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NUMBER 109 JANUARY 2002
members.tripod.co.uk/norwest/index.html
MEET REPORTS
A CHILLI AUTUMN MEET (Meet No 204: Friday 7 - Monday 10 September 2001)
Having picked up Colin Rogerson at Carlisle station after an unusually easy drive up the M5 and M6, we made our way to Glencoe in the face of gathering clouds and some not very nice weather forecasts. When we arrived at the youth hostel Brian Billington and Neil Blackwood were already ensconced, having journeyed up a couple of days earlier. The only one missing was David Douglas so we decided to dive into the tea and biscuits before he could get there. Strangely, he seemed to arrive only a few moments later.
Unfortunately, our resolve to make an early start on the Saturday morning had been ruled out overnight because a bunch of Munro-bagging octogenarians had arrived in dribs and drabs during the evening and filled the car park to overflowing. So we had a leisurely breakfast and even then could not make an exit from the car park before 9.00 am. As some 60 mph wind gusts were forecast, we decided to leave the Aonach Eagach until another day and headed for Glen Etive. Neil and Colin had decided to climb Beinn Fhionnlaidh, while Brian, David and I headed for Stob Coir' an Albannaich and Meall nan Eun.
Brian, David and I found the going very boggy underfoot as we rounded the lower slopes of Stob Coir' an Albannaich and it took us a little while to get to a decent path; but beyond the 300 metre line it was not an unpleasant walk. Reaching the bealach we were able to make our way without difficulty to the summit cairn where the sunshine and the views were excellent. After lunch there was a period when the wind blew a little more strongly for a short while; but after that the journey to Meall nan Eun over Meall Tarsuinn was straightforward - mainly because we could see where we were going. There were a couple of points where, in poor visibility, I suspect one could easily become disorientated. The descent was hard work as the grass was up to knee level and there were holes just waiting to trip you up. There was no livestock to be seen and the state of the ground made clear the benefits of sheep and cattle grazing for hillwalkers.
Arriving back at the car we found that Colin had been obliged to abort his walk due to a severe attack of cramp. Neil returned later having continued alone to the summit of Beinn Fhionnlaidh, sharing the joys of good weather. That evening the meal was a red hot Thai chilli curry. I still do not know how any of my fellow sgurramblers were able to talk afterwards. I think that I only recovered the power of speech after numerous glasses of cold water and wringing the last dregs of wine from the bottles kindly provided by the Meet organiser. Even so, the effects certainly lasted for several more days!!!
We were caught in the car park trap again on the Sunday morning but this time the rowdies were a bit more civilised and at least offered to shuffle their cars out of the way. The day started with what looked like excellent weather and, after a lot of soul searching, Neil and I decided to climb Buachaille Etive Mor, Colin opted for a circuitous walk over Sron na Creise and Meall Bhuiridh, whilst Brian and David wanted to climb Sgor Dhonuill and Sgorr Dhearg (the twin peaks of Beinn a' Bheithir).
We drivers, having dropped the others off at their respective starting points, met up in the car park identifiable by the Telephone symbol on the OS 1:50,000 map before setting off up Coire na Tulaich. The ascent proved to be hard work and became quite difficult underfoot as we neared the top of the coire. The path faded in and out of the rocky outcroppings and eventually, having lost it completely, we found ourselves in an area of rubble and loose bits and pieces of shale. Fortunately we were able to scramble up onto a nearby rocky ridge after which the ascent became easier and we reached the summit of Stob Dearg without further difficulty. It was a magnificent place to eat lunch. You could either look out over the vast expanse of Rannoch Moor which was a blaze of orange and purple colours or else turn round to look at the glorious mountains to the North. Wow!
The ridge walk along to Stob Coire Altruim was, in its own right, something to shout about. Although it was long and tiring, the views and the little bits of scrambling were excellent. The Top itself was less crowded than Stob Dearg but, whilst we could still enjoy the sun and the views, the wind had begun to freshen. So, reluctantly, we decided to head down. We went back to the bealach between Stob Coire Altruim and Stob na Doire to find the clearly visible path down into the Lairig Gartain. Though steep and crumbly in places, the path was readily negotiable. The worst part of the trip was actually walking across the last 500 metres of boggy ground - with many detours and deviations (not, in my case, always successful) just to avoid streams and muddy pools - to the car park.
Returning to the hostel, we found Brian and David already tucking into tea, etc: their day had been as good as ours. Colin arrived a little later, having had to catch the bus back from Blackrock. After demolishing steak and kidney pie followed by treacle duff, we were gob-smacked to hear David say that he did not want any more custard. He was not running a temperature at the time. So future Meet organisers had best beware and consider reducing the food budget by at least half.
