Grumpy Old Men’s Climbing Club 2019

Feb | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Quiz

• The Moving Finger writes; and having writ,
• Moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit
• Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
• Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
• *
• The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Edward Fitzgerald.

Omar knew a thing or two.

Grumpy New Year to all.

Stanage Grouse Troughs. From Mike Browell.

There are 108 carved drinking troughs for the grouse on Stanage and Hallam Moors. They were carved from 1907 onwards by masons working for the owner, William Wilson, and are thought to have been a 'job-creation' initiative for under-employed estate stoneworkers.  George Broomhead carried out the carving work.

I am not aware of any other grouse moor in Britain with these features, so probably they were not very effective.

I was introduced to these by Alan Yates of Dark Peak Fell Runners, who gave me a cash prize of 7s 3 1/2d for finding W Wilson No 1 in 1988.    In 2010 I mapped and photographed all that I could find.   The links will take you to my Google Maps.

Stanage Edge troughs 1 - 75

The sequence starts above Long Causeway, just south of the stile which takes you up to High Neb.  This is the main set of 75 troughs.  The first one is the most elaborate. All feature a central trough and usually two carved channels which direct rainfall into the trough.

An interesting feature is that the number 6 is carved as a b.

Numbers 1 - 35 are fairly easy to find, and many people have seen them.  However numbers 36 to 75 are more elusive.   From the quarries at the north end of Stanage Edge the chain of troughs becomes harder to follow, and many of the numbers have been chiselled off, possibly to deter people searching for them.

I would be keen to know if anyone can find 36, 54, 58, 62, 65 & 72.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OEV5sgaPz_BtC97BkR1c3XFFflk&usp=sharing

Stanage Lodge troughs 1 - 6

Troughs 1 to 6 are the first set, and were carved in 1907 for the shooting lodge owner, William Wilson.   Apprentice stonemason George Broomhead carried out the carving work.   This is the first set of 6 troughs and he was paid 7s 3 1/2d per trough. The first one is the most elaborate and the carving states 'W Wilson No 1'.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=19FM0mLCFz5DlaW99jo5ruYloBjg&usp=sharing

Hallam Moor troughs 1 - 27

These are the least known and begin below the small reservoir at the head of Oaking Clough.   From year to year some disappear beneath rampant rhododendron

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1IryV9r86-DxBnFdMTIs-8OElVS4&usp=sharing

Here are some examples.

I’m offering a small appropriately named prize for the first to find and photograph an authentic selfie with no 75.

Warning (Ed) it's probably a shrub.

Mike Browell

Note: My Apple iPad which runs under IOS refuses to access Mikes maps and only connects to Google Maps. Anyone?

From Tony Mays:

• It must be tough
• To find a clough,
• Or grough,
• That's rough enough
• To hide a trough
• From the Brough (a.k.a. Mike Browell)

Watch your back Tracy K Smith.

Tony Mays sent this link about indiginous Bolivian women, climbing Aconcagua (South America's highest mountain) in frocks and crampons. Click to see more.

https://rockandice.com/climbing-news/indigenous-bolivian-women-summit-aconcagua/?cn-reloaded=1

I think that he may have been a suffragette in a previous life.

Februay, nay March. So where has our wandering Albatrosser of a webmaster been these last weeks? Click find out. Note the special appendix for Dave Lockwood.

April has arrived and our web page is a bit lacking - again. So here is a picture from a recent Stoney Reunion which ended at the Moon Inn ( where else?) By Stoney I mean 60s and 70s for those of us left. I was a good do, with a demanding walk up Combs dale for those without zimmer frames and free chip butties in the Moon.

Click to see if you recognise any of these characters balanced precariously on the steps of The Moon Inn.

In March, Mary and I spent 3 weeks in NW Greece climbing at Meteora and Varasova. We really enjoyed our time on the limestone of Varasova above the sea at Kryoneri but if there is one place in the world that I’d hope all my climbing friends had visited, it would have to be Meteora. Like most people who have heard about these conglomerate towers we knew that we would be taking a step back in time in terms of ‘sport climbing’ protection but in fact that aspect made the routes all the more special. That said, our early forays were completed with a good degree of trepidation. The multi-pitch routes (our longest 9 pitches) have double abseil rings on all belays and large bolts at regular intervals. When supplemented by slings on the oceans of multi-sized cobbles (think potatoes, mangelwurzels, turnips and marrows) the routes became ‘amenable’ but with a great feeling of adventure that rekindled the simple pleasure of being on unfamiliar ground. Regardless of difficulty, all of the routes look impressive so we chose fairly modest grades, mostly 5c/6a , and generally anything above 6a was generously protected. Spotting the next bolt in the root vegetable garden was foremost in my mind and on the two occasions when ‘out there’, having deftly clove-hitched a prize-winning specimen, I was peeved to then find a bolt right where my sense of fair play said there should have been one. Anyway, at least I could press on knowing that I was on line.

The nine routes that we did will live long in our memories and so too will the magnificent scenery that gives Meteora it’s UNESCO world heritage status. The beautifully preserved 14th century monasteries, atop 5 of the towers, are just too good to miss and, when viewed from the climbs, added to the majestic setting amongst the trees and spring flowers. The area was first developed by German climbers in the seventies and each tower has it’s Gipelbuch or summit register, adding to the sense of achievement and well-being at the end of the days adventure.

We stopped in Kastraki, the small town amidst the towers, which has an abundance of modestly priced restaurants. They make their real money from summer visitors but in the spring climbing season the owners were still very pleased to see us and the log fires most welcome in the cool evenings.

Meteora is a very special place and we hope that some of you will get a chance to go there.

1. Mary getting to grips with the conglomerate on our first route.
2. One potato, two potato…….. as many as you like really.
3. The 6 pitch ‘Line of Falling Raindrops”’ 6a on Sourloti. Kastraki in the background.
4. On the 40m free standing Adrachti, we did the two pitch ‘Gordian Knott’ 6b+
5. On top of Doupiani signing the Gipfelbuch.
6. The Holy Ghost featuring the 9 pitch ‘Pillar of Dreams’ 5c+
7. Rather than abseil the entire route most towers had a shorter abseil descent.
8. An unexpected delight on the footpath.
9. Varlaam, one of the six remaining monasteries from the 14th century.
10. The view from Varlaam which as you can see is very well maintained.
11. The hills are alive. It doesn’t get much better than this.
12. Our second venue was Varasova. Our house is in the top right corner.

Here's a ditty to make you smile.

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If you happen to notice

Your keyboard is dirty

Use a water spray can

And give it a sQWERTY

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Chris and Sue in Scotland.

