually soloing a few of these weeks without repeating much. Probably we began on Turkish Standard, a long the best advice I would give is to go column of slab climbing that warmed us up prepared. and checked our balance was still intact.

Our guest house served really tasty The rock is limestone and varies from three-course meals every night at rough to extremely sharp; it has a weird reasonable prices but eating out every appearance as if someone has sprayed it night can all add up. We’d brought very with sulphuric acid. On the first day I had little and there are no shops in the area so NMC County Climber

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you are limited to the market on Saturday or the captive market of the guest house shops. As a result, getting food turned into a kind of much sunnier version of ‘Withnail and I’ when we realised the local butchers sold chillies and tomatoes it was the highlight of the week. The locals were all incredibly friendly, especially since we spoke virtually no Turkish and they spoke very little English, and they helped us hitch to and from the mountains to get to the shops—these were some crazy and really uplifting journeys.

Gerikbayiri scenery

So if you want you could chance it like us—it makes for a great way of getting away from the order and road signs of the UK, and it makes you appreciate a

supermarket when you get back! Anyway, that’s about it I think, they also have some really good trout farms.

many of the party of seven. Members were ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spain again...

Phil Reay

At this time of year the club magazine usually contains an assortment of articles and photos from ice climbing exploits.

Scenes of frozen waterfalls and snow holes abound. No such pictures in my camera.

Late February brought about a trip to the Costa Blanca – the third year running for

Gary Brosnan, Cliff Robson, Dave Hume, George Reay, Peter Flegg, Trevor Langhorne and myself. Last year it was noted that I was the right side of forty. Not so this year but judging by the grey and balding heads I still had a way to go to catch up with the rest of the party. But

George, Dave, Cliff, Zebedee, Gary, Peter, Trevor and Phil NMC County Climber

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these guys bring experience and tales which last long into the night (George being the exception who rarely makes it past 9pm).

This year Gary had booked a superb villa set high in the Altea Hills amongst a plethora of similar accommodation. New roads had been carved into the hillsides just waiting for the next plot to be developed. The only downside was that it was three kilometres downhill to the nearest bar, restaurant or supermarket.

Needless to say, planning had to be impeccable to ensure a continued supply of beer, wine and bread. This luxurious base was ideally located to explore new crags and re-visit old favourites.

It’s the climb....

Our first day of climbing took us to the Sierra De Toix (pronunciations in our group include Twax, Toyks and Toysh).

Although it was an area we had visited in the past it was felt that there were still an abundance of routes to tackle. And this proved to be the case as we actually visited Toix on three occasions during the trip. The warm, sharp limestone was a real treat with a variety of grades to suit all in the group.

Peter and myself) made for the single pitch sports routes of Montessa. This entailed an arduous two hour drive along winding roads which never seemed wide enough for two cars.

The Puig was conquered by Team A in good time ensuring the difficult, scree slope descent was managed in daylight hours. A great performance for a team with a combined age of approximately 240 (I don’t know their exact ages and they would probably lie if I asked them anyway.) Smiles on the faces and tales to tell indicated that this was definitely something to have a go at in the future. As for Montessa - another lovely crag with good variation of grades on well pocketed walls. The guide book indicated that it would suit those trained on rock walls.

Those weeks at Burnside paid off as

Venturing slightly further north the following day took us to Font d’Axia. This was a small crag with only twelve routes identified in Rockfax. On arrival it was apparent that further routes had been added and all of the bolts had been replaced. These welcome additions ensured another good day of sports climbing – the best being the sustained El Drak (5).

With two days under our belt it Cliff on Innominate (6b) at Font d’Aixa by Pete Flegg was time for the group to separate.

Team A (consisting of Dave, Gary, Montessa was my introduction to 6a lead George and Trevor) headed for the Puig sports climbs.

Campana and the classic Epsolón Central – a thirteen pitch trad route with the potential Guadalest and Sector del Castillo was for a descent in the dark. Team B (Cliff, the venue for day four and the seven man NMC County Climber

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team was reunited - at least until Cliff and Dave decided on a ‘rest day’ and spent their time in the nearest cafe / bar soaking up the sun and the San Miguel. The remainder of the party took on some climbs. One of the best we climbed here was the 25m Carabassa t’han donat (5+). A steady climb with a great exposed step-out from a recess in order to make the final reach for the chains. Peter led the way and following guidance from Trevor made it to the lower-off point without too much difficulty.

