The sad news is that Ian (Pin) Howell – (he of Mount Kenya fame etc.) – died suddenly and unexpectedly on Tuesday, November 27th. We offer our condolences to his family and friends.
The Funeral will be on December 20th. 11.30am West Wiltshire Crematorium Devizes Road, Semington, near Trowbridge BA14 6HL
( close to junction of A361 and A350 )
Light refreshments will follow at a location yet to be finalised
All who knew Ian, knew of him or have repeated his African climbs are welcome. If you plan to attend, please inform John Cleare on cleare@btinternet.com
Ian’s daughter, Sarah Howell (duduhowell@hotmail.com) is coordinating the arrangements.
Please address any queries to John Cleare ( cleare@btinternet.com )
Here is an early Xmas offering and a wee video about a climb up the striking and photogenic Pen y Holt sea stack in Range West, Pembroke with local doyens and fellow Climbing Clubbers Paul Donnithorne and Emma Alsford. Appearing to lean in all directions and situated on a friendly platform, Pen y Holt stack was first climbed in 1980 and offers ascents for most abilities. Along with the “adventurous” approach and excellent summit views, the stack makes a well worthwhile excursion for competent teams!
Range West is home to acres of superb climbing for all grades, for which the lower grades are particularly well represented. However the Range is on MOD land and if you wish to climb here, you must attend a briefing at Castlemartin Army Camp for which the 2019 briefing dates should be released via the BMC and UKC very soon.
Featuring the beautiful walk in (bikes highly recommended), the fun but “adventurous” approach (low spring tides essential), bobbing seals, some eye-popping exposure and after the end credits a rather interesting abseil off a buoy! Yep that’s right one of those flotation devices normally found anchored in the sea…
We have sadly just heard that a member John Johnson died on the 15th October 2018. He joined the CC in 1954. We offer condolences to his family and friends.
JOHN TEMPLE – mountaineer, Nairobi 1972 – Photo John Cleare
We are sad to report that John Temple died at the age of 84 on 31 December 2018. We offer condolences to his family and friends.
KILIMANJARO : Frank Cannings and John Temple relax for a brew-up in a convenient ice cave at c. 17,000 ft altitude on the HEIM GLACIER route on Kibo’s huge S.W.Face . August 1972. – Photo John Cleare
John was a huge, one-off personality, whose enthusiasm was immensely infectious. John organized the SMC’s first Alpine meet for many years in 2012, at the marvellously happy and welcoming Rifuggio Pontese on the south side of the Gran Paradiso group. Mara, the guardian there, became a good friend of John’s, and has welcomed many SMC members to the hut in the years since.
We are sad to report that Christopher Simpson, passed away a few days ago age 89. He was a long-time member of the Climbers Club since 1951. He was especially active in the 1950s. We offer our condolences to his family and friends.
Notes from his Grandson – Toby Baker:
Looking at his logbooks and from the stories he told he did a considerable number of hard climbs around the Alps and the UK.
He was part of the Cambridge University Mountaineering Club and I believe climbed and socialised with the stars of the day. He had various stories about Edmund Hillary helping him start his car in North Wales, a rejection later from the 1953 Everest Expedition (the jist of which was largely positive, but said that he was too young to join) and I remember sitting next to George Band at his 80th Birthday Party. He gave up climbing in the 1960s when he had a family, but some of his children and grandchildren have remained in the sport, climbing around the UK and Europe.
We are sad to report that Dave Gregory a great character died on 12th January. Dave age 82 – passed peacefully while in hospital in Chesterfield. A member since 1979, he took up the sport in 1948 and lived much of the rest of his life on rock and ice. He taught Physics to appreciative pupils at Lady Manners School, Bakewell.
He was a Cloggy afficionado and long serving Chair of the BMC Peak Area and Peak guidebook committees.
