2012 In Review
- Tremadog September: 2012 got of to a great start with the some pre-term trad climbing instruction. Six of the most dedicated Outdoor Club members braved the onslaught of rain to learn best practise in anchor placing and rope skills. Well, it wasn’t all gloom, the first day proved that the sun does smile on Wales sometimes. Big thanks to our fantastic instructor Paul Poole and his colleagues! We had a great weekend out and learnt a lot from them.
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Fresher’s Trip: Back to Tremadog with our refined trad climbing skills, staying at the luxurious BRMC hut. Most people went to upper tier climbing, trying real outdoor climbing for the first time, others tackled the cliffs of Bwlch-y-Moch, and a small group burnt dust at the Coed y Brenin MBT trail center.
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Original Mountain Marathon: This year only two Imperial teams enter the OMM BUT with more success than last year, with both teams finishing. What’s more, there were no injuries this time other than the usual blisters! Mountain marathons test your endurance, self reliance and navigation over 50km, 3000m