We left home mid May, the weather for the first two weeks was excellent, followed by two weeks of so-so then two more weeks of distinclty unsettled. Howver, a good time was had by all and we managed to meet Jan and Adey up in Skye. Whilst up north in our campervan the fridge blew a fuse, this would normally just be an inconvenience as the temperature up there is around that of a fridge. The complication was that the satellite TV ariel was up and we were unable to lower it, it presumably used the same power source. Mild panic ensued as I attempted to check every fuse that I could find and there are lots of the in a campervan. There are some under the bonnet and it proved a bit of a struggle to access them. But all to no avail, eventually a call to the campervan manufacture revealed the location of the fuse (which was blown) and all was restored to normality.

Normality that is until we drove off when the engine management light came on and the campervan performance became somewhat agricultural. We limped onto Skye and managed to find a friendly garage. Two days and £100 later it was resolved, a vacuum pipe was disonnected from the turbo actuater. "Has someone been under you bonnet?" They asked, "No no" I replied "it must be due to the vibrationf from your bumpy roads." Grr, self inflicted injury I suspect.

1. Port Ellen, Islay
2. Kilt Rock, Skye
3. The Quirang, Skye
4. Neist Point, Skye where we saw a common Dolphin.
5. Sgurr na Stri and the Cuillin, very windy
6. Blabhain
7. Eillan Donan Castle
8. The Old Man of Stoer
9. From the Point of Stoer
10. The American Monument, Mull of Oa, Islay
11. The Soldiers Rock, (climbed?) Islay
12. Blabhain from the summit of Marsco.
13. Falls of Glomach.
14. Remains of the trig point, summit of Sgurr an Airgid, Glen Shiel

As Mentioned. Jan and Adey were also in Scotland. here are a few pics and some text about their trip.

Intending to achieve magnificent deeds of derring-do north of the border we set forth, complete with our “new” caravan in tow, bound for Glen Shiel. Chris has rather competitively included a shot of Eileen Donan castle, which is better than mine, so you’ll just have to believe that we saw it. Sadly we didn’t see much else as the rains began more or less as we arrived. To make matters worse, our “new” van sprung a leak around the front window and developed a gummed up gas regulator. Cooking became tricky and gaffer tape was applied to the window to keep us going. So that’s Kintail 2 – Hubbards 0 so far this century. Luckily the rain stopped and the clouds lifted, just, on our final day and we got in a consolation trip up Sgurr na Seamraig from Morvich. Only a Corbett but a start and a pleasant enough walk that got the blood flowing. Oh, we also saw otters and found a micro-brewery at Glenelg.
For the second week we moved to Skye to join the Jackson advance party at Torvaig campsite, just outside Portree. This was a good site with, occasionally, excellent views to the Cuillin and the sun came out the next day. Things were looking up but we decided to abandon said Jacksons, who appeared to be having some mysterious trouble with their campervan, for a trip west to Dunvegan Castle and Neist Point. This turned out to be a good choice, not least because there were Minkie whales off the point. Excellent, as the opposition had not yet seen any eagles, red squirrels, dolphins or indeed anything of note. 1 – 0 to the Hubbards we felt. Not to gloat we joined forces for a stroll up and over Quirang on a second sunny day. We stopped to join the throngs of tourists for a peek at Kilt Rock, marvelled at the hordes of cars parked below The Old Man or Storr and struggled to park at the col below Quirang. It seems that the congestion problems on the island are mainly caused by people wanting to see where various films were shot. They arrive, park, have a quick look and then move on. Hopeless for proper mountain people with a serious purpose. A bit of judicious cone shifting did the trick and confused the car park constructors when they arrived to start work about 3pm. A good half day was had and Sue’s plant expertise was used extensively, so we took about an hour longer than expected.
On the next day it was still sunny so Jan and I set forth for the Black Cuillin, where Jan had never been, to see what we could do. Having not been able to warm up on the Forcan Ridge we decided against Sgurr nan Gillian and went for Bruach na Frithe, via the north ridge of Sgurr am Basteir and Bealach nan Lice. This turned out to be a fairly loose ridge with some bits of scrambling at around grade 1 to liven it up a bit. By the time we reached the bealach the clouds had begun to gather so we grabbed a quick bite, shot up to the trig point to make sure that we could claim at least one Munro for the trip, and then down via the normal route. By the time we got back to the caravan the clouds had arrived but did not prevent a quick boat trip, the following morning, to see some sea eagles off Portree. Actually, there were 8 of them! We were beginning to feel that the Jacksons had no chance in the zoological competition. We had now amassed 5 or 6 otters, at least one Golden Eagle, lots of seals, 8 sea eagles and a pod of Minkies. I believe the opposition managed a few seals before they came home. Bit of a poor show we think. As a finale, more of a damp squib really but pleasant enough nonetheless, we managed a quick nip out to the shell beach on our final day followed by a magnificent meal at the Edinbane Inn. Getting home would have been better with a boat. All in all not quite what we had planned, in terms of mountain bagging, but sufficient decent days to have made a pretty good couple of weeks.

Hah! we spit on your eagles.(The Jacksons)

1 Summit trig point and the view east from Sgurr an Airgid.
2 Summit Trig point again
3. Macleod’s Tables (not the one in the foreground).
4. Neist Point. Some pretty nifty climbing here.
5. Kilt Rock. More nifty climbing. Gear was all at home.
6. The Table, Quirang.
7. Jan before the Cuillin.
8. Starting Sgurr am Basteir north ridge.
9. Sgurr am Basteir summit ridge.
10. THAT tooth.
11. View south from Bealach nan Lice.
12. Jan at the trig point on Bruach na Frithe.
13. Sea Eagle over Raasay Sound. ( A likely story, (Jacksons)).
14. Shell Beach.

Bill and Alison in Scotland. A lot of Grumpies were up north this year.

1. We stopped at Skye for a couple of days. In addition to the Quiraing we also braved the crowds and went up to the Old Man of Storr. Most of the hoards dropped out half way up! In the photo you can just make out a tiny figure on the left of the Old Man (the pinnacle that is, not me!).
2. Alison and The Cave of Gold, near Dun Bornaskitaig. Skyes answer to Fingal’s Cave – not!
3. St Kilda. A fantastic trip, we were so lucky with the weather. Village Bay, showing original houses and the dark green MOD buildings (on right). The MOD buildings are currently being removed and replaced with a new wooden structure, which you can just see in the photo.
4. Looking up to The Gap showing some cleits. These were used to store eggs, fish and meat. There are supposed to be 1300 of them spread around the island. We lost count at 1123.
5. View of Boreray and Stac Lee from The Gap on St Kilda.
6. Stac Lee, you can make out the left to right/right to left  rising traverse lines the islanders used to climb the Stac to collect eggs. They zig zagged up the Stac to the top!
7. Boreray on left, Stac Lee on right, with St Kilda disappearing in the distance. We were sad to leave this magical place – but we wouldn’t want to live there!
8. Pod of porpoises on way back from St Kilda. We also saw basking sharks on the way out.
9. One for John Middleton, some sort of flower thingyabebob!
10. Harris. View from the top of Beinn Dhubh.
11. Harris. The Callanish Standing Stones. No trip to the islands would be complete without a visit.
12. North Uist. The beautiful beaches on Aird a’Mhorain, Grenitote. So many beautiful beaches on all the islands.
13. Barra. Kisimul Castle from our hotel in Castlebay. We were lucky to get a table at Cafe Kisimul for a wonderful curry. A fitting end to a brilliant trip.

