County climber summer 2014v2 6 final

NMC County Climber

Summer 2014

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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, and hill walking in both. Meets are held regularly throughout the year.

The NMC is not, however, a commercial organization and does NOT provide instructional courses.

NMC Meets The NMC Members’ Handbook (available to all members) and the NMC website list the dates and locations of all meets.

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 is valid for six months.

Membership gets you:  Copy of County Climber (published four times a year) NMC County Climber



BMC Public Liability Insurance for climbing incidents Discounted NMC guide books Discounted entry at most local walls Access to the extensive NMC library Access to huts of affiliated clubs

Join the NMC Download a membership form from: www.thenmc.org.uk Send the signed and completed membership to the Membership Secretary at the address shown on the membership form. Payment of fees by GoCardless Direct Debit is preferred; it’s easy to set up at: https://dashboard.gocardl ess.com/api/paylinks/0872P 9H93J Membership Fees • Full £23 • Under 18 or in full-time education £15.00

Magazine articles This is YOUR magazine so please keep it running by writing about your own climbing experiences.

Everyone potentially has something to write about, whatever their level of experience or type of activity. Contributions from new members are particularly welcome.

The Editor would be happy to discuss ideas for articles, comment on rough drafts, or work with you to produce the finished article.

Send contributions to: magazine@thenmc.org.uk or direct to the Editor at: john.spencer@ncl.ac.uk

Photos Photographs for publication are also welcome. Please send as high a resolution format as possible, although the image may be resized for insertion into the text.

Summer 2014

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

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

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 Berney Woodward leading, ‘Bint There, Dun It’ (E1 5b) at Hoofer’s Geo, Pabbay (Stephen Venables)

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What’s in this issue?

Editorial Interview with Luis Cano (John Spencer & Luis Cano) Moroccan Diary (Adrian Wilson) A Week on Pabbay (Danny Carden) Adriatic Adventure: a photo-essay (Bryn Roberts) A Short Walk in Gran Paradiso: another photo-essay (John Vaughan) Jagged Red Line: Book Review (John Spencer) Club Business

p3 p4 p5 p8 p16 p20 p 21 p25

Wednesday Evening Meets The club meets outdoors every Wednesday night, weather permitting, between April and the end of September. Just turn up (bring your own equipment) and join in! The full list of venues (and the pub in which the thirsty craggers meet afterwards) is published in the Handbook and on the NMC website at: http://thenmc.org.uk/community/calendar/. If you’re after a lift or a car-share, or if the weather is bad, it’s useful to check the NMC Forums page (http://thenmc.org.uk/community/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/thenmc) or Twitter (@The_NMC) to find out what others are intending.

Weekend Meets (including accommodation where relevant, and meet leader)  13th–14th September, North Wales, Clogwyn Mountaineering Club Hut, leader to

be confirmed

Other Dates for Your Diary      

13th September, BMC Crag Lough Clean-up – see http://community.thebmc.co.uk/Event.aspx?id=3171 or https://www.facebook.com/events/253366944823892/ for further details 16th October, Brit Rock Film Tour, Tyneside Cinema – tickets £10 (£8 OAP), see: http://britrockfilmtour.com/ for further details (including a preview) 29th October, BMC-sponsored ‘Sherpa Lecture’ and masterclass with Kenton Cool and Neil Gresham, Northumbria University, further details to follow but will be free to NMC members December, date tbc, Reel Rock: Into The Valley, Tyneside Cinema 7th December, President’s Walk, venue to be decided, Ian Birtwistle (07828123143) 9th December, ‘In Shackleton’s steps across South Georgia’ a talk by Stephen Venables at the Literary & Philosophical Society (independent library) neat Central Station in Newcastle – further detail to follow but this will be free to NMC members

2015 Winter Weekend Meets Below are listed the dates of next season’s official Club meets. Meet leaders have yet to be identified.     

23rd–25th January, Cairngorms, Mill Cottage, Feshiebridge 6th-8th February, Cairngorms/Meagaidh, Raeburn Cottage, Laggan 20th–23rd February, Torridon and NW, Ling Hut, Glen Torridon 6th–8th March, Glencoe, Alex McIntyre Hut, North Ballachulish 20th–23rd March, CIC Hut, Ben Nevis

NMC County Climber

Summer 2014

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Editorial John Spencer

The summer edition?

Summer?! It’s nearly autumn – what’s going on? Yes indeed, dear reader, this ‘summer’ edition is coming to you later than usual, and certainly later than I had intended. My excuse is simple and, I hope, acceptable: I retired at the end of June and life has been something of a whirlwind since, what with outings to Glastonbury and WOMAD festivals, trips to Bristol, Devon, Scotland, and the Lakes, and some unfinished work-related business in the Caribbean (disappointingly little climbing in amongst all this: a couple of NMC evening meets, two glorious days snatched from the jaws of a poor weather forecast in NE Scotland, and a day in Bram Crag Quarry near Threlkeld)…..anyway, here goes.

You may have seen Spaniard Luis Cano, one of the newer club members, at the wall or on an evening meet, usually climbing with Pete Flegg. What’s remarkable is that Luis is blind, and on page 4 is a short interview with him (carried out by email) about his experience and the challenges he faces, both on the rocks and underground.

Although people have been climbing in the Moroccan Anti Atlas for over 20 years, it was a well-kept secret until relatively recently, but has now become one of the must-visit trad venues. In March Messrs Wilson and Vaughan headed south to sample the delights of climbing on the sunNMC County Climber

drenched quartzite. Adrian reports back on page 5.

After three consecutive trips to Mingulay in the Outer Hebrides under the stewardship of that old seadog Cap’n Catterall, this year the focus turned towards Pabbay. Although smaller than its neighbour, it sports equally awe-inspiring cliffs peppered with world class routes on near-perfect rock.

On page 8, Ulsterman and Honorary NMC-er Danny Carden gives an amusing account of the expedition.

