Meets
Lowstern
10-12 March 1995
Twenty members and their guests attended the meet and three future members arrived to discuss the Himalayan meet. There was a fifty-fifty tally between potholers and others. Saturday was a day of intermittent rain and Sunday a day of continuous sunshine.
On Saturday ten potholers entered Easegill Caverns by way of county Pot. The stream was in spate. Some distance beyond Poetic Justice seven of the party turned back because of the flooding. The other three managed to traverse above the waterline to Eureka Junction, Upstream there was deep water in the main stream to Stop Pot.
The party visited Carrot Chamber, then returned via Manchester Bypass, a tortuous high-level route avoiding the flood-prone stream passages. Emerging at 3 o’clock they found the entrance to Wretched Rabbit Passage and descended a sporting steam passage leading again to Eureka Junction and then out by the entry route.
There were two walking parties of four members each. The party playing away went up to the Lake District, parked at Dovedale and walked up via Dove Crag to Fairfield. The home party set out to visit three outstanding features of the area – the Norber Erratics, the ancient juniper forest and a single but outstanding fossil embedded in a rock face somewhere near Moughton Scars. The erratic presented no problem and in due course several acres of juniper bushes were traversed, as was a large areas of disintegrating and slippery clints, but the party failed to find the fossil.
On Sunday the trio of potholers descended Lancaster Hole via Cape Kennedy, the President and two other members climbed on Twistleton Scar and one member went para-gliding. Three others walked up Pen-y-Ghent.
The commissariat was highly effective.
A.B. Craven.
Attendance:
The President – Derek Bush
Ken Aldred
Alan Brown
Ian Carr
Cliff Cobb
Arthur Craven
Ian Crowther
Mike Godden
Mike Hartland (BPC)
Bill Lofthouse
Kelvin Nutman (G)
Peter Price
Alister Renton
Arthur Salmon
Graham Salmon
David Smith
Martyn Wakeman
Andrew Wilkinson (G)
Frank Wilkinson
Himalayan Meeting
Ged Campion
Alan Kay
Rory Newman
David Smith
RLH Langdale
Joint Meet with Wayfarers
20-22 September 1996
The threatened break in the dry weather did not occur making for excellent conditions on the hills with the exception of Saturday morning which was too windy for the proposed climbing trips.
Friday 20th
The President and two members visited Cliff Downham in Westmorland General Hospital to convey fraternal greetings from the members.
A number of small parties of YRC members were able to arrive at the meet early and get out onto the Langdale fells via the traditional route to Pavey Ark with two members enjoying the pleasures of a scramble up Jacks Rake. A lone member scrambled up via the environs of Scout Crag.
A most enjoyable meal and conversations were had in the evemng – the RLH is a superb hut.
Saturday 21st
A rapid sorting out of YRC and Kindred Clubs saw a YRC party at seven make for Helm Crag via a route skirting Raw Pike and down into Easedale to then ascend Helm Crag. The route across the somewhat confusing area around Carrs is not known to many, being away from the more popular routes. However, it is well worth while to arrive at High Raise where it is challenging to identify the far ranging familiar shapes of oft climbed hills and crags. The sun broke through the fast moving clouds to iUuminate Bowfell buttress and the Great Slab of Bowfell across the valley with dramatic effect. Footpath maintenance has made the descent of Stake Pass into Mickleden much easier than in recent years of erosion. Refreshment was taken at the Old Dungeon Gill Hotel where a number of parties came together.
A mixed group of YRC and Kindred Clubs had made their way to Crinkle Crags by going up Oxendale and gill scrambling out onto the tops to go over Bowfell and down to the ODG whilst a small party of Wayfarers had ascended Esk Pike by way of Rossett Gill and then made their way to the ODG over Bowfell and Hell Gill.
All parties made it to the RLH with httle time to spare for the pre-meal socialising.
A most enjoyable evening with many invitations between friends to take wine. Talk of forth- coming trips to Scotland, the Alps, the Himalayas and the possibility at a cross glacier expedition in Iceland was heard all around. In the latter case, events a few weeks later when the volcano erupted beneath the glacier may well have caused a rethink!