Being the gentleman that he is, he left the quick draws in Phil on Neu Ne Marc (5) at Guadalest by Pete Flegg situ and pulled the path to the top of the Peñon (this counted rope leaving me no option but to tackle the as a climb in my book.) Trevor and George same route. All went well until I had to managed another climb before heading to build up the courage to step out from the Toix Upper to rendezvous with Cliff, Gary, recess. After a great deal of chuntering, Dave and Pete. By 17:00 we were all to be and lots of encouragement from Gary found in a bar in Calpe harbour building up below, I made the move and reached the an appetite for the three-course fish meal lower-off. Elation... job done... time for a which lay ahead. beer...

Salem was next on the list and brought Sunday brought our second outing to Toix. mixed reviews. The setting was a George, Trevor and I made for Toix Este vegetated gorge bathed in sunlight on one which turned out to be a disaster. Polished, side and shadow on the other. First poor quality and a bit more difficult than impressions were that of a grotty looking the grades suggested. I quit after one route, venue with little to offer. However, a good packed my rucksack and walked the three day was had by those who took on the 4+ or so miles to Calpe where I took the cliff NMC County Climber

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and 5 routes. Those looking at the higher grades were met with dissatisfaction with under-graded routes. Even the three course Nepalese meal in the evening couldn’t shake off the disappointment. Nice meal but I’m not sure a curry is the best option with one more day of climbing to go.

Last day of climbing and it was back to Toix after a bit of a slow start. Dave, Pete, Gary and Trevor took on some of the multi-pitch routes with great success and satisfaction. George (dad) and I began with a 62m, two-pitch route which took about ten minutes to climb and 90 minutes to descend (a result of some unusual rope work with more pig tails than an abattoir).

This was followed up with some lovely single pitch routes with Cliff. Rain (for the first time on the trip) brought the climbing to a halt at lunchtime with Gary and Trevor still making their way down from a multipitch. The rest of the party showed no concern and made for the sanctuary of the villa and the chilled beer in the fridge.

All in all.......

In the early part of the trip I found it frustrating to be leaving the villa at 09:30 or 10:00 when I had been up since 06:00.

By mid week I was mellowing and by the last couple of days was happy to be reaching the crags by 11:00. I also noted that the walking distance from car to crag diminished as each day went by. These old campaigners recognise that there is only so much climbing you can do in a day. It’s not about climbing from 06:00 until 17:00 and cramming in as many routes as possible. Enjoy the climbing, enjoy the food, enjoy the drink and enjoy the company. All were excellent on this trip.

If you want to spend the winter in snow holes then the Costa Blanca is not for you.

If you fancy a bit of winter sun, an excellent variety of climbs and delicious local food then the Costa Blanca offers great value for money.

NMC County Climber

My first ice climbing experience Neil Moreby

Weeks of grey, cold, dull weather had led me to this point. Martina (Mederiova) and Lucian Peterca were eventually cajoled into joining me on an optimistic rock climbing expedition. They seemed sure that January rock climbing would be impossible, but I had spent the evening before carefully analysing the FRCCs table of climbs to pick the optimum crag based on aspect, elevation, drying time and walk in.

We left Newcastle through a heavy snow shower that had hit overnight.

However, I grew more optimistic as we drove through the western side of the lakes towards the crag. It was a beautiful day and we were in good spirits after hearing the unusual jokes from Lucian’s joke book: A couple get married. In their first year the man does all the talking, the woman does all the listening. In the second year the woman does all the talking and the man does all the listening. In the third year both do the talking and the neighbours do the listening.

We arrived at Buckbarrow at noon. The rock was warm to the touch. I was now jumping up and down at the thought of my first rock trad lead for 2010! The others graciously gave me the first lead; an HVS+ called ‘The Mysteron’; an open groove leading to a juicy flake overhang and a sweeping crack line above. Too much clothing hindered an awkward mantle crux, but I pushed on. Upon arriving at the belay I stripped down to a cotton T-shirt and enjoyed the sunshine while belaying.

Next, Martina did a soaring crack line, shadowed by a huge sweeping flake; a VS called ‘Witch’ (it resembled a Witch’s hat). She dispensed this easily, but with some shouting—I think her leading ‘head’ may not have warmed up yet. Lucian led the last pitch and we descended to the road in time for sunset.