We offer our condolences to his family and friends
Johnny Dawes hands free on Chalkstone – Photo David Linnett
Here’s a wee video about the original and inimitable Stone Monkey, Johnny Dawes and his attempt to try a hands free “walk” up the Roaches lower tier classic called Chalkstorm on a scorching hot day during the CC meet in June 2018. Chalkstorm is often the source of a good argument in the pub about it’s grade but most folks seem to think that a normal trad ascent, without a side runner, is worth E3 5c. I’m not sure what grade you could give this but perhaps Johnny could come up with his own “walking” grading system! So if a VDiff is a Wk 1, perhaps this would be graded Wk 8…
Johnny Dawes hands free on Chalkstone – Photo David Linnett
Anyway featuring aerial footage of one of the greatest gritstone crags with one of the UK’s greatest ever climbers, sit back and marvel at some jedi balance, ninja footwork and magician movement!
The Maintenance Meet in the Peaks at our RO Downes hut was well attended during the weekend of 29th November – 1st December 2018 by 14 members, who gave freely of their time to maintain the high standard expected in our huts.
A thorough “spring clean” of the kitchen was undertaken, which included washing of all crockery, cutlery and pans and disposing of any not up to standard i.e. cracked and chipped; all crockery shelves were wiped down and the oven was scrubbed clean. All the windows were cleaned inside and out and polished to an inch of their life; the building gutters were cleaned of debris; the drive water gutters were cleared and the drive swept clear of all leaves; the wood footpaths were cleared of fallen trees and brambles; the gas tank was cleaned and now gleams; the washroom and both bunkroom walls were cleaned and freshened up with new paint. A considerable amount of work was completed by the team to restore the hut to tip top condition for club members.
Even our President gets down and dirty! – Photo Chris Allan
Saturday evening was a thoroughly good social event and a chance to catch up with old and new friends. We discussed the good jobs completed during the day and formulated plans for the following day, which the weather forecast promised to be a better day than the Saturday.
Sunday provided opportunity for climbing and the determined paired up and set off climbing albeit rather cold and a little damp.
These meets are an amazing opportunity to meet fellow members, share experiences, have some good climbing and put something back into the club that we so much appreciate!
Thank you to Paul Scott, Debbie Marsh, Vic Odell, Peri Stracchino, James Hoyes, Clarke Boulter, Spencer Gray, Chris Moran, Helen Brewitt, Helen Jones, Mary Titterton, Hannah Titterton and Graham Titterton for all your sterling efforts over the weekend, it is much appreciated by the club.
If you are interested in helping at future maintenance meets at other huts, please drop me an email at callan.sta@gmail.com indicating your preferred hut.
Friday night kicked off with the annual Climbers’ Club quiz hosted and set by the Borth Y Gest Duo, our very own David Medcalf and Cathy Woodhead. Well done to the winners. It was a strongly contested competition.
Saturday morning James Pearson ran the coaching at The Climbing Works in Sheffield, for those lucky members who booked. Having spoken to some of those that attended they were inspired by his insight of body movement.
The AGM kicked off Saturday afternoon. Followed by James Pearson showing us a recent trip to Japan with his partner Caroline Ciavaldini; Sawanobori Climbing (translates as excitement, Japanese waterfall climbing to me and you), along with a sneaky little photo of Arthur the new addition to the ‘once Upon a Climb’ team and the reason why Caro couldn’t attend the weekend. If you fancy a little go of Sawanobori just nip off and do a little gill climbing to get the flavour.
All seated waiting for the AGM to start – Photo Vic Odell
The audience was certainly thrilled to see this form of climbing and of course the beautiful locations. The team were partied up with Etsuro Shikishima Japans leading Sawanobori climber and saw them gearing up between surfing and climbing, wet suits, boots and gloves are a must. The team made their way up the waterfall complete with a bivvy and the next day was a reminder of how powerful nature is with the lead being taken by another Japanese member of the group, making the tricky crossover of the waterfall, which in part sapped his energy. There was a pop up shop run by the guide book committee selling guidebooks including the clubs newest guide – South Devon.
