2019

Plas y Brenin - Navigation Course (April)

A night of bad weather

At the end of March, 5 of us from the club went to North Wales to attend a Poor Weather/Night-Time Navigation training course. It was subsidised by the BMC and run at Plas y Brenin... on a very sunny weekend.

Myself and Ed traveled up Friday night so we could get some climbing in on Saturday morning (after a hearty fry-up of course). We climbed at Little Tryfan, a nice and popular little slab crag. We met up with Lee, Theresa and Jane back at PyB in the afternoon for the training course. Our instructor was brilliant and very knowledgeable. He got us doing pacing exercises, where we would count how many steps it takes to walk 100m. It's a little antisocial counting steps whilst you walk, so an alternative was to time how long it takes to walk 100m. Using these techniques help you keep track of how far you've walked. In zero visibility, you won't be able to see any reference points to help you. We also covered compass bearings and back bearings, a part of the course where we all got to admire Theresa's state of the art compass. Our guide also gave us some great map reading tips. A green dotted line on the map indicates a route with a public right of way.... but that doesn't necessarily mean there is a path there. A black dotted line indicates a footpath, ideally you want a black and green dotted line together. It's not uncommon to see a green dotted line on its own on the map and spend time looking for a path that doesn't exist!

Map clutter: sometimes there's too much information to display on the map, so some of it is left out. We used a river crossing which had been left off the map to make room for the name of a hostel (which they had likely paid to have on the map).

What can you trust on a map? Fences can move and can be taken down. Footpaths can become disused when shortcuts are found and become more well trodden. Be cautious when choosing features on the map to navigate with; what you see in reality might not match up. Stone walls are less likely to move, mountains... even less likely. Have features you expect to see along your chosen route which you can use to confirm you're still on track (tick features). Have an obvious feature to look out for that will indicate you've gone too far (check feature).

We found a flat forested area on the map, but when we arrived it was a hill! Sometimes discrepancies are purposely put on maps. If this "flat" region appeared on a rival map, it would show that the competitors had simply copied the map instead of surveying the area for themselves. We finished the course by hiking up to the top of Crimpiau and back down, all in the dark. The technique here was to feel the steepness as we walked and constantly assess whether this matched with the contours on the map, using the lines as a guide. We all really enjoyed the course, and learnt a great deal of new skills and refreshed old ones.

Sadly Theresa and Lee had to leave Sunday morning. Jane went for a walk, keen to test her navigation skills no doubt, and Ed and I went climbing again. This time we went sport climbing in the Australia quarry crag. I was blown away by the sheer scale of the quarry and thankful to survive my first time climbing on slate!

Alastair Guinee

Peak District (April)

We camped at Upper Booth campsite just outside Edale, some of us arriving after work on the Thursday night and others arriving on Friday and Saturday.

Friday we all climbed at Birchens Edge and on our return to the campsite made the best of the weather by having a BBQ .

On Saturday Andy, Hannah, Tom, Vanessa and myself were joined by Chris, Dom, Marnie and their dogs Rufus and Winston from bucks Scouts climbing Club. We walked up the highest point in the peaks Kinder Scout. Chris and I took a small rack and a rope and climbed a route on Kinder Downfall called Zigzag. Theresa and Lee spent the day climbing at the plantation on Stanage Edge. On our return to the campsite we were joined by Ed and Emily. That evening we all enjoyed a hearty pub meal in Edale.

Sunday we all headed to a venue called Windgather, a friendly crag with grades for all abilities. That evening some of us walked into Edale for some well deserved pub grub.

Monday, after packing up from the campsite some of us went off and done the Hathersage traverse (shopping and breakfast) while others went walking and running, all making the best of the weather and putting off the journey home as long as possible.

Great trip guys, look forward to the next one!

Andy E.