Talking of retirement, since he joined the ranks, far from the experience being about ‘doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it’*, Bryn Roberts seems to have been a very busy bee. His most recent jaunt (assuming he’s not on the road right now) was earlier in the summer and took in Provence, Arco and Lake Garda, Venice and on into Croatia, to the Paklenica National Park, Split and some of the islands, climbing, walking, cycling (see below) and sight-seeing along the way, joined here and there by NMC friends, and picking up some bruised ribs in the middle of it all (mountain bike accident). His photoessay on page 16 brings the trip to life.

Meanwhile, John Vaughan, having had three trips to the Cogne area in Italy in winter, wondered what it might be like as a walking venue in summer; like Bryn he presents his conclusions as a photo-essay (albeit without words).

Finally, on page 21 I review a book, Jagged Red Spring 2014

Line by Nick Williams. I suspect you won’t have come across it, not least because it was self-published and has so far only been available on Kindle, so not exactly a mainstream publication. It’s a harrowing account of an expedition in the Caucasus that went disastrously wrong, but there’s also an interesting socio-cultural element to it as well, particularly topical since it is mostly set in Ukraine just after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Anyway, enough spoilers for now…..

Finally there’s the usual Club news, the main issue being the future of the Club’s relationship with Hadrian Leisure Centre So, although this is a relatively lean issue, the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity. Happy reading!

 *aphorism about retirement attributed to Gene Perret…..

A Moroccan donkey shelters from the rain – for an explanation turn to page 5!

(Adrian Wilson)

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Interview with Luis Cano Luis Cano & John Spencer

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself - where from, when did you come to the UK, what do you do?

My name is Luis Cano and I am 48 years-old. I am from Torremolinos, in the south of Spain. I moved to Newcastle in March 2013 because I couldn’t find a job in Spain after finishing my degree in history. Now, I’m trying to improve my English as soon as possible. I go every week to English classes in Wallsend; I go to “Action for blind people”, there is a Job Club there to improve our skills about job interviews, computers, self-confidence and so on.

Apart from that, I go to the gym three times a week. I also go climbing with members of NMC every Wednesday. I drop off my niece at school and I pick her up later everyday and I cook for my family. Sometimes, we go for a walk to the countryside at the weekends NMC County Climber

and we used to have dinner out in a pub after the walk.

When did you lose your sight?

I lost the sight in my left eye when I was 4 years old, I had an accident in a park with a swing. After that, I had some problems in my right eye and I had to go to hospital twice a month for six

Luis climbing on home territory

years to get it lasered. When I was nineteen years-old my retina got detached and I lost the sight in my right eye and I have been blind since.

When did you start climbing, and what are the challenges you face in climbing and caving?

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I started climbing by chance. In 1994 I went camping with my friends to a little village in the mountains and there was a climbing wall there. I tried and it felt amazing when I got to the top! I never thought I could do that but I did it! At that moment, I knew that I had to carry on climbing. I got in touch with a mountaineering club and started climbing, I also did caving, kayaking, trekking, sports on the snow.

Caving has been a special challenge for me but it turned out to be an amazing experience. I worked hard trying to learn as much as possible about the devices, knots, ropes, safety… and I have never had any problem in a cave. I know that it is a strange thing to do for a blind person but I enjoyed it a lot.

The Spanish Caving Federation stated that I was the first blind person in the world to do caving. The deepest cave I have been was near Ronda (a village in Malaga) and it is 300 meters deep.

What are your ambitions climbing-wise?

To enjoy myself! I know that I’ll never be a good climber but I like climbing. page 4 of 27

How did you come across the NMC?

guidebook supported this and claimed that rain was virtually unheard of. All this was precious consolation

everything was very wet.

Determined to get something done, we eventually headed up the Afantinsar valley as

I found the NMC on the internet after getting information from a staff member at the church wall in Byker. When I moved to England my sister helped me to get in touch with the club and she explained to them that I would love to climb again (I couldn’t climb the last five years because I was busy studying).

Anything else you want to say?

I would like to say thank you to everybody I have been climbing with (especially Peter Flegg) and all the NMC members for helping me. I would like to say sorry for my English, I have tried to do my best but I know that it is really poor… 

Moroccan Diary Adrian Wilson

Being an account of a trip to the Anti-Atlas in between 27th March and 11th April 2014 It was with considerable surprise that partner-in-climb, John Vaughan and I were flaking ropes onto cold, wet ground, avoiding patches of snow for the first climb of our trip. Surprising because we were in Africa for heaven’s sake, I’m wearing a belay jacket and gloves; all of the pre-trip hype had been of wall-to-wall blue skies and balmy temperatures; all the pics and information in the NMC County Climber

Reinstating essential supplies

however, as we found many excuses to avoid getting on the scoreboard, including frozen extremities, a broken helmet cradle and a lot of rather damp rock. We’d arrived in the early hours of the previous morning after a fairly “spirited” drive from Agadir airport, involving temporary mislocation along with four fellow climbers who’d been on the same flight. The ubiquitous sound of clanking hardware had woken us far too early on what turned out to be a cold, and later very wet, day resulting in a day of reconnaissance and assessing the hire car’s capabilities on the tracks leading to several of the climbing areas.

Day two started in a similarly un-inspirational way; low cloud, rain and low temperatures resulting in another reconnaissance trip, this time heading north along the Tizi escarpment, but Spring 2014

this has many single pitch routes a short distance from the road. At first acquaintance, the quartzite rock’s often glassy sheen is slightly off-putting but has very good friction when you commit to it. John led our first route of the trip, a bold to start VS, with an abseil descent from the top of a pillar. John and I had spent a week sport climbing on Kalymnos in 2012, we’d done several winter climbs together over the last couple of seasons, practiced selfrescue skills and attended many meets and crag cleanups, but this was the very first time we’d trad climbed as a team, which neither of us could quite believe; just as importantly we were now on the score-sheet for the trip!

