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NUNEATON MOUNTAINEERING CLUB

NEWSLETTER

November 2004

Wednesday 10^th November Committee Meeting 8pm.

November 12^th, 13th and 14th Tyn-Y-Erw Bunk House between Bala and Corwen.  Dinner meet with Michele.

Thursday 25^th November PLANNING MEETING for period up to July 2005.  OPEN TO ALL. COME WITH LOTS OF IDEAS.

December 4th Stiperstones, Shropshire with Colin.

January 15th and 16th Snow Meet with David. Location TBA.

February 11th to 15th Scottish Highlands. Crianlarich Youth Hostel.

And there’s much more than this going on. Visit us on a Thursday for impromptu activities, or ring Andrew on 01827 717 648 or Matt on 024 76 758322 if you can’t get down. And don’t forget our website at www.nunmc.co.uk

CRIANLARICH FEBRUARY 2005 Matt Liggins

It is proposed that the February meet moves north in search of snow! To Crianlarich just north of Loch Lomond to be precise. The plan is to stay at Crianlarich youth hostel, which is well placed for a good selection of classic winter Munro's. The proposed dates are for a long weekend starting Fri 11th Feb returning Tues 15th Feb (replacing the programmed Lake District hut meet). I have investigated various modes of transport and found minibus hire to be the most economical, with the good old railway toping the list at well over £140. The price for the minibus will be around £35-£45 each (depending on numbers), plus a share of the fuel. If you would like a place on the minibus book early because places will be limited to 12. The cost of the youth hostel will be £11 per night.
As usual a £10 deposit will secure your place. I will be taking deposits from Thursday 11^th November. In the meantime if you are interested please make yourself known so I will have some idea of the numbers involved. Also let me know if you are prepared to take a share of the driving. I have attached some links to whet your appetite.

www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/crianlarich/crianlarich/
www.syha.org.uk/syha/web/site/Hostels/Crianlarich.asp
www.umu.man.ac.uk/hiking/hikedest/crian/

EDITORAL Colin Green

Welcome to this edition of the club newsletter which I hope to publish every two months with news various goings on and what wit I, and correspondents can muster.

There is no point in me writing this for my own amusement so I need feedback, positive and negative, and lots of copy, both great and small to include in future editions. I’m not especially looking for long stories or epistles, but if that’s what you want to read or share with others then send them in. Short pieces and summaries of expeditions spring to mind but also opinion and comment would be welcome as well as suggestions and plans for the future. Obviously we’ll have to see how the whole thing develops. Needless to say the views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the committee or the club.

I seem to recall that the Newsletter was previously called ‘Outside Now’. If anyone can confirm this and tell me how many previous editions there have been I will incorporate this information into the next edition due in January 2005. Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to edit your newsletter and a special thank you to my predecessor Keith Hilton.

WEBSITES

Nuneaton Mountaineering Club www.nunmc.org

British Mountaineering Council www.thebmc.co.uk

Plas y Brenin www.pyb.co.uk

If you wish to receive the regular Plas y Brenin E-newsletter featuring the latest news, exclusive courses, discounts and offers, send a blank e-mail to: news@pyb.co.uk

Associate membership of the British Mountaineering Council.

The BMC Summit magazine.

BMC third party insurance cover.

10% discount at many outdoor retailers.

Locally includes Jackson’s of Old Arley, Lockwood’s of Leamington, Striding Edge Hinckley, Escape2 Warwick and many others. Do produce your card before making the purchase.

Also we still have an account at Cotswold Outdoors where you may be able to get a bigger discount. Ask for the account number.

Access to like minded outdoor people and all club activities.

Opportunities to try out other outdoor activities.

Club social events.

£25 towards the cost of an approved First Aid certificate. Applications welcomed.

Access to club kit.

Free Worldwide Civil Liability Insurance up to £5 million.

Free Summit Magazine to all club members whose names and addresses are sent electronically.

BMC Information Service Discounts which can be viewed on the website on www.thebmc.co.uk

Special Club Rates at The National Mountain Centre, Plas Y Brenin for group discounted courses, club dinners, meeting room hire, equipment hire and bunkhouse accommodation. Contact the BMC for Plas Y Brenin benefits leaflet.