Sunday 22nd.
Fortunately the wind had dropped to enable the President and an ex-President to make for Bowfell where two ropes enjoyed that most classic of classic climbs – Bowfell Buttress by the direct route. From experience it is known to increase in difficulty as the holds become more polished by wear as years go by.
One YRC member made off to join friends on a cross Morecambe Bay walk whilst four other skirted Scout Crag with its resident mountain goat and gill scrambled up White Gill and then went over Pavey Ark to the Langdale Pikes.
After the hard work of cleariing the hut the remaining Wayfarers scrambled over the Tarn Crag to Stickle Tarn before descmding down the blue route to RLH.
A most enjoyable and successful meet helped by good weather but not possible without the hard work and organisation of the meet leader and members of the host Kindred club to whom on behalf of the YRC I most sincerely thank them.
Mike Hartland
Attendance:
YRC Members
J. Alderson (G), Ken Aldred, Denis Armstrong, Denis Barker, Alan Brown, Derek Bush (President), Cliff Cobb, Arthur Craven,Eddie Edwards, Mike Godden, Richard Gowing,David Hanley, Mike Hartland, David Laughton, D. Raylton (G), Alistair Renton, Harry Robinson, Jim Rusher, John Schofield, David Smith, Derek Smithson, Peter Swindells, Mike Wilson
Wayfarers
S. Auty, G. Chambers, A. Furgerson, M. Gee, H Jacob, J. Jacob, D. Wood
Rucksack
N. Cocville, W. Ryecroft
83rd Annual Dinner, Whoop Hall, Kirby Lonsdale
9 November 1996
No two dinner weekends are quite the same but his one must be unique. At the moment of hand over of power the President looked round for the new President and there was no sign of him. Well he might hand over to the new Vice-President but there was no sign of him either. It is a pity we no longer have a spare Vice-President as in the old days. Members who did not attend the dinner will be relieved to learn that they had both got the date wrong and were enjoying their last days of freedom.
At the Annual General Meeting there was considerable interest in the forthcoming activities of the Club. Trekking in the Himalaya, potholing in Oman, traversing the Icelandic glaciers and the twelfth consecutive annual Alpine meet.
The new dinner venue was a great success in the eyes of the majority. The only real adverse point made was that the ventilation could have been improved. Next year we will ask for that to be changed. Whoop Hall is located in that four-mile tongue of Lancashire that divides Yorkshire from Cumbria. The landlord asked us, tongue in cheek, which county we would like it to be in for the weekend.
Whoop Hall is wonderfiilly placed to give easy access to Gragareth, Ease Gill and the Barbon Fells, a new area for after dinner walks. There were walks for all abilities. It turned out a beautiful day with bright clear skies. We took the cars back to Cowan Bridge to avoid a dangerous stretch of road and headed off up to the Three Men of Gragareth before taking in the summit caim. From this vantage point all the local hills could be picked out. However there was not enough time for them all.
Having traversed the eastern edge of this offending tongue of Lancashire our next objective was Ease Gill which skirts the western edge of the tongue, we dropped down into this most interesting stretch of water passing by many pots and sink holes along the way. As they river meandered its way we inspected the entrances of those famous holes of the Ease Gill System and the spectacular cliffs of Ease Gill Kirk.
Over the weekend many of us had in our minds that much loved and respected former member, Cliff Downharn, who had spent many an exciting time under and over the ground hereabouts. No doubt he was with us in spirit. The weekend concluded with an excellent high tea back at the hotel. Our guests, to a man, expressed great satisfaction at the first-class weekend.