The weather improved dramatically the following day and was much more in keeping with the guidebook

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pictures – clear blue skies and decidedly warm.

snack, King Tat! They would greet us each day with

down the valley; this is close to a schoolhouse which commands a very fine and inspirational view up and down the valley.

Three days of superb weather and excellent climbing followed during which several lessons were learned (but not necessarily applied!): 

 Essential Moroccan kit: King Tat!

We soon established a daily pattern, breakfast at the Kasbah with the rest of the group – an eclectic and seemingly ever-changing mix of mainly Climbers’ Club members brought together by meet leaders Paul Donnithorne and Emma Alsford, co-authors of the 2012 Morocco Rock guide, prolific new routers and dispensers of much knowledge and recommendations . We’d then visit the Souk El Khemiss in the nearby village of Idaougnidif. The local Berbers were, without exception, very friendly and welcoming; French is many Moroccan’s second or third language but between us we managed to get by with schoolboy French, gesticulation, pointing, charades and regular humorous misunderstandings.

We gave our custom to two of the local shopkeepers, one kept us fuelled with decent espresso and the other our lunch provisions, including the essential crag NMC County Climber

genuinely welcoming smiles and handshakes; despite the slightly chaotic appearance of the equivalent of a convenience store, you got the distinct feeling that they could provide just about anything from the shop given enough time to uncover it!

Once provisions were purchased we’d head to our selected crag/area and return to the Kasbah for evening meal and craic with the rest of the group.

Due to the size of the climbing area and number of crags and locations we were often as not climbing on our own and only once were we sharing the same route with others. One of the most impressive areas was the Tamza valley (erroneously referred to as the Samazar Valley in Morocco Rock) which has a rough track leading down it for 15Km+.

There are acres of rock with a huge potential for new routing. There is a majestic 200m+ high set of slabs, the Flatiron, which dominates the horizon when about half way Spring 2014

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You will typically locate the best approach route only when on the way back from the crag The vegetation can be described as largely hostile; spiky, thorny, impenetrable, clothing and flesh snagging as well as the irksome irritant milky sap of euphorbia (fortunately we didn’t encounter a lot of this) Being that much closer to the Equator, the sun is much higher in the sky than in the UK; even north facing crags tend to be fully in the sun from midday or earlier. Getting the right orientation depending on the weather is critical. Also think about the approach, some are up to 2 hours and you don’t want to be doing that in the midday sun if you can avoid it The cheapest and smallest possible hire car is the ideal vehicle for avoiding the ubiquitous Mitsubishi Fighter trucks and getting you to the climbing areas. Prescratched is perfect!

The heat can really take it out of you without you realising; I found carrying food and water on the multi-pitch climbs (which was most of them) a necessity to keep page 6 of 27

me going. An ultralight 15 litre sack was ideal

Tafrout, a large town about 45mins south and spent the

taking up residence in what looked like a sentry hut; I think he thought we were a bit mad for going out climbing in the rain!

The weather returned to perfect form for the rest of the trip but talk about contrasts, from 6 to 25°+C We visited several more outstanding areas: White Dome, Dragon Buttress, Greek Buttress, Tramline Buttress, Icebox Canyon, generally climbing superb 3 star multipitch HVS routes (up to 250 metres); despite this we’d really only scratched the surface. This is a wonderful destination and the whole experience was superb: the hefty wild boar which ran out in front of the car; the random football pitch in the middle of nowhere; soaring eagles over The Flatiron – a breathtaking and imposing sweep of slabs the White Dome with the High Atlas mountains in the but expect some day visiting the market, distance; the (generally!) significant wear and tear having a very chilled meal fantastic weather; the catering with most of the rest of the and hospitality at the  Although some folk were group, avoiding carpet sellers Tizougarne Kasbah; climbing in shorts and and failing to find any decent refuelling the car from a 5 topless, you definitely coffee.

The following day litre vegetable oil container at needed full cover for remained cold and overcast the local “garage”; our most of the approaches with drizzle and heavier attempts to obtain a decent  The descents varied from outbursts. We found a south espresso; route finding abseil, scrambles (some facing crag (Orange Wall) in challenges which saw us both quite airy), vegetationthe Tagzene area and got a climbing slightly outside our filled gullies to Berber couple of routes in.

Most normal terms of reference; trails others had another rest day as the humility and friendliness  But most of all…the the higher crags remained in of the locals who no doubt climbing is superb! the cloud all day. We couldn’t comprehend our We had an enforced rest encountered a donkey that desire to partake in a day due to rain and went to probably had the best idea by seemingly pointless exercise NMC County Climber

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while they toiled in the heat, often tending hillside terraces, harvesting herbs; the

gets lost or broken and you don’t have a spare, some improvisation may

Morocco Rock plus PDF supplement

John on The Marrakesh Express (E1 5a), Tramline Buttress, probably my standout route of the trip

apparently chaotic method of Moroccan roadworks; the collective experience shared with like-minded souls from the Climbers’ Club and others, including a multinational party camping whose camp had seen snow, heavy rain and debilitating high temperatures in a very short period of time. There is much to return for and I’m pretty sure that both John and I will return at some point – possibly an NMC trip?

Some (possibly) useful details:  We flew Thomson from Manchester to Agadir, with extra 5kg luggage each to allow us to take a few luxuries and spares.

There is no local climbing scene so if it NMC County Climber

be necessary! 

 We stayed at Tizourgane Kasbah. Bed, breakfast and evening meal inclusive price; food was very good (http://www.tizourganekasbah.com/ email: tizourganekasbah@yahoo .fr), contacts are Malika and Jamal

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We hired a car from Ahmed Jakani at First Driver which was painless, inexpensive and very efficient. He met us at the airport out and back. jakani31@gmail.com

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The guide book we used was the Paul Donnithorne and Emma Alsford’s Spring 2014

(http://www.moroccoroc k.com/).

A Week on Pabbay Danny Carden

“Days such as these are indeed rare, but through them one leads life to the full. The worries of a modern civilised existence vanish into thin wraiths of unreality and we are back in the dawn of history among the gods, giants and mysterious animism of our remote forefathers, when sagas like Beowulf and the Norse Eddas were composed...”

