It is sad to report that Dave Briggs aged 89. He was Hut Warden at Beudy Mawr in 1958 and on the Club’s Committee 1962-3. Carole Smithie writes: David Briggs died on 29th March after a long illness. He was elected in 1953 and was the Father of the Club. The funeral will take place in Carlisle on Friday 9th April. Numbers are limited of course by CV19 rules, but at the request of the family, Rob Ferguson & Carole Smithies will attend to represent the Club.
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As noted in my previous Post about organised Meets recommencing, I am coordinating a walking Meet [of around 16mls] in the western Peak on Easter Saturday [3rd April 2021]. The full details are held in the Members Only Documents area of the Website, which can be accessed here. Please note you will need to be logged in to access this information. The Meet information is in Document 5 [One Day Meets – Walking & Climbing], but please also read the other 4 Documents] As it is likely to be very busy, I propose starting at 08.30 and limit the numbers attending to 12 on this occasion [first come first serve basis]. If you would like to join me, please contact me by email or mobile phone as in the full details. Andy Tomlinson
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Welcome to “On the hill with…” and thanks very much to our current Website Secretary, Tim Taylor, for agreeing to be interviewed…my last such “On the hill with…” as I hand over to Tim from now on…just got him in time! Tim at the top of Notch Arete, Tryfan (2018) before heading to Beudy for some Anniversary drinks! (Les Watt) How did you get into walking and climbing? Family walks and then school outdoor pursuits. We lived on the edge of the Peak District. My mother’s side had been in the area for a few generations and knew the local footpaths, which we walked. This was in the days before rights of way were marked on the OS maps, and existing footpaths were sketchy. We came across Peak and Northern signs further into the hills and followed these too. Then a school trip to the Lakes for a week, walking the hills around Ambleside with an overnight camp. All in for £5. I wanted to do more. This was around the time of the TV spectaculars, climbs like the Old Man of Hoy and Gogarth, along with main stream media coverage of expeditions like Annapurna South Face in 1970. So,[…]
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Welcome to the March Update. We had a lively ‘Zoom’ Committee meeting at the end of February and following on from this there are three things to highlight: Social Media: thanks to the hard work of four new committee members, we launched a new Club Instagram page and updated our public Facebook page on March 1st. We hope that by using these platforms to share photos and information about club activities it will make it easier for people to discover, and get involved with, the Club. You can help our social media presence by following either of these pages if you are already on Facebook or Instagram. Alternatively, you can find us on both at The Rucksack Club, or via the links on the Home Page of the website. Please tag/hashtag us in your posts on Instagram. If you have any photographs that you would be happy for us to share please email them over via Photos@rucksackclub.org and please include some information about the photos. Covid-19: On 22nd February the government published its plan on how it hopes England will exit lockdown and the restrictions that have limited activities over the past year. It outlines how life could get back to normal and the[…]
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I plan to Post a brief update of RC related information/activities at the beginning of each month [ideally a bit earlier than this one!]. There are three things I would like to highlight this month: Firstly, a very warm welcome is extended to all former Anabasis Mountaineering Club [AMC] members who have now joined the Rucksack Club. The AMC decided to dissolve after 60 years of activity as a result of losing the tenancy on their hut in Snowdonia. They approached the Rucksack Club to discuss whether their members could join us and I am delighted to say that our Committee and AGM approved this transfer. The last few months must have been very difficult for the Anabasis membership, but we hope they enjoy their new found home. RC members will have noticed that they have not yet received the 2021 Handbook, which is normally published about now. We decided to hold back on its publication so that we could include as many ex-Anabasis members’ details as possible, which our Secretary and Membership Secretary are currently working on. Our aim is to get the Handbook to all members by Easter, which will almost certainly be before any form of Meet[…]
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Jon is a fully qualified UIAGM guide as well as an Associate Specialist in Anaesthetics at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. He is also an incredibly accomplished mountain “all rounder” – equally at home in rock shoes, trainers and ski boots! His achievements are wide ranging and have recently included an unsupported winter run of the Bob Graham Round and completing the classic Chamonix – Zermatt ‘Haute Route’ ski tour unassisted in just over 30 hours! For many years Jon has highlighted the planet’s climate emergency and has gone to great lengths to minimise his own impact upon the environment. So, ‘stay in there‘ and hear about how he’s done this and the difference you can make in what promises to be a fascinating talk. You need to reserve a place before the lecture begins, by going to the following link: https://mountainmedicine.7thwave.io/blog/2457
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Anyone interested in El Cap climbing or the way digital photography is enabling fantastically complex pictures to be produced should check this out. Simply, gigapixel photography is done by taking thousands of photographs of a subject and stitching them together digitally to produce super high-resolution images that you can scroll into. There’s an amazing one of The Nose that tracks climbers on every pitch…for anyone who has climbed it, you can relive the fun, pain and suffering! El Capitan Gigapixel Climbing Routes
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In his On the Hill With, Nick Wallis made reference to his ascent of the Walker Spur. Along with fellow Club member Martin Cooper, 2006 proved a very successful alpine season and this article encapsulates all that can be had from an alpine trip, accessed by clicking here. This is my last Classic Article…George Wilks has kindly agreed to take over this occasional series, giving me time for other duties I’ve taken on!
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Two winter Mountain Medicine webinars that might well be of interest to members this week are: 8pm Wednesday 13th January: Pre-hospital Management of Severe Hypothermia 8pm Thursday 14th January: The Power of Negativity by Kev Shields, a Scottish based climber sponsored by Rab. He is well known for decades of cutting edge soloing all done with the limited use of one hand. In his talk, Kev will explore the physical and psychological impact climbing has had upon his life and what it can offer those who take up the sport. Click here to access these two sessions, which will be of interest to all
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The BMC has provided updated guidance following the announcement that England will go into a national lockdown from today. They have also included links to the guidance for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which are also highlighted below. The full BMC guidance for England can be found here. Wales has been in national lockdown since 18th December 2020 and full details can be found here. For full details of the current Covid-19 rules elsewhere in the UK, click here for Scotland and here for Northern Ireland. In summary, the BMC states: climbing and walking in England appears to be acceptable as a form of exercise under current guidance, but only if it can be done within your local area (now clearly defined). However, it is worth stressing once again the immense pressure the NHS is currently under and highlighting the need for everyone to dial back their aspirations to objectives well within their abilities. I appreciate that this guidance will have a significant impact on many members, but hopefully we can look forward to a slow return to normality as the vaccination programme is rolled out. Andy Tomlinson President-elect.
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