Trip to Norway. Linda and David.

Seven of us – Linda, David, Kial, Gemma, Steve, Chris and Hugh flew to Bergen in mid May to experience the trad. and sports climbing opportunities close to the city. Kari was an amazing host and opened her house to us all, providing great hospitality, which went as far as passing on her cold to Linda and subsequently Hugh and David! Our first duty, the morning after we arrived, was to celebrate the National Day of Norway with a traditional breakfast, with hosts Kari and Randi in national costume, and a street parade. However, we were soon on the rock!
Bergen has an average of 260 days rain a year and appeared to have one of the highest per capita ownerships of Gortex in the world. However, the islands to the west – Sotra and Oygarden – where most of the climbing is, are much drier. We hit a perfect weather window over the first five days so climbed until we dropped. The trad. climbing we did was mostly on granite from single to four pitch routes. The sports climbing was largely on gneiss, characterised by extensive horizontal banding on steep walls. The climbing was never more than 30 minutes from the road but in beautiful quiet locations, sometimes next to the sea. The crags were quiet, especially the trad. ones
Eventually the rain did catch up with us (we began to understand why the guidebooks are published on waterproof paper) so we spent a day in the city and walked up one of the hills that surround Bergen. Another day’s climbing and Steve and Chris were on their way home. Kial and Gemma had a day in the fjords, while the other three also headed there to stay on Amund and Randi’s farm for a couple of nights. We visited a very wet Uskadalen on the way – amazing granite slabs with multi-pitch routes. Hopefully we will get back there one day.
Randi and Amund took Linda, David and Hugh on a very enjoyable Via Ferrata above the town of Odda. It follows old wooden ladders and then staples across granite slabs and walls, beside huge iron pipes which used to supply water for a hydro-electric scheme. From the top there were extensive views along fjords with glaciers above. Following a couple more days on tourist activities, including ferry and train rides and a visit to a medieval stave church, we returned to Bergen. The last days were spent dodging the weather, including two half days climbing and a great evening’s sea kayaking with Laila.
Thanks again to Kari and Randi and we hope to welcome them to the Peak District soon.

Sorry about the lack of enlargement for (1), the file seems to be corrupted and Photoshop won't open it.

The ongoing Saga of Grouse Trough 75.

The last trough and Dave Lockwood was generously awarded a grand prize by Mike Browell for his dilligence in finding it. A hip flask and a bottle of whisky. Famous Grouse of course.

1. That's what it looks like
2. I'm overwhelmed
3. Prizewinner Dave Lockwood et al.

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Bill Geary and Family in the Frankenjura.

The family and I had a 10 day trip to Frankenjura, between Nurenberg and Beyruth, the end of June. We based ourselves in the village of Morschrueth about a half hours drive from Erlangen. The camp site there is a vast field however the facilities are a bit basic, 3 toilets/showers with bungy cord and duct tape locks! On the plus side, the site was incredibly quiet with only two or three other tents apart from at the weekend when there was a big influx of camper vans. There are both Aldi and Lidl supermarkets in Grossweinstein about 5km away and the beer is incredibly cheap, four stubbies for 1 Euro! There is an alternative campsite, Gastof Eichler, a few miles away with what looks like better facilities, but further away from the cheap beer.

The climbing area is split in to two, North, around the Bayreuth area and South just east of Nurenberg. The southern area is covered by a German/English guide book, Franken 2 published by Gebro Verlag, I’m happy to lend this if anyone would like a look. In this area there are around 350 crags (5000+ routes) in rolling woodland interspersed with picturesque villages. Most of the crags are on the wooded hillsides and only a few minutes walk from the road.

We visited about 8 crags from about 12m to 30m in height, a 70m rope is fine and the rock was totally solid, pockets and flakes, in all cases. The gear is mostly modern stainless staples with a few pegs and threads on some routes. The gear is a bit spaced, typically 10 or 12 bolts on a 30m route although they are closer together where the climbing is hardest. Expect a bit of run out on the easier sections and a clip stick is useful, first staples are typically 3m off the deck. The grades are also a bit on the stiff side. Some of the older, easier routes are trad so a rack could also be useful. All told it was a good trip but a bit on the hot side, fortunately there a number of North facing crags scattered throughout the area so it was always possible to find something suitable.

Away from the crag, the medieval centre of Nuremberg, one time home of the Holy Roman Emperor, is well worth a visit - 5 Euros on the train from Erlangen.

1. Mike on Gruner Engel (6+) at Rotelfels
2. David on Miss Piggy (7+) at Saufels

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John and Valerie Middleton in Tajikistan.

SPELEOLOGICAL AND OTHER OBSERVATIONS ALONG THE
PAMIR HIGHWAY - 2019

What and Where is the Pamir Highway?

The Pamir Highway is a 1,200km long section of the M41 which in turn is a major road that passes through three Central Asian Republics. This route is 2,040km in length and originates at the town of Kara-Balta just to the west of Bishkek the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It then proceeds through central Tajikistan and continues southwards to finish at the city of Termez in Uzbekistan. The mountainous segment known as the Pamir Highway commences at the ancient southern Kyrgyz city of Osh and terminates in Dushanbe, the lively capital of Tajikistan.

Between these two great cities the road traverses through the spectacular but sparsely populated and inhospitable central Pamir mountain ranges. This challenging route is one of the world’s great ‘high altitude driveable road trips’ with the Ack-Baital Pass reaching 4,651m*. Four further passes exceed 4,100m whilst the high plateau itself rarely falls below 3,900m. At these altitudes and over all the passes the barely levelled road surface is invariably rough, winding, narrow and frequently very steep. Such difficult conditions have also been aggravated by inaccessibility, earthquakes and the severe local climate. Elsewhere on the plateau there are 48 summits above 6,000m as well as three that exceed 7,000m!
*The highest driveable pass on Earth is the 5,883m Umlingla Pass in Ladakh, India!!

Whilst the Pamir Highway does follow remnants of the ancient ‘Silk Route’, as witnessed by various caravanserai and forts, an attempt at improvement was made in the mid-18th century by the Russians as a means to keeping the British Empire at bay. One hundred years later the Soviets again attempted, without great effect, to upgrade this road. However, it does remain the only viable access route to the eastern half of Tajikistan and the fascinating region of Gorno-Badakhshan (GBAO).

Our Objectives.