J.H.B. Bell1

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Climbing on the Bishop’s Isles, the small archipelago off the southern tip of Barra

the highlight of what was a very good year.

by a sole, ruined stonehouse nestling in the machair.

Hauling kit, Pabbay (John Spencer)

in the Outer Hebrides, is a true cragging adventure. Few British rock trips require such planning, or instill such a sense of excitement. Despite being in the UK, the journey itself is a transport enthusiast’s dream, often taking more than a day. For our team of 12 it involved trains, coaches, over-filled cars, big boats, little boats... and feet. Yet, as is obvious as to anyone who has enjoyed trips to Pabbay or neighbouring Mingulay, it’s a mission that’s entirely worthwhile – with the numbers returning to the islands testament to the lasting impression they make on all who visit.

On May 24th this year, we set off for Pabbay. It was to be my first time on the island, and I was buzzing; my head filled with friends’ tales of fantastic roofed crags above the sea, with big, solid jugs and gear to match. And the previous year’s spectacular trip to Mingulay, when we were the only 24 people on the solitary island in the Atlantic, with next stop America, was undoubtedly NMC County Climber

Professor John Spencer, our effervescent2 team leader, had heard in advance that we may not be alone this year.

Despite his warning, I still felt a pang of disappointment when we found Calmac’s Oban-Barra ferry packed full with what appeared to be enough climbers to clog up Stanage, let alone a two-mile wide island. Fortunately, the wily Prof had negotiated an onward crossing from Barra that evening, and as we disembarked we were immediately met by our second vessel of the day - the considerably smaller Boy James. Captain Donald seemed more cheerful, friendly, and weighed down with gold jewellery than last year. And no wonder, as he and young sidekick Dooey, are the sole providers of lucrative charter trips to the Bishop’s Isles.

There were some sleepy travellers on board during the 40-minute journey south, but everyone was soon on their feet as we rounded the Róisinish peninsula and the stunning white sands of Bàgh Ban came into view, backed Spring 2014

Ours was an unusual team, representing a broad spectrum of experience, age groups and backgrounds. In many ways, the pressure was on the young guns - Ed Sciberras, Ursula Balderson, Neil Morbey, Joe Spoor, Eamon Quinn and myself. I doubt I was alone in feeling a little intimidated that night in the knowledge that there were four men at least twice my age getting off the Boy James who could climb just as, if not harder, than me.

And how could my tales of derring-do on 10-metre grit edges compare with their high mountain epics?

Watching The Prof, John Hall, Berney Woodward and Stephen Venables confidently striding up the foreshore while I slipped about with an ill-advised suitcase, I couldn’t help wonder if this was about to be a humbling week. And then there was Adrian Wilson and Roger Newell; experienced climbers themselves.

After a bit of debate about whether to set up home in the midgey, lumpy, weed-filled page 9 of 27

trench on the muddy stream bank, or the picturesque flattopped grassy knoll overlooking the beach, the young guns won the argument and we camped on the latter. Barring two continental climbers camped well away from us, we were alone.

And knackered.

Straight to bed – the forecast was good and routes were waiting!

Perhaps as an act of charity, the Messrs Hall, Venables and Woodward then showed that even veteran hardnuts can make mistakes. To be fair to each of them, they had excuses. It was Day One. It was a new

The splutter of the Boy James was a rude awakening. It seemed bloody early, yet the first of two dozen members of the Climbers’ Club were already noisily dragging their bags up Danny and the Mighty Quinn heading off the rocks. in search of adventure Quinn and I (John Spencer) quickly up the hillside, deciding that the friendlycrag for us all. And there was looking Banded Wall would no warning sign at the top to be a good spot to blow away remind that: ‘When doing an the cobwebs. The abseil went 80-metre abseil into an island smoothly and after a minor sea cliff, we recommend detour when I ignored the taking at least one rope.’ giant flake belay mentioned Quinn and I, whose combined in the guide, and an total of 56 years may not occasional grumble about equal any of this trio’s why I’d instead opted for the individual ages, made little shit-infested barnacle-level attempt to hold back the we were back on route and laughter as we hung off our Quinn was ready to storm up lovely belay, our ropes nicely the first pitch proper of coiled, as one by one they Spring Squill, a steep four (?) each joined us on the star E1. increasingly-snug ledge, without a rope between them!

NMC County Climber

Spring 2014

We did helpfully console them that when they get a bit of experience like us, they’ll not make such silly mistakes.

At that point, and without any further discussion, the first Briton to climb Everest without oxygen stylishly soloed off on a long sea-level traverse to sort their predicament.

Quinn and I went on to enjoy Stealing a Seal’s Gaze (E1) and Corncrake Corner (HVS). Many others were bowled over by Spooky Pillar, a HVS which tackles an unlikely-looking arete.

The slabbier last 20-metres of Banded Wall routes slightly detracts from their excitement, but it still has many fine lines on juggy rock in a striking situation.

Meanwhile, Ursula enjoyed her first experience of ‘being Morbeyed’. On this, her seacliff-leading debut, Neil dropped a brand new Camalot on the initial abseil, got them both ‘shallow water soloing’ a VS (with Ursula carrying all 120 metres of rope), and – as it was a day ending in Y - got his cock out as he attempted to retrieve the cam from the drink. He’s truly one of a kind, that man.

By day two, Quinn and I were already feeling surprisingly trashed, so we opted for the amenable Poop Deck, following others’ rave reviews the evening before.

It’s a small crag but has some of the most immaculate rock in Scotland, with lines and a grade range to suit all tastes.