Access to BMC Travel Insurance.

Access to mountain Huts (owned by member clubs) situated in some of the most beautiful areas in Britain.

Access to Local Area Meetings.

Access to MLTUK award schemes: Single Pitch Award, Mountain Leader Award and Walking Group Leader Awards.

COR BLIMEY. And don’t forget you read it ‘ere first. OK so own up. Who’s reading this page 3 article because of the heading and has missed out page 2? No need to pretend, and don’t be surprised if it’s not as you imagined. At least tabloid headlines catch the attention. What brought this on was my observation that the ladies of the NMC are a particularly well travelled lot and far outshine the macho ones.

For example who can beat the example set by Eileen with multiple visits and treks to southern Africa as well as the rainforest of Costa Rica and the heights of the Peruvian Andes? Only such a well travelled person could describe woods near the Roaches as ‘Tropical’ and be taken seriously. Then there’s Michele with New Zealand and California to her name, though she did take her husband, and the trio of Himalayan explorers in our midst – Debra, Linda and Anne.

All this might well have paled into insignificance when one remembers that at this very moment Julie might have been cooking lunch with plates and cutlery flying from starboard to larboard while Steve was manfully navigating the watery wastes in a force 8! What Karen Rachel and Jacqueline have been up to one can only imagine - but Hey, this is no Old Hack and there’ll be no making up the news here. Well not often. So come on the lads and get those brochures out.

The committee met to agree a policy on the loan and care of club equipment on 23^rd August 2004. Here are some of the main points:

Club kit is intended mainly to enable new members to decide whether they wish to progress in the sport. It is expected that members who continue climbing or scrambling will buy their own kit eventually.

Club kit may be borrowed by club members of with one year’s standing.

When kit is returned, the quartermaster will ask whether anything has happened which might affect the safety of any equipment. If the answer is yes, it will be recorded in the comments section (of record keeping form) and all the kit used on that occasion will be withdrawn until it can be checked.

Needless to say members who borrow kit are responsible for its safety and will be expected to replace it if it is lost.

The AGM was held on Thursday 21^st October at the Old Edwardians Rugby Club – our new venue for any of you who went to the Abbey Sports and Leisure Club.

The meeting seemed to proceed well especially for those who could hear all that was going on with noise filtering through from the bar. I thought it particularly appropriate when the Secretary paid tribute to the contribution of the house dog Solo, a feature sadly lacking at the Abbey Club. Interestingly I’ve not seen Solo since, and have speculated whether or not he might have been dog napped to Whitherly?

Eileen joins the committee as Vice –Chair and Michele as Social Secretary otherwise the other four posts remain unchanged. (see page 2 for contact details)

Membership remains at £12 and is now due and should be paid to the Treasurer Nick Barr ASAP.

You all know that Ben Nevis is Britain’s highest mountain followed by Ben Macdui, and that Everest is followed by K2. So what are the two number 3’s? Look it up, you know it makes sense.

Much has amused yours truly recently and this missive is designed to allow me to share it with you, whether you want to be informed or not. I doubt that George W Bush is a hill walker and therefore I think it was a serious mistake on the part of John Kerry not to mention the subject in any of the three televised debates. I’m sure that would have stumped W. One of my favourite recent Bushisms came not from the great man himself but from a Radio 4 interviewee who declared, ‘George W Bush is against tax – and syntax.’ Nice one.

For those of you who do not benefit from a regular input of the Home Service make sure not to miss Eddie Mair on the PM programme and his excellent wit.

For example: Correspondent - …and I’ve never heard so much rubbish in all my life.’

Eddie Mair – ‘You should listen more carefully.’

And don’t think we are limited to Radio 4. Oh no! there is also BBC 2. Richard Curtis (He of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Black Adder and much more) apparently always has a character in one of his scripts called Bernard. Our hero, allegedly, took exception when a previous girlfriend appeared to have been stolen away by Bernard Jenkin MP. So Curtis devised a cunning plan to immortalise Bernard in much of British comedy. In Black Adder series 2, guess what Nursie’s real name is? Look out for those Bernard’s next time you watch a Curtis production.

