Chippings

THERE WILL BE GENERAL RELIEF amongst walkers and climbers that the threat to the one-inch Ordnance Survey map has now been removed. The Ordnance Survey has confirmed that the map will continue to be published for the whole country, but it seems that the publication of the 2\ inch may have to be curtailed, only those districts being covered which are likely to attract a reasonable sale of maps.

In Mountain Life for December 1972 Dennis Gray considers the controversy stirred up in European climbing circles by the Russian proposals to establish competitive rock climbing as an international sport. He attended an international gathering of mountaineers held at Munich in conjunction with the twentieth Olympiad. The ultimate objective of the Russians appears to be the inclusion of competitive climbing as an Olympic event. Gray does not consider this a serious possibility as it is the policy of the Olympic Committee to reduce rather than to enlarge the number of events. Gray’s report is followed up in the February 1973 number of Mountain Life with a revealing account by Marek Brniak of the fifth rock climbing championships in the U.S.S.R. Competitors are held on a top rope (a steel cable, in fact): stop watch timing is used, the winner being the climber who gets to the top and down again by abseiling in the shortest time. If the climber’s weight comes on the top rope he is disqualified.

All this is of course dead against British climbing tradition, and most of the Europeans are opposed to the idea, although several countries sent observers to the Russian event. In fairness it should be noted that the Russians do not regard this as a branch of mountaineering, but as an entirely separate sport. But the virus of international competition has without doubt come into mountaineering in the last thirty years, and any attempt to encourage this disease by whatever means should be discouraged. It is just as well that British climbers should know what is going on abroad.

THE FIRST ENGLISHMAN IN ZERMATT.  Many of our members have made Zermatt the base for their climbing in the Alps, but probably few know that the first Englishman ever to set foot in the village was a fellow-Yorkshireman, one George Cade, of York. He is a shadowy figure today, and enquiries in York and elsewhere have failed to uncover information about him, although he must have been a citizen of some substance, as he made an extended tour of Switzerland in 1800, engaging local guides for his travels. He wrote an account comprising some 170 pages, describing his journey, but this was never published, the day of club journals not having yet arrived, and the manuscript now seems to have disappeared. Whymper, in his Zermatt and the Matterhorn mentions having seen it, and quotes several passages from it. But the longest resume” of the manuscript appeared in an article in the Alpine Journal, vol. VII, 1874—6, by the Rev. J. Sowerby, entitled, A Tour in the Alps in 1800. The reverend gentleman had fallen in with Cade’s son during a holiday in Switzerland, and had borrowed the manuscript from him, thus obtaining the material for an article of historic interest.

Cade and his companions approached Zermatt over the Theodule Pass from the Val Tournanche. They were well received by the resident Cure\ but found the “High Dutch” spoken by the Zermatters rather too* much for them. They continued down the Visp Tal to the Rhone valley, and the Cure of St. Niklaus told Cade that he was the first Englishman he had ever seen. The whole account would be well worth reprinting but so far my enquiries have failed to locate the manuscript—if indeed it still exists.

In conclusion here is a sample of George Cade’s literary style, without comment: “O ye verdant scenes, ye glassy lake and woods and hanging rock. Ye towers and solitary hamlets, what happy memories ye recall! Thrice delightful mountains, how ye expand the soul in the delight of sentiment; how ve beckon to it from the strife of cities and vain pomps of life to a safe haven of retirement amidst the charms of nature and solitude”.

J.G.B.

NEW CLIMBS, HARRIS BUTTRESS, TRALLVAL, RHUM.

Archbishop   360 ft.   Mild severe.

To the left of Central Rib there is a large black overhanging gully. Left of this another rib rises up leading to a broad diedre. The lower half of the route follows the rib, the upper half the right side of the diedre.
(1)    110 ft. Start at the left hand edge of the rib and follow an obvious line of cracks and short slabs up to a large boulder-strewn ledge beneath an overhanging slab.
(2)    30 ft. Up right-hand edge of slab to ledge.
(3)    90 ft. Move up rightwards towards a line of broken black rock. Climb straight up this (crux) to ledge.
(4)    110 ft. Follow crest of rib to right of diedre up pleasant rock to top.
First ascent: G. Edwards, P. A. Standing (alternate leads). May 31st, 1973.

Archdeacon   240 ft.   Very severe.

100 ft. left of Archbishop is another buttress with overhangs at 50 ft. and 80 ft. Start at the left hand base of the buttress by a cairn. The standard and interest of the route are well maintained.
(1)    60 ft. Climb up a line of overlapping, light-coloured rock to a prominent nose at 50 ft. Move past nose to ledge.
(2)    70 ft. Move delicately right onto slab and climb up rightwards to the overhang. Traverse right until it is possible to pull up over the overhang, and then climb up leftwards to the large grass terrace, which splits the western end of the cliff.
(3)    70 ft. Looking from Pitch 2 there-is a large black gully to the right. Pitch 3 roughly follows the left side of a small rib to the left of the gully. Start at the base of the rib and climb up via two obvious steps. Continue trending rightwards to a small ledge below the final slab.
(4)    60 ft. Climb up leftwards from the stance and then take a direct line to the top on small holds, avoiding the wide crack running up rightwards, which is an easier line. The finish is superb.
First ascent: G. Edwards, P. A. Standing (alternate leads). May 31st, 1973.

Fallen Angels   70 ft.   Hard severe.

About 150 ft. left of Archdeacon is another small buttress.
Start by cairn and follow obvious line up light-coloured gabbro to top.
First ascent: G. Edwards, P. A. Standing. May, 31st, 1973.

RHUM COMPARISONS AND IMPRESSIONS.

Whit. Holidays 1964 and 1973. Cloudberry on the centre of the ridge rising from the col between Hallival and Askival— two small rosettes only. Eagles seem to have increased substantially since 1964. There were said to be four pairs this season. Many members mentioning sightings. S. M. and I saw one near Wreck Bay and shortly afterwards the “fall” of a grouse which had been plucked. Do the two Eagles Crags on the map (South and North coasts) relate to Sea Eagles (said to feed mainly on sea birds)? Grouse and heather seemed to have increased since 1964 but the fluctuations of grouse populations are well known. We did not see any evidence of heather burning. Snipe—there seemed to be a noticeable increase since 1964. Divers were seen, but were scarce, as they were also in 1964.

As in 1964 it was an island of primroses and violets. The two seemed to favour differing districts—primroses around the camp site at “Salisbury Plain” and violets the north western valleys. The whole island was much drier than usual (possibly owing to dry winter). Deer seemed to have increased—I did not get a population count from any of the Conservancy men. To me of interest, the broken shattered crag at the head of Glen Guirdil—”Sron an t-saighdeir—the soldier’s nose. Why? Badly shattered!

Trout-fishing (not official!) and not taken seriously. Poor, fish small and “dour”, Good fly hatches seen many times— Stonefly, Alderfly, Yellow Sally, etc., but no natural rises of fish in Loch Long. A cold north-west wind may have inhibited fish taking surface flies. If so, why? Grouse and claret seemed favourite for few fish taken. Loch Sgaorishal reported poor, but high altitude may make this a “late” loch. No calcareous rocks makes for poor trout.

G.B.B.