Stand-out routes were the tough Illegal Alien (HVS), Who Shot RJ (E2), the sustained jug-fest Corncrakes for Breakfast (E2), and the extremely pokey and page 10 of 27

technical Pause for Jaws (E2). On the latter route, I admit to having been a

unreality”. Despite the island being busy during our trip, it’s amazing the effect just

And it was here that Roger gave a masterclass in controlled trad leading on the

The ‘unusual’ team (John Spencer)

slightly impatient belayer as Quinn set what is surely a gear-placing record - any rise on 13 pieces in seven metres anyone?!....But seconding, I was glad I’d kept my big mouth shut and my frustrations to myself. Most of the gear was purely decorative, and the climbing was rock hard. A fine lead from the mighty Quinn!

Thereafter, days began to blur surprisingly quickly and my memory – even just two months later - descends into that lovely dozy scrapbook of images I associate with extended trips away.

Although he was talking of a spring ascent of an empty Tower Ridge, I can see what Bell was getting at when he talked of the “thin wraiths of NMC County Climber

being there has upon your brain, as if your mind has suddenly been set free to wander in whatever way it fancies.

Despite the breakfast hubbub in the campsite each morning, Pabbay’s routes absorbed the large numbers with surprising ease, emphasising the abundance of quality rock. Hoofer’s Geo offered quality gneiss to rival the Poop Deck, and a friendly atmosphere, particular given the tendency for lunching parties to offer gentle encouragement from the opposing wall of the dyke.

For those operating in the lower E-grades, Hoofer’s Route and Bint There, Dun It (both E1) and Fracture Clinic (E2) are not to be missed.

Spring 2014

uber-classic, Sugar Cane Country (E4). Despite electing for a tough, very bold direct start, and climbing slowly in the heat of the midday sun, his ascent was solid, steely and never in doubt. Joe and I had the pleasure of just about scrabbling up it after him, with the comfort of a rope above our heads. Such rock!

Such moves!

The one route that did have queues was Prophecy of Drowning (E2). Tracing an arcing line along the left edge of the Great Arch, it must rank as one of the finest lines of its grade in the world. I think everyone felt it was worth the wait. For some of our team, excitement to get on ‘the big one’ almost got page 11 of 27

and it’s deserved. Even more so than Mingulay, the rock is something special.

the better of them.

A

On our only slightly drizzly ‘rest day’, Joe, Roger, Quinn and I took a nosey over to Róisinish – an island just 15 minutes’ walk from the campsite, via a jump over a tidal trench. Perhaps due to being shorter, and less serious, the routes felt considerably tougher for the grade than elsewhere. Joe and I got shut down on Plan B (E2) but the other routes offered excellent butch moves and we even plucked out two good new lines, What is Love? (HVS) and Baby, Don’t Hurt Me (E1) – names inspired by an impromptu, and groggy, philosophy session led by Morbey morning. We didn’t Danny leading ‘Who Shot RJ?’ (E2 5c), The Poop Deck peruse much of the rest (Stephen Venables) of Róisinish, with elbows beginning to potentially lethal combination The one benefit of the ache, and Bonxies3 showing of a semi-static in-situ belay enforced pauses was that an increasingly close interest to anchor the descent line and when nature came calling for in our presence. the chafing of an innocuous Quinn on the only slabby flake some 20 metres down section of the entire 115On the final day, Quinn the face resulted in alarming metre route, it meant he had had earned the chance to damage to the abseil rope all the more reason to escape my compulsive after ‘only’ half a dozen folk traverse ten metres on a impatience and instead ‘be had used it. Eek. scenic detour to the very lip Morbeyed’. So I teamed up of the arch. Once there he with Ursula for a trip to the While we dozily waited in enjoyed surely one of the nicely-titled Big Bloc Sloc. It the sun for our turn to take on finest piss spots in Britain, was a dreamy day, with flat the arse-twitching abseil in to without sullying this great calm seas, a gentle southerly, route for the party below. and gneiss crystals twinkling Prophecy, Quinn and I were in the sun. We ticked off treated to a flypast by a sea In truth, Prophecy is Immaculate Conception and eagle en route to Mingulay, straightforward enough bar Head-Bred-Ian – two E2s of soaring low over the small one tough section on the the finest quality, with just table top of an island, second last pitch.

But every enough gear to maintain Heisgeir A-Muigh. The day pitch is a complete joy.

The enjoyment. Spurred on by our felt just perfect, as did the word ‘immaculate’ pops up a success and imminent route, other than a slightly lot in the guide to Pabbay, departure, we abseiled into ‘considered’ party up ahead.

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the awkward sea level belay of Lifeline (E3).

Its delicate and technical start, with the distinct possibility of a cold bath should you fluff it, and the soaring hand crack above, were a real highlight of the trip.

Elsewhere among the party, Roger made another calm and impressive ascent, this time of The Hebrudean (E5) at the Bay area. Ed and Adrian were storming up routes at several venues, despite Adrian’s nastily twisted knee. And two of the veterans took on the terrifying 90metre free hanging abseil into the Grey Wall Recess.

Fortunately, they got out again, via UEi, an E2 that left a smile on their faces well into that

The damaged rope (John Spencer)

While the climbing was mind-blowing, just the experience of living on an uninhabited island for a week was incredibly rewarding.

nothing to do with ropes and rock. The snorkelling was amazing, with lively kelp beds and colourful underwater trenches. It was

rd

Two (CC) parties on the 3 (crux) pitch of ‘Prophecy of Drowning’ (E2 5c) (Stephen Venables)

evening. Drink was taken.

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Perhaps it’s a sign that I’m getting older, but my fondest memories of the trip had Spring 2014

particularly tickling to watch Joe literally ‘rip the arse out’ of my offer to loan him a page 13 of 27

wetsuit one evening. The ageing suit – a hand-medown from a young cousin –

With Kev Howett’s definite guide imminent, and the word well and truly out

during a week with the amazing weather we had.

An Irish fella on ‘Immaculate Conception’ (E3 5c), Big Bloc Sloc (John Spencer)

simply wasn’t ready for a man of Joe’s stature.

Seeing snipe zoom past outside the tents, or watching the sun go down around our (literally) rubbish fire on the beach, was just perfect.