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At the hut we feasted on 3 courses (sharing each other’s food) and discussed the next day. Soon we had a full hut, with most of Robin’s Scottish winter meet diverting here, including Robin Sillem himself. Tim Catterall had even kindly brought spare crampons, boots and axes for me! The drink flowed and the talk turned to ice routes. The Rockfax Guide to Winter Climbing, sat next to the fireplace seemed to offer plenty of reasons why I shouldn’t ice climb— dangerous, unpredictable, poor gear, cold, wet etc.

Around eight of us walked from Seathwaite up towards Great End. I was even more excited than the day before with the occasional bout of running, shouting and waving an ice axe like a mad man—

The arrival of Andrew Shanks, to whom I had mentioned possible rock climbs on Sunday, sent me into a mass of indecision: the gamble of cold, sunny rock climbing vs. my Martina on Witch (VS) at Buckbarrow first ice route.

Eventually we all sorry. We stopped to practice ice-axe settled on an introductory walk up toward arrests on a 10m slope of Neve. Tim, Great End and the experts would teach the Adrian Heath and Eva showed us the novices fun things, like ice axe arrests. basics and we threw ourselves into it. It In the morning, after the hardcore ice climbers had left at 6am, we slowly woke and I was pleased to find that Tim and Eva Diran were joining us. We scoffed breakfast and sorted the distribution of the gear, which was kindly lent to Andrew, Martina and myself by Eva, Tim, Robin and Carolyn Horrocks.

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was great practice and even more fun when we forgot the sequence and sped down the slopes.

Once our knees had endured enough and we had mastered the basics we had lunch and set off for a Grade 1; ‘Cust’s Gully’. We donned crampons and Tim showed me a few techniques: front March 2010

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pointing (hard on the calves) side stepping (usually in a zigzag, remembering to swap the axe, to keep it in the uphill hand) and a couple of other, less common styles. I especially liked the one with both toes pointing outwards like a penguin!

Late May Bank Holiday Meet Stoer Peninsular – NW Scotland The second May Bank Holiday Meet, May 29th to 31st, will be based on the Stoer Penisular, North West Scotland, camping at the beach campsite at Clachtoll, five miles north of Lochinver.

Soon our finale appeared; a hidden chasm, capped by a lodged chock-stone the size of a large car. It looked fantastic! We then emerged to the spectacular view at the top where the visibility allowed us to see over to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What to expect: There is sea cliff climbing at Reiff to the south of Lochinver (about 45 minutes) but the Stoer Peninsular itself has numerous small cragging and bouldering areas (covered in the SMC Northern Highlands, North Gudie) as well as The Old man of Stoer. Harder and more challenging routes at Ardmair as well as many remote and character-building mountain routes: Stac Pollidh, Quinnag, Suilven etc.

Taking a slightly different routedown Andrew tried some ‘Ice Bouldering.’ Tim showed us his skills highlighting the need to keep our heels down and hold them still once our front crampon points were in the ice. I felt really sketchy and I couldn’t imagine roping up in these cold temperatures to climb more of this hard ice.

Contact: Martin Cooper 0191 252 5707

Catching up with the others we finished for the day by-passing a superb waterfall and traversing a real mountain ‘goat track’. My agility on slippery ice let me down somewhat but I really didn’t mind, it had been a magical day. We finished back at the hut where we scoffed the remainder of the food, stretched off and discussed the great day.

Craig McMahon and Adam Cassidy arrived later, they had witnessed a fatal accident nearby that afternoon. We were all quite shocked and it rang home the fact that ice climbing can be very dangerous and sometimes unpredictable. For now, I’m happy to stay on the easy-grade icewalking. My next trip with Tim in March may test that, as he plans to expose me to some harder grades.

Eek!

Andrew Shanks showing his muscles NMC County Climber

March 2010

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Annapurna Sanctuary: a trekker’s snapshot Cliff Robson

In the grey murk of a Kathmandu dawn I swap the comfort of my hotel for a hard seat on a cold bus queuing with a long line of other buses. People get on and off, swap seats, buy food all in an apparently disorganised way until the bus suddenly hacks its way asthmatically into the outside lane and heads reluctantly for Pohkara.

Another grey dawn and I leave another comfortable hotel for a hard cold seat in one of the world’s smallest taxis. The driver sticks his head out of the window at regular intervals to clear his throat in a thorough and well-practised manner. Even so I’m glad I’m not sitting behind him. We arrive at a row of wooden huts which serve as shops and cafes and squeeze out of the car. I’m thinking breakfast here would be an interesting experience but my porter shoulders my sack and my guide leads off through a street of Dickensian gloom.

