Chippings
Advisory Council. – The Club has given its adhesion to a Council formed by the various mountaineering clubs, with the object of making united and weighty resistance to attempts to damage the hill country and to interfere with access to it.
Memorial To Norsk Seamen. – In September, 1921, Mr. W. Cecil Slingsby unveiled at Bergen a bronze memorial tablet to commemorate the bravery of the hundreds of Norwegian sailors done to death by the methods of marine assassination practised by the Boche.
The Alps In 1920 And 1921. – There has been no difficulty in visiting France, the existence of passports delaying the traveller only a minute or two. A host of British climbers went to the French Alps in 1920, and was mostly diverted to Switzerland in 1921.
There was some inconvenience in leaving Switzerland in 1920, and a great deal in crossing Switzerland from Italy. Swiss conditions were much improved in 1921, but there was, at some points, much delay at the Italian frontier railway stations. The frontier Alpine passes were closed.
In 1921 the direct route to Switzerland was reopened, a train being run to Bâle three times per week out and home, via Laon and Rheims, somewhat of a feat at express speed over such a badly wrecked permanent way.
The season of 1921 was brilliantly fine and warm up till 10th August, and the uniform success of expeditions might almost be described as “summit slaughter.” After that the weather became as consistently bad, and the missing snow was rapidly replaced.
Unfriendly Italy. – The Editor and his companions were greatly surprised on the afternoon of 10th August, 1921, at being held up on the Monte Moro Pass by Italian guards and turned back into Switzerland, although provided with proper passports and visas. They were told to go round to Macugnaga, the Italian mountain village under Monte Rosa, by Domodossola on the Simplon, about as useful advice as directions to Wastdale Head from Langdale by high road.
The incident was the more annoying as it afterwards appeared the Swiss – Italian mountain passes were closed in 1920, and the fact had not been made widely known.
There is no difficulty whatever on the French – Italian frontier, and by crossing the little – used passes which do not lead to huts, it is obviously possible to get over into Italy from Switzerland. What the penalties are if some gendarme begins to make inquiries and finds your passports without an official stamp, we do not know, but judging from our own regulations, we imagine it might be most unpleasantly difficult to escape a court of law.
The attitude of the Italians towards British mountaineers is greatly to the advantage of the Swiss. The Italian valleys were too little visited by Englishmen before the war, and the effect of the two seasons’ stoppage is only too likely to confirm the habit of sticking to the Swiss side. The Alpine Club is endeavouring to obtain a modification of the regulations and the Monte Moro Pass (Saas to Macugnaga) is known to have been opened in consequence.
Metres And Feet. – The ease with which men climbing abroad can convert map heights into feet deserves to be better known. Taking the metre as 40 inches, or 3 1/3 feet, (in other words, add 0 and divide by 3) means in the Alps a result 100 to 240 feet too big. Subtract one twentieth of the metres and you are near enough for mountaineering purposes.
If you want to be right not only to a foot but to an inch, work out the above and further subtract one-fourhundredth of the metres number.
Reason. – 39.370113 inches = 1 metre,
but 39.37 inches = 3 ⅓ ft. – 
ft. – 
ft.
Literature Of Cave Exploring. – Those of our numerous new members who seek information as to the position of caves and accounts of what has been done, will find what they want from comparatively few sources besides this Journal.
Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society –
Vols. XIII., XIV., XV. Underground Waters Report (Malham and Ingleborough).
Vol. XIII. Notes on Caves (S. W. Cuttriss).
Balderston, Ingleton : Bygone and Present. (Ingleborough, Kingsdale, Leck.)
Bogg, Border Country. Chapter on High Ribblesdale by Lewis Moore.
Bogg, Eden Vale to the Plains of York. Chapter 16, Nidderdale, by G. T. Lowe.
Speight, Craven and N .W. Yorkshire Highlands.
Speight, Tramps and Drives in Craven Highlands.
Martel, Irlande and les Cavernes Anglaises.
Baker, Moors, Crags, and Caves of the High Peak.