And during the last pee before bed, particularly after a little evening refreshment, it was fun to listen to the croaking but invisible corncrakes and wonder what life on Pabbay – ‘the hermit’s island’ – must have been like for the last family to live in that stone house in the 1920s, or for the Iron Age settlers whose ruins can still be seen on Róisinish. Were they “living life to the full” as Bell put it? Or was it a tough, solitary existence? Or both?

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via the happy tales shared by climbers who’ve used Gary Latter’s book to full effect over the last half decade, Pabbay and Mingulay in late spring are perhaps not the haven of tranquility I’m told they once were. During our week, with up to 42 people on Pabbay (with another 30 over on Mingulay, apparently) it felt like the campsite area was bordering on congested. With so many people battling for a solitary hole, the conversation turned faecal even faster than your average climbing jaunt. (In my view, a tidal solution is probably the way forward to the sanitation issue.) And it was startling to see how quickly paths formed, even

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What is clear is that Donald won’t take on the role of gatekeeper; guarding the islands from an unhealthy influx of huge numbers of selfish climbers, like us. And why should he? While this is not the time or forum to discuss the issue, it’s also clear – to me, at least – that ‘something must be done’. It would be heart-warming, and fitting, if climbers can take the lead and play a proactive role in identifying long-term, workable solutions to preserve these most special of places.

Safely back on Barra, waiting for the morning ferry to Oban, we had a reunion with the boisterous delights of Castlebay Inn. Just like in page 14 of 27

The campsite (John Spencer)

2013, local heroes the Vatersay Boys were whipping up a Saturday night storm. How wonderful it felt to stumble around the sweaty dance floor, aching muscles enlivened by the fundraising Lifeboat Whiskey – ‘The more you drink, the more you help’ – with our week of sunshine at an end, and rain battering at the windows….. 1.

2.

3.

“ef·fer·vesce. n 1. To emit small bubbles of gas.”

J.H.B. Bell, A Progress in Mountaineering, 1950 The Great Skua (Stercorarius skua)

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Adriatic Adventure A photo-essay Bryn Roberts

The campervan, on its maiden voyage, finds itself parked up in the Sarche Valley near Arco, north Italy. The campsite lies under the slabs of the Parete Zebrata and the massive overhanging face of Monte Brento, one of the premier base-jumping sites in Europe. The Arco area has masses of sports climbing as well as routes of full Alpine length and seriousness.

The author on top of the route 'Rita', 400m, 5c max on the Parete Zebrata.

This face has routes of 100 to 500 metres from easier classics such as Rita to long runout 'friction fests' to keep lovers of slab climbing happy for years....

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Three countries in a day - Italy, Slovenia and Croatia - saw me arriving at Paklenica National Park in the limestone mountains of the Velebit range, near Zadar on the coast of Croatia. The first week was marked by stormy weather, the 'Bora' wind creating havoc on the campsite, and a speed-climbing competition - the winning team climbing a 160 metre 6c+ route in 15 minutes!

Is this some sort of male climber's Nirvana? That elusive combination of rock, ice cream and women - all within minutes of the car in Klanci gorge, Paklenica

Mike Frost on the final slabs (variation finish) of Centralni Kamin, 180m, 5b on Veliki Cuk, high above the gorge (and crowds) of Klanci, Paklenica.

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The wonderful featured face of Anica Kuk, the showpiece wall of Paklenica. 350 metres high with both trad and bolted routes. A rib injury (from mountain biking at Arco) put paid to any attempt at this face, so any takers for a return visit?!

I travelled lightweight via Split and the islands of Hvar and Korcula to arrive in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The famous 16thC bridge, destroyed by Croat forces in 1993, has been meticulously rebuilt with UNESCO funding and is a designated World Heritage site.

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View from minaret, Mostar town centre.

Until recently, the Imam climbed the 96 steps five times a day to call the faithful to prayer.

'Meeting of cultures', Sarajevo - the point on the main shopping street where East meets West.

Sarajevo thrives as a multi-cultural city despite efforts to change that in the war of the 90s, when it survived the longest siege (over 3 years) in modern history.

One of the largest waterfalls in Europe, in the centre of the town in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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John Vaughan

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Jagged Red Line A book review John Spencer

“The Soviet Union collapsed. I threw myself into its chaos for the sake of adventure and survived a nightmare beyond my imagination.”

You’ve heard of Touching the Void – chances are you’ve read the book and seen the film (shame on you, by the way, if you’ve only seen the film and not read the book!), maybe heard the lecture, even got the T-shirt. Likely, though, you’ve not come across Jagged Red Line, a story that’s been likened to Void. Neither had I until I read a short review and interview with the author, Nick Williams, in the BMC’s Summit magazine. I downloaded the book (it’s only available on Kindle) for a longhaul flight, started it as the plane taxied, and couldn’t put it down. Unable to finish it before we touched down, I carried on after booking into the hotel at my destination; it’s that kind of book.

In 1993, in his final year of studying Russian at Leeds University, the author went with a group of fellow students on an exchange to Kiev, the capital of the newly formed republic of Ukraine.

In the early 1990s the ‘Cold War’ had ended, with the NMC County Climber

collapse of the Soviet Union whereby the vast communist ‘empire’, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic tundra to the steppes, split into 15 independent states, including Ukraine, the Russian Federation and Georgia.

Rather than concentrate on developing his language skills, however, the author’s main intention was to climb, leading to some tense moments as he went through

through the story. Another is the picture he paints of the austere and drab lives led by most of the population, with the inevitable shortages, queues, bureaucracy and corruption.

security on arrival with his rucksack full of climbing gear rather than textbooks; if discovered, the authorities would have assumed he was smuggling stuff in to sell on the black market. This suspicion of Westerners and the potential corrupting power of capitalism is one of several threads running

A variety of outings followed, first to local crags where he sampled the delights of competitive speed climbing and was chastised for soloing (considered too much of individualistic enterprise, as well as putting everyone else at risk), then to the limestone cliffs of the Crimea (described on the

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His search for a local climbing scene in Kiev took a while, via various false leads and dead ends, but he eventually found it under his very nose in the form of the University climbing club. He was warmly and enthusiastically welcomed into the bosom of the club, and started to forge friendships in spite of cultural differences and the language barrier.

