Author: Andy Tomlinson

The Annual Dinner was held over the weekend of 12-14 November 2021 at the Cumbria Grand Hotel, Grange-over-Sands. On Friday evening two fantastic talks from members Alice Kerr and Andy Connolly and his partner Sarah set the standard for the weekend. Saturday dawned bright and with many members ‘doing their on thing’ biking, walking, climbing and fell running, whilst 8 joined the ‘official’ walk from the car park at the end of Walna Scar Road above Coniston. Guest speaker, Mick Fowler, gave a spell-binding and inspirational talk to 126 members and guests before the Dinner, which was a time to catch up with friends after so long away. Remembrance Sunday was another clear bright day and 22 members joined a leisurely stroll across Whitbarrow. It was a great weekend and thanks to all who attended and thanks too, to those who provided the photos below.  Andy.  

It is great to see many members active in various aspects of Club activity over the summer months. I know that Jos Naylor Challenges and Munro Rounds have been successfully completed, new rock routes have been climbed and Wednesday climbers and walkers have been very active, as have more water-based activities.  In addition, there have been some outstanding achievements in ultra mountain running and rock climbing by members: the first women home in the 73ml/10,000ft ascent Cumbrian Ultra Marathon; the third female home in the UTS 100 (a 100k/6700m ascent run through Snowdonia); an ascent of the hardest trad limestone route in the Peak (Final Round, Ilam Rock, Dovedale E9 6c). The breadth and depth of activity of Club members, and the standards some reach, continually amazes me. The BMC initiative #FindYourAdventure has seen a marked increase in the public visiting our Facebook, Instagram and Website pages. As a consequence we have received more email enquiries about membership. To help those interested in joining who have no links to the Club we are setting up a Rucksack Club ‘friend’ initiative to help with introducing such people to the Club. If any members are interested in helping, please get in contact[…]

The British Mountain Medicine Society (BMMS) and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) are delighted to announce the dates and speakers for the 2021/22 Mountain Medicine Winter Webinar Series. Like last year, each webinar will last for one hour and feature a talk from a fascinating guest speaker. In addition, there will be plenty of time set aside for questions and comments at the end! CPD approval has been sought from the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh). A certificate of attendance will be provided to those who complete the feedback questionnaire.  Places are free to BMMS members. A charge of £3 is payable by non-members.  The first in the series is by Dr Finlay Wild entitled: “Going On My Own” – Moving Fast And Light In The Mountains at 2000 GMT – Tuesday 26th October 2021   Finlay works as a GP on the west coast of Scotland and is well known to the fell running community for his extraordinary achievements in the hills. Ten times winner of the Ben Nevis Race, Finlay has broken countless records including the traverse of the Cuillin Ridge (2:59:22!) and the Welsh 3000’s (4:10:48!). Most recently, he completed the 58 mile Ramsay Round, solo and unsupported, in[…]

Huts: Members will have received the latest update about the use of the Huts, which mainly clarifies the numbers of beds available for booking in each hut. We hope as many members and their guest as possible can get to use our Huts which are a fantastic resource. These latest ‘Regulations’ come into effect today and can be found under ‘Huts’ in the drop-down menu on the Website.   Meets: These are picking up and the Calendar on the Website details all our events; again, this can be accessed in the ‘Get out there’ drop-down Website menu.   Annual Dinner: I am pleased to say that bookings for the Annual Dinner are coming in thick and fast, with over 60 confirmed for the Dinner. Mick Fowler is our Guest speaker on Saturday night and two excellent speakers from within the Club have agreed to talk on Friday night. As soon as the programme is finalised, I will be sending it around to all members. It promises to be a great weekend outdoors and socially, so if you’ve not booked as yet get your form in to me as there is a limit on the numbers we can accommodate on Saturday[…]

Rucksack Club Meets and Huts Update: 8th August 2021 With the easing of restrictions across England, Wales and Scotland continue, the Club is trying to get the Meets Programme and Hut use back to as near normal as possible.   Meets: The full Meets programme has recommenced and all details can be found on the website Meets Calendar [both weekday, particularly Wednesday walks and climbing, and weekend]. The July Meetstaff also included much information on these. If you are prepared to coordinate an additional Meet, please contact our Outdoor Meets Organiser [Andy Llewellyn] and help increase the number of members and guests ‘Getting out there”! The Meets information on the website is continually updated, so please keep checking for both updates and new/additional Meets. Finally, the Annual Dinner is booked for 13/14 November 2021 at the Cumbria Grand, with Mick Fowler as our guest speaker. Don’t forget to post me your Booking Form [which can then be printed off] and cheque too please!   Huts:  The Committee is keen to see the use of huts increase, whilst recognising the need to ensure their use is in accordance with the law, and that safety is correctly addressed. With this in mind, the[…]

As you will be aware, the English, Welsh and Scottish Governments have announced a further easing of Coronavirus restrictions over the last week. We are awaiting updated guidance from the BMC before finalising new guidance for the future use of individual Huts. Importantly “appropriate and reasonable” steps to manage the risk of infection will have to stay in place; this means continuing to follow the Coronavirus guidance we have in place for the use of the Huts at present.As a consequence, this will continue to affect the numbers of people we can allow into each hut at any one time and that the 48hr ‘down time’ between use by members will remain until such time as there is a change in BMC guidance.   Huts:The update on individual Hut use is as follows and takes account of the local restrictions: High Moss: Whilst the English Government has indicated that all restrictions are to be lifted from 19thJuly, statements such as “we cannot simply revert instantly from Monday July 19 to life as it was before Covid” [Prime Minister during his Downing Street Press Conference last week when confirming restrictions were to be lifted], implies we need to move with caution. We[…]

I held off Posting an update at the beginning of the month as the next Committee meeting was scheduled for Monday 14th June, fortuitously the same day that the English Government was announcing its recommendations for Step 4 of the Road Map out of lockdown. Until a week ago, I was hoping all restrictions would be lifted, but in the end the spread of the Delta variant has led to another month’s delay. As a consequence, there was less decision making needed and there are just two things to mention: Meets: Both the climbing and walking Wednesday meets have been well attended since they were reinstated [climbing at the end of March and walking mid-May].Club members enjoying the first Wednesday evening climbing meet at Hobby Moor [Photo Dom Oughton] The relaxation in numbers allowed to meet on May 17th [now up to 30] and the easing of pre-meeting registration, adding to their popularity. Visit the Calendar where all upcoming Meets are highlighted; for climbing the crag location is identified and more information can be obtained at: wednesday.climbs@rucksackclub.org. For the walks the start point and main route are detailed, however there is usually a shorter ‘B’ route for the day too;[…]