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About the Northumbrian Mountaineering Club (NMC) The NMC is a meeting point for climbers, fell walkers and mountaineers of all abilities. Our activities centre on rock-climbing in the summer and snow and ice climbing in the winter. Meets are held regularly throughout the year. The NMC is not, however a commercial organization and does NOT provide instructional courses.
NMC Meets The NMC Members’ handbook (available to all members) and the NMC website list the dates and locations of all meets. This magazine lists the meets arranged for the next few months.
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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:
Non-members: Are always welcome to attend meets. 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
magazine@thenmc.org.uk
Committee 2012/2013 President – John Dalrymple Vice Pres. – Richard Pow Secretary – Sam Judson Treasurer – Eva Diran Mem’ship – Gareth Crapper Hut Co-ord. – Neil Cranston Hut Bookings – Derek Cutts Magazine Ed. – Peter Flegg Social – Sarah Follmann Librarian – Eva Diran Web – Ian Birtwistle General: John Mountain, Andrew Shanks, Ian Ross, Adrian Wilson & Neil Morbey.
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.
Black & White Photos? If you received this magazine as a paper copy, then you are missing part of the picture as the download version of the magazine is in colour. To arrange for email notification that the latest issue of the magazine is ready for you to download, contact the membership secretary at: secretary@thenmc.org.uk
Photos Unless otherwise stated all photos in this issue were taken by the author of the article.
September 2012
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 Al & Catherine Horsfield at Dun Mingulay, 2012 by Neil Morbey.
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What’s in this issue?
Weekend meets 2012
Wednesday evenings meets .......................... 3 Weekend meets 2012.................................... 3 Glut of medals at NMC Olympic Peak Meet ........................................................ 5 In praise of Facebook, lol ............................. 9 Club News .................................................. 14 New Tricks for an Old Dog... ..................... 16 Crag Lough clean up................................... 19 Book Review Corner .................................. 20 Ground Fall, West Woodburn ................... 22 Falling, A Descent of Stob a Coire Mheadhoin, ..................................... 23
Wednesday evenings meets The last evening meet outdoors this year is on 3 October at Shaftoe, meeting for a beer afterwards at the Dyke Neuk pub. No need to call anyone—just turn up with all your own equipment. The NMC website has crag location details (www.thenmc.org.uk). Starting Wednesday 26 September, we climb every Wednesday at the Hadrian Leisure Centre, Burnside Community College, Wallsend - booked for our exclusive use from 17.45-21.45hrs. Bring all your own equipment.
You MUST contact the meet leader in advance, as any accommodation may be limited or already fully booked. Note: A deposit may be required to reserve your place on a weekend trip. 6 Oct 12
North Yorkshire Grit Chris Davis 07967 638 826
28 Oct 12
Kielder MTB Ride Neil Cranston 07907 298 147
15-18 Nov 12
Kendal Mountain Film Festival
1 Dec 12
President’s Walk John Dalrymple 01670 519 629
12-13 Jan 13
Cairngorms, Feshiebridge, Mill Cottage
9-10 Feb 13
Cairngorms, Kincraig, Milehouse
9-10 Mar 13
Cairngorms/Creag Meagaidh, Ballachulish, Alex MacIntyre Hut
23-24 Mar 13
Ben Nevis, Roybridge, RIASG
Note: meet leaders for the four Scottish winter meets listed above are yet to be arranged – in the meantime for further details contact: Adrian Wilson Tel 07970-823-483
Note: For Centre insurance purposes all climbers at the wall must be either an NMC Full or Provisional member. Members MUST show their membership card at the reception desk and pay the £5 entrance fee. After climbing we usually adjorn to a pub (eg the Shiremoor House Farm, The Cumberland Arms or the Cluny) for beer, food and a chat.
Hut Overnight Fee increase Hut fees were increased in early 2011, to cover operating losses. The new hut fees are:
More info on Burnside climbing in the Club News section elsewhere in this issue.
£5 for members £7 for non-members. These increases are effective immediately.
NMC County Climber
September 2012
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Glut of medals at NMC Olympic Peak Meet Dave Hume (with a little help from his friends)
A team of NMC rock athletes was in action in the Peak on the first weekend of August this summer. Our Olympic village was Stoney Middleton, at the cosy little hut of the Derbyshire Pennine Club. Barely 160 miles away, Team GB was getting stuck into the medals. In a reversal of last year's NMC trip to Derbyshire, where our
trip south prompted the national urban riots, this year our good vibes produced no less than 25 of Team GB's medal total during our weekend, 13 of them gold. That's got to be more than a coincidence. Meanwhile, on the grit, some members were putting in personal best performances, although a couple of the veteran class failed to deliver, with examples of poor preparation for gnarly jamming, lack of bottle, inadequate training and an over-reliance on prescription drugs. Quite a range of events was covered over the three days. Climbing, obviously, including the sub-disciplines of falling, failing, swearing, grunting, complaining, chickening-out, bleeding, giving pointless advice, and sandbagging, On the positive side, there were cases of top quality style and perseverance, confident cruising, encouragement of others, efficient and bold leading, and keeping calm and carrying on. You all know where you fit into the above descriptions. Then we had cycling: Gareth, his mate Ian and Elliott spent all weekend on the Keiran, or the Madison or whatever they call going round the countryside with your mates on a bike these days. They also spent some time on bike repairs and in a bike shop. This may be called the pits, but I'm no expert. We saw this trio briefly on the first day, but before you could say Hoy! they were off at high speed until Sunday afternoon.
Sarah using the wrong hand on Wrong Hand Route
NMC County Climber
The round-robin group stage in cooking saw Messrs Brosnan and Hume reach the final with a risotto on Saturday night, having failed to gain any climbing medals. Their coach, Mr. Blood, otherwise known as Brad The Bike, said, as he combed his sideburns, "This is about all they are good for now. They are past their best, and that was never good enough anyway".
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Now some hard facts in brief: Friday 3rd August: Early birds Dave and Gary work out at at Burbage North, dry despite forecasts. Struggled up eight routes, struggled to find that old gritstone form, and Dave didn't tape up so he ended up a bloody mess.