People huddle over fires as we march through the straggling shanty town of Naya Pul. It’s an inconspicuous place to start one of the world’s finest treks but before long we are away from the gloom and into the National park. Permits stamped, fees paid we are now into the attractive village of Birethanti. So this is how a Himalayan trek starts. It must be the rush hour because as well as trekkers on the way down we encounter smart schoolchildren, porters straining under massive loads and donkey trains hurtling towards us. I’ve been walking for half an hour and am finding the going OK. The rush hour seems to have abated and we are passing farms and fields of crops as we head upwards towards the towering fish-tail peak of Machhapuchrre now gleaming against a bright blue sky.

Two hours later and we stop for lunch.

It’s my first experience of a tea house and I’m impressed by the fact that I’m offered a menu. I follow the choice of my guide and porter and settle for rice and lentils.

Alcohol apparently increases the chance of NMC County Climber

altitude sickness so I launch a fortnight of abstinence with a cup of sweet tea though in the very pleasant midday sunshine a beer would have slipped down very nicely.

So far it’s been ominously easy so I’m not surprised when the gradient increases.

Madan my guide, thinks we are making such good progress that we can push on further than we would normally have for the first day. I encounter more of the many steps I’m to meet on the trek wending their way up remorselessly through numerous villages. They are strangely high steps for a people not known for their great height.

We pass several possible places to stop but it’s only at the highest point of the farthest village that we become the sole inhabitants of a welcome refuge. By now it’s a bit chilly and as we are the only guests we get an unexpected invite to sit by the fire in the kitchen, dodge the sparks and watch the buffalo milk bubble its way towards curds and whey. My meal according to protocol is served in the dining room while my guide and porter get to stay in a warm kitchen. By now it’s very cold. I crash into my sleeping bag and enjoy one of many good nights of sleep in the Himalayas.

Next morning I pull the curtain to one side to see the sun warming a fabulous mountain landscape. I enjoy breakfast al fresco on the terrace.

Our next day’s objective is Poon Hill, a must visit spot to see sunrise over the Annapurnas. A great day’s trekking with clear blue skies and wonderful views of Machhapuchrre takes us up to the high mountain village of Ghorepani. I wander towards our lodge past a large team of donkeys tethered on either side of the path and notice that other lodges stretch up the hillside. It’s not so much Dodge City as Lodge City. I get some tea and settle down to watch village life go by or stand still as the case may be. The wood stove in the centre of the dining room is eventually lit and I enjoy a wonderfully warm evening by the fire. Just as well as next day is an early start. Along with every other trekker in the place I’m up at 5am to start the one hour trek to Poon Hill to see the infamous sunrise. I fall out into the darkness and March 2010

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follow the trail of torches upwards. Steep steps leave me gasping for air, made worse by a streaming cold that’s come from nowhere. By now we are a veritable herd of wildebeeste heading purposefully towards our dark summit. An elderly trekker has fallen by the wayside and is receiving some restorative treatment from her guide. I feel like joining her for a drop of whatever the guide is dishing out but realise it’s a bit early on the trek to weaken so I take off some layers, take a good sniff and follow the crowd. Eventually with lungs in overdrive I arrive with the hundred or so other people at a football pitch sized summit complete with viewing platform to wait for sunrise. It’s still dark and cold but eventually the pink glow of dawn creeps up behind the Annapurnas and we snap away as the sunrise warms and enchants us.

Satisfied we descend for breakfast. I realise I am more of a sunset than a sunrise person.

body refuses to believe it and won’t go much above a very slow pace. I can see ABC but it will be over an hour before I get there. Then we are there, standing under a large notice proclaiming that we have arrived. We are lucky. We have the place to ourselves. The sky is a crystal clear blue and the mountains stand out brightly against it. I head up to a vantage point by a cluster of prayer flags and take in the massive panorama of the Annapurnas. The huge face of Annapurna South and the presence of ten mountains over 6000m makes a stunning vista. It’s a