David Smith
Attendance:
87 sat down for the Dinner
| Ken Aldred Iain Anderson (PM) John Barton Bruce Bensley Adrian Bridge George Burfitt (G) Derek Bush Ged Campion Albert Chapman Derek Clayton Cliff Cobb Arthur Craven Frank Croll (BPC) Robert Crowther Ian Crowther Andrew Duxbury Eddie Edkins (PM) Eddie Edwards Derek Enghsh (PM) Arthur Evans John Fowler (SMC) Derek Gamble (G) Mike Godden |
Richard Gowing Stuart Grace (Grits) Ralph Hague David Hall David Handley Raymond Harben Mike Hartland Colin Hawkin John Hemmingway Mike Hobson David Holmes Jeff Hooper Gordon Humphreys Jason Humphreys Howard Humphreys Raymond Ince Graham Jones Alan Kay Mike Kinder Will Lacy Cliff Large David Large (G) |
David Laughton Alan Linford Bill Lofthouse Tim Lofthouse Harvy Lomas Jerry Jovatt (AC) John Lovatt Stanley Marsden Don Mackay Bill Mitchell (Chief Guest) Peter Moss Nevil Newman Rory Newman Shaun Penny Mike Pitt (PM) George Postill Roy Precious (FRCC) Mark Pryor Alister Renton Neil Renton Chris Renton Keith Rifby (WC) John Riley |
Harry Robinson Jim Rusher Arthur Salmon Graham Salmon Roy Salmon John Scholfield Michael Smith David Smith John Snoad (G) John Sterland Pat Stonehouse Peter Swindells Terry Temple (G) Mike Thompson Bill Todd Martyn Wakeman Sidney Waterfall John White Frank Wilkinson Maurice Wilson Eddie Whitaker (CPC) |
Five others failed to materialise due to illness, work or mistaking the date.
Scottish Winter Meet
Braemar 20 – 22 February 1997
Braemar was a refreshing change from our usual Glen Etive or Glen Nevis base, and it makes a good starting point for the Eastern Cairngorms, Lochnagar, and the hills around the Cairnwell.
Our accomodation was in the Village Flail, where ample floor space could have taken a party of double the size. The hall had a stage at one end, with curtains and floodhghts, making a suitable platform for one of our guests with the gift of the gab to entertain us on Saturday night.
Press reports of snow causing difficulty on the Glen Shee to Braemar road might have worried the intrepid, but there was no difficulty in reaching Braemar on Thursday night. Friday dawned to a fresh fall of 1 1/2″ of snow in the village. Strong winds also raised doubts about the main Cairngorm plateau, so a route was suggested up a long mountain track to Cam Bhac, 946m, a remote Munro West of the Cairnwell This proved to be a popular objective, for two parties of six set off on the 15 mile round trip from Inverey. The stalkers track leads for 5 miles to a col by Cam Liath, followed by a 3 mile Southerly ridge walk to reach the named SW top of Cam Bhac. The true summit is three quarters of a mile to the NE. Conditions were difficult at times, with 40 MPH winds and occasional wintry showers of fine ice particles reducing visibility to 30 yards. One party returned over Cam Creagach and Creag an Lochan to Inverey.
A second party of three started at Linn of Dee, passed Deny Lodge and Glen Luibeg to the vicinity of Corrour bothy, then turned South to White Bridge and back to Linn of Dee. This route climbs to 2000 feet, and the strong wind with snow under foot, made the conditions heavy going.
The amount of snow was disappointing for February, and the skiing area at Glen Shee had no snow other than small patches. There may well have been good snow above 3,500 feet, but wind strength over the weekend was too great for the higher tops.
If the wind seemed strong on Friday, then Saturday was significantly worse. Average wind speed on the Cairnwell svnnrnit was 40 knots, with early morning gusts of 100 knots, reducing to 80 knots (92 MPH) later in the morning.
The President’s party set out to traverse Lochnagar in one direction, exchanging cars with another party heading in the opposite direction. Starting at Spittal of Glen Muick, a path leads by Loch Muick to the waterfall where the Glas Allt bum runs down from Lochnagar. The route over Lochnagar then leads back to Invercauld bridge by the old Military Road.
One party reached Lochnagar by almost crawling the last part of the route to avoid being swept away by the wind. The other party settled for the lesser pleasures of Meikle Pap before deciding that discretion was the better part of valour.
A party of five climbed to Cam an t-Sagairt Mor and the White Mounth. Two members set out from Linn of Dee to Deny Lodge and returned via Creagan nan Gabhar, the Corbett Sgor Mor, and Sgor Dubh.
Another party of five started from Glen Shee, and picked their way through the assorted ironmongeiy which seems to grow on ski slopes. The Cairnwell and Aosda were climbed in the gusty conditions, by waiting for each gust to pass, and then lurching forward a few yards at a time. To atone for climbingtwo such easy summits, the party then climbed Mbrrone, a Corbett near Braemar, only to find that it also was topped by sheds and tele¬communications ironmongery.
Sunday was indeed sunny, and parties set out on both sides of the Devils Elbow, before returning home.
The meet was a great success, and credit must again go to Derek Bush our meet leader. There is a rumour that those who attend Braemar next year will have to rehearse a 5 minute music hall turn, but surely we cannot be soft enough to forgo camping two years running for a centrally heated meet with running hot water?
Iain Gilmour
Attendance:
Tim Josephy – President, Ken Aldred, Tim Baternan, Derek Bush, Iain Gilmour, Robin Hudson (G), Stuart Thomson (P.M.), Richard Gowing, JeffHooper, Gordon Humphreys, Howard Humphreys, Frank Milner, Stan Bradshaw (G), Vic Maloney (G),Mark Pryor, Arthur Salmon, Graham Salmon, David Smith, Derek Smithson, Frank Wilkinson, Banie Wood, Daniel Wood (P.M.)
Lowstern 14-16 March 1997
The weather forecast for the weekend had been reasonably decent, so it was with hopes for a good meet that members foregathered at Lowstern On The Friday Evening, some to go out for pub meals and pints, others staying in the hut to yarn. Two members erected tents outside to avoid the snores, only to be awoken at about 5.00 am by the rooks in the plantation , who were in fine voice.
Saturday morning was pretty horrible -drizzly, cold and miserable, not promising at all. Nevertheless, plans had been laid for caving, so two underground parties set off for their respective holes in the ground, whilst a walking group set off in the ‘mizzle’ to traverse Norber Scar and on to Horton-in-Ribblesdale before returning via Austwick to recover from a soggy day.
The President’s caving party walked up to the G.G. area to tackle Disappointment Pot, but after struggling for some time in the entrance series made the decision to leave the field to the water and silt deposits, and maybe return another day with some digging tools. “Dis.” isn’t entered too often these days, and quickly builds up quantities of silt which, whilst quite readily removable, make for a very difficult passage without a digging implement.. They then moved over the fellside to Christmas Pot where they had a satisfactory descent.
The other caving party comprising three fairly veteran members plus one novice had a moist but pleasant gentlemanly trip through Calf Holes/Browgill Cave, and then went for a libation at the ‘Golden Lion’ in Horton, where they spent a pleasant hour or so chatting to various other veteran cavers!
Another pair went off looking for a reputed meet of the Lunesdale Foxhounds which they failed to find in spite of the fact that they looked into dozens of pubs! Perhaps foxhounds have given up going into pubs and have very inconsiderately taken to going up onto remote and inaccessible fellsides! Who knows?
Our meet leader and his team provided us with large plates of chicken dinner and an enormous ‘bread & butter pudding’ which they constructed on the spot with their own fair hands, and which was very well received, all washed down with copious quantities of ‘vin plonk’.
After dinner, Harvey showed us a few of the slides that were taken during the recent Omani caving expedition.
Sunday morning wasn’t really much better than Saturday, so some members went off home quite early. Not everyone, though. Some keen cave explorers went to have a look at one of their current ‘digs’ to at least update themselves on the situation there whilst the President and two others went off to Dentdale for a fellwalk in the drizzle which persisted for most of the day. Others also probably went off doing other things that must go unreported because your scribe simply doesn’t know about them.
In spite of the poorish weather it was an enjoyable, if not especially significant meet. Everyone got out on the hill to do something at least, and there was much discussion about the developing plans to extend Lowstern.
W.C.I.Crowther
Attendance:
The President – Tim Josephy, Ken Aldred, Tim Bateman, Bruce Bensley, Alan Clare (G), Derek Clayton, Ian Crowther, Mike Hartland, David Hick, Harvey Lomas, David Martindale, Alister Renton, Graham Salmon, John Schofield, David Smith, Frank Wilkinson, Philip Wilkinson (G)