That's an overview by way of introduction. Here's a much more reliable account by some of the team.
Adrian Wilson writes:
Natalie and Elliott Rest of group were heading arrive Friday pm off to Plas Y and evening. Team Brenin for a NMC now week on the comprises Adrian, Sunday Natalie, and Elliott evening after Wilson; James the Peak Duffy, Simon Meet so this Phillips, Gareth saw quite a Crapper, Ian full car with Hooper, Sarah roofbox, Follman, Alastair bike, cycling Boardman, Gary and climbing Brosnan, Dave stuff and a Hume, Lucian Sarah Peterca, Heather Follmann for and Rhian Tait, and good Evie Tait the dog. measure. We Mike Blood cycled set off to over from Bolton, Stoney had a puncture, Middleton, missed Friday's ignoring the climbing but not the Goretex pre-meal G&T. sponsored Master of timing. NMC Blitz Stanage weather forecast, Saturday 4th which was a bit pants to say the least. August: Drizzly start, team joined by Nick Sillem, all bar the cyclists head to Bamford The usual round of prevarication and Edge, hesitant starts by some, weather and beer consumption ensued in the pub on performance improves over the day. Rains arrival, but Saturday saw the climbers head as we leave the crag. Beer at the Fox to Bamford and the mountain bikers House, a place that has dropped even the Gareth (aka Big G), Ian and Elliott), head pretence of being a pub. to Chesterfield to look at shiny bikes and gear whilst delaying the exposure to the Sunday 5th August: Weather looked forecast thunder storms. Big G’s pictures dry, group splits into three teams - Sarah, proved that they did actually do some Nick, Adrian, Natalie, James, Simon, and cycling a bit later. Lucian head to the Roaches; Alastair, Heather, Rhiann, Evie the dog, Gary and A steady drizzle started when we Dave to Stanage. Mike bikes it home to arrived at Bamford and persisted Bolton, while Gareth, Ian and Elliott pedal throughout the first climb; this took a off over the horizon. while as people got back into gritstone mode (or into it for the first time for some NMC County Climber
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of our younger members!). It cleared up though, to a glorious afternoon as the group spread out across the buttresses which we largely had to ourselves. I climbed with Natalie getting her back into climbing mode after an unintended lay off; she was on vigilant belay duty and we bagged seven routes to VS, probably the nicest lines being Bamford Wall, Bamford Buttress and Twin Cracks. A momentary lapse saw me tie on for Wrong Hand Route (E1 5c) where I spent some time failing to leave the ground; I didn’t even get to the bit where I would doubtless have used the wrong hand. There was more beer-fuelled debate about plans for Sunday at the Fox House on the way back to the hut, then at the Moon; the Wilsons sneaked off for an early night knowing that the decision would be made in the morning anyway. This resulted in a three way team split, Dave, Gary, Heather, Alastair and Rhian to Stanage, Big G, Ian and Elliott biking near Buxton and the rest of us going to the Roaches, the first time for most of us. It seemed green and uninspiring at first, not helped by the large group of children whooping as their peers abseiled a classic line. Once the first routes were done, everyone mellowed with the place as we explored the Upper Tier and Skyline areas. Despite a brief shower, the thunderclouds missed us and the three teams of Sarah and Nick, Simon and James, and Natalie and Adrian bagged a number of routes. Natalie and I did Black Velvet and Tealeaf Crack (S) then the nearby Aqua as a sop to the threatening rain. This had a green start, then a strenuous overhang before a pleasant, but unprotected, jaunt to a good belay. Natalie climbed the overhang, using a fine layback, then finished off the last few metres on lead. She had had enough for the day, so my last climb was a very impressive lead by Sarah - Safety Net, a 3star E1 5b with a tough start, balancy middle and committing top which I eventually seconded with significantly less grace and skin after attempting some sort of cross between a jam and a layback to gain the top flake. NMC County Climber
The remaining climbers re-grouped at this point, and headed home, but via Capel Curig for the Wilsons. Sarah Follman writes: It was a great group this time. Best climbing moment for me was the scary but aptly named Wrong Hand Route E1 5c that Nick sent me on at Bamford Edge. Didn’t think I was going to make the move. Probably the hardest move I've managed to do without falling off yet. The Roaches was good but really busy with groups. Quite liked it because the routes are longer. We eventually found that it extends for miles and the far end was much quieter - what a surprise! The last route we did was really good Safety Net E1 5b. Adrian and Lucian had to spot me for the undercut and reachy boulder start. Unfortunately, it continued sustained from there but with good gear. Was quite pleased to have managed it and the boys were as well. Good finish for the day. James Duffy writes: My early impression of the Roaches was big and green, didn't look inviting. At the end of the day we were all keen to return to this crag. Had a great weekend, hope to return 2013. Led six routes, seconded route. Alastair Boardman writes: The paragliders at Stanage were a bit of a distraction when climbing. Paragliding looks fun and temps me to have a go - it could be the ‘easy way down’ after a climb. Best bits of the Meet for me - well, I didn’t do any wish list or hardest stuff this year, just had a great time in the company of a good bunch of friends. Heather Tait writes: Alastair - never mind the paragliders, watch the rope! Arriving in Stoney Middleton, Alastair, Rhian and I went straight to the hut to nab