The scenes and the atmosphere described at club meets will be familiar, with much ribbing and joshing, friendly competition and great craic (in addition to consumption of a lot of vodka, usually drunk as a troika, i.e. three shots, one after the other!). The universal passion and obsession of the climbing fraternity shines through.

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rockclimbing.com website as the ‘best climbing area in Ukraine and probably a future world-class climbing destination similar to Callanques or Verdon in France or Arco in Italy’ with apparently over 100 miles’ worth of cliffs and routes long and short, both trad and sport).

Key characters in the tight-knit group of passionate climbers are brought to life: Luka, the medic and lady’s man in his yellow trousers; Grishov, the elder statesman of the group and something of a stickler for the rules; Yuri, hostile towards and jealous of the author, both his climbing skills, and the attention he receives from the others; Kostya the wheelerdealer, always ‘on the make’ selling climbing gear and clothing of sometimes dubious provenance, cams from East Germany, climbing shoes from Russia, wires, fleeces, you name it; and his two companions-to-be on the fateful climb, Sergei, stitching away at his homemade tent, and Marco quietly strumming his guitar and singing.

In due course summer arrives and the time for the ‘big trip’, an expedition to the Caucasus mountains, where they will be based at ‘Camp Elbrus’. The journey across NMC County Climber

the steppes by rail and bus is long, but spirits remain high, albeit with tense moments crossing the border into

mountaineering is deeply connected with this strange word - Ushba, the mountain with strange and somehow

Ushba, ‘place of the witches’ Sabbath’

Russia as Nick was in possession of dodgy visa documents obtained from a drunken official.

disturbing name, which even local people, Svanetians, who live at the foot of it, cannot explain clearly.

Their target was an ascent of twin-peaked Ushba (4,700m/15,400ft), considered the most beautiful mountain in the Caucasus, if not the world, and the crucible of Soviet technical alpinism. To quote one website: “The majestic outline of this mountain fascinates, rivets your sight.

The geometric accuracy of the forms and tremendous proportions of this world wide famous Caucasian mountain do not leave any place for doubt here She is, The Queen of Caucasus, majestic, inaccessible, wilful and proud mountain – Ushba......

More than the one hundred years history of ascensions (sic) of this mountain keeps many heroic and dramatic episodes. All the history of Russian

Despite its beauty, the name ‘Ushba’ is variously translated as ‘the wretched place’ or ‘place of the witches’ Sabbath’. Also nicknamed ‘the Matterhorn of the Caucasus’, unlike that famous mountain, it has no easy way up it, and attracts notoriously fickle weather systems to boot. It is a dangerous mountain and each year (apparently) claims the lives of between five and a dozen climbers.

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The Director of ‘Camp Elbrus’, the wise and avuncular Maxim Ivan’ich, rumbles their plan to tackle one of the hard routes on the North Face (‘Rumours of ambition travel fast’), but with a figurative sigh exhorts them to be careful, do some warm-up routes, and stick to the basic rule: fill in the page 22 of 27

registration book with details of the intended route.

Nonetheless he is quietly encouraging, and glad the bureaucrats haven’t worn them down.

The proposed route (the author doesn’t name it, but I think it was ‘Mirror of Ushba’, a Russian Grade 6, the hardest) comprised an approach up ice slopes,

with the consequences of the accident in the face of stifling bureaucracy, the slow pace and poverty of rural life, and the grief, suspicion and incomprehension of relatives.

Nick and his friends acclimatise on a few routes of increasing difficulty on local peaks. One near-miss incident on a glacier approach involving some Russian climbers reaches the attention of the local media; the author is grilled by a reporter and his experience and ambitions questioned (‘Your Western techniques will not work here, young man. They’re far too risky.’), leaving a nasty taste in the mouth. He has some unpleasant dreams and premonitions and struggles to contain them.

The trio finally set off with their hotch-potch collection of kit (ranging from Nick’s rack of ‘modern’ branded gear to Sergei’s homemade tent) armed with a topo of the intended route on 1 side of A5, wrapped in cellophane. Access to the start of the route involved descending a huge icefall and crossing the border into Georgia. This was not only illegal, but potentially dangerous since, quite apart from the hazards of the icefall, a separatist war was raging in the region (the Georgia-Abkhazia war of 1992-1993, between Abkhaz separatists, backed by Russians mercenaries and Armenians, fighting ethnic Georgians; no, I hadn’t heard of it either! The inevitable human rights violations, ethnic cleansing, massacres and internal displacement were widely reported).

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Ushba’s North Face

followed by 12 rock pitches and another six on snow and ice to the North summit.

They get off to a good start, one climber leading, one seconding, the third jugging on jumars. However they are caught in a violent storm which they are forced to sit out. After 72 hours they realise they have to retreat or will perish. A harrowing account of the descent ensues.

No further spoilers, but you will have guessed that bad things happen. Then comes an epic retreat from the mountains, up the icefall, back across the border and down to ‘Camp Elbrus’.

There follows a protracted account of having to deal Spring 2014

Finally, the remaining climbers return to Kiev with their sad cargo, an overland journey that takes several days.

It’s an unusual book in a number of ways. Most of it is written in the present tense, without quotation marks.

During the retreat from the mountain, there is an ‘out of body’ element when the author is ‘joined’ by an imaginary mountaineer who comments, cajoles, and taunts him as well as giving him life-saving advice. There is a shift from first to third person when the immediate aftermath of the accident is being described, which works well as a device to convey the psychological maelstrom page 23 of 27

experienced by the author under extreme duress. There are no illustrations or photographs.

