Gwent Mountaineering Club
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Have you seen this and want details of the club?If so Phone 02920 852771
Copyright © 2005 by Gwent Mountaineering Club & the contributors. All rights reserved.
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In this issue……
1 Editorial
2 Things to come A preview of some forthcoming meets… Trefor’s ‘Last Munro’ trip, North Wales, Club Alpine Trip.
3 It’s all been happening! Reports on The Kirby Stephens Club Dinner, Ted’s walk in the Carmarthen Fans, Christmas on Kinabalu, Ted’s Fan Fawr walk, Kings Weekend
4 News, News, News… Touching the Void DVD loan, Publicity & promoting the club, Website, The next club dinner, A link to tide tables, Webcams
5 History Corner The recent death of Eigerwand legend |
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Editorial |
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By Dave |
Well the big news of course is that Chris resigned as Chairman on February 10th and at present Robby is acting Chair. The committee meetings are already scheduled through the summer and we have made a start on the next winter programme already!! The impact Chris has had on the club since being one of the founder members back in 1976 has been enormous and the club owes him a debt of gratitude. The committee are presently considering a means of showing the club’s appreciation for his efforts and this will become apparent in due course.
Moving on, I am proud to have helped a little bit towards an exciting Summer Programme and all the committee members have chewed over the events at length to create a balanced programme and one which does justice to our heritage as a mountaineering club. The brunt of the work has fallen of course to our programme secretaries (elected and co-opted!), Terry and Richard.
Finally, thanks to Trefor, Terry, Alison and Peter for their input into this newsletter issue. Take care in the mountains…. |
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Things to come…
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Trefor’s ‘Last Munro’ trip |
By Trefor Beese |
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As you know, I have been climbing the Munros for many years, since 1962 in fact. This year I plan to complete the list. Currently my score is 249, leaving 28 to go. I have done all the recently promoted ‘tops’; they are not counted in my score.
I am planning to do a further 27 in March & April this year, and leave the last one until Sunday 29th May 2005 (Spring Bank Holiday week). You are invited to join me on this ascent (and / or any of the other 27!).
The planned mountain, Sgurr a’Mhaoraich 1027m, appears to be a relatively straightforward expedition. There is a stalkers path from the side of the road for most of the ascent. It runs up the RH ridge of the mountain in the picture. Guidebook statistics: 5km, 910 metres ascent, and 2 hours 40 mins ascent time. For enthusiasts, there is also an optional top, and a descent over a “rocky and narrow in places” ridge at the back. Sgurr a’Mhaoraich is on my favourite 1:50,000 OS map, sheet 33. Grid reference is 984064. It is roughly 550 miles from Cwmbran. From Fort William, drive north up the Great Glen to Invergarry. Drive west on the A87 road to the isles for 5 miles. Turn left on to the 20 mile unclassified no through road to Kinloch Hourn. There is a hotel (with bunkhouse) at Tomdoun 7 miles along the road (on OS sheet 34). The walk start is 5 miles further, on the north of Loch Quoich, at grid reference 010034.
After the walk we will retire to Tomdoun, www.tomdoun-sporting-lodge.com.
If you are interested, let me know, and keep in touch. I will try and co-ordinate transport and accommodation if necessary. |
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North Wales Bank Hols Meet |
By Dave Bingham |
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On Bristly Ridge |
On the first May Bank Holiday there is a great opportunity to savour the delights of North Wales. We stay at the Cae Du campsite which is just a little way out of Beddgelert in the direction of Pen y Pass. The site has been recently improved with a large shower and toilet block and is a good launching pad for days in the mountains or south to Tremadog if conditions are more favourable there. For those who prefer a little more comfort the Bryn Gwynant Youth Hostel is fairly close by. The YHA have changed the rules so that you do not have to be a YHA member to stay there, but they levy an extra charge of £3 for non-members. Booking early would be advisable given this is a Bank Holiday weekend. Plenty of mountain walking, scrambling and climbing options in the heart of Snowdonia, and everyone is welcome… |
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Club Alpine Trip |
By Dave Bingham |
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Another great opportunity (starting on Aug 13) aimed at both mountaineers and hillwalkers. If you’re on the email list you’ll have seen much news on this already. The latest is that 21 people have registered an interest and I am currently seeking views from those 21 on their preferred area and which peaks they hold a keen interest in. Matters are evolving quickly and I will continue to keep people informed. There’s great walking to be had at any venue that is likely to be chosen (as well as the big peaks) and it would be really special to have members with mixed interests out there. |
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It’s all been happening!