The Eastern Alps, (July/August)

Summits

All, Tschenglser Hochwand 3375m PD, Gros Angelus 3521m PD, Ortler 3905m AD

Colin and Chris, Similaun 3603m PD

Colin, Chris and Sid, Hintere Schwarze 3628m PD

Getting to Sulden and Acclimatising (July 25–27)

25th/26th July

The primary objective of this trip was to ascend the Ortler mountain, at 3905m, the highest in the Eastern Alps outside the Bernina. The normal route is graded AD with rock pitches of 3 and a glacier ascent at up to 40 degrees. The attraction for Colin was that, as he had mostly run out of big mountains to climb elsewhere in the Alps, going east was the solution.

Myself, Colin and Mike, booked flights to Munich from Heathrow, where we met up with Chris from Cambridge, a non-member. As we had an early flight, we decided to doss at the airport rather than drive up in the early hours. The flight was uneventful, but there were long queues at the car hire, even though the car was pre-booked. Eventually, after a delay lasting longer than our flight, we were in the car heading through heavy traffic to Sulden, a small Tyrolean village in northern Italy. We had no accommodation booked other than mountain huts, but had camping gear with us, even though there was no indication of any nearby campsite. Fortunately, there was a large modern bunkhouse in the village centre with a bar and restaurant, and they did breakfast.

The morning dawned sunny and dry, unlike our wet arrival the previous day. The plan was to go up to the Dusseldorfer hut where we would do some acclimatisation routes. A pleasant chairlift took us partway, leaving just over an hour’s walk to the hut.

After checking in and some tea, we set off to climb the Tschenglser Hochwand 3375m, which offered a via ferrata, and as it was my first I found the first 100m rather difficult and exciting. However meeting other guided parties retreating and descending, we started to hear horror stories of huge amounts of loose rock poised to obliterate unfortunate climbers. It was unclear where this loose rock was situated, the gully used for ascent and descent or the via ferrata, or both. All rather confusing, much of this story having come from a guide retreating with his clients, and saying he was going to get the mountain closed when he arrived back at the hut.

In any event, we decided to have a look at the via ferrata, of which we climbed the first 100m, all the while searching for the metaphorical sword of Damocles waiting to deposit half the mountain onto our heads. At this point, thinking that it was poised, but hidden above us, we traversed out into the wide gully nervously inspecting the side walls. Slipping and sliding in loose scree we made slow steady progress to the col, where a pleasant rocky ridge took us to the sunny and still summit.

On the descent down the gully, and finding a path that avoided the worst of the loose rock, we realised that it was, in fact, only the gully that was causing all the alarm as it was rather unstable.

Back at the hut we had refreshments on the sundeck, and chatted to a girl who was working at the hut and keen to improve her English. Whether she gained much was moot. To round off the afternoon we had a great sighting of a Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture, (only about 500 pairs in the whole of Southern Europe), traversing across the hillside in front of the hut never moving its wings, just using the breeze coming up the slope.

The Hohe Angelus and Boulder Danger (July 28)

The forecast for the following day was poor with heavy rain. Our plan was to climb the Gros Angelus 3521m and traverse the Vertainspitze 3545m, which would lead us back to the lift station. However talking to the guardian, we were informed that this route was no longer possible due to rockfall at the col, so we decided to only try the Hohe Angelus, depending on the weather. The morning dawned with visibility of about 50 yds. However we set off to see if it would improve, it did clear somewhat and stay dry and so after some chains and scrambling we were on the cloud bound summit. Descending, we used a snowbank parallel to our shaly ascent, making the first part fairly quick. It had now started raining so the rest of the descent was wet and slippery, especially the chains that led us to the path. The rain became heavier on the path back to the hut where we packed up and started down towards the upper lift station. Heavy rain continued as we met many people coming up to the hut. Sound and movement above made us look up and we saw a large boulder rolling down the slope towards the path where Chris was in front. Shouted warnings made him look up just in time to jump out of the way as the boulder crossed the path. Further down a large scree slope on the opposite side of the path with many perched boulders, spawned one boulder which set off a chain reaction as it dislodged many others large and small. Needless to say, we didn’t linger on that path. Back in the village we booked in for another night in the bunkhouse. It had now stopped raining, and the forecast for the next couple of days was good.