From the beginning you know something awful is going to happen, but the story is well constructed; what starts as a leisurely account of life in post-communist Ukraine, the conviviality of the climbing scene, the beauty of the countryside and so on, picks up pace as, in the words of one reviewer ‘you find yourself racing to see how the saga develops.’ here’s a fascinating back story to the writing of the book, which I gleaned from perusing the author’s website on which he has written several blogs about the process (an unusual feature in itself). In his words, on return from Ukraine he couldn’t talk about the epic, and ‘climbing became both my compulsion and my terror. A feeling of being on the edge became normality, as if I existed somewhere else, in limbo, staring into the abyss.’ The book is based on a six page summary of the trip penned shortly when he got home, squirreled away in the attic, only finally dug out again when he felt the right time had come. “This was a story I could not tell, but keeping it secret paralysed me. For 19 years the events of one long summer haunted my waking hours, while the horror nagged at my subconscious.

Slowly, I came round to the idea that writing it down might be the only way out.”

With a lot of encouragement and support from family and friends (helping ‘Bring me out of the darkness and into the light’) NMC County Climber

he then proceeded to draft the book, inevitably a painful process, involving seemingly endless revisions as it emerged from the recesses of his

Pocket Mountains series of handbooks. Apart from his mountaineering (he has apparently climbed all over the world, and led the first

Alastair Boardman & Heather modelling the new T-shirt on the appropriately named NMC Crack (VD) at Gardom’s Edge (Alastair Boardman)

memory. He made ‘some minor simplification in the description of climbing scenes in order for the reader to follow the technical sequences more easily.’ And it apparently took 3000 hours to produce the final version!

The author himself is an interesting person and something of a polymath. He describes himself as a mountaineer and writer, but is also a freelance consultant providing both organisational consultancy and individual coaching, small enterprise and charity mentorship (for example, at the present time he is apparently mentoring Glenrothes Cricket Club ‘to develop a multi-use sports hub in Fife’!), and public speaking. He also edited the Spring 2014

international expedition to post-Soviet Kazakhstan), he served in the French Army, and speaks Russian, French and Mandarin.

All in all I thoroughly recommend the book. I read it for the second time in preparing this review, and was as gripped by the unfolding drama, and captivated by the closely observed detail as first tyime round.

Bibliography http://www.nickwilliams.org/ http://www.rockclimbing.com/route s/Europe/Ukraine/Crimea/). http://www.letsbewild.com/mountushba-caucasus-mountains-georgia/ http://www.summitpost.org/ushba/1 53969

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Club Business Hadrian Leisure Centre negotiations (as published in a recent Newsletter – big thanks to Adrian Wilson for his efforts in sorting this out) We had a very open, successful and productive meeting with the Hadrian Leisure management. In a nutshell the big issue for Hadrian Leisure is the cost of route setting and the big issues for the NMC are having a financial liability for use of the wall when it is under-utilised by club members and that some members would like to visit other walls and/or have the routes reset more frequently.

The agreement that we have come to is as follows: 1. The club will have use of the climbing wall at Hadrian Leisure every Wednesday outside BST (precise dates will be published nearer the time) from 17:45-21:4; 2. The per use fee will rise from £5 to £6 per climber per session; 3. Hadrian Leisure will take the door receipts as full and final payment for each session (there will be no financial liability on the club as we have at present when turnout is low);

4. Hadrian Leisure will get 36 of the lines reset (all of the 6a and harder I think), hopefully prior to the start of the wall use at end of September; 5. The club will work with Hadrian Leisure to look at potential extra use of the wall (such as Monday evenings and possibly others) for the same fee for NMC members (but only for existing prospective and full members; new climbers must attend on a Wednesday evening first). This can be great for practising self rescue and the like as well as climbing. We can also look at the option of doing some route setting ourselves!

6. We will also promote and run socials in the lecture theatre which always promotes more members attending; Essentially this is an excellent result for the club it means we can still meet at other venues occasionally and "spread the word" with the rather fine new club tshirts and give members the chance to climb together at different local indoor venues whilst those that want can climb at Hadrian Leisure every week. The more we use the Hadrian Leisure facility, the more revenue is available to them to invest in future route setting. 

Autumn/winter lecture programme We are pleased to announce two lectures this the autumn/winter. Firstly we were successful in obtaining a BMC-sponsored session comprising a lecture from Kenton Cool and Neil Gresham, and a masterclass.

The former will take place on October 29th at Northumbria University, the venue for the masterclass to be decided – further details to follow.

Secondly Stephen Venables, Everest pioneer, author and explorer, and member of the Pabbay posse, will be giving a talk on December 9th at the Lit and Phil library in Newcastle about Shackleton’s epic crossing of South Georgia in 1916. Both lectures will be free to NMC members, but will be open to the public as well. The masterclass will be exclusive to members.

Club T-shirts and hoodies These are still available in a range of sizes. T-shirts are yellow, hoodies are red.

T-Shirts (men's and women's) £15 Hoodies £25 Contact Davva to order and/or for more information at: davva23@hotmail.com

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

climbing in Northumberland.

Now ONLY £2.00 Hurry while stocks Last!!!

Contact Martin Cooper on 0191 252 5707

NMC Guidebooks Indoor climbing: £1 off the standard entry price at:  Sunderland Wall.  Durham Wall.  Newcastle Climbing Centre (‘Byker church’)  Climb Newcastle (‘Byker pool’) - Wednesday. nights only.

Also winter season Wednesday nights at Hadrian Park Leisure Centre, £6 entrance fee, open to NMC members and prospective members only (see Club News).

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

NMC members pay a discounted price for any guidebook published by the NMC. Currently available are the following guides:  Northumberland Climbing Guide Definitive Guide to climbing in Northumberland. £12.50 to members (RRP £18.95)  Northumberland Bouldering Guide The 2nd edition, £12.50 to members (RRP £19.95) For the above 2 guides add £2 P&P if required. Contact John Earl on 0191 236 5922  No Nobler County A history of the NMC and

President and VicePresident strutting their stuff at Back Bowden on th the 30 July meet (John Spencer)

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