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our bunks. The important task of bunk nabbing completed we went to the Crow Chin area of Stanage as Alastair had climbed there last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The sun was shining and we had a pleasant walk in. I was excited to see Stanage stretching into the distance, all that rock! Wow, at last after several years
Adrian and Natalie
of wanting to visit this famous crag, I was here. I got straight into leading and led a couple of V Diffs; Kellys Crack** and Bent Crack*. Was amazed to find that feet just stuck to the rock, things that looked slopey and slippy were in fact quite grippy unlike our sandstone. Gear was pretty good too and there was plenty to belay from. I felt my confidence grow straight away. Alastair led October Slab HS4c**, a brilliant climb. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves until the drizzle started and a midge attack resulted in a hasty retreat. Back at the hut the crowd were gathering. Super fit Mike had arrived by bike and was being wined and dined by NMC County Climber
gourmet cooks Dave and Gary. Sat at the table with cheeks puffed out and plates stacked high they were making a noble attempt to pack away mountains of pasta. We enjoyed a cheerful evening of banter before retiring to our bunks - all except Lucian, who had to make do with a bench. Next day we were up bright and early, Gareth, Ian and Elliott headed off to do strenuous stuff on bikes and the rest of us went to Bamford Edge. As we arrived, guess what? Yes, it rained. Luckily the sun soon came out and we spread out to sample the crag's delights. Alastair and I found some great V Diffs and Severes around K Buttress before joining the others at Neb Buttress. This is where things got a bit silly for me. Despite asking for it, I failed to heed Adrian's advice and headed up Bamford Buttress S4a* in leaps and bounds until half way up I had that 'Oh No!' feeling; Where are the handholds! What about footholds? Did I really climb that far above my last bit of gear? Fortunately, Adrian belaying just above encouraged me not to look up or down, just concentrate on the rock in front of me and trust my feet. Gingerly, with the bit between my teeth I started off. Up a little bit, not too bad, more encouragement from Adrian, up a little more, oh dear, heart fluttering, more encouragement and‌ a little more... oh boy, still no gear... then a little more and at last, the top, I did it. Phew! When I got back to terra firma, you wouldn't believe it, but the guide book has a diagram of a fluttery heart above the description of the climb! What a surprise. Have made some new resolutions; look at the guide book before charging off on what looks like an innocuous climb and listen to what my
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fellow climbers are saying to me. Hmmm. Anyway, Alastair then led some great climbs in the afternoon before we retreated to the hut to share tales of our adventures and watch gourmet cook Gary at work. Sunday brought another fine sunny day, some went to The Roaches, Gareth, Ian and Elliott went off biking and, Alastair, Rhian, Evie the pooch and I joined Dave and Gary at the Popular End of Stanage where we enjoyed some fantastic climbs on Manchester Buttress and Black Hawk Buttress, concluding with the very friendly Heaven Crack VD***. A brilliant weekend spent in great company, Rhian and I had a fabulous time in what Alastair aptly describes as 'a huge playground for adults'. Gareth Crapper writes: We were impressed with Elliot's skillz on the mountain bike (with a Z), but he shouldn't get too downhearted when out with two aspiring giffers who have no skillz, but can cycle for a long distance! Mike Blood writes: Everyone made me feel welcome. It was my third time out with members of the NMC and for the first time I actually met genuine Geordie members. Dave's gargantuan spag bol was special and Gary's G&Ts were, as usual, stand out moments. Gary Brosnan writes: I don't remember a high point, but I do remember the nadir - being rescued by Heather and Alastair with a top-rope. I can't bring myself to say what grade the route was. Dave Hume writes: VDiff wasn't it? Evie the Dog said: Woof. Oh, and woof.
threatened to be a washout, but turned out to be a medalfest. Medal table: Gold all round: Gareth, for being Meet Organiser and disappearing for the whole weekend. Sarah, for leading the hardest routes of the weekend, with a bit of pushing from Nick. Natalie, for getting back into climbing with a vengeance whilst advertising ‘Gosforth Harriers’ on a t-shirt. Heather, for steady leading, for casually stopping to tie her laces half way up Bamford Wall, and for saving Gary's life at Stanage. Nick, for hitchhiking in and out of Sheffield both days to climb with Sarah and get the rest of us off the hook. Alastair, for being chilled out and never shirking his lead, and saving Gary's life at Stanage. Rhian, for being happy and chatty, and fussing over the dog. Gareth and Ian, for taking Elliott cycling and keeping him busy. Elliott, for putting up with the oldish guys on bikes for two whole days, and destroying the rotor on his bike. Adrian, for a fine contribution to this report, for driving on to Plas y Brenin and back, same again the following weekend, and paying for Elliott's shiny new rotor. Oh, and some good climbing. James, for continuous improvement of his leading, and some fine belay building. Simon, for reaching a very long way indeed on 'Reach', VS, at Bamford. Lucian, for giving Gary a good time on Saturday. Mike, for cycling from Bolton and back for one day's climbing, and being patient beyond the call of duty with Dave on Gargoyle Buttress. Gary, for saving Dave's life at Burbage North, for generous G&T mixing, and for outstanding services to risotto. Dave, for collecting the hut fees and overestimating the pasta portions. Evie the dog, for dogged obedience and not being a nuisance anywhere.