Baker And Balch, Netherworld of Mendip.
Martel, article on British Caves and Speleology in Geogr. Journal, X., 1897, pp. 500 – 511.
Encyclopaedia of Sport, article Mountaineering, sub – head Cave Exploration, by J. A. Green.
For Martel’s work abroad consult Les Cevennes et Region des Causses (1890) and Les Abimes, a magnificent tome in the Club Library, describing the exploration of the great French caves and the Adelsberg.
The Outflow Of Hull And Hunt Pots. – It is stated in the books and even in the Underground Waters Report, that Hull Pot water emerges at Horton-in-Ribblesdale at Douk Gill, and so flows to the Ribble past the church, while Hunt Pot water emerges at Brans Gill, further north, and so enters the Ribble at the bridge by the Crown Inn. This statement is now difficult to overtake, appearing even on the Six – inch Ordnance Map, but it has not been true for many years past, if indeed it ever was, and the idea of crossing waters must be given up.
Brans Gill is a permanent stream, Douk Gill is often dry. Above, Hull Pot Beck is permanent, Hunt Pot is constantly dry or feeble. High Hull Pot receives more water by far than Hunt Pot.
Whatever the precise truth may be, any dry period shows that Hull Pot water does not come out at Douk Gill.
Snowdon. – The huts on Snowdon summit are a national disgrace. From the west they are even more conspicuous than from Capel Curig way, and now they have been painted there is no chance of mistaking them for rocks.
Who owns them? It is high time public opinion was brought to bear to have the huts on top pulled down. There is plenty of room below the station for an inconspicuous stone building.
The railway is now an unalterable evil. From the crags of Clogwyn dur Arddu it is an intolerable eyesore.
The High Moors By Night. – It is painful to certain Ramblers to think that while they sat in comfort at Edale last New Year’s Day, Mr. H. F. Martin faced on Kinder Scout the consequence of being without, or unable to see, a compass and perished, separated only by easy ground from the valley tracks.
Simple though a crossing of the great moorland plateaux of the Pennines may be from a mountaineering point of view, they must not be despised. The moors can punish recklessness and blunders as severely as the great peaks. To those who adventure ill equipped I doubt if the moors would allow the grace the fells allow, that of descent into the wrong valley. Moreover, there is less possibility of useful progress by movement in the dark, and in winter therefore the lantern must be carried.
North Climb, Pillar. – Leeds members count themselves fortunate in having Almescliff Crag within easy distance for a Sunday climb, but until July 22nd this year, it does not seem to have been proved that it is quite practicable to climb the Pillar from Leeds as headquarters. Commonsense, perhaps, has prevailed.
This year three Y.R.C. men, D. B., J. B. and C. E. B., left Leeds at 10 p.m. Saturday, and motoring by way of Ripon, Brough and Appleby, reached Keswick at daybreak; thence over the Whinlatter to a point about a mile above Ennerdale Lake, where the motor car was left, and breakfast made at about 6.15 a.m. Sunday.
The start for the Pillar was made about 7.30 and the summit of the Pillar Rock was reached via the North Climb at mid-day. Descending by The Slab and Notch route, the party returned to the motor car at 1.30 p.m. After lunch had been cooked and eaten the return journey was started and home reached at 9.10 p.m.
This clearly demonstrates that the North Climb can now be included in an (easy) day’s ramble from Leeds. Anybody wishing to spend, a quiet Sunday in this manner is warned against getting his car bogged more than three times at four o’clock in the morning. It is popularly supposed that vitality is low at this hour and after extricating their car for the third time the party were inclined to support this contention.
Les Eaux Souterrains. – M .Martel has presented to the Club a copy of the profound work, Les Eaux Souterrains, in which he sums up the results of years of exploration. It is intended in the next Journal to give some indication of the main principles arrived at.
Tail Pieces. – Our thanks are due to Mr. Eric Greenwood for the excellent pen and ink sketches of Italian scenery used in No. 14, and to Mr. P. Robinson for those of Yorkshire in this number.