On the Monday morning we said our farewells. David was off to Skye while the rest of us were homeward bound.
My thanks to all for their company on the splendid walks, and to the organiser for the weather and the food - I did not forget the red hot curry for some time ........ !
Mike Knight
FOEL-yr-DISTANCES-y-MILES (Meet No: 205 - Friday 9 - Sunday 11 November 2001)
After an unusually warm period of weather during October and early November, life returned to normal for this year's AGM Meet. The now customary downpour commenced the day before the Meet and overnight the temperatures plummeted to below zero. In consequence those who travelled to Snowdonia were greeted by the sight of bleak, grey, cloud-capped mountains grizzled with snow. But, as usual, this was not enough to deter a surprisingly large number of hardy optimists and misguided enthusiasts - David Douglas, Paul and Janet Cassell, Roger Reeves, Mike Knight, David and Kerina Cheesman, Chris Knowles, Brian Billington, Chris Horne, John Andrew, Colin Bradley and Mike Spittles - from making their way to the snow and ice encrusted car park of Pen-y-pass youth hostel. Even more disconcerting was the coldness of the hostel which had been closed and, therefore, left unheated during the preceding week. But that was not the worse of it - horror of horrors!, the only bar within walking distance of the hostel was closed for the season!! Was it just a coincidence that the number of members present totalled thirteen?
On the Saturday morning we split into four groups. Undeterred by the icy conditions underfoot, low cloud and a light drizzle, the macho group - John, Roger and Brian - went off to climb Snowdon itself. The two Mikes and the two Chris's opted for a slightly less challenging outing on the Carneddau. David D, Colin (who was still trying to recover full fitness following a knee operation earlier in the year), and David and Kerina Cheesman settled for a lower level walk. Paul and Janet decided that the prevailing conditions would not make for an enjoyable day on the hills and went off to play tourist on the Isle of Anglesey.
The macho three decided to climb Snowdon by a route, suggested by Brian, contouring below the crags of Crib Goch. This is a seldom used path which, following a period of Foot-and-Mouth restrictions, was even more indistinct than usual. They saw only one sheep that day and speculated that the path could become overgrown if grazing animals were not replaced at an early date. Apart from a five minute period on the way down, they were in cloud all day, which gave rise to a number of navigational questions. For example, they wondered what had happened to Llyn Glas and Llyn Bach until they realised that they had followed the wrong stream and climbed a couple of hundred metres above them. Discovering the two lakes was more reassuring, however, than finding a large rucksack half submerged in a stream - not the kind of placing that was likely to be deliberate. Worse, a dark cylindrical shape nearby looked like a leg! Fortunately this turned out to be a Thermarest which was damaged and looked as if it might have been dislodged from the rucksack during a big fall. There were several hundred pounds-worth of gear inside the rucksack - including a tent, cooking pots and Yeti gaiters - which made it far too heavy to carry down. But they did remove and carry home a route card for a mountain leadership training centre in Buxton and a prescription medicine bottle (with a name on it), hoping that these items might be of assistance to the authorities. Although all this was found further round than seemed the likely result of a fall from Crib Goch, it still looked nasty. So, having tied the red gaiters to the rucksack to make it more visible to any searchers, they carried out a swift search of the neighbouring area. To their relief this proved negative.
Following this incident, they continued upwards to join a horde of other walkers on the mountain. Among these was an irresponsible woman who had taken a child of about six onto the hill. The conditions were not suitable for taking a child onto Snowdon: it was a damp and cloudy day and cold enough to make it difficult to get gloves on if they were left off for more than a few minutes. Roger was the first to reach the summit which had been taken over by a large group denying access to the summit cairn. Some time later when John and Brian had still not appeared, he began to wonder if they had succumbed to an ogre which eats people and throws rucksacks off the hill. He was relieved to find them sheltered behind the station building eating their sandwiches. But the spot was spoiled by an individual drinking a can of Guinness who decided to phone some unfortunate soul to tell him what he was doing. So John and Brian went off to the summit where they thought they had found a new name for the mountain on a brass plate: when translated into English, this proved to be the distance in miles to somewhere or other. Returning via the Pyg track, they had to suffer obstruction by yet more groups who were reluctant to let them pass - one of the groups was deep in discussion about how often students should clean their rooms!