James Pearson, Michele, Dave and Naomi Simmonite
Saturday evening was the 121st annual dinner and the club were host to John Porter – Alpine Club, Dave Garnett MAM and Chris and Jan Wilson OREAD climbing clubs, Tania Orgill (daughter of Roger Orgill), Val Salisbury (wife of Roger) and Jan Vallance (wife of Mark), Dave and Naomi Simmonite (services to the club), Steve and Sandra Scott (new honorary member), Lynn Robinson (first BMC president), James Pearson and the guest of Honour and guest speaker was John Dunne accompanied by his wife Joanna.
Andy Cairns was the Master of Ceremonies who kept the evening on track. David Medcalf did a very moving reminder and tribute of those members that we lost in the last year with a toast to absent friends.
The fabulous meal was followed by John’s outstanding and often funny talk. He based it upon ‘life and times’. He started about his early formative years and how that led him into climbing later on. John spoke about his perspective about climbing, his motivation as a climber and how he chose what routes to climb, up to where he is now. It was certainly will be remembered as one of the best after dinner speeches we have had, by those present, giving an real insight into the world of a leading climber and what motivated him. Thank you John, it was a real treat.
Following the speeches and toasts Steve Blackman ran the raffle, which had some fabulous prizes including a Rab Jacket. A big thanks to our sponsors’ for the raffle which raised some £750 for the charity CAC, climbers against cancer; Needle Sports, Rockfax, Outside, Equip Outdoor Technologies, Cordee, CC publications sub-committee and CC Hut Management sub-committee, Vertebrate Publishing and the Double Tree Hilton Hotel.
Next Year’s AGM and Dinner will take place in Llanberis. Announcements of dates and guests will be made later in the year.
My thanks go to all those volunteers that helped the Dinner be a success.
Kitchen tidy after Maintenance Meet – Photo Chris Allan
The Maintenance Meet in North Wales at our Ynys Ettws hut was well attended during the weekend of 15th – 17th March 2019 by 8 members, who gave freely of their time to restore the high standard expected in our huts.
A thorough “spring clean” of the hut was undertaken, which included the kitchen, washroom, lounge and entrance foyer.
The kitchen clean included a thorough wipe down of all walls, all cupboards, shelves and racks were cleaned, the fridges were cleaned and sterilised, the oven was decoked and restored to as near new condition as possible, chipped and cracked crockery was disposed of in the bin, all remaining crockery, pans and utensils was sorted and stored neat and tidily. New chopping boards were purchased: red for raw meats, green for vegetables and white for breads and dairy.
The washroom walls and stalls were thoroughly cleaned to remove mould, drains unblocked and the floor scrubbed clean. This became difficult as the weather became wilder and the rain became a torrential downpour, so much so that the stream where the hut water comes from became a roaring wild river and washed the water pipe downstream. Investigations to restore the hut supply were futile as all who went anywhere near the stream decide that it was impossible to get anywhere near the water pipe without being washed down stream to Llyn Padarn in Llanberis! The hut cleaning continued by fetching buckets of water from the stream by the carpark, which also was becoming a full flowing river! There was water all around the hut, but none inside from the taps and all who had looked at the stream had decided that they were not risking drowning for a glass of tap water in the hut!
John Bucke scrubbing the Lounge Fireplace tiles back to red – Photo Chris Allan
The lounge was cleaned; the floor around the fire was scrubbed back to red tiles rather than the black ones that were present in the morning. The lounge store room was de-cluttered of rubbish and taken away to the tip, damaged lamp shades were replaced with new ones and the walls were cleaned.
The entrance foyer was swept, all cobwebs were removed and the mould on the walls was scrubbed back to white walls: dark glasses are now needed in the entrance foyer, it’s that bright!
The broken bunk was repaired in the bunk room by installing a new base board: a full compliment of bunks is now available again.
Saturday evening was a thoroughly good social event and a chance to catch up with old and new friends. We discussed the excellent jobs completed during the day and considered plans for the following day, which the weather forecast hinted to be a better day than the Saturday, but unlikely to be exceptional.