Cliff at Annapurna Base Camp Fortified we now head west through place to reflect on the power of mountains oak forests, up and down river valleys to enthral and as the memorial plaques towards Tatopani, Chomrong and its remind me of the climbers who didn’t infamous two thousand steps and the make it back down. I could sit there all day valley of the Modi Kohla. Following the enjoying the peace and serenity but torrent we head north now and there’s only breakfast calls and I wander down to the one way to go. We trek through bamboo lodge for some tea and hot Tibetan bread. forests, past Hinku Cave and ascend the Then it’s time to start our departure, down gradually narrowing route leading to the to Bamboo lodge, back up the steps of Sanctuary. Several days and several tea Chomrong and then for a soak in the hot houses later we arrive triumphantly at springs at Jhinu Danda. Had I known that Machhapuchrre Base Camp (MBC.) We when we got back to Pohkara I would are on the edge of the Sanctuary but there’s discover the Maoists had called a national still one big challenge left. Next morning strike and there would be no transport to we leave the sacs at MBC and make an the airport I might have been less relaxed early start to Annapurna Base Camp but that’s another story.

(ABC.) The Sanctuary looks flat but my NMC County Climber

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Dolomites: a beginner’s guide Lewis Preston

It was 28 years since my first visit to the Swiss and French alps and it was way past time to have a first explore of the Dolomites. The NMC team that assembled for summer 2009 offered the opportunity for some challenging rock climbing experiences but I had also been doing my homework on 'Via ferratas’—protected routes with fixed cables into which a soloist can clip a harnessed cows-tail or sling, enabling fast and secure passage on steep mountain terrain. One story from each possibility in the Dolomites follows: Fell-running the 3 Great Via Ferratas of the Sorapiss Massif At the Bowderstone Hut meet earlier in the year Piotr Bamberski had answered my question about Via Ferratas in the Dolomites thus: 'The best by far is the round trip of Sorapiss, but it is really a 3 day outing to complete the circuit of the whole massif.' I had already found mention of this fantastic route in a German guide

NMC County Climber

and understood the numbers (guide hours) enough to rather savour the challenge of a single day (fell-run) version of the outing in an anti-clockwise direction.

Interesting logistics: total guide-book time for a single day outing ranging between 14-18 hrs (max. 14hrs daylight in September from 0630-2030) I therefore decided to take full bivvy kit of sleeping bag, mat, extra rations (but no stove) and a full 2 litre water platypus. This weight penalty would slow the run but was I thought it was necessary in case the weather deteriorated between the 2 bivvy shelters, or even at them at nearly 3000m (Biv. Slataper is level with Sorapiss' three permanent glaciers.) I really wanted to attempt the route as a single day solo outing in order to get back to team climbing.

25 Aug 09: Bryn Roberts drops me off at 7.30am at the Tre Croce Pass. At 8am I run south to Rif. Vandelli at 1900m. I ascend the scree path then head south into a beautiful 'lost valley' with limestone scenery, I am completely alone and it is

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silent and wonderful. I balance up the murio glacier (without crampons) on to the start of the Sentiero del Banco a high level terrace sloping out from sheer cliffs at 1500m. I solo past two Bavarian guys on the first steep step and carefully commence an exhilarating traverse of the west side of Sorapiss on a narrow, outward sloping, unprotected ledge system covered in loose scree and fallen boulders from the cliffs above.

Some time later the ledge abruptly ends in a vertical chasm down which a descent of four pitches of ladders is Via Ferrata Francesco Berti. I scamper across the couloir in which I have heard boulders rumbling and then up an improbable vertical rock face of several hundred metres protected by cables, iron spikes and the occasional rusty ladder giving access to a further rising ledge system leading to the plateau at ca. 2,700m.

Then a short ascent to a prominent peak overlooking multiple valley systems.

At Biv. Slataper I sign the hut-book, but then go wrong crossing the cirque, I try the upper terraces, down loose scree for 1.5 hours (I had been going well until then) eventually I find Sentiero Minazio and reach Biv. Comici by 5pm. It is now decision time—overnight here or continue and risk a night in the open if I'm unable to complete the round. I am feeling OK, so I press on up a steep track to the top of Via Ferrata Vandelli by 6pm. Here I stop and rest a while. I descend the Via Ferrata across a very steep wall above Rif. Vandelli and run 5-6km back as darkness descends, meeting the others who've been to Cinque Torre.

NMC County Climber

This was one of my best ever mountain days: comparable with the Cuillin Ridge, but circling one great mountain at three times the scale of Skye. Highly recommended!

Climbing the Vajolet Towers of the Catinaccio Rosengarten 1 Sept 09: We need a rest after the last few days of mental and physical exertions—Bryn says he is 'fried' from exposed, loose rock descents. Kenny, Bryn and I opt, on my suggestion, to head to the Rosengarten area of Catinaccio.