So there you have it. A completely true and objective account of a weekend that NMC County Climber
September 2012
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In praise of Facebook, lol John Spencer
I’ve written in praise of social media before (see ‘And then there were none’, County Climber, July 2011) and beg your indulgence in writing about them again. You see, I like Facebook, I really do. Yes I know it’s a great timewaster and encourages narcissism. Yes, I’m irritated by the continual trickle of new features like Timeline, dreamt up by the nerds where do they work from? their bedrooms? - imposed without notice on unsuspecting punters. Yes, I know about, and revile the pernicious personalised advertising (Funeral Services? – do they know something I don’t?), the hyperbolic exclamations (OMG!!!!!!!!!!), the mawkish sentimentalism (‘aw hun, hugs, ☺☺’) and the trolls (not worth repeating here). But being a gregarious soul, I love the connectedness of it all. It’s certainly the easiest way of contacting my kids and keeping in touch with friends and family, far and wide. Indeed, like many others, I’ve even renewed a couple of friendships through FB (and discreetly ‘unfriended’ one or two as well!). FB can be irritating and frustrating, but also thought provoking, stimulating and amusing and often makes me laugh out loud. Not much different from ‘real life’ then – and before you say it, for me, at any rate, it’s not a substitute for face-to-face interaction, simply a great adjunct. And as for Twitter... Anyway, there I was, in August, on holiday with family and friends on the Isle of Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides, enjoying mostly excellent weather and having a grand time. But the cottage had wifi, I had my iPad, so how could I not log on? And over the course of just 48 hours, the random postings of several FB friends who climb, most of them members of the NMC past or present, describing what they’d been up to, not only gave some vicarious pleasure, but also gave me pause to reflect on the amazing diversity of this NMC County Climber
wonderful sport, described by Lito TejadaFlores, of whom more later, as ‘An arbitrary game played for keeps. Not so serious, yet very serious. For real, but not quite for real.’ So what was happening ‘out there’? Well there was Neil Moreby, formerly of this parish but now in self-imposed exile in Bristol, talking up the forthcoming Bank Holiday meet in Pembroke which he was to lead, waxing lyrical about the virtues of said location (where, coincidentally, he is climbing as I write this) and in particular the pleasures of the deep water soloing apparently on offer. In the end he pulled the plug on the meet because of an adverse weather forecast, although it turned out to be completely off the mark - when it came to it, the very best place to be climbing over BH weekend turned out to be... Pembroke. Ah well. And here’s John Vaughan, commenting on his latest ‘beasting’ in a coaching session on Sunderland Wall at the hands of Johnny Brundle. I’ve seen Johnny in action, running one of his Sunday morning boot camps... my forearms scream at the memory, and I wasn’t even taking part! ‘If it’s not hurting, it’s not working’ (or some such) was the mantra. Obviously a marriage made in heaven for Mr V, for as I’ve got to know him I’ve come realise that behind that laid-back exterior lurks a veritable Grade A masochist, a lactic acid junkie no less! Further proof of his masochistic inclinations is that he continues to post weekly comments on FB about these sessions (see article in this issue) which invariably invokes a wind-up! Sarah ‘Uberschnell’ Follmann, taking a break from Whippin’ Hinnies (no not anything to do with 50 Shades of Grey, but roller derby – see below) posted about bouldering at Kyloe, seemingly for her first time in ages – ‘Now I just need to get good at it!’. This provoked a response from Adrian Wilson, ever ready with a witty one-liner: ‘Climbing at Simonside for the umpteenth time. Now I just need to get good at it!’ Very droll. Incidentally, the
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Newcastle Rollergirls are looking for both new skaters and new fans. Of Uberschnell, their website says: ‘This germanic glamazon makes eating up the laps look easy with those pretty polly pins. Just don’t get in her way or you might see Uberschnell’s ugly side!’ (see: www.newcastlerollergirls.org.uk/?cat=22). Be very scared, dear reader. Craig McMahon, another club member in exile, in his case in the Lake District, had posted a characteristically enthusiastic message. You will probably know that he and partner Vickie upped sticks earlier this year and headed west to start a new life running their family business, Crags (Climbing Rocks and Ghyll Scrambling) Adventures (www.cragsadventures.com/about/). It’s great to see the enterprise taking off – witness pages of photos of beaming clients, usually standing drenched in a ghyll, accompanied by exuberant testimonials such as ‘This is the best day ever, even better than my birthday. Can we do it tomorrow and the day after, and the
one after that?’ Meanwhile, Andy Birtwistle, Club elder statesman, posted a cryptic comment: ‘Five routes at Smalldale with Gary today. A tad on the humid side but very nice.’ ‘Smalldale?’ you ask, ‘Where the feck is Smalldale??!’ Well, it’s a limestone quarry near Buxton, described thus on UKC: ‘An open quarry with an impressive 20m+ central wall and smaller, lower quality walls either side. The main wall offers excellent mileage at f7a and above on generally sound, well bolted rock (but be careful with those large flakes and overhangs!).’ No I’d never heard of it either. Actually Andy seems to be a specialist in off-the-beaten-track venues, a FB posting only a few days before that having mentioned a visit to Turning Stone Edge in the Amber valley – ‘Very esoteric but good rock’ he wrote. We believe you Andy. UKC again: standing 290m above sea level, it’s ‘hidden away on a rhododendron cloaked hillside... with the occasional friable hold, usually on overhangs’, and ‘...overhanging thuggishness, but this is interspersed with touches of delicacy...’. But, it’s apparently not all E numbers and ‘VS to HVS climbers will also find more classics than they can shake a bowsaw at!’. Perhaps we should persuade Andy to lead a future ‘esoteria’ meet in the Peak District. Ian Birtwistle’s posting described an outing to a more conventional, if equally gnarly venue, the mighty Roaches. From the photos, both his and apparently ‘some from the older weasel’, including a few great shots of the boy himself in action on Sloth what a route - a good time was clearly had by all. Finally Tim Blakemore, Chamonixbased guide and former NMC member, posted about an ascent of the West Pillar of the Scheidegg Wetterhorn with colleague Rocio Siemens in a break from work, with a link to his blog
Tim Blakemore on Scheidegg Wetterhorn NMC County Climber