As the Carneddau group had two cars, they were able to park one car at each end of Llyn Ogwen before setting off on foot from the Eastern end of the lake on the path alongside the Afon Lloer. Although it was a reasonably clear path, they took their time walking to Ffynnon Lloer, then struck due North and, with a little scrambling (overcoming the odd "snowdrift" - all of four inches deep!), reached the summit of Carnedd Dafydd. Due to the biting wind and bitter cold they decided not to go any further afield. After searching for a short while, they found and followed the path down the ridge which skirts Cwm Lloer and continued on over Pen-yr-Ole-Wen before descending to Pen-y-benglog. Much of the last 300 metres of descent was over man-made stepping stones which always seemed to slant downhill rather than up: this proved a little awkward at times - wet boots and wet rock making for the odd slip. Interrogated afterwards they had difficulty in persuading others that they had not plotted to take a short route in order to have time to visit a pub before returning to the hostel. As everyone else suffered a "dry" weekend, this was a matter of some significance to those who had not been members of their group!
The intended course of the low level walk was a circuit including Cnicht (a smaller mountain to the South of the Nantgwynant valley) which, on a good day, gives great views ranging from the sea near Portmadoc to the Nantlle Ridge and Snowdon itself. After a "slight" detour at the beginning of the tour - and as a taster for later pleasures - the group traversed above Llyn Llagi into the mist and over the boggy uplands towards the ridge above. Given the absence of any view, an ascent of Cnicht was forgotten and they headed onto the ridge of Ysgafell Wen which overlooks (sometimes!) the upper Lledr valley. Eventually, having found a way down to a dimly visible Llyn Edno, they had to undertake some stepping stone work before reaching the path (stream!) down to the Afon Llynedno. During a late lunch an atmospheric and wispy view emerged, revealing first the valley below and then a sight of the summit of Lliwedd which was cloud free for the first time that day. After a slow descent to savour the view, they returned to their car wet from the feet up (rather than the more normal reverse).
That evening a business-like AGM was followed by a supper consisting of what the hostel staff claimed to be "traditional" Welsh food (lasagne, chips and salad!). After this culinary delight Chris K, Brian and David C entertained fellow members by ripping bits of metal forcibly out of Chris's slide projector which, up to that point, had proved incapable of showing anything other than totally unfocused slides. Once it had been demonstrated that brute force does work sometimes, all enjoyed a series of slide shows which, together with sundry still photos, illustrated members' accounts of some of the walks they had undertaken during the year. Next morning the cloud level was several hundred feet below that of the hostel and it was drizzling steadily. So everyone went home.
Thanks go to David and Kerina Cheesman for organising the Meet. Pity about the hostel, the food and the weather - but otherwise quite good!
Postscript. Having told the hostel staff about the abandoned rucksack, the macho group were advised to inform the park rangers. Brian undertook this task and, by the time he rang the Buxton centre on the Monday, the rucksack had been recovered by Mountain Rescue. No doubt they rarely get such precise directions and grid references as Brian supplied!
Roger Reeves, Mike Knight, Colin Bradley & Paul Cassell
FORTHCOMING MEETS
MEET No 207: CRIANLARICH
Dates: Friday 22 - Monday 25 February 2002.
Area: Southern and Central Highlands.
Accommodation: Crianlarich Youth Hostel.
Programme: A winter weekend's walking in an area where high mountains are on your doorstep and many others are readily accessible within a short car trip. There is a wide variety of peaks which are at their best when snow-covered; so there should be options for good hill-walking in most weather conditions.
Transport: By train or car. Picking up arrangements will be made once the participants, availability of cars and routes are known. If coming by car, please advise the Meet organiser how many passengers you can take and your approximate route and time of journey.
Maps: OS 1:50,000 sheets Nos. 50, 51, 56 & 57.
Equipment: Crampons and ice axe essential.
Food: To be provided by the Meet organiser, unless requested otherwise, from Saturday breakfast to Monday breakfast inclusive.
Bookings: To reserve a place, please complete the booking form and send it with a deposit of £20 payable in person to the Meet organiser who will reserve accommodation in respect of all bookings received by 15 January. The balance will be payable on the Meet itself.
Meet Organiser: John Andrew, Authuille, Aislaby Road, Eaglescliffe, Cleveland TS16 0JJ (tel: 01642-784879).
MEET No 208: MONADLIATHS
Dates: Friday 29 March - Tuesday 2 April 2002.
Area: Monadliaths.
Accommodation: "Laird's Bothy" Bunkhouse, Kingussie.
Programme: An opportunity to ascend the Monadliath and neighbouring Munros when they are snow-capped and at their most attractive.
