Category: Members Tales

Young caver in a famous Peak District cave in 1965…who and where?!  

One of the Clubs ‘classic’ walks is the 75 mile Colne Rowsley which has appeared on the meets programme many times over the years.  I recently found a few pictures from the meet in 2003 which I thought were worth sharing. The start at Trawden on the outskirts of Colne And starting up the road. (L-R Andy & Gareth Llewellyn, Geoff Bell, Andy Howie and Andy Tomlinson) Rob Ferguson setting up the support stop at Marsden Andy’s Howie and Tomlinson enjoying (?) the evening meal at Marsden Two former Presidents and Honary Members.  John Richardson proving that he can eat his meal and tell a story while appearing to be fast asleep, while Geoff Bell listens on intently. Current President (Woolley) is he dreaming of conducting an orchestra while half asleep? Leaving Marsden and into the night. L – R Geoff Bell; Andy Llewellyn; John Richardson & Gareth Llewellyn Breakfast at Cutthroat Bridge. Andy Howie and Gareth Llewellyn A happy Ros Murray at Rowsley And yours truly fast asleep. But of course the ‘elite’ always have extra energy so John Richardson was heading straight off to a fancy dress party, but was he going as Bill or Ben? All photos[…]

For a blast from the past, Ged Cudahy recommends watching the video of the 1985 Karrimor International Mountain Marathon. It features the likes of John Richardson, Mike Cudahy and the infamous Joss Naylor. Here is a link to the video on YouTube (click here) and, ouch, that does look painful John!

With Ros Murray and Neil Harwood.  We were going to climb the three rock steps on the left to the central summit of the Breithorn and then descend to Klein Matterhorn from the col before the main summit on the rightFirst lift to Klein Matterhorn and now approaching the start of the climb.  Neil and Ros.The start of the first pitch.  Ros led the whole route.On the first step.Between the second and third steps.  The route went from the notch in the ridge ahead.Near the top.  We are heading for the col before the main summit.We were badly held up by another party towards the top and missed the last cable car down from Klein Matterhorn.  Rather than try and sleep in the cold, wet, dank tunnel at the station we walked down to Trockensteg, the next station.  We managed to get a workmens lift down to the next station (rather than the bottom) but then had a long walk into Zermatt and the train back to the campsite where Carole gave us a lift home.  We were tired!

On the terrace of the Britannia Hut. L to R Strahlhorn, Rimpfischorn and Allalinhorn.

Andy Llewellyn hit the weather jackpot with his Barra meet in 2014. Here is a small selection from the Vatersay coastal walk: https://www.flickr.com/gp/neil_gr/eM6j2q

Tom Anderson has sent a short video of a series of photographs taken in the Moffat Hills in 2017. Tom writes (in lock down!): the group in the pictures had come up from Moffat and I think they were on a D of E expedition! The Moffat hills are often missed by climbers going north on Munro trips. The three hills Hart Fell, Saddle Yoke and White Coomb are a delight to do in a round and are at their best in snowy conditions. This is my favourite place in the Southern uplands and is a short drive from the M74. I think this area has an advantage over the Lakes as it does not have large numbers of visitors. I recommend you visit them next time you’re passing.  

Climbed the north face of the Tour Ronde in 1999 with Roger Wild. We took the bubbles to the Torino Hut and had a typical alpine start the next day. The bergshrund at the foot of the face was horrendous – a ten foot vertical wall with a horrendous slot if you came off! Roger is up front approaching the narrows and I’m then following. In the photo of me if you look carefully you can see our footprints approaching the bergshrund. Finally Roger at the summit with the Brenva face of Mont Blanc at the back. Jim Morris  

Beginnings (a surfer’s tale): Sam Salmon Rock climbing, eh? Funny old game! What’s the point? For me, it all started many years ago in the seas off West Cornwall. Way back in 1976 I was living just up the road from Land’s End and generally having a good time. I had left the Fleet Air Arm a couple of years earlier and was by now fully engaged in a surfing lifestyle – this involved hanging out at the beach, getting in the water as much as possible and relaxing in the pub talking about waves. In order to live I was working on a local farm and my accommodation was an old caravan overlooking one of the best surfing beaches in Cornwall.   A couple of years earlier I had met an interesting bunch of guys who told me they were rock climbers. The names of Mike White, Owen Smith and Jim Cotton may sound familiar to some older members of the club (Owen, of course, is still an active member). We met through Owen, who at the time was selling surfboards in Ellis Brighams’ climbing shop in Penzance. I was fascinated by climbing, but thought it a very odd[…]