Sunday started dry, but soon deteriorated to rain, sleet and wet snow showers. The team had a final task to perform in these not so pleasant conditions, now that the roaring torrent of a stream had subsided to a more gentle stream, which was to restore the water supply to the hut: The water filter was relocated in the stream, the pipe weighted down in position and the water pipe re-primed with fresh water to the hut.
A considerable amount of work was completed by the team during the weekend to restore the hut to tip top condition for the club members. Please be considerate and do your share of cleaning at the end of (or during) your future stays at the hut: the hut custodians have plenty of other tasks to do in keeping the huts in running order and the club does not employ cleaners to tidy up after club members.
These meets are an amazing opportunity to meet fellow members, share experiences, have some good climbing, weather permitting and put something back into the club that we so much appreciate!
Thank you to John Bucke, Paul Tanton, Graham Townsend, Roger Withers, Helen Jones, Liz Fox (guest) and Geoff Bennett for all your sterling efforts over the weekend; it is much appreciated by the club.
If you are interested in helping at future maintenance meets at other huts, please drop me an email at callan.sta@gmail.com indicating your preferred hut.
Chris Allan, Hut Maintenance Co-ordinator, HMSC.
Oven after Maintenance Meet – Photo Chris Allan
Kitchen tidy after Maintenance Meet – Photo Chris Allan
Kitchen tidy after Maintenance Meet – Photo Chris Allan
Graham Townsend and Paul Tanton Restoring Water to the hut – Photo Chris Allan
John Bucke scrubbing the Lounge Fireplace tiles back to red – Photo Chris Allan
Geoff Bennett caring materials – Photo Chris Allan
Liz Fox Cleaning the kitchen – Photo Chris Allan
Helen Jones preparing brunch – Photo Chris Allan
Toilets tidy after Maintenance Meet – Photo Chris Allan
Tradfest is an annual event celebrating traditional rock climbing in Snowdonia. We are based in the village of Nant Peris at the base of the Llanberis Pass, one of the most iconic areas in Britain for rock climbing. This year’s event will be held from Friday May 17th to Sunday May 19th, with ticket costs to be confirmed.
The format for the event is based around the ethos of celebrating rock climbing. Running from the Friday evening until the Sunday there will be a Wild Horse Brewery bar and barbecue, talks from DMM and Montane athletes, quizzes, TradQuest, workshops from AMI, DMM and Llanberis Mountain Rescue, gear demos from all of our sponsers and information stands!
George Rhodes, who died last Friday 29th March, was a member of the CC until 2014. His son Chris is still a member. George was well known and active in the Club in his early years – he died age 91.
We offer our condolances to Chris, family and friends.
Funeral will take place at St Lawrence’s Church, Congleton Road, Biddulph, ST8 7RG Friday 12th April 2.00pm
Please be aware that the installation of the new waste water treatment plant at the Count House is due to commence on 29/4/19 and be in progress for circa 14 days. These are essential works required to bring the club up to current legislation, replace end of life facilities, and is planned works, supported by the kind legacies of Ernie Phillips and Mike Banks.
The contractors will have use of the hut for welfare, and we trust members will be tolerant of that and that clear access for contractors plant is maintained.
Rob Semour and Dave Viggers will be on hand to start the process off, ensuring, as far as is possible, no one is inconvenienced.
We regret to announce the death on the 14th April of Richard Bond. Richard joined the club in 1963 and was Membership Secretary 1973 – 78. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Following a private cremation next Monday, Smiler’s funeral and burial will take place on Tuesday 14th May 12.30 at Dores Church, Dores by Inverness IV2 6TR. There will be refreshments and time to reminisce at the Dores Inn afterwards (me thinks a proper Climber’s Wake). Clare and family together with Smiler’s siblings would be delighted to see as many of you as can come. Clare lives right next to the church. Family flowers only.