The Ortler Summit (July 29–30)

After breakfast, we took the chairlift and walked up to the Payer hut, perched on an elevated spot at the end of a rocky ridge. With a good forecast for the following day, it was busy with guides and clients.

The following morning, a 5.30 am departure with head torches on, took us out to a long rock ridge with numerous descents and ascents, chains protecting the harder sections. After more than an hour we were finally out on the glacier, a large rockfall opposite announcing our arrival. We started to gain height via several tricky sections of steep loose snow, and a delicate traverse over steep hard ice, nominally protected by loose stakes driven into the ice. A wide crevasse with a collapsing snow bridge provided more excitement.

We were climbing in pairs, Colin with Chris, and myself with Mike. As Colin and Chris were considerably faster than us, we met them coming down about 30 mins from the summit. By the time we reached the summit, the cloud had descended, so zero views on this occasion. The descent was slow, and thankfully there was still enough left of the snow bridge over the crevasse. The long rocky ridge was the sting in the tail, seeming to take a lifetime before the hut appeared in view. By the time we reached the hut Colin and Chris had already started their descent. After a beer we headed down, but with little hope of catching the last lift, we stopped midway at the Tabarreta hut for the night. Colin and Chris spent the night at the Sulden bunkhouse.

Moving to Vent and The Final Climb (July 31–August 3)

The next morning after breakfast Mike and myself set off in heavy rain and took the lift back down to Sulden, meeting Colin and Chris in the bunkhouse. Over coffee we decided to leave Sulden and drive north, a short distance as the crow flies, but a four hour journey by car. Our destination was the small village of Vent near the town of Soelden in the Austrian Otztal Alps. On arrival we enquired at Tourist Information for cheap accommodation in the village (we’re pensioners, remember). We were directed to the Obervent Gasthaus, one of the oldest buildings in the village. The owners spoke no English, but fortunately one of the employees was an excellent English speaker. The place was charmingly idiosyncratic. At some point in the distant past, the roof had been renewed up to the stage of roofing felt and battens, but no sign of any tiles. The owners were heavy smokers, and although they only smoked outside there was always a slight smell of cigarette smoke inside. However, everyone was friendly and the food was excellent Austrian fare.

There were two huts easily accessible from Vent, the Martin-Busch and Similaun. We started to phone for places but to our surprise both were full for the coming night but had spaces for the night after. Enquiring if we could just have an evening meal and camp in the vicinity was met with short shrift. If we wanted to do a route on the following day, the only option was to camp near, but out of sight of the hut. Although the forecast for the next day was good the coming evening and night forecast was pretty dire, heavy rain and thunderstorms. Colin and Chris decided to take the tent up and camp. Myself, unable to be enthused by a wet night’s camping, and Mike, who had been feeling unwell, decided to walk up to the hut the following day. After Colin and Chris had packed all their camping and climbing gear and had started the trudge up to the Martin Busch hut, Mike and myself went for a leisurely alpine walk amongst the flowers and butterflies. That night I lay in a warm dry bed listening to the driving rain and thunderstorm.

Colin and Chris’s tent just survived the night. Packing up and leaving the soaking wet camping gear at the hut they did a traverse of Similaun, 3603m in improving weather. In the morning I took Mike to Soelden to see a pharmacist and doctor for his persistent cough. In the afternoon we both walked up to the Martin-Busch hut to join Colin and Chris. After dinner we decided to climb the Hintere Schwarze 3628m the following day.

Mike had decided to walk down to the valley that morning, so a 6 am start saw the three of us leaving the hut on a winding path up the hill followed by a long descent to the dry glacier. We walked up the steepening ice to a flat plateau where we roped up. The heavily crevassed glacier gradually steepened into a large snow bowl which lead up to a loose shaly and snowy section before gaining the summit ridge. Clambering along this in crampons we soon reached the summit with good views all round.

The descent was straightforward, with the sting in the tail of the long climb up the hill from the glacier.

After beer at the hut, we walked back down into Vent, and our last dinner in the Obervent.

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