We pack for a night in the hut, drive down the valley and then catch a bus up to Gardeneccia. We walk up to Rif. Vajolet (situated on the cliff edge) and continue on up a steep track to Rif. Alberto at 2620m. I

Vajolet Towers

explore the col above which offers fantastic views west down the valley. The Torri del Vajolet rises dramatically above the hut, it’s a magic place to be.

We book into the hut and a lovely young assistant guardian says to us with a strong Italian accent 'I will take you in the bedroom' Bryn suggests that Kenny and I should stay there while she takes him in the bedroom! We can't help but laugh like rude schoolboys. She introduces us to the two Austrians sharing our 5-bed dorm: March 2010

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Kenny and Lewis at the start of the Vajolet Towers route

'lovely Rita-maid' and Joanne Lumley look-alike Irene 'in my dreams tonight'.

I run up to the col at the head of an incredible hanging cirque Passo Sant Nev and the newish wooden hut at 2740m right under the summit/west face of Catinaccio.

An iron cross is fixed to a friable pinnacle of rock.

I race back down to the hut in time for dinner with the others from the dorm and have a fun evening chatting (and singing!) to Rita and Irene.

2 Sep 09: After breakfast we traverse below the Torre Piaz and Delago, Torre Stabeler to the base of Torre Winkler—so named after George Winkler of Monaco who in 1887 soloed up and down the vertical tower (2800m) an unbelievable feat given the territory and simply no precedent.

We are going to attempt the grade V/VI Hans Stega/Paula Wiesinger route of 1929 NMC County Climber

by Bryn Roberts

following a direct crack line up the south face. I start the first grade V pitch and within a few feet a large chunk of rock detaches itself in my hand: I catch it with my chest, hold on with the other hand and throw the rock well away from the face as both Bryn and Kenny are immediately below me. Then I continue carefully!

Kenny leads two grade VI pitches including a jamming bulge before I lead the final grade V pitch to the summit of the tower1.

Clouds build up threateningly: it is time to descend. This involves a series of 60 m abseils, the lower ones shared with Germans descending from an adjacent tower which bring us back to the hut and an afternoon retreat to apple strudels in the valley; a great finale to a fabulous fortnight in the mountains.

1

The front cover of the September 2009 issue of this magazine shows Lewis on the final pitch of the route.

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Squareface, Mitre Ridge, Beinn a Bhuird and The Man of the Mountains Martin Cooper

It is August Bank Holiday weekend. I am sitting in my car outside Joe’s flat in Edinburgh and we are studying the map. It is Friday night, the car is packed but I insist that we have a look at the map and make some decisions about the weekend. I only mean the fine-tuning; are we going to the Cairngorms or Glen Shiel? Are we going to camp or are we aiming for a bothy? This was supposed to be a climbing trip until Joe dislocated his shoulder. Now it’s a two day backpacking trip, somewhere remote. I just want to know which way to point the car. Not a lot to ask, surely?

Joe is my eldest son. We’ve been planning walking trips since he was nine.

Now he’s 29 so, to be truthful, the decision making is pretty efficient. Bad weather forecast for the west. Not so bad for the Cairngorms. The best forecast is for the Eastern Cairngorms, where neither of us has been before. The obvious pair of hills is Beinn a Bhuird and Ben Avon. All of the bothies are in the wrong place. So it’s camping.

We arrive late at Braemar and pitch the tent by the road near Linn of Dee. The road is busy next morning and on the walk in up Glen Quoich we pass numerous Duke of Edinburgh groups and mountain bikers.

Further up the glen we have the mountain to ourselves as an excellent track climbs to the South Top of Beinn a Bhurd. The forecast is spot on and we enjoy views west to Ben MacDuibh, Craig a Coire Etchacan and the Loch Avon Basin. The cloud is awful low further west.

From the South Top there are spectacular views into Coire an Dubh Lochain, circled by some impressively big crags. The aim is to camp somewhere in this corrie and climb Ben Avon the next day. At the North Top, however, Joe NMC County Climber

suddenly suggests that we could quite easily make it as far as the bothy at Findoran Lodge. Only four miles away, he says. We have carried a tent close to 1197 metres above sea level and are now contemplating losing six hundred metres of height just to kip in a draughty wooden shack. It begins to rain, horizontally. I give in.