Clare is happy to receive any enquiries about help with accommodation or anything else.
The meet had moved from its usual July spot and numbers were always going to be lower because the usual suspects were away or working, but at the last minute a flood of apologies came in with various reasons; bad backs, bruised toes, essay deadlines etc One poor soul did arrive but then left early with bad back syndrome after driving for 8 hours non-stop. In the end around 15 of us (with day visitors) enjoyed mainly good weather with chilly winds for the week. It was always warm at sea level; you just had to be cunning belaying out of the wind on top. The usual venues were all visited; nuts were thrown in the sea at Chair Ladder; Bosigran was festooned with abandoned gear (Bob Watson and I both came away with rescued (good condition) cams on different days); and Mr B sat at the top of different crags (Sennen, Pendeen Watch) waiting for his human to return.
In all 11 different crags had visits including Carn Barra (Ra and Axis), Bosigran Ridge (Gallipoli – not the pushover it used to be or the leader was older and heavier), Pen Olver (rain stopped play), Porthgwarra on a very lively tide day, this visit included checking out a new route report but we weren’t sure we found the black schorls – we did find a rabbit hole exit. Roy also found Monolith and Brandy Cove having gone up and down the coast path somewhat. We had a mass trip to the Radjel for the quiz night (one of our teams came second but without our attendance there would only have been three teams!), and it, and the Gurnards Head had several visits in the week. The Rosemergy tea room had one team visit but the main venue for cream teas was the Count House where for a contribution of £1.50 you got one or unlimited scones, clotted cream and jam for the week.
The weather on Thursday evening was idyllic. The meet survivors and visitors enjoyed a wind-free barbecue and sun on the terrace and admired the various earth works and holes of the new sceptic tank installation. The workmen had been very efficient in the week and provided significant entertainment on the Thursday morning as they manoeuvred the small house size tank into the hole.
The Count House is good for scones
But pretty rubbish for phones
It’s the place for to be
If you like a cream tea
After a day out at fair Bosigron . . . . .
Attendees
Bob Watson, Dave Viggers, Bob Seymour, Ron Chambers, Rikki Price, Hazel Lewis, Joan Stewart, Adele Long, Malcolm Townsley, Nevil Hewitt, Nigel Barry, Tracy Rodford, Dave Jones, Roger Withers, Graham Townsend, Anne Townsend, Mette Cristensen, Roy Thomas. Barbecue and day visiting – Ruth Chambers, John Atherton, Jan Atherton.
With the lure of convenient flights and the promise of newly developed crags I was enticed back to El Chorro a venue I hadn’t climbed at for nearly 20 years. Eleven of us gathered at the welcoming and very pleasant venue of Finca la Campana. We enjoyed 10 days of back-to-back climbing. Initially seeking out crags in the shade and retreating to the pool later in the day. Later during the trip conditions were cooler with afternoon thunderstorms. On one day which threatened rain we did a team ascent of the Via Ferrata which the 4 Via Ferrata ‘virgins’ took in their stride. The 30m zip wire
and wire bridges added spice to the trip.
There was a good selection of lower grade climbs with mostly friendly bolting. A mixture of crags which were quick to access and some which were a short, scenic walk away, which meant that often
we visited two different locations in one day. All teams had days when they tackled longer, multi-pitch routes which were still accessible despite bird bans at this time of the year. At our communal meal of paella at the end of the meet there was a general concensus that we had all had a brilliant time.
Here is an early Xmas offering and a wee video about a climb up the striking and photogenic Pen y Holt sea stack in Range West, Pembroke with local doyens and fellow Climbing Clubbers Paul Donnithorne and Emma Alsford. Appearing to lean in all directions and situated on a friendly platform, Pen y Holt stack was first climbed in 1980 and offers ascents for most abilities. Along with the “adventurous” approach and excellent summit views, the stack makes a well worthwhile excursion for competent teams!
If you are planning a climbing trip to Lundy this year please read/download the document below:
