Preston Mountaineering Club

Newsletter extracts

Coniston Meet- July 14/15th 2001

by Gordon Semple

There are now few hut-owning clubs who allows visiting clubs to book a large number of places but pay only for those taken. Yorkshire is one such club, helped by the layout of the Coppermines hut, which are two adjacent cottages of a terrace. These are linked internally and one is reserved for YMC members while the other is available to other clubs. Unless two clubs book places for the same weekend, we can take over the whole of the visitors' half -and it accommodates thirty!

In lean years, YMC don't get very much to show for our visits but this is offset by good years when, with no fixed number of places booked, we can accommodate as many as make a late decision to come. But this year broke all records - we had twenty-seven on Saturday night!

The turn out was all the more remarkable as, until the Friday morning, it looked likely that only four cars would be allowed up the valley. The latest information available to YMC was that the usual parking on the track was not permitted because of foot and mouth. We had been allowed the four YMC places at the cottage and the rest would have to carry all of their luggage up from the village.

We all owe a vote of thanks to Laura who spent the week 'phoning just about every Tourist office, MAFF office, Park Office and county office to find out the current position. On Wednesday she found the right desk (she was told) but the chap was away; on Thursday she spoke to him and was given the number of the real right contact ... but by then he in turn was away. At 08.45 on Friday the definitive answer was known - parking now open - and frantic 'phone calls and e-mails spread the word.

Saturday began bright enough, although the forecast was for Sunday to be the better day. Most headed for Dow Crag while a few decided that they wanted to see a sustained spell of unbroken blue sky before venturing onto it and settled for a walk.

The early sun was soon lost behind and the climbers found Dow characteristically cold, but not cold enough to put them off and an impressive bag was recorded. Sheena and Mick topped the list with Isengard, Eliminate' A' and the Arete of ACC, Ian and prospective member Ian Denton did Murray's Superdirect, Leopard's Crawl and Eliminate 'C'. Jeff, Dave, Jim, Pete, Shari, Shoja, Steve and prospective, members Liz and Lorna, who were on their first, mountain crag, did various combinations of Gordon and Craig's, Murray's, Nimrod, Giant's Crawl and Leopard's Crawl.

Most of the climbers reached the Black Bull with a reasonable amount of evening left to enjoy the more civilised things in life (like Bluebird bitter) but Jeremy's example wasn't lost on others -Jeff and Shoja didn't leave the crag until they were in some danger of being benighted!

The wimps' party of Laura and Gordon, Pat and Martin, Keith, Liz Porter and Bill Suringar went for a walk. With FMD restrictions only partly lifted there was a limited choice of hills available, so we decided to do the usual round but split over two days of interleaving walks.

Saturday would be Walna Scar, Dow and Swirl How, by-passing the summit of Brim Fell, then continuing to Grey Friar before returning via Levers Water. We could then do Wetherlam, Swirl How again, Brim Fell and the Old Man on Sunday. As it happened, Grey Friar was still closed, but the Saturday plan was followed apart from that.

We had returned to the hut when two bicycles were spotted toiling along the track up the valley. The engine of Nick and Sam's van was being rebuilt so they had taken the train to Grange and cycled from there. The trailer on Nick's bike was the centre of attention!

Sunday started overcast but promising; mild enough and with little wind. Plans were much as for Saturday except for the customary diversions to the shorter-day alternatives of the Levers Water crags. The walking party resumed its plan for the two-day interleaved horseshoe, joined now by Bob and Fliss. No one got very far. The walkers had just reached the top of Wetherlam, and the climbers were approaching or had just reached their crags, when the rain started. The wind increased and the heavens opened -it poured.

Perhaps we should have had more faith. We had (almost) all got back to the hut when the sun came back out. Only some light showers remained to come. But we were conditioned by previous experience to expect the worst (and besides, we were already soaked) so there was a general home going in the early afternoon.

Despite the disappointing weather on Sunday morning, this really was an excellent meet. A lot was done on Saturday, a bit was done on Sunday too, and simply as a gathering it very much enjoyed by everyone. Those who weren't there will never quite know what they missed.