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The Kirby Stephens Club Dinner |
By Terry Delbridge |
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Who lives in a house like this..? Monument on Hellgill Wold
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Outhgill Round – High Seat to Little Fell and back
After a long drive up to Kirby Stephens, everybody was keen to get out onto the hill early on Saturday morning and the day started off cold with some hill fog. We were fortunate that this wasn’t on the route we had chosen, i.e. over High Seat , along the ridge to Gregory’s Chapel and Archy Strigg, along the National Park Boundary to Scart of Scaiths , across open country to Little Fell, down to Hell Gill Beck, over the bridge and back along to the start at Outhgill. Seven of us made up the group, ably lead by Roy Silverthorne with Stuart, Dawn, Kathy, Carol, Jennie and myself, trotting along behind. The day started with trouble parking…we were about to park on the common at Outhgill, when a voice came over the wall (you can’t park there!!!)…respecting the wildlife, we moved on to an alternative. Off we went up the hill to High Seat..a tough start of about 450m i.e. 1500ft of near vertical ascent without a path in sight – and no wander…it vented the lungs and warmed us up for the day…a bit of scrambling through Coalwell Scarth made it a bit more exciting too. A lengthy “yomp” in a very cold wind followed, - along the ridge to Gregory Chapel, the second Nuttall of the day. Onwards to Hugh Seat and Lady’s Pillar followed, - with mid morning brew in a wind break near the top..third Nuttall at 689m. A navigation exercise followed as we went “off piste” in a southerly direction towards Scarth of Scaiths – across open moorland and boggy terrain – where Stuart managed to do a full frontal into the bog , a sight to behold indeed. Onwards to Little Fell for the 4th (and final) Nuttall, before more navigation took us down to Hells Gill Beck and the associated bridge. Lunch was welcome before an easy “yomp” along Hellgill Wold took us back to the start. An enjoyable day of about 10 miles, a good ascent and with navigation thrown in not to mention a bag full of Nuttalls made it worthwhile. |
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A walk in the Carmarthen Fans |
By Peter Salenieks |
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On Fan Hir
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Pine needles were carried like darts on the freshening south-west wind as we set off from a forestry commission car park beside Pont’ar Wysg one Sunday towards the end of October. Ted Bumford led us along a faint path beside the River Usk to approach Carmarthen Fan from the north. The ground was waterlogged and further heavy showers were forecast for the afternoon, although there was a little morning sunshine as we left the river behind and gained height. A short, steep ridge holds the key to Fan Foel, offering a vantage point on the horizontal strata of the northern cliffs and views along the eastern scarp slope towards Llyn y Fan Fawr. Dave Bingham, recently returned from the Himalayas, set an early lead. Once we had gained the escarpment, Ted chose an extended route that headed south to Fan Bryncheiniog. We paused for a hot drink inside the stone shelter near the trig point, before continuing along the Fan Hir ridge and descending the slopes of Waun Haffes, a little south of the site where an RAF Vampire fast jet crashed on a training flight in 1953. The clouds thickened as we crossed a basin punctuated by areas of shake holes and joined the bridleway northwest of Sinc y Giedd, where the River Giedd disappears into a swallow hole before re-emerging in Dan yr Ogof cave. True to form, it began to rain at about one o’clock. The streams were already in spate and care was needed to find suitable crossing points, before making our way uphill across the slopes of Cefn Twrch to rejoin the path along the northern escarpment of Bannau Sir Gaer. Ted kept to a high path, rather than following the track from the dam at Llyn y Fan Fach. For a time, heavy rain drummed off the sodden ground as we made our way down to the valley. |
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Another stream crossing positioned us for the final ascent of the day, paralleling the Sychnant to reach the col between Bryn Mawr and Waun Lwyd, crossing the outbound route that Chris Barber’s party took during the May 2004 meet at Llanddeusant Youth Hostel.
Golden sunlight picked out our descent and a rainbow came fleetingly into view behind us before the world faded once more to grey and the afternoon drew to a close. With plenty of rough ground, over 1000 metres of ascent and Dave confessing to feeling a little tired, there was some debate over whether the route might qualify for the severe grade on the Club programme. The verdict: “probably”. |
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Christmas On Kinabalu |
By Peter Salenieks |
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Mt Kinabalu
Pitcher Plant
View from Low’s Peak to St. John’s Peak
On Lows Peak with festive headgear
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It was early in the morning as I walked along the road from our small hotel to a nearby vantage point. Mount Kinabalu lay in shadow, masked by a thin veil of clouds that cleared when touched by the first light of day. Rays of sunlight cut into the shadows and I watched until they lit the tree-filled valley below. The sight gave meaning to the name Kinabalu, which derives from the Dusun words “Ki” and “nabalu”, literally a mountain of large boulders inhabited by spirits. Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea – a granite pluton thrust upward through the sediments of the Crocker Range to a height of 4095 metres. It is still rising at a rate of about 5 mm a year. Sir Hugh Low made the first recorded ascent in 1851. As a keen horticulturalist, he collected many plants that are unique to Kinabalu. Since then, over 5000 species of plants and 300 species of birds have been recorded in the park. The well-marked trail starts at the Timpohon Gate and leads through four vegetation zones, each with its own distinctive sights and sounds. Shelters called pondoks punctuate the climb, enabling one to rest and swap stories with other trekkers. Whilst December is not the best month to view flowers, we were intrigued by the sight of insectivorous pitcher plants on the forest floor and necklace orchids dangling from the trees. Dappled sunlight shone through the canopy of the montane forest as we walked along, but clouds gathered during the afternoon and it turned to rain as we approached Laban Ratan resthouse, where we were to spend the night. Encouragingly, one of our guides observed that afternoon rain is often followed by a dry morning. After an early dinner, we did our best to rest until sotto voices and the sound of boots on wooden floorboards signalled that it was time to go. Over one hundred people were on the move. We left the hut just before 3 a.m. Clouds of breath hung in the still air and light from our head torches picked out dewdrops as they glistened on wet grass. Queues formed beneath wooden steps and the fixed ropes that safeguarded our way across moderate slabs. Further up, a thick white rope traced the route onto the summit plateau, painting a white line to the stars. The Geminids are usually one of the best meteor showers and we saw them to good effect in the clear mountain air. Every few minutes, a meteor traced out its fleeting, fiery path – simpler, yet conveying more awe than any firework display. Orion looked down on a thread of humanity as we gained height, our progress marked by the metronome tap of walking poles. I was reminded of the line of head torches that snakes up Mont Blanc from the Goûter hut, beads of light that never quite touch the sky. Colour began to suffuse the sky to our right, banishing the night and picking out the distinctive rocky silhouette of the Ugly Sisters. A final short scramble took us to the summit of Low’s Peak, which crowns the western plateau and overlooks the dramatic amphitheatre of Low’s gully. The granite blocks of the summit were dotted with people, gazing as one towards the sun as it rose above a sea of clouds and bathed them in warm light. For many, this was to be their first and only 4000 metre peak. A fitting reward for an Alpine start and an insight into what lifts mountaineering above the ordinary. We entered into the Christmas spirit by donning festive headgear, raising a few chuckles as we drank in the view. I was one of the last to leave the summit, chatting to a guide about the mountains, whilst making our way back to the edge of the plateau. After a second breakfast at Laban Ratan, it was time to head back down the trail. Before long, we encountered a growing stream of porters and clients making their way uphill. Now it was our turn to recount what the mountain was like! Although less tiring than the ascent, our muscles ached as we negotiated all 2500 steps down to the Timpohon Gate. We bade farewell to our guides at the park headquarters, before preparing to set off on the next part of our journey through Borneo, bearing lighter packs and fuller memories. |
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Ted’s Fan Fawr Walk |
By Terry Delbridge |
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Having lunch beside the disused railway line below Fan Gyhirych |
The day started at Maen Llia picnic site not far from Ystradfellte in poor weather, which deteriorated to rain as we got going. Fforest Ffawr is apparently a “medieval royal hunting forest” (ref. Nuttalls – Wales) Ted had definitely demonstrated his “pulling power” with 15 members present for what was an intermediate walk at about 14miles with 3 tops involved. The route went west from the car park to the metal road, then N over the cattle grid and NW up to the trig point at 663m on Fan Nedd for a short breather. Then NW along the permitted path, to reach the stone wall for “11’s” , then on to Fan Gyhirych at 725m (2 Nuttalls bagged). Both these peaks are in the Cnewr Estate where only a permissive path exists over the moorland. The route continues still further W and SW to the caving club near Penwllt. A desolate old quarrying area complete with old station and what is left of the sidings. The final section is over the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu Nature Reserve which in 1975 was declared a reserve to “protect the deepest and one of the longest cave systems in Britain” (ref: Nuttalls) This was followed by the old roman road Sarn Helen (from Y Gaer to a fort a Coelbren) back through the woods to the car park. 14 miles, about 6 hours and 2 Nuttalls in the bag – a great day out thanks Ted for Leading and all those who recc’ed it for us.
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Kings Weekend |
By Alison Rothwell
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17 of us met up at Kings youth hostel at the end of February. Most people went up early on Friday to make the most of the weekend and get an extra walk in. Dawn, Cath and John Ellis kindly prepared some food for all-comers on the Friday evening. There was an open fire in the lounge which made it warm and inviting. So much so that a passing walker asked to come and stay the night! We made such a good impression that she even asked to join the club! On the Saturday night John Balmforth gave us all a lift to the pub in the back of his van, for which everyone was grateful despite the bumpy ride on the way home. Most people went up Cadair Idris on the Saturday, where there was plenty of snow to make things interesting. A few of us walked in the Arans on the Friday where there was several feet of snow in places! On Sunday most people had a short walk and headed home, but some of us stayed an extra night and had a few interesting days in the Rhinogs. All in all a good social weekend with winter conditions to make walking more interesting.
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News, News, News… |
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Touching the Void DVD for loan |
The Club has a DVD of Touching the Void which can be loaned to club members. Please telephone Ian Tucker (number on the programme) for details. A proviso for the loan is that the DVD is returned directly to Ian rather than being passed on to a second and third person etc.
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Publicity and promoting the club |
The committee are keen to attract new members to the club; in particular it would be very nice to attract some younger people and a budget has been set aside for the purpose of publicity. An advert has been placed in Climber magazine which will be in every monthly issue up to the end of 2005.
A poster has also been created and this can currently be seen at the Welsh International Climbing Centre, Up and Under Ltd, The Mountain Centre at Libanus and three leisure centres – Caerphilly, Abergavenny and Cwmbran. Other venues are planned but time has been precious lately not least because of work on this newsletter and GMC Tables! They are now out of the way and more effort can be put into the publicity work.
Although much work falls to me as Publicity Officer, everyone can help play a part in promoting the club, even in seemingly small ways. Our friendliness at club meets, in particular being helpful and encouraging (which I see very often) is a big factor in all this, and without it all the posters in the world are worth nought to be honest.
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Website and Rachel Lewis
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Talk of publicity leads nicely onto the Website, which is of course very valuable in this regard. Trefor Beese (webmaster) is handing on the baton after many years (a generous round of applause) to Rachel who, I suppose, can be called the Web-mistress!
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The next club dinner |
The committee were wondering at their latest meeting whether someone outside the committee would be interested in arranging the next dinner. Two possible venue ideas have been spoken of already but ideas from an organiser
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Link to tide tables |
Want to know the tides for days or weeks in advance?
Most websites give free information for 7 days or so ahead but then charge for information further into the future.
Click on the Climbers Club website and then follow links for information for all of 2005, FREE !!
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Webcams |
Ever wondered what the weather or snow cover is like for your next planned trip? Then why not try out webcams? Here are some….
From this Ogwen Mountain rescue team site follow the links to 2 webcams pointing from Bethesda and from near Tryfan. www.thelangstrath.com/webcam.htm Webcam into Borrowdale www.wasdaleweb.co.uk/wasdalewebcam.html Webcam in Wasdale Webcam from the Kingshouse hotel in Glencoe Gorgeous views of the ski area base station on Cairngorm www.visit-fortwilliam.co.uk/mf_webcam.html North Face of Ben Nevis
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History Corner |
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A bit of history… the recent death of Eigerwand Legend, Anderl Heckmair
by Dave Bingham |
If you have read the White Spider by Heinrich Harrer you might recall the German climber, Anderl Heckmair who was instrumental in the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger in July 1938. Born in 1906 in Munich, a young Heckmair took his first look at the face in 1937, a face which would take the lives of 8 climbers before its first ascent. The following year two Austrians Harrer and Kasparek were already part way up the face when Heckmair and Vorg (another German) arrived at its foot. Heckmair and Vorg were equipped with good 12-point crampons which allowed them to catch up the Austrian pair during the climb as Kasparek had 10-point crampons and Harrer had nailed boots! Heckmair saw the face as an ice climb rather than a limestone rockclimb. |
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Once together the four climbers formed a unit for the rest of the climb with Heckmair leading all the remaining pitches. They reached the summit in a storm and then descended to Kleine Scheidegg. The climb had spanned three days and the tired climbers had to face the expectant media in the valley below.
The ascent was a gift to the 1930’s Nazi propaganda machine and all four climbers were soon photographed alongside Hitler, presented as conquering heroes, a symbol of Germany and Austria united in a struggle. Vorg was later killed at the Russian front, Kasparek fell on a Peruvian climb in 1954 and Heckmair has recently died at the age of 98. The White Spider, written by Harrer, was first published in 1959. It covered the earlier attempts, the first ascent and several ascents of different lines thereafter, including endeavours by British parties and became a classic piece of mountaineering literature. |
