Author: Dominic Oughton

Members of The Rucksack Club have been invited along to join up with The Alpine Club on their North Wales meet in the week of 5 to 12 June – For those not fortunate enough to be attending the Craigallan celebrations, this might be a great way to spend a few days or the week before joining Bill and Steve on the working meet at Beudy on the weekend of 12 & 13 June. The meet will be coordinated by Rafal Malczyk and Ian Bryant. Here’s what they have in mind: The meet will be based in Fronwydyr hut in Nant Peris. From the hut, we have easy access to all crags along Llanberis Pass. Within a few miles drive we also have slate quarries and other climbs, walks and scrambles across Snowdonia. The cost of accommodation is 8GBP per person / per night and there are 16 beds in this hut. The hut location is: Fron Wydyr Nant Peris Gwynedd LL55 4UN https://goo.gl/maps/onLod8r5r2CaAv5B7. If you would like to attend, please contact Rafal (rafalmalczyk@yahoo.pl) by the 29th May. Members of the Alpine Club have also been invited to join us for the Gogarth Meet later in the month on 25[…]

After a couple of washouts it’s hopefully third time lucky to get the 2022 Wednesday Evening Meets season underway. Without wanting to jinx it, the forecast is looking okay! There’s the Peak’s best trad and some of the most amenable sport routes to entertain you, so whether you want dust off your nuts or clip some bolts there’s something for everyone – and then you can celebrate in The Moon afterwards. I’ll be at the crag from 6 or earlier if people are free / keen – just work your way along until you find me or an appealing bit of rock to climb. See you there! Cheers, Dom

Update – the MUMC team topped out successfully, and with a bit of help from a late push by some Rucksackers went on to break through the 10,000m barrier. Job done! But there’s still time to donate to help push through the £1,000 barrier!https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/MUMC-Everest   Original Post: OK, we’re not actually going to climb Everest, but we are teaming up with MUMC to climb the height of Everest (8,848m) in just 12 hours! We’re doing this to raise money for Mountain Rescue England and Wales to support the amazing work they do keeping us all safe in the hills. Date: Wednesday 30th MarchTime: 10am to 10pm The main “push” is taking place at the Summit Up Climbing Wall, Oldham, OL1 3SE, and you can register here if you’d like to participate: Alternatively (or as well!) the date coincides with the first Wednesday Evening climbing meet at Hobson Moor, so you can head there and then drop me a note of how many metres you’ve climbed and we’ll add it to the total. … and if you can’t get to Oldham or Hobby, then climb something else and let me know – every metre counts! Of course, the other way of[…]

A reminder for next Tuesday evening – don’t miss: the grand finale of Season 3 of the Zoom shows. A double bill featuring: Desert climbing in the SW USA with Jane Gallwey and Sam Simpson. Learning to winter climb in your mid-50s – with Kevin Wheeler The ‘performance’ starts at 7:30pm for around an hour. “Doors open” at 7.15 pm. Zoom Meeting Link (the same for the whole of Season 3): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89427013616 Meeting ID: 894 2701 3616Passcode: The Year of Founding of The Rucksack Club

A reminder for tomorrow evening – don’t miss: Molly Worth talking us through her Alpine Apprenticeship, from MUMC Fresher to the Summit of The Matterhorn! The ‘performance’ starts at 7:30pm for around an hour. “Doors open” at 7.15 pm. Zoom Meeting Link (the same for the whole of Season 3): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89427013616 Meeting ID: 894 2701 3616Passcode: The Year of Founding of The Rucksack Club PS if you have some photos or a story you’d like to share, there’s an opportunity to be a part of a Double Bill for the final episode of Season 3 on Tuesday 22nd March. Drop me an email if you are tempted 🙂

A reminder for this evening – don’t miss: Dave Atkinson and guest stars taking us through brief history of our recently adopted club – 60 years of Adventure with a Happy Ending! The ‘performance’ starts at 7:30pm for around an hour. Zoom Meeting Link (the same for the whole of Season 3): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89427013616Meeting ID: 894 2701 3616Passcode: The Year of Founding of The Rucksack Club

Episode 3 – Michelle Mudhar will take us on the Rollercoaster Ride of an Adaptive Athlete. Tuesday 8th February ‘Doors Opening’ at 7:15pm for a chance to say hello and the ‘performance’ starting at 7:30pm for around an hour or so plus Q&A Zoom Meeting Link (the same for the whole of Season 3): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89427013616 Meeting ID: 894 2701 3616 Passcode: (The Year of Founding of The Rucksack Club) Cheers, Dom

A reminder for this evening – don’t miss: A trip up the North Face of the Matterhorn (a.k.a. Le Grand Toblerone) with @⁨Dave Sykes⁩ and @⁨Stan Halstead⁩. The ‘performance’ starts at 7:30pm for around an hour. Zoom Meeting Link (the same for the whole of Season 3): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89427013616Meeting ID: 894 2701 3616Passcode: The Year of Founding of The Rucksack Club

Episode 1 of the latest season of the Rucksack Club Virtual Slideshows is now available to view on ‘catch-up’ in case you missed it – a Moroccan Double Bill featuring multi-pitch Big Wall sport climbing in Taghia and a chance to Rock the Kasbah on Trad Quartzite in the Anti Atlas. You’ll find it along with the whole of Season 1 & 2 in the Virtual Meets Gallery or you can just click this link to view on Vimeo The next episode is on January 25 at 7:30pm (doors open at 7:15) with a trip up the North Face of the Matterhorn (a.k.a. Le Grand Toblerone) with Dave Sykes and Stan Halstead Zoom Meeting Link (the same for the whole of Season 3): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89427013616 Meeting ID: 894 2701 3616 Passcode: The Year of Founding of The Rucksack Club Meanwhile, in a change to the provisional program, Episode 3 on February 8 will feature Route to the Sky – The Rollercoaster Ride of an Adaptive Athlete with Michelle Mudhar …and in case you are worried about missing out on the the Desert Climbing action, this is now scheduled for 22 March – Desert Climbing in SW USA featuring the iconic Moonlight Buttress along the way with Jane Gallwey[…]

Great News! We’ve beaten off stiff competition from Netflix and Amazon Prime to bring you the EXCLUSIVE first screening of Season 3 of the Virtual Rucksack Club Slideshows. “Season 3” will start in January and will be beamed live into your living rooms on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month – Here’s the draft running order as it stands at the moment: January 11 – A Moroccan Double Bill featuring A Bill & Dom’s Excellent Adventure in Taghia and a chance to Rock the Kasbah in the Anti Atlas January 25 – A trip up the North Face of the Matterhorn (a.k.a. Le Grand Toblerone) with Dave Sykes and Stan Halstead February 8 – Desert Climbing in SW USA featuring the iconic Moonlight Buttress along the way with Jane Gallwey and Sam Simpson February 22 – The Life and Times of The Anabasis Mountaineering Club – A 60 year adventure with a Happy Ending with Dave Atkinson and guest stars March 8 – An Alpine Apprenticeship – A journey from MUMC Fresher to the Summit of The Matterhorn with Molly Worth March 22 – Mystery Guest – (ie I haven’t pinned anyone down yet, but there’s plenty of[…]