Author: Dominic Oughton

Hopefully December 12th is already in your diaries for this great pre-Christmas social, whether you’ll be joining us in person at the Heaton Moor Sports Club or on Zoom from the comfort of your sofa. The program will feature the much-anticipated (rescheduled from November) talk by Dave Palmer. He has been forging his way through the ultimate Alpine Ticklist – the Four Thousanders. and will be thrilling and entertaining us with his latest adventures and the occasional scrape, with the help of special guest star appearances. Some of the featured summits include The Aiguille Noire de Peuterey, Aiguille Vert, Dôme de Neige and The Barre des Écrins. The other half of the Double Bill is down to YOU! Following the success of last year’s 120th ‘Birthday Party’ we’ll be repeating the formula (but with Xmas mince pies this time!) with members bringing along a few photos that capture some ‘Get Out There!’ moments from the last 12 months or from “back in the day”. The event will take place in person and on zoom so there’s no excuse for EVERYONE not to share some pics and a few stories. Please send photos to dominic@oughton.uk.com, by the end of Sunday 10th,[…]

The Rucksack Club 2024 calendar is on the shelves now! It features 50 photographs of Club Members in action on crags, hills, and mountains, participating in a range of activities from climbing and mountaineering to kayaking and yoga. The calendar includes a broad range of photographs from The Peak to The Picos, and Chamonix to Cornwall. It’s a great record of a year-in-the-life of climbers and mountaineers, and people who enjoy the great outdoors. It would be a fitting addition to your kitchen wall at home, as well as a great stocking filler. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed photos this year – the quality of the pictures has been outstanding (we could easily have filled a couple of calendars!) Apologies if your shot didn’t make the cut and please get snapping ready for next year! The best part is that, thanks to the generosity of The Rucksack Club and its Members, every penny of the £10 purchase price of this calendar will go to support Climbers Against Cancer (Charity no. 115818). Through the worldwide climbing community, CAC aim to increase awareness and raise funds for research in the continued fight against a disease that affects so many.[…]

Franco Cookson is one of Britain’s most accomplished and boldest trad climbers, with a string of first ascents up to E11, and an uncompromising philosophy recently captured in the acclaimed Brit Rock film Fall Theory. Join Franco as he agonises in the quest for the perfect objective. Where is the boundary between the ideal hard route and the lunacy of the impossible? What does ‘impossible’ even mean these days? And will any route ever be enough? Franco’s doomed quest will take him from the farthest corners of the United Kingdom to the mythically remote Mirror Wall in East Greenland. Failure is guaranteed, but will there be any success? We will also be launching the 2024 calendar, which as always will feature some great action from the last year. Your MC for the evening will be our President, Mark Jenneson. Doors open at 7pm with the show starting at 7.30pm. Admission is free for Members and Associate Members, and open to everyone for £10 on the door (£5 concessions). As ever there will be a raffle (please join in to help offset the costs) and a bar (up to you whether you join in with that!) If you can’t make it[…]

As the nights draw in, we all need something to look forward to… Good News – we’ve got a packed Indoor Meets season that is sure to entertain and enthral, as well as providing a much-needed opportunity to socialise! We’ll be sticking with the successful format of last year, with a monthly event on (typically) the second Tuesday of the month, with three of these (Oct / Dec / Jan) in-person at Heaton Moor Rugby Club (also on Zoom for those who can’t make it in person) and Nov / Feb / March shows on Zoom. Entry will be FREE for all Members and Associate Members of The Rucksack Club, with a modest charge for non-members for the October f2f event featuring a guest speaker. 10th October (In person – Heaton Moor) – Franco Cookson, Chasing The Impossible Franco Cookson is one of Britain’s most accomplished and boldest trad climbers, with a string of first ascents up to E11, and an uncompromising philosophy recently captured in the acclaimed Brit Rock film Fall Theory. Join Franco as he agonises in the quest for the perfect objective. Where is the boundary between the ideal hard route and the lunacy of the impossible?[…]

Phew, what a scorcher! This one might go down as the hottest Gogarth Meet since records began (not that we actually keep records!) A glorious Saturday morning saw legions of Rucksackers and friends gathered at the cafe, whilst various keen teams were already on the way to the crag and others were making an excursion via “Gogarth Far Far South” a.k.a. Cloggy. Action was spread around North and South Stack and onto the Mountain. Here are a few pics (let me know if you have more to share): Another noteworthy ascent was John introducing Rob to the delights of Yellow Wall with The Sind. Quite a Gogarth induction! Conditions weren’t exactly ideal for pulling hard, but then climbers are very fussy creatures – by any standards it was a stupendous day. Certainly great conditions for Helen’s post-climb “Stretch and Unwind” yoga session… … and others were clearly intent on a liquid post-climb pick-me-up, as the hordes gathered from all corners for beer-o’clock. Big thank you to all the burger-flipping heroes, including Karl, Neil and Mike, who kept all 65 BBQ diners well fed. … and to Stan for the excellent bonfire… The forecasted showers barely materialised, apart from a brief[…]