The aims of our wanderings were threefold. Firstly, to note and where possible investigate speleological regions close to the M41 road; secondly to observe the often unique local flora and thirdly to mingle with and learn about the local peoples, past and present. Each site of interest is marked on the map with an arrowed number and referred to as such below. Additionally, by following the Pamir Highway we hoped that we may eventually connect to the point that we had reached in our Tajikistan explorations of 2018.

0-6

7-13

14-20

21-24

00. Map. An overall view of the route.

01. Bread is Life. The delicious unleavened bread of Central Asia is not only treated with the greatest of respect it is also subject to various rituals. Always handle with care; a piece of bread should never be thrown away or given to animals and a person’s back should never be turned towards it at the table. It is the responsibility of the host to first break (never cut) the bread and then hand it around. This bread stall is one of many in the ‘Osh Market’ of Bishkek.

02. The stunningly situated Toktogul Reservoir, whose water mainly goes to Uzbekistan, is situated halfway between Bishkek and Sary-Chelek and provides a perfect stop for a picnic.

03 Protected within the 23,900 hectare Sary-Chelek Biosphere Reserve are majestic mountains; dense forests; flower rich alpine meadows; four lakes that include the 234m deep Sary-Chelek Lake; crystal clear streams; over 1,000 different species of plant life; 160 birds; an unknown number of reptiles and insects as well as 34 mammals with pride of place going to the Brown Bear – Ursus arctos isabellinus and elusive Snow Leopard – Panthera uncia. This is, in other words, an earthly paradise second to none and must be seen!

04. The stunning Tulipa anadroma occurs in profusion at Sary-Chelek both beneath shade and in full sunlight. This is just one of five different tulip species that we came across in Kyrgyzstan which takes our Central Asian ‘tulip tally’ to 36!

05. Osh. The friendly city of Osh is claimed to date back more than 3,000 years although little now remains. As has been normal throughout this region, much was destroyed by Mongol invaders of the 13th century AD and others of like mind. It also sits on a seismically active belt hence the reason that there are few tall buildings. This photo was taken from the cave riddled limestone mountain known as ‘Sulemein-Too’ which extends to within a few tens of metres of the city centre.

06. The Osh region is the cradle of Kyrgysh speleology and as such hosts many fascinating caves of both epigene and hypogene origin. ‘Bolshoi Baritova Cave’ is of the latter and was entered by mined passageway. The crystals in the photograph are calcite with the majority being as large as a hand span. The associated bat is probably Myotis blythii. Nearby, ‘Fersman Cave and Mine’ is where the uranium for the first Russian nuclear bomb originated from. It is a complex mix of mined and natural passageways 4,130m in length and 260m in depth. This system was also visited by us.

07. It was just before reaching Sary-Tash that we had our first real view of the mighty Pamir mountains and the village that we were to acclimatise in. Indisputably intoxicating but definitely cold is the only way to describe it!

08. Peak Lenin. A special photograph for the two Bills who successfully ascended this 7,134m peak in their youth! What happened to them?

09. Lake Karakul is an endorheic expanse of water situated at 3,960m. It is roughly 25km across and reaches 230m in depth. Ice sampled from its depths reputably belongs to the last ice age! Even more amazing is the fact that the lake resides in the centre of a 45km diameter meteor impact crater – one of the largest on our planet. We spent one night here and whilst our welcome was warm it was probably the coldest night that we have ever experienced – ask Valerie!

10. Recently arrived Yak herdsmen and their yurts camped by Lake Karakul for the summer.

11. The challenging mountains between Karakul and Murghab which includes the 4,655m Ak-Baital Pass. It was an adrenalin rush on every bend! It was also a photographer’s dream.

12. Who would believe that these cuddly Marmots (Marmota caudata) could survive at over 4,000m! Unfortunately, whilst there are very few natural losses during winter many are killed by hunters for food with the fur becoming gloves and hats.

13. Salak-Tash valley is a remote destination which took us several hours and three guides to find. As with everywhere in the Pamirs it occurs amongst sensational scenery, but our interest was a very special cave. See next photo.

14. Rangkulskaya is the deepest cave system yet explored in Tajikistan. It is found at an altitude of 4,400m and was formed by internal hydrothermal processes. The current length is 2,050m with an unfinished depth of -268m. Further explorations could possibly extend the system to -700m. Glacier ice found within the cave again originated from the last ice age and it was probably this same Glacier that was responsible for the cave entrance being exposed. Our efforts at ascending the scree at this altitude failed miserably! Sorry Grumpies, we know that we have let you all down!!

15. The 4x4 vehicle in this picture is taking supplies to the Khargush Military Check Point at 3,600m. We had passed through their inspection about 45 minutes previously and are now heading into the beautiful and historically rich Wakhan Valley. The opposite side of the valley is Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush mountains. Every peak here exceeds 6,500m with the valley level being 2,860m. The river on the bottom is ‘The Panj’ and this forms the boundary with Afghanistan for almost 800km before becoming the great ‘Amu Darya’.

16. The Pamir mountains are home to eight different ethnic groups of people with each having their own language and customs. In the Wakhan we stayed in the traditional houses of two Pamiri Tajiks, once in Langar and once in Yang villages. Our hosts here are the very hospitable ‘Haydars’ in the latter village. He is a small-time farmer and keeper of the fascinating local museum. His wife is an undoubted expert on the local cuisine.

17. Pamiri hospitality! After eating and drinking merrily on the first evening Mr Haydar asked us if we would like to see his family perform some traditional dances accompanied by their traditional instruments. After being initially rather hesitant we were then amazed at their professional performance – even down to the 4 year old - which lasted an hour and elicited many ‘encores’. Most of this enviably close-knit family lived in our house! Such spontaneity and generosity are typical of all the Tajik people that we met.

18. Yamchun Fort. There are many forts in the Wakhan Valley in various states of repair. Yamchun is undoubtably the most spectacular sitting, as it does, on an impregnable ridge some 500m above the valley floor. From there, sentries can see 20km up the Wakhan, 20km down the Wakhan and well into Afghanistan opposite. It was originally built by the ‘Kushans’ in the 3rd century BC with major renovation and extensions added in the 12th century AD. Its main purpose was to keep invaders away and help protect

19. A Western View along the Wakhan Valley from Yamchun Fortress. All the mountains to the left of the river remain the Hindu Kush whilst the mountains behind the fort, in Tajikistan, reach 6,723m on Karl Marx Peak. An impressive place indeed!

20. This was taken in a village just before reaching Khorog. Obviously, it is the equivalent of our own ladies local “social centre”.

21. Our second visit to the unique Hodja Mumin salt diapir proved just as rewarding as in 2018. With the aid of various local people, we managed to both circumnavigate (38km) the mountain and find a new way onto its upper levels. This brought into view an amazing range of karst features, many of which we had never seen before and others that may be unique.

22. Salt Mushrooms. These salt pinnacles, some 15m high, are capped with harder gypsum rock which then limits erosion of the salt.

23. This magnificent Long-legged Buzzard carried its prey, a substantial snake, backwards and forwards across the Hodja Mumin cliff face for at least 4 minutes before eventually alighting on its salty ledge nest. The surroundings of Hodja Mumin did also seem a haven for bird life.

24. Dushanbe.! 24 days after leaving Bishkek and many adventures later we eventually arrived at the capital of Tajikistan. The photo was taken within the relatively new but extensive Central Market. This was a truly memorable trip – just ask Valerie!

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July 17th. A Culture Shot From Mike Browell.

Time for a bit of culture?   How about some Zen rock landscapes for the Grumpies on the aptly hosted Zen website.

I know that some Grumpies are willing to endure the discomforts of travel to contemplate rocks in wild places.    Not me however.   Instead I recently revisited the very civilised Zen Rock Gardens of Kyoto in Japan.   These dry landscape gardens within Buddhist temple precincts date back more than 800 years and epitomise spiritual simplicity and beauty.  Maybe Grumpies could reach enlightenment through the seven carefully selected Zen landscapes in the photos attached. 

Zen is a sect of Buddhism and the essence of Zen is attempting to understand the meaning of life by contemplating nature, without being misled by logical thought or language.  

‘Dry Landscape Gardens’ are correctly named karesansui and are found in all sects of Buddhist temples.  Kyoto has an abundance of Zen Buddhist Temples, some 1600, and every temple has a zen garden.  This is the city to visit, although I found five-a-day to be quite enough.

https://www.insidekyoto.com/best-temples-in-kyoto 

These timeless gardens haven’t changed since their creation, so are perfectly frozen masterpieces.  They are micro-maintained, gravel raked daily, leaves picked up, trees and shrubs pruned to extreme forms.  Don’t expect to see the gardeners, but if you do, you’ll find them using strange pruning tools, and a myriad of rake types.   The toolkit has hardly evolved in 800 years.

I find it amazing that the Japanese respect and revere these gardens, such that no makeover in style or layout is ever considered.    And no expense is spared in their upkeep.

True karesansui gardens don’t include water, using gravel to give the level appearance of seas, lakes and rivers, raked to resemble ripples with rocks as islands.   The balanced composition of boulders and gravel should appeal to rock climbers.

Photographs can’t match the pleasure of viewing these dry landscape gardens.    You have to experience them from different angles to appreciate their complexity.  Only by contemplation of the meaning and symbolism behind the placement of rocks does the essence of Zen become understood.

The most perfect karesansui garden is at Ryoan-yi Temple, where 15 mysterious stones are laid out in a sea of gravel such that all of the stones can never be viewed at one time.    Is it simply a miniature scenery of islands in the sea?  Or a tiger carrying its cubs across a pond?   Or an abstract representation of the infinity of the universe?  The true meaning of the design will never be fully known as it went to the grave with its designer.

Photos

1              Classic Dry Landscape Garden at Ryoan-ji Temple

2              Sea of Silver Sand

3              25 attendants descend on fast flying clouds

4              Dry water garden

5              Chequer board

6              Courtyard miniature garden

7              Stroll garden miniature landscape

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Whilst making polite conversation during an Awesome walls coffee break, I mentioned the superb displays of Musk Thistles near Earl Sterndale. All but John Middleton returned blank stares so for the uninitiated here is a couple of pictures of the Musk Thistles Carduus nutans.

1. Near Parkhouse hill
2. On Parkhouse Hill

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The Tribulations of a Route Setter.

No, not that sort of route, anyone can screw on a few crimps and slopers, I mean walking routes as set out in my web page, of which I am sure that you are all avid readers. Walking, you gasp, anyone can do that and most of the time you'd be right. Get a map, decide on a route and set off clutching map and GPS. On returning, plug in the GPS to the PC and hey Presto, a detailed map showing your route, length and total ascent. Easy non? Sometimes, but things can go pear shaped. Last weekend I decided to investigate a bit of the Peak District south of Cromford. It contains, apart from a canal, a national trail called the Midshires Way, and while this couldn't make a circuit it looked like an obvious bit to include.

My route would take us into Shining Cliff Woods, and to make sure that the tracks marked on the map were accessible I did a bit of research on Google and found that several walks included these paths in their circuits. No problem then.

I set off from Cromford, up Intake lane which passes underneath the High Peak incline and is easy as far as a small road. Across this it becomes a footpath, dodging in and out of fields and woods but all well-waymarked as the Midshires Way. Eventually I chose to leave it and dive down into Shining Cliff Woods on a footpath which seemed intent on becoming a stream. Eventuallu I reached the enigmatic track leading north through the woods. After about 1km, things started to go pear-shaped. There was a barrier across the track and a plethera of notices - No Entry, Footpath Closed, Private Land, CCTV survailance, Trespassers Will be Prosecuted. I persisted and another sign Access by Permit Only seemed like the last straw so I turned back.

Half a km back was a brach track leading uphill, I took it and arrived in a wilderness of sharp broken branches left by the friendly forestry men as they 'harvested' the trees. Of a track relating to anything on map or GPS there was none. A bunch of friendly mountain bikers looking similarly confused suggested that I back-track a bit and follow a wall which would lead me to a campsite and civilization, such as it was around here. 'It's a bit rough in places' one of them said and as I left a thought I detected a snigger.

Things started off negotiable but progressively deteriorated. Piles of sharp branches and fallen trees made going slow and little by little things got even slower as bracken, rhododendrons and flesh-ripping brambles with prickles the size of shark's fins started to appear. I staggered on, bloodied, where I should have retreated, the ground, which couldn't be seen became bouldery and after one particularly nasty encounter with the bramble from hell I found myself falling into a pit, also full of brambles. Escape seemed problematical but I somehow managed to battle my way to the bounding drystone wall. This was about 5 feet high and comprised of slimy moss covered stones. Over the wall the territory looked better but the drop on that side was about 8 feet. I managed to get sitting across the top of the wall. Camera and GPS were becoming an encumberance so I decided, in my wisdom to drop them over the wall onto some strategically sited moss which I hoped woiuld break their fall. GPS, bulls-eye but moss being moss it was springy and the GPS rebounded, cartwheeled and ended up in a pile of cowshit. The camera did maginally better, only ending up in a patch of nettles.

I slithered over the wall, almost followed by a pile of loose capstones. The going became relatively easy (relatively) and I eventually reached a small evil stream crossed by a moss-covered log passing as a footbridge. Inexplicably it held and after crossing a friendly barb-wired gate and climbing up a 45 degree mud slope I arrived at a deserted campsite.

Things did go smoother after that although I found myself locked in by some enormous wooden gates and had to do some deft hand traversing around the masonry to get out.

On the canal path at last. Signpost at the start read Cromford 3 miles and after 30 minutes walking there was another which also read Cromford 3 miles. I could have just done with some encouragement. I won't be publishing that one.

Chris.

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Chris and Sue in the Steps of the Great Explorers of the Northwest Passage.

Well, not actually by dog-sled, but in the MV Fram by Hurtigruten.

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1. Map of our route on the Northwest Passage.
2. The Fram and our tender
3. Inuit lady at Gjoa Haven
4. Inuit writing.
5. Gjoa Haven
6. Pasley Bay
7. The captain
8. Polar Bear
9. Typical scenery off Devon Island
10. Croker's Bay
11. Pond's Inlet.
12. Inuit Drum dancer
13. Trouble with waves
14. Baffin Island, North Arm Fjord
15. Greenland Map
16. Husky dogs at Ilulissat
17. Walking to Holms Bakke
18. The Ice Fjord at Holms Bakke
19. Walking at Sisimiut
20. Evening light near Kangalussuaq
21. The Greenland Icecap.

We don't want to talk about carbon footprints as ours is probably astronomical but I suppose that this wasn't going to be a trip we took on a regular basis. From Manchester we flew to Iceland, then on to Edmonton in Canada. Next day we continued our flight to Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island in the Canadian Archipelago. Here, by means of a almost totally wrecked taxi (only one door would open) we were taken to the quay-side and on a Zodiac to the MV Fram. The amazing thing is that nothing actually went wrong and that we arrived unscathed in our cabin..

So, the next 12 days largely consisted of sailing past strange islands, eating, sleeping and making trips ashore on one of the small tenders. Some islands were little more than barren piles of stones, others were barren piles of stones with an Inuit settlement, and there were graves and ruins that told the tales of the past 400 years of exploration. Frobisher, Franklin, Hudsen, Parry, Ross, and of course Amundsen, names woven into a tapestry of hardship and disaster, starvation, mutiny, scurvy and cannibalism, and despite the efforts of rich entrepreneurs and powerful navies it fell to Amundsen in a converted herring boat, the Gjoa to eventually find a way through the labyrinth of islands and ice floes, through Cambridge Bay and out into the Arctic Ocean where they met a whaling ship coming from the west. It was done.

We visited Inuit settlements at Gjoa Haven and Pond's Inlet. They were very friendly and put on shows of Inuit culture for us (funded by Hertigruten) where we were introduced to some of the mysteries of Throat Singing and Drum dancing.

Wildlife? Not a lot but I suppose that we are comparing it with Antarctica where there was lots. We saw Beluga and Bow head whales, Harp seals, a wolf and several Polar Bears but all from a distance. When on shore we were always protected by several of the expedition team with guns, and if a bear was spotted before we were due to land the trip ashore would be cancelled. Apparently it is not good for business if a passenger gets eaten.

Baffin Island was spectacular as was Greenland and there we managed a couple of walks in some amazing scenery.

In Greenland we docked at Ilulissat and next day hiked to Holms Bakke, a Fjord almost completely choked with enormous icebergs from the Jakobshavn glacier, one of the most productive glaciers in the world and possibly the source of the iceberg which sunk the Titanic. The icebergs dam up at the mouth of the Fjord before periodicall bursting through into the ocean.

At the end of the trip the Fram took us up one of the longest Fjords in the world, 190km to Kangerlussuaq where we were to start our homeward flights and where we took to 4x4s to drive to the Greenland Icecap. Yes, it's melting, a little sad but still stunningly beautiful in the evening light.

The Northwest passage was to be the shortcut to Cathay and the riches of the east, to avoid having to sail round Cape Horn. A failure in the end, someone went and dug the Panama canal.

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Bill and Alison in Croatia.

We were staying near a town called Orebic on the Peljesac Peninsula, west of Dubrovnik.

1. Small sports crag just up behind our hotel. There is a Outdoor Pursuits company based near Orebic, so there are probably more crags in the area. Alison and I were not climbing on this trip.
2. View of Korcula Island on our way up Mt Ilija, a really lovely walk but beware of snakes! Korcula is a cheap 20 min ferry ride from Orebic. The main town is like a mini Dubrovnik, with less crowds!
3. View looking along the spine of the Peninsula from the summit, back towards the town of Ston (famous for its 5.5kms of ancient walls protecting the salt pans).
4. Alison soaking in the glorious summit views. Looking to the north end of Korcula Island.
5. Sign outside a coffee shop on Korcula Island.
6. View of Dubrovnik from the city wall walk. Fantastic place but boy was it busy and we were not in the main tourist season. I blame Game of Thrones!

October. Adey and Jan in the Vanoise.

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August-September 2019. We travelled with our caravan via the overnight crossing from Harwich to Hooek van Holland and then over three days down to the Vanoise. Judging from the puzzled looks of several grumpies I should perhaps reveal that this lies between Mont Blanc and the Meije and is the home of lots of well-known ski resorts. Thankfully, these give very good access into the mountains whilst it is fairly easy to escape the winter sports devastation once you get on the hill. For the first week we stayed on a nice site in Bride-les-Bains, in the Tarantaise valley. Pic. 1is of Pralognon, just up the road. An “acclimatisation” walk, described in the Rother Guide as “an ideal family walk along the Creve-Tete ridge”, turned out to be a real shocker. Continuously steep for 2 hours with the altitude hitting our low-altitude constitutions! Things could only get better. Later in the week we had a brilliant day above the clouds going over The Grand Plan at 2127m (Pic. 2) to the Lac du Branley (Pic. 3), which turned out to be more of a large pond than a proper lake, but the wild raspberries and omelette on the way down were very welcome. Pic. 4 is of some sort of fritillary on some sort of thistle; one for JM we think. On one of the rest days in the Tarantaise we joined the throngs for an easy half-day up to the Lac du Lou (Pic. 5), then abandoned them for an alternative descent where we met the locals coming up (Pic. 6). Our final day in the valley saw us reaching the summit of the Sauliere, which boasts the highest via ferrata in Europe up to a nice pointy peak (Pic. 7) with fine views of the Aiguille du Fruit and the glaciers of the Vanoise Massif (Pic. 8).

We drove round to the Maurienne, which is just to the north of the Frejus road and rail tunnels and on the border with Italy, to another nice site at Termignon. Dropping off the caravan and not being of the cycling fraternity, we carried on up to the Col de l’Iseran and marvelled at the stamina/stupidity of those who were actually on their bikes. Pic. 9 shows the view from the col, with the attractive summit of the Albaron (3637m) on the left and the Bessanese (3592m) on the right. Reaching 3000m from the col is pretty straightforward with a steepish path and a short bit of cable, for the touroids in their trainers, leading to the Pointe des Lessieres in under an hour. Termignon is a lovely village at the centre of the Maurienne valley. Pic 10 shows it in the evening with the Dent du Parrachee (3697m) behind the church.

Down the valley from Termignon is a the Victor-Emmanuel fort complex, above a deep gorge, built during the 1700s by the Piedmont Sardinians to prevent an “Italian” invasion from the northeast. Pic 11 shows the access bridge across the gorge with a tiny bit of the fort peeking over the top. The gorge contains the longest via ferrata system in France, at 3460m, which traverses both sides of the gorge and finishes up the headwall from the bridge to the fort with an exit in through one of the gun ports. If that seems a bit much there is a practice one that completes a circuit of the fort walls, rarely more than 20m above the ground.

We had another rest day with a trip over the Col du Cenis into Italy and then by train to Turin. Imagine an hour in the train each way for 10 Euros total. It was about the only thing we thought was cheap during the whole trip. Pic 12 is Piazza San Carlo and tourists there were few. The shroud in the cathedral was, well, shrouded in a casket inside a suitably devout display cabinet. Otherwise, the cathedral is not that inspiring. Much better was the fantastic Egyptology Museum. Not cheap but well worth the day trip on its own. We finished with a stroll back to the station along the river Po (Pic. 13). Although about 36C in Turin the weather was becoming distinctly gnarly in the mountains but we squeezed in a final decent day on the Pointe de Lanserlia (2909m). Pic 14 shows the lower top, with the Dent du Parrachee and its much reduced glaciers beyond and Pic. 15 is the view south from the top – the Meije is in the clouds on the far right.

That night it rained, and thundered, and lightened, and blew a gale and the tops were white in the morning, so we packed up and buggered off to Burgundy, which was a lot better. Pic. 16 is the courtyard of the Hospices de Beaune, which served as the local hospital from 1443 until the late 1970s looking no different from Pics 17 and 18, which are the poor people’s and the rich people’s wards respectively. We stayed at another brilliant site in Savigny-les-Beaune and walked in the forest where we discovered limestone sports crags, just like Chee Dale without the river and with actual climbers in situ, ringing the edges of deep valleys. The vineyards also gave an interesting half-day walk through the fields of Premier-Cru vines and then we took a recommended and very interesting trip to the Abbeye de Citeaux for some marvellous cheese, which we had sampled in a local auberge. No stay in Savigny is complete without a visit to the chateau (Pics. 19 & 20), which is owned by an eccentric gentleman who collects “stuff”. There are 11 different collections including fire engines, 2000+ models of planes, vintage wine-growing machines, Abarth racing cars, a vinyard and almost 200 fighter jets (Pic. 21, mostly without engines and many with no wheels etc). A strange place indeed. Travelling home got cooler and damper via Luxembourg and a brilliant but very wet farm site just outside Delft. When we reached Dronfield it rained; no surprise there then.

Ooo (Ed), a strong contender for the Man-Booby prize this year?

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Mike and Mary : Gorges du Verdon

I have been lucky enough to visit the Verdon five times since retiring but this trip was a bit special as I was given the thumbs-up by Mary to gently introduce her to the delights of this truly awesome place.
Having climbed there several times in the eighties my most vivid memories are of Pichenibule, a long, exposed and inescapable diagonal route on which I totally lost my mojo after a swooping fall into space. Luckily a fledgling Grumpy, our own Mike Browell, was with me to save the day and having led me up the ‘the nails 6c+ pitch’ (according to recent UKC comments) and the infamous aid pitch I could barely lead/shake my way up the last 6a pitch. Thanks Mike, I still owe you for that.
Despite lots of similar testing adventures I am still really drawn to this place and along with Mary, Graham and Helen Hoey we spent a few weeks there this October and did an awful lot of climbing. Some people ate an awful lot of pastries and some people had a modest amount of Tripel Karmeliet beer. The village of La Palud has not changed much in forty years, I am glad to say, and the steady but not Kalymnian flow of international climbers, give it a great feeling and sustain just the right number of shops, bars and campsites. On a few cool mornings we dallied over coffee in the bar where many others were pouring over guides, quietly forming plans and trying to assess who else might be aiming for their routes. It felt a bit like a rather grand Stoney café.
The best news about the Verdon is that there is a new crop of well bolted, modestly graded and accessible routes. In addition the new guide has a very good English translation which makes things a lot clearer. Not so surprising as it was done by an old Stoneyite, Mark Pretty better known as Zippy.
Mary was not fazed by the reputation of the place and within 10 minutes of approaching the second route was halfway down a 40m free rappel. Together we did five multi pitch routes mostly at about 6a+ and of about 7 pitches. Two of them were accessed by the same 3 easy rappels and the others were approached on foot, so not such daunting prospects as some of you might remember from the old days. We would really recommend these routes.
For 20 years I worked with Graham and we would often talk and dream of getting back here when life permitted. Whilst Mary and Helen did the classic gorge walk and the must-do Route Des Cretes cycle, we had a chance to test ourselves on two brilliant 11 pitch climbs. So with eleven other Verdonian classics in recent years, and four more with Gordon, I should be able to ease off ….. but not just yet ! Any takers? I think Mary is keen!
Here are a few pictures to give a flavour of the place.

1. On the Route Des Cretes cycle which visits the many belvederes overlooking the gorge.
2. Our first climb. The 5 pitch Free Tibet 6a below the Maline Hut.
3. The second rappel into sector Adieu Zidane.
4. From Adieu Zidane 6a looking at Graham and Helen on the 9 pitch Hissage Nocturne 6a+. FA 2003
5. Back to the road for lunch. ( 2 seconds from the top out bolts)
6. The mornings were cool but we did manage one swim and Mary even tried sunbathing.
7. On the second belay of the 6 pitch Petra Aliena 6b+. In the shade opposite the Malines hut. FA 2015
8. A great route but it did involve walking into the gorge twice and finally the one hour slog back up to car.
9. Looking down at Mary on pitch 4, 6b.
10. After a bitter 8am start at river level we finally found the sun on the 11 pitch Moralenemia 6c+. FA 2011
11. Graham at the top of pitch 9, 6b+, of Voyage au Gre du Gris. FA 2009
12. Having needed a point of aid on an early 6b pitch, I was pleased to do better on pitch 10, 6c.
13. The walk through the gorge involves lots of steps ..
14. ..several tunnels…
15. and lots of autumn beauty.

Chris and Adey in Kalymnos. Well, we can't compete with all that but here are a few shots from our recent Kalymnos trip Oct/Nov.

1. Prickly things were everywhere
2. St Photis Monastery
3. Rock Viper, unpredictable and venomous
4. Cheering at the ill-fated rugby final
5. Sunset over the South end of Telendos
6. On the ferry to Telendos
7. On reflection ...
8. Climbing on Lambda, Telendos
9. Grand Grotte where of course we climbed most days ...

Chris and Adey Hubbard, Roy and Marilyn Small, Bill Wintrip and Bill Geary, Nick Gregory and Andy ?, Mike Warwick and Phil ?.

All went very smoothly but after 5 days intensive climbing I decided to have rest day and go for a walk. I started from Masouri and walked through Mirties and by devious routes to the village of Panormos where the path to the Monastery crags and to the little monastery of St Photis starts. Easy to the monastery, but from here my route continued a little more vaguely along to the headland of Cape Trachilos and then east above the monastery of St Triadha. All went fairly well up until that point though the path took me several hundred metres above the monastery at the top of a large crag. From here there was no real path only small cairns which grew increasingle spaced until I lost them all. At this point I should have retreated. However ...

The hillside of Kapsala iturned out to be an uninviting terrain of unstable scree and Hedgehog Broom and so foolishly I pressed on eastwards expecting to soon light on the next monastery of Aghios Konstantinos which was marked as being at the top of a well-used track. I crossed gully after gully, slithered on scree and suffering grievous wounds from the Hedghog Broom. Every gully looked like it might be the last one but there were 5 of them and despair was beginning to set in. Eventually, bloodied and exhausted I arrived at a high point way above the monastery but there it was at last. I stumbled down the hillside and took a breather against the monastery wall, took off my shoes and attempted to remove some Hegehog Broom prickles from my socks.

Next to my feet was what looked like a piece of old climbing rope, however, the beady eyes and flicking tongue revealed it to be a snake. Assuming that it was harmless and friendly and as no one had mentioned dangerous snakes to us I took a few photographs. A later search on Google revealed that it was anything but friendly, a rock viper dangerous and unpredictable. Just another near-death experience.

I staggered off down the track into Chorio and had the best Coca-Cola that I've ever had, and, reinvigorated by water, sugar and caffien I set off along the final 4 km back to Mesouri. Tragically after about 1 km I was overtaken by Adey and Bill Wintrip in their hire car and was pressed ganged into accepting a lift back. They had been on a 3 hour stroll, my rest day took over 6 hours,

Next day I was climbing like a dog.

Apart from that we visited many crags, Lambda on Telendos, Arhi, Sea Breeze, Summertime, Belgian Chocolates, Star Wall, Black Buddha, Arginonta Valley, Kasteli to name but a few. Favourites? Lambda and Arginonta Valley. Weather - 20-25C and sunny.

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IT'S HERE!!! The Great Grumpy Pictorial Quiz 2019. Some are a doddle, some are demonic. Click on an image to enlarge. Don't send me your answers, there will be paper, pencils and reminder sheets on the party day of 6th December which gives you a week to get off the sofa and get your acts together.

1. Name the crag. Cloggy

2. Who's the woman? The Lady of Snowdon

3. Who dat? Flora MacDonald of Sleat

4. Name the climb. Ajudicator Wall

5. Name the cave. Deepdale Cave aka Thirst House cave aka Nettle Cave

6. Name the buttress in the middle Cupid Buttress

7. Name this old monument. (not my wife) Hope Cross

8. Name the hill on which we were standing. Parkhouse Hill

9. a) Where were we? b) What is tragic about one of these routes? 1/2 point each a) Lands End, b) Yankee Doodle fell down 1989/90

10. Name the monument. Criche Memorial

11. Name the nearby village. Llanberis

12. Where were we? Quirang, Skye

13. Tom Proctor, but where were we climbing? Stanton Moor Quarry

14. Name the pinnacle. Jeffcoat's Pinnacle

15. Name the pinnacle. The Totwm Pole, Tasmania

16. Name this summit. Win Hill

17. Where the hell were we? Red Wall, Red Haze.

18. Where in the Peak are these enigmatic stones? Bradford Dale near Middleton near You;lgrave

19. Name the pub. The Derwentwater Arms, Calver

20. What non-PC name does this fungus have? Jew's Ear Fungus now called the Jelly Ear fungus. Edible.

 

Bon Chance mes braves. There will be a bottle shaped prize for the winner, and in the case of a draw there will be a tie break question, hands on buzzers.

The Party.

1. Group Shot at Awesome Walls
2. Chris reads out the pictorial composition answers
3. Adey Hubbard wins the prize for 17 correct quiz answers. (though we didn't check these!)
4. Adey Hubbard also wins the Man-Booby prize for literary excellence for his articles on the Vanoise and Scotland
5. Cath Graveling proposes Roy Small as Grump of the Year
6. Tony Mays wins by a massive majority
7. Tony Mays wearing Mary Water's iconic Grumpy hat and with the GOTY teeshirt.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to making this just another memorable party. Special thanks to John Jones for arranging the room and excellent buffet and being MOC, Gerry and Eileen for the GOTY teeshirts, John Graveling for awarding me the Satsuma Award and a copy of Grumpy Old Men, New Year, Same Old Crap by David Quantick. And special thanks to Awesome walls for a very generous donation of £50 towards some beer at the party. Thanks guys.

Should anyone require a hi-res copy of the group shot to hang on their wall just let me know and I'll email an attachment to you.

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Adey has responded to a comment from me that no-one checked his answers to the Demonic Pictorial Quiz.

Dear Grumpy Ladies and Gentlemen,

On Friday you all heard that Tony felt maligned by the entirely accurate descriptions of his grumpiness. Let me tell you that, having read Chris's "throw away" comment about not having checked my 17 correct quiz answers, I now feel more than a little slighted. The very suggestion that my responses, which were written on a separate sheet and in a colour of ink that was not available at the event, is too much to bear. Add to that an independent marker, who I will admit had just received a pint purchased by me (but his personal integrity is matchless) and the fact that I didn't even recognise myself on Red Haze, should put the matter beyond question. I even tried to nominate a more worthy recipient of the Mann Booby award but you would not allow that attempt at common decency.

So I give you all fair warning that, having never been the proud holder of the Grumpiest Member Trophy, I have decided that it will be mine next year - and sod off to the lot of you.

Yours with zero festive spirit,

Adey

Methinks that he doth protest too much (Ed)

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And, Grumpy Tony Mays seemed a bit miffed about his award.

Hi Grumpies

I was so distressed & devastated by the entirely unmerited Grump of the Year Award that I left my climbing sack (a DMM rope bag) behind in the pub. I was considering not climbing with any of you anymore but, on reflection, I've decided I will bide my time & plan my revenge, which as you know is best served cold.

Anyone picked up my rather iconic sack?

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So where was your venerable webmster on Wednesday? Not at Awesome but at the Cioch Club Christmas dinner which, as every year, is held at the celebrated Monyash cafe. Stuff the turkey, give me sausage egg and chips and a pot of tea anytime.

Click to expand.

Left to right:

1. Jack Street
2. Bob Dearman
3. John (Ackers) Atkinson
4. Dave Little
5. Gerry Langsley
6. Mac (Drip Dry) Battersby
7. Chris (Hotpants) Jackson

Christmas Crack.

As is now a tradition, a motly band of climbers and fancy dressers turned up on Stanage on Christmas Day to climb Christmas Crack. Due to logistical problems I was unable to attend but Cath Graveling has kindly sent these.

Merry Christmas and a Grumpy New year to all. See us next year on Grumpies 2020