Transport: By train or car. Picking up arrangements will be made once the participants, availability of cars and routes are known. If coming by car, please advise the Meet organiser how many passengers you can take and your approximate route and time of journey.
Maps: OS 1:50,000 sheets Nos. 34, 35, 36, 42 and 43.
Equipment: Crampons and ice axe are likely to be required.
Food: To be provided by the Meet organiser, unless requested otherwise, from breakfast on the Saturday to breakfast on the Tuesday inclusive.
Bookings: To reserve a place, please complete the booking form and send it with a deposit of £25 payable in person to the Meet organiser who will reserve accommodation in respect of all bookings received by 31 January. The balance will be payable on the Meet itself.
Meet Organiser: Chris Knowles, 37 West Close, Walton, Stone, Staffordshire, ST15 0EE (tel: 01785-604828).
MEET No 209: FISHERFIELD FOREST
Dates: Saturday 18 - Sunday 26 May 2002.
Area: The North West via Loch Tay.
Accommodation: Killin and Ullapool youth hostels, plus two nights in Shenaval bothy.
Programme: An opportunity to climb some high mountains in a remote and rarely visited area of the Highlands.
Transport: By car. Picking up arrangements will be made once the participants, availability of cars and routes are known. If coming by car, please advise the Meet organiser how many passengers you can take and indicate approximate route and time of journey.
Maps: OS 1:50,000 sheets Nos. 19, 20, 33, 34, 41, 42, 50 & 51.
Food: To be provided by the Meet organiser, unless requested otherwise, from breakfast on the first Saturday to breakfast on Sunday 26 May inclusive.
Bookings: To reserve a place, please complete the booking form and send it with a deposit of £25 payable in person to the Meet organiser who will reserve accommodation in respect of all bookings received by 14 March. The balance will be payable on the Meet itself.
Meet Organiser: Mike Knight, Craigievar, Brent Road, East Brent, Somerset, TA9 4JD
(tel: 01278-760169)
MEET No 211: THE TOUR OF MONTE ROSA
Dates: Saturday 17 - Saturday 31 August 2002.
Area: The Italian Alps from South of Mont Blanc to East of Monte Rosa.
Accommodation: Mountain huts.
Programme: A hut-to-hut walk over high passes in an area of outstanding Alpine beauty dominated by the Mont Rosa massif. Close to the route lie numerous 3,000 plus metre peaks which can be ascended without glacier crossings and without climbing skills.
Transport: By no-frills airline to Geneva, then by train and bus. All participants will need to pay air fares in full at an early date. The earlier the booking, the cheaper the fare.
Maps: To be advised by the Meet organiser.
Equipment: Participants should bring a sheet sleeping bag (on which hut wardens insist) and pack enough clothing to last two weeks. But they should also keep the contents of their rucksacks to the bare minimum.
Food: Will be purchased in the huts. Chocolate, sweets and special foodstuffs are not normally available in the huts: so participants may wish to bring their own on the understanding that they will have to carry them from hut to hut.
Bookings: In order to complete all the necessary enquiries and confirm the viability of the proposed travel and accommodation arrangements, the Meet organiser needs the earliest possible indication of interest. Firm commitments, together with a deposit of £50, will be needed by no later than 28 February 2002.
Meet Organiser: Chris Knowles, 37 West Close, Walton, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0EE (tel: 01785-604828).
MEET PLANNING
All members are requested to complete the enclosed Meet Planning questionnaire and return it to David Douglas (34/3 Parkside Terrace, Newington, Edinburgh EH16 5XP) as soon as possible.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscriptions for the coming year are now due. The cost remains £4 per person per annum (see Minutes of the 24th AGM - enclosed). Cheques should be made payable to "Roger Reeves" (NOT to "Nor' West Sgurramblers") and all payments should be sent to him at 20, Larkman Lane, Norwich, Norfolk NR5 8TZ.
It would be most helpful if all those who did not attend this year's AGM would please pay their subscriptions by return of post.
MEMBERSHIP DETAILS
An updated list of current members is enclosed. Please let the NeWSletter Editor know if any of the details are incorrect. If any member has an e-mail address not shown on the list, will he/she please let the NeWSletter Editor have the relevant details.
Wishing you all
A MERRY CHRISTMAS!
A HAPPY HOGMANAY!
A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!
Postscript Colin Rogerson needs to hear by 15 January from anyone who wishes to attend the July Meet (Moidart & the Great Glen - July 6-14) so that he can decide whether it would be worthwhile renting a chalet or cottage.