According to new findings by the Ecological Department of Aberdeen University in conjunction with the Scottish Hedgehogs Preservation Group, the hedgehog population in the Grampians is in decline whilst the Haggis population appears to be thriving. Valuable research funded by the Scottish Landowners Association and backed by the concerned Lairds of Corgarff, Glenbuchat, and Balmoral Castle Estates, puts blame squarely on the shoulders of the cunning Haggis.

Hedgehogs blasted

At the first Haggis shoot of the season (April 1^st) in the areas of Glenkindie, Aboyne, and Ballater, the results were the same in that mainly hedgehogs were shot. A spokesperson for the Scottish Landowners Association said, "It was a right royal do", and a key member of the main shooting party stated, "Ones’ corgie got a prickly mouthful!"

Swan song

This area, dubbed the ‘Haggis Haven’ (or brown triangle, as it is known locally – due to the spring coloration of the Haggis), appears to be spreading westwards at the rate of approximately 1,200 hectares a year. It is apparent that the upper reaches of the river Dee could be engulfed in the next three years. Ecologists are concerned not only for the hedgehogs but also the breeding grounds of the royal swans which are in danger of becoming overrun, thus causing dire problems for these majestic birds when they are at their most vulnerable time of the year.

Haggis authentication

Due to the shortage of Haggis in the shops and the glut of dead hedgehogs some unscrupulous traders are passing hedgehogs off as Haggis on the black market. A spokesperson for the Burns’ Society stated "It is imperative that the correct tradition is preserved, and hedgehogs are no substitute! We have approached the European Union headquarters in Brussels with a view to the introduction of a Haggis Authentication Scheme giving a new Brussels Standard Haggis International Ticket, or B.S.H.I.T. for short."

Hedgehog roundup

Meanwhile more disturbing news is emerging from the Grampian mountainsides. It appears that during the two weeks period prior to the start of the Haggis shooting season, the Haggis might have actually rounded up the hedgehogs. This would have increased hedgehog density on the ground and consequently increased their chances of getting shot. Even more disturbing is the theory that the stronger Haggis may have actually presented hedgehogs to the guns! A spokesperson for the Scottish Landowners Association stated, "All we saw was something brown leaping around and blasted it. We didn’t know there was a problem until the dogs returned looking somewhat perplexed".

Solution

An all group working party (consisting of: The Ecological Department of Aberdeen University, Scottish Hedgehogs Preservation Group, the Burns’ Society, and the Scottish Landowners Association – including the Lairds of Corgarff, Glenbuchat, and Balmoral Castle Estates), will meet for the first time next month to discuss ways to combat the problem.

Inside information suggests one proposal to remedy matters could be for an increase in the number of shooting days in order to keep the Haggis numbers down. A Hedgehog breeding programme in the Scottish Lowlands would accompany this, and then more Hedgehogs could be introduced from the south as necessary to maintain the population in the Grampians.

Further Studies

The local branch of the R.S.P.C.A. suspects there could be more to this than meets the eye, and would therefore welcome further studies to evaluate this unique situation.

Souvenirs

In the meantime the tourist season gets under way. This year is expected to be one of the busiest on record, and the usual novelty Grampian toilet brushes are available from all local souvenir and gift shops – watch this space.

 

Anon

 

 

As the author of this piece wishes to remain anonymous this must be respected. However, many thanks to Nick Barr for all the effort he put into writing this epic.

CLIMBING Tony Charles

That man Tony has been on the crag quite a lot this year as evidenced by the trawl of routes listed below. Plenty of 4a’s and 5a’s, though personally I was in 1b, 2b and 3b when I was at school. If there is anyone else out there with some tales of daring do, or even moderates and diffs, then let me have your records – well, for the record Gromit.

Colin and Tony still hope to make this Lake District ascent a target. (Well he did the last time I spoke to him). Anyone else for Pillar?