Now, you really don’t want me to attempt to elicit sympathy at this point so I won’t dwell on the fact that it was an extra five and a half miles, not four, nor that we reached the bothy at eight that evening, not six, nor that it took five hours to regain our height and position on Sunday morning and our trip ended up with two days, each with ten hours walking.

I won’t tell you any of that, for two reasons. The first is because such a long walk was what I had been hoping for out of the weekend. The second reason I will keep my self-pity to myself is because I wasn’t completely unhappy to arrive at Faindoran Lodge and discover we were not alone.

Two apparently quite ordinary mountaineers, who we had spied from some distance earlier, were cooking their tea, one in the bothy and one in a small tent pitched nearby. Joe had arrived before me and was getting the stove going. He introduced me as his dad. Bothy chap introduced himself (can’t for the life of me remember his name) and informed me that his friend outside was “The Man of the Mountains.” I laughed, only for Joe to tell me that this was probably quite correct.

Now I will tell some lies, mixed together with some self-evident truths.

“Listen, you dwarfish, insolent, insignificant Scottish Bothy Dweller,” I began. “You have a bit of a nerve. If anyone in this vicinity has claim to be ‘The Man of the Mountains’ it is indeed my son.

Would you like a catalogue of the mountains he and I have bagged?” I grabbed hold of his collar so as to communicate with him more intimately.

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“And if you don’t like that idea, epoxyresin face, I have for some considerable time been a member of The Northumbrian Mountaineering Club.”

Joe looked a bit sheepish. “His mate is actually a bit of a man of the mountains” Joe said. I said no more. The bothy man finished his meal and retreated to his tent, also pitched close by. He seemed not as impressed as one might have hoped by the name of the climbing club I belonged to.

We turned in for the night.

Next morning was bright and fair. With a long tramp ahead of us, we packed our stuff quickly. I really only wanted to look at the view as far as Stob an-t Sluichd, our first objective for the day, rather than at the map itself. The rest of the day could take care of itself. In any case, I wouldn’t blame Joe for a minute if he was exacting revenge for all of those extra peaks I dragged him up in the Lake District when he was too young to say no, I’m just glad he still wants to get out on the hill with me.

It was warm and sunny outside and Cameron McNeish enquired about our route. He and his mate also had a long day ahead of them. Nice guy, Cameron.

So, it was well into Sunday by the time we arrived at the part of the route I had most been looking forward to, the traverse around the head of the Garbh Coire from Stob an-t Sluichd to The Sneck.

Garbh Coire means ‘rough corrie’ and here rough describes quite literally one of the most vast expanses of wild, untouched mountainside I have so far visited in the Highlands.(I haven’t visited as many as Cameron yet) It is one great NMC County Climber

monster of a corrie. There below, in the swirling mists, we strained our eyes to identify two of the best known rock climbs of the Cairngorms, Mitre Buttress and Squareface. If you’ve looked at the picture of these in, for example, Classic Rock or the SMC Cairngorms guidebooks, don’t be deceived. These are certainly fantastic routes for the quality of line, immaculate granite and superb situation. They are also a big challenge in terms of access. The Sneck, the low point in the back of the corrie wall which provides easiest means of descent to these climbs, is five hours walking distance from any road. Our bothy was four hours away, so the reality is, in order to climb in the Garbh Coire of Beinn a Bhurd, it will be a long, long walk and a bivvy or camp. You will need settled weather too and maybe a day for the crags to dry out. It looked magnificent. I can’t wait to go back. Anyone interested?

Trevor Langhorne on Camillafoss, Lower Gorge, Rjukan

by Bryn Roberts March 2010

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The website includes various discussion forums, a photoarchive for members’ climbing photos, online guides for most Northumberland crags.

Indoor climbing: £1 off the standard entry price at: • Sunderland Wall.

• Durham Wall.

• Climb Newcastle (Wed. nites only).

• Newcastle Climbing Centre (Byker) • Morpeth Bouldering Wall Also winter season Wed. nights at Burnside college, £4 entrance fee, open to NMC members only.

NMC Website The NMC has a very informative website

www.thenmc.org.uk

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)

Contact Martin Cooper on 0191 252 5707

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

Order direct on the website (www.thenmc.org.uk) or contact Ian Birtwistle 07828 123 143.

• Northumberland Bouldering Guide The new guide, £12.50 to members (RRP £19.95) For the above 2 guides add £2 P&P if required. Contact

Logarska Valley, Slovenia, NMC County Climber

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!!!

March 2010

by Kin Choi page 26 of 26