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(www.northernmountainsport.co.uk/index. php/eng/Blog/West-Pillar-of-theScheideggwetterhorn). The route is over 1000m and 40+ pitches long and according to the guide book is ‘comparable with the American Direct on the Dru and is thought to be one of the best rock climbs in Switzerland with a number of unforgettable pitches.’ Tim’s blog account tells a different story, a tale of dodgy rock and lousy gear, ambiguous route descriptions and difficult route finding, a bivouac with snoring Germans hogging the ledge, and finally a challenging and scary descent in the dark. And to cap it all, there’s a response from one of the (slightly disgruntled) Germans. Brilliant! However I was not moved to put the West Pillar on my tick list. Meanwhile, I was enjoying some very low key activity on Colonsay. We’ve been holidaying there with another family for 25 years (our 16th visit this time) and it’s become part of our respective family stories. It’s a beautiful island, to use a tourist brochure cliché ‘Scotland in miniature’, with some (wee) rocky hills, beautiful beaches backed by extensive machair, bog, woodland and working crofts, an intricate coastline, prehistoric monuments, subtropical gardens – and its own micro-brewery. It’s also very rugged and something of a geologist’s paradise, comprised mostly of metamorphic rocks such as sandstones, mudstones, shales, quartzite, but with outcroppings of everything and anything else – dolerite, pink feldspar, even a little gneiss. However, the cliffs are mostly small, with nothing higher than 30metres, and mostly around 10-15metres in height. NMC County Climber
A lot of the rock is shattered and loose and you feel it could just have done with an extra couple of million years in the oven! However, what’s good is solid, and there’s some excellent bouldering on the west coast. Over the years I’ve put up a few routes, as have others, notably Graham Little and friends. This visit was no exception – I ticked off a half dozen new lines between 10 and 20metres in height -
John new routing at Colonsay
nothing above Hard Severe so Dave McLeod’s not about to be knocked off his perch, but satisfying nonetheless. I also bouldered and did a little coasteering, which was fun and also revealed some possibilities for new lines for the next visit. September 2012
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Anyway, thinking about the wonderful diversity on display took me back to Lito Tejada-Flores’ classic essay ‘Games climbers play’, first published in the Sierra Club’s magazine Ascent in 1967, later republished in Ken Wilson’s anthology of mountaineering literature of the same name. Tejada-Flores is a Bolivian skier, ski writer and climber, notable among many achievements being the first ascent of Fitzroy and an early ascent of The Nose. The essay was not intended as an answer to the question ‘what is climbing?’ but to promote new ways of talking and thinking about climbing, and in particular climbing ethics. He observed that it was not a homogenous sport but a collection of different, if related activities each with its own set of rules, and he proposed a hierarchy of climbing ‘games’. The rules, he argued, are defined by the community and are usually expressed as a series of things not to do (place a peg, use a ladder, chip holds etc), as he said, ‘designed to conserve the climber’s feeling of personal (moral) accomplishment against the meaningless of a success which represents merely technological victory.’ Rules help maintain a degree of uncertainty as to the eventual outcome, although are not fixed, and evolve as the particular game matures. He defined seven basic games: Bouldering - which, he argued, had probably the most complicated set of rules, essentially because the stakes are so low. Interestingly – this was 1967 remember he asserted that ‘the number of climbers who specialise in it is relatively small’. Crag climbing – the highest form of expression of which at that time, in his view, was ‘played out’ in the UK and ‘scarcely practised as a game in the US’ at that time. ‘Continuous’ rock climbing – i.e. long, multi-pitch routes, possibly involving use of some aid. Big wall climbing – differentiated from ‘continuous crag climbing’ by the greater amount of time spent on the enterprise, and NMC County Climber
the fact that not all members of the team need actually climb. Alpine climbing – which not only tackled long and serious terrain, but exposed the climbers to the full range of ‘hostile forces’ and objective dangers present in the mountains. Super Alpine climbing – then a relatively new game, the climbers totally self-contained, demanding total commitment with potentially very high stakes, and finally. Expedition climbing – in which the rules are fewer, indeed anything goes, bearing in mind that the mega-expedition, with porters, multiple camps, siege tactics, oxygen etc were still the norm. He predicted, correctly, the demise of the expedition game, to be replaced by newly emerging super alpine climbing: ‘One can even visualise the day when, with ultra-modern bivouac gear, a climbing party of 2 sets off to do an 8000m peak just as today one sets off to do a hard Alpine route.’ And of course nowadays, having summited, they jump off and parapente back to base camp! In the 45 years since the essay was first published, the list of games and sub-games has evolved. At the two ends of the spectrum, bouldering is now one of the most popular ‘games’, and an increasing proportion of expeditions in the big mountains adopt a (Super) Alpine approach. In between, we have sports climbing, bringing with it as it did a new set of rules: headpointing /redpointing/flashing/on-sighting, even greenpointing!; we also have highballing, competition climbing, DWS, speed climbing, coasteering,(and an esoteric new game: bouldering on one rock shoe and one welly boot) to name a few other games. Wonderful in its diversity, and to quote Tejada-Flores, in its ‘delicious pointlessness’. He revisited the essay over 20 years later in a piece entitled ‘Alpinism as
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humanism’ published in Summit magazine (see: www.alpenglow.org/themes/ alpinism-ashumanism/index.html). He described the original essay as a ‘pre post-modern analysis of climbing as an intense, elegant, arbitrary game’ but admitted it had been too simplistic, framing climbing, as it did, as an essentially individualistic activity. In particular he had come to realise that the 1960s notion that one leaves everything and everyone else behind when in the mountains was distinctly naive. Climbing is at its heart a social phenomenon and everything that happens ‘on the hill’ has consequences for others as well as for ourselves, whether it’s fellow climbers, family and friends, local communities or the environment. As the man said, ‘Climbing is no exit from the dense tangled ecology of intentions and results we also call life.’ And in a funny kind of way that brings me back to FB and the opportunity it affords, in amongst all the WTFs and John playing a new esoteric game (with one welly boot and OMGs, the YouTube links to one rock boot) talking cats and ‘10 best goals ever’, the annoying intrusions by funeral companies and climbing gear manufacturers, to connect with fellow Change of phone number ‘conquistadors of the useless’, and I’m all for it. Now, if you’ll excuse me I Membership Secretary Gareth Crapper has need to log in and start posting... got a new mobile phone number. lol xxx
The new number is: 07825-457-416 Please note: The number listed for Gareth in the Members’ Handbook is now incorrect.
NMC County Climber
September 2012
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Club News
Winter Social Program
Bowderstone Hut Lease
Sarah Follmann is the organiser for the NMC’s winter program of guest speakers and other events.
John Mountain is leading the NMC team (consisting of Bill Renshaw and Stephen Porteous) negotiating with the National Trust the terms for a potential new lease. The hut lease expires in March next year.
Burnside Climbing Wall Derek Cutts
The Club has the Hadrian Leisure Centre indoor wall, at Burnside Community College booked for exclusive use on Wednesday evenings beginning 26 September. Members must show a valid NMC Membership Card (full or provisional) for wall insurance purposes. Members pay £5 entrance and can climb between 17.45 and 21.45hrs.
1) Sarah is keen to get your ideas on possible guest speakers. 2) Sarah also wants to know which members have slides to show in the forthcoming (date yet to be set) Members’ Slide Night. 3) Xmas events: Barry Imeson’s will as be usual be doing the Xmas quiz evening – where members form teams and compete for a prize arranged by Barry. The regular Xmas meal, held in a restaurant in town, Sarah is suggesting the best date would be Friday 30 Nov 12 – ie before all those work Xmas parties get underway. Contact Sarah on: 07896-305-855 sarah.follmann@gmx.com
Borrowdale Working Meet Neil Cranston, reports changes to the planned Hut Working Meet, the new date is:
Five of the rope lines have been reset since we last used the wall in March this year – this means 15 new routes. Further new routes will be set starting from midNovember.
Weekend of 28/29 September 2012
You can also climb at Burnside on Tuesday evenings from 18.00-21.30hrs at a cost of £5.50. This is not an NMC-only evening. You are also allowed to bring non-NMC members as guests.
Neil needs volunteers to help with the long list of jobs to be done on the hut over that weekend. The jobs include various painting tasks, some woodwork, sweeping the chimney, patching the chimney render, cleaning guttering and roof. Many hands make light work… so please contact Neil ASAP if you can provide any help on either or both days: Neil Cranston 07907-298-147 neil_cranston@sky.com
NMC County Climber
September 2012
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NMC Annual Dinner John Dalrymple
This years annual dinner at The Riverdale Hall Hotel was another good one. We had 28 people attending, pretty much the same as last year and yet again the food was spot on. It was particularly nice to see some members bringing along their families – potential new members hopefully! The highlight was undoubtedly the moment in Dave Robert's after dinner speech when he asked a rather rowdy wedding party from Tyneside on the next table to be quiet! A swift bit of presidential diplomacy saved the day. The low point, was I’m sure, my rendition of some obscure Dylan number in the lounge at around midnight. All in all though, it was a great night – don't miss next year’s event.
NMC County Climber
September 2012
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New Tricks for an Old Dog... John Vaughan
Early Days Apart from a rather uncomfortable foray onto the dark dolerite of Crag Lough on an icy November day in the late 1960s, my climbing career only really started in the early ‘80s, as an alternative to summer caving in Yorkshire. After all, I could be cold, wet and tired underground at any time of year, but it began to feel unnecessarily masochistic when it was warm and sunny up above. Like many newbies of that era, I was inspired by the articles and images in Ken Wilson’s ‘Classic Rock’, that coffee-table ticklist of quality routes for the lower grade aspirant. Occasional covetous glances were cast at the pages of ‘Hard Rock’ but I knew my place and it was gently returned to the bookshelf...
spectacular situation, all the while casting envious eyes at a party tiptoeing across the tenuous traverse of Quartz Icicle. Kipling Groove was intimidating but felt much easier than its reputation had led me to expect. Central Buttress rather lost its appeal when the block fell out from behind the flake with tragic consequences. I became comfortable at the grade, but as I teetered on the brink of the psychological ravine between HVS and E1, I moved south, gave up climbing and went back underground for the next four years...
I was never a natural climber and caving, being mostly a grovelling and hauling type of sport, had done little to develop any real sense of smooth rock technique. But as time passed, I watched, followed, led, made mistakes and survived. I gathered knowledge, experience and confidence, creeping up through the grades to the lofty heights of HVS. Hard Rock came back off the shelf and three routes came to symbolise the high-water mark of my climbing ambition – Dream of White Horses, Kipling Groove and Central Buttress... Dream was a revelation – comfortable climbing in a NMC County Climber
John Vaughan not doing too bad on a 6b in Sicily before any coaching by John Spencer. September 2012
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Back in the Game Returning to the North-east in 1990, a chance meeting with the husband of one of my wife’s walking friends rekindled the flame. Neil Brunger had climbed since he was 16 and was looking for a new partner. A few weeks later I found myself in Mallorca, grunting up steep bolted limestone with considerably less style than a threelegged donkey. I still wasn’t a natural climber but it felt good to be back on the rock, particularly under a warm Mediterranean sun...
and continental sport climbing, spiced with excursions further afield to the USA and Mexico, took me upwards into the territory of E1, 5.10a and 6b+. I still remember the elation as I pulled through the crux moves on North Crag Eliminate to claim my first
Having decided I might make a halfdecent rope-mate, Neil set about trying to stop me climbing like a wooden monkey on a stick (his own words, illustrated by one of those kid’s toys you buy in souvenir shops) and instilling a slightly more sophisticated understanding of movement on steep John on yet another 6b in Sicily by John Spencer ground. I got used to being shouted at, E-points, precursor to a steady flow of losing count of the times I was told ‘feet Lakeland E1s, including Totalitarian, high... get your b****y feet high... NO, Whit’s End Direct, Praying Mantis and HIGHER!!’. But it worked and as I grew other classics. A lifetime’s ambition stronger, I got bolder and we progressed achieved and time to switch into cruise from barked instructions to more advisory mode. Or was it? propositions along the lines of ‘a lesser man would put some gear in there John’... Latter Days We made a good team and over the next 10 years, under Neil’s patient guidance and encouragement, my technique improved and so did my grades. A mix of UK trad NMC County Climber
Fast forward to 2010 and an NMC trip to Mingulay the week before my 60th birthday. A new partner in Tim Nicholl and insidious thoughts about how good it
September 2012
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might feel to lead just one E2 before I got ‘too old to rock and roll’. Cue Sula on Dun Mingulay, technically a soft touch at E2 5b but in the most dramatic setting at the centre of Dun Mingulay, one of the finest sea cliffs in the UK. As I hit retirement age it felt like the icing on the cake. Or did it really? Returning to Dun Mingulay in 2012 with John Spencer, ambition was finally tempered by reality as I took three falls pulling through what felt like a sustained and complex crux sequence on Call of the Sea, my first E3. I’d finally met my match but by now I’d progressed far beyond my most optimistic early aspirations and was happy to accept that I'd reached the technical limits of my trad climbing ability - time to get out the deckchair, sit back and relax. But one thing still lurked at the back of my mind... New Tricks Over many years of sport climbing I’ve never managed to on-sight 6c. I've dogged the grade in the south of France, Kalymnos and Sicily but seemed to lack the required combination of route reading, mental strength, technical ability and endurance to pull off a clean lead. I've never been that interested in working a route towards redpointing - if it doesn't go first time, I might come back to it on another trip but more often than not I'd just write it off as beyond my ability. But those failures nagged and that unfulfilled ambition still demands closure before I can comfortably rest on my laurels... I continued to train hard on the local walls but seemed to have reached a plateau, constantly dropping back into my comfort zone and focusing on volume rather than progression. Something fresh was needed to break the cycle. I’d never previously considered more specific coaching but a thought began to grow. While I was now too old and knackered to bury myself in intensive power and endurance training, it might just be possible, with some expert help, to learn NMC County Climber
how to manage and apply the resources I do have more efficiently and effectively... Enter Johnny Brundle, Managing Director of Sunderland Climbing Wall and a man more used to coaching rising young hopefuls than aging wannabes. A brief discussion about my remaining aspirations and examination of my climbing style kick-started what have now become regular weekly one-to-one session combining training and coaching. The sessions are aimed at deconstructing and rebuilding some of my less efficient movement patterns and, in parallel, developing a whole range of minor improvements in approach and technique that should help me conserve energy, maintain momentum and climb smarter and faster... Each hourly workout is built round one or more selected routes, chosen to address particular problems or develop specific techniques like maintaining balance and flow, handling holds in the most efficient way or finding rests and keeping good body position on steep ground. Almost all the training is at or above my on-sight limit, forcing the pace with a mix of lead and top-rope work and there’s a lot of falling off!!! The pressure is constant because each time I make a successful redpoint we move up half a grade and that route becomes part of my warm-up routine for other wall sessions. Also in the mix are a couple of harder, longer-term projects at 7a+ that I’m working move by move and section by section from one week to the next... There’s a lot of new stuff to learn, much more than I expected after all these years, and it’s sometimes difficult to keep it all in the mind. If I’m struggling with a new technique, we’ll adjourn to the bouldering wall to practice heel hooks and toe pulls, or use the campus board to try new finger positions. In extremis, Johnny has even built ground-level replicas of hard moves so that I can work them under his watchful eye.
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In many ways, I’ve come full circle. I’m back to ‘learning by doing’ under the guidance and encouragement of an accomplished mentor and motivator. I’m back to being shouted at as my mind struggles to piece together and apply all the vital bits of information needed to make the next move. I’m being constantly challenged and pushed out of my comfort zone in a high intensity environment. As a spin-off, the hard work is also increasing my physical strength and endurance, although I’m not always sure my aching joints agree. I’m slightly fearful before each session, completely absorbed while I’m struggling with the moves and elated afterwards from the rush of endorphins released by the hard work and periodic success... Through all my struggles, I have to say Johnny has managed to demonstrate commendable patience, an infectious enthusiasm and unfailing confidence in my potential to improve...
Crag Lough clean up Mark Anstiss recently organised a route clean up (aka ‘gardening session’) at Crag Lough he is still compiling a list of who cleared which routes. The Hexham Courant newspaper featured an article on the clean up in their Friday 21 September 2012 edition. Mark knows that the following routes have been cleaned: Ash Tree Wall, S Back Alley, D Botany Crack, VD (top third) Bracket, VD Central Organ Pipe, HS Crescent Cracks, VS Face Route, S Helix, S (new path made to it) Impossible Slab, E3 5c Impossible Wall, E4, 6b Intermediate Treatment, E2 5c Jezebel, D
Future Days So is it working? Oh yes, although sometimes it feels like I take one step backwards for every two steps forward. But I’m having a great time, I’m really enjoying the learning process and I can see and feel the improvement. Time will tell if I can translate this into better performance on real rock but I’m quietly confident. We’re off to Kalymnos in October and I’ve got some unfinished business with a couple of 6c routes that need to be put to bed. I’ve made tangible gains and each milestone increases my confidence and reassures me that sometimes, even an old dog like me can still be taught a few new tricks!!!
Jezebel Direct, MVS 4b Left Organ Pipe, HVS 5a Main Wall, HS Main Wall Route 2, VS 5a (top third) Pinnacle Crack, D Pinnacle Face Obverse, S Raven Crack, MVS 4b Right Organ Pipe, HS (top third) Route One, HVS 5a Route Two, VD Route Three, VS Sinister Corner, S Spuggies Gully, VD Tarzan Buttress, various routes Wall and Crack, D West Corner, S Why Not, VS 5a Why Not Direct, HVS 5b
NMC County Climber
September 2012
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Book Review Corner Dave Hume
Fiva by Gordon Stainforth Can you remember what you were doing when the late Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon? I know where I was, having an epic deep underground in Italy, (ask me about it over a pint sometime!) but I know that some of you are too young. Gordon Stainforth remembers what he was doing in the summer of 1969 in this retrospective account of two young climbers having their own epic on a climb in Norway. By 'having an epic' I don’t mean experiencing Elvis leg on an outcrop where your mate can run round to the top and drop you a rope. Gordon and his twin brother, John, their progress initially sustained by the fearless self-assurance of youth and subsequently undermined by their inexperience, attempted an early repeat of a 2000m route called Fiva on Norway’s Store Trolltind, better known as the 'Troll Wall'. It is no exaggeration to say that on at least two occasions only good luck kept them alive; this is the compulsive, uplifting story of their prolonged struggle for survival.
It really is a page-turner of a book. The story is very well-written and very easy to read, a combination of virtues which placed me in the predicament of not wanting to stop reading but not wanting to reach the end. It is well-constructed: to paraphrase Kenneth Wolstenholme, I thought it was all over, but it wasn’t yet. It’s also inspiring: like all good travel writing it made me want to go there and climb, although I’d prefer my adventures without such a massive capital ‘A’. Still, how about Norway next year? Published as paperback in 2012 by Golden Arrow Books at £9.95, available through Amazon and other online outlets for about a 'fiva'.
And while on the Norwegian theme… my favourite climbing book of last year was Tony Howard's "Troll Wall", an account of the first ascent in 1965. Vertebrate Publishing, 2011.
NMC Library: The committee has decided that the guidebook library needs to be updated. Members can claim back the cost of the purchase price of a new guide for a climbing area if the club does not already have the copy – the book will be added to the library after your trip. You should ALWAYS check first with Librarian Eva Diran whether you can claim the back the cost of the book. Eva Diran: 07824 627 772, ediran@hotmail.com
NMC County Climber
September 2012
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A Canvas of Rock
by Mark Radtke
It's no surprise that a climbing autobiography tells the story of the author's early days and how his passion for climbing developed. Mark Radtke's story covers an extraordinary period for rockclimbing through the 70's, 80's and 90's. This was a time of a rapid rise in levels of difficulty, being pushed by a small group of climbers, and it led to clashes of personalities and ethics typical of any period of rapid change. The author chronicles this period in a refreshing and honest style. He was there, at the sharp end, yet there is no grandstanding by him here. Some NMC members will know a lot more about the hard trad scene of those decades than I do, and will know well the characters and routes Mark writes about. It is a fascinating read, with loads of climbing action, but what for me sets this book apart from other autobiographies is that Mark tackles some aspects of climbing that ring loud bells with anyone who goes climbing at any grade.
Scar to the Blue Mountains of Australia. Get your partner, mum or kids to treat you for Christmas! Published as Hardback in 2012 by 2QT Publishing at £25, available through Amazon and other online outlets for £15£20. You can also buy it direct from Mark at: enquiries@eclipse-management.co.uk
You know that feeling when you are pushing the boat out on a climb? When the word 'risk' gets connected in your head to the words 'injury', 'pain' or 'death'? Mark describes how risk-taking can give you a payback in the form of enhanced awareness and enhanced performance you become more alert to every feature of the rock around you, your balance, finger strength, reach and flexibility exceed your expectations in the will to survive. Or how, when you are in the mountains on snow, ice or rock, there are times when you have an intuition that things don't feel right and you back off, go down, change route? Mark argues that such awareness is heightened in adventurous and risk-laden situations, and talks about the bonuses and price of 'adventure' lifestyles. His point of view is a refreshing antidote to the pathologically risk-averse society we live in - risk can be good for you! Very highly recommended. It is beautifully produced in hardback, wellillustrated with his photos from Gordale NMC County Climber
September 2012
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Ground Fall, West Woodburn September 2011
Voices in the dark, “Reach up higher with your right”, from above,
Martin Cooper
“Come on Ed!” This from below, as the climber reached high for an
A week of high drama, nine eleven remembered
Invisible hold, darkness obscuring, watchers shivering, muscles
So many New Yorkers saying it was those who had jumped
Straining, nearly there, reaching again as flight threatened fight,
That had seared the most indelible impression. Remnant
A dark shape falling, gear ripping, fear as he fell, ground rearing.
Of a hurricane blasting Britain, reached into Kyloe Wood
Dark shapes huddled the fallen body. How bad? He was laughing-
Where I hung on defiantly, eyeballing the Crack of Gloom.
One piece of gear and the stretch of the rope had saved him from earth.
Now darkness crept across heather-clad moor, bringing cold
The moon rose above the crag, more than mirth, rucksacks packed,
To chill the fingers, where an hour before the warm autumn sun
We descended through lessening light, headtorches gleaming pitifully bright,
Had bathed the crag in orange glow, last of the summer’s light.
Pleased to return, Ed safe, none injured, enough for one night.
High on Ridsdale Wall, a lone climber peered through the dark, Sending suddenly pulses racing as his route became a fight.
Ridsdale Wall, E1, 5b East Woodburn takes the first big roof
NMC County Climber
September 2012
by Martin Cooper
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Falling, A Descent of Stob a Coire Mheadhoin,
Force of nature only spins me down the Slope, ice-axe flailing, body, head, arms
Martin Cooper, April 2006
Colliding, with rock, mind spinning faster, I know this is not good.
The mountain, itself inanimate, holds No malice, snow and ice- precipitation.
I land in deep snow, dazed, shaken,
The sun brings warmth, its bright being
Unsure. “Are you alright?” Mike shouts,
Reflects the new snow, drifted white.
Head hurts, blood, ice-axe gone, wrist That should hold it, broken, smashed.
To us, this fatal combination seems Gift from above, blue sky, white pristine
Not alright, we descend slowly. Mike calls
Snow, slopes where we can elope. We call
For help, I stumble, knee ligament tearing
Them, Stob a Coire Mheadhoin, and hope.
My dazed brain reeling, no idea, just snow. What bloody mountain is this? Where’s Joe?
Later, after much thrashing through thigh-deep Drifts, summit still not achieved, sun lower,
I have fallen but will now descend more safely,
We emerge onto a narrow plateau, decide
To a safer break, from mountains, to contours
To descend to the west, where less snow will be.
More gently spaced, to a world I like less. Stob a Coire Mheadhoin doesn’t care.
But here the slope is icy, unfriendly, steep. Crampons strapped I peer down into the deep To see if we can safely go. Instantaneously I have gone, my new companions gravity, sleep.
Stob a Coire Mheadhoin NMC County Climber
copyright munro magic.com September 2012
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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, £5 entrance fee, open to NMC members only.
NMC Website The NMC has a very informative website
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)
For the above 2 guides add £2 P&P if required. Contact John Earl on 0191 236 5922 • No Nobler County A history of the NMC and climbing in Northumberland. Now ONLY £2.00 Hurry while stocks Last!!! Contact Martin Cooper on 0191 252 5707
T-shirts Various styles of T-shirt with printed NMC designs and logo are available. Order direct by contacting Ian Birtwistle 07828 123 143.
• Northumberland Bouldering Guide The new guide, £12.50 to members (RRP £19.95)
www.thenmc.org.uk
Sarah Follmann on the crux of Sir Francis E3 5c, at Drake Stone by John Dalrymple
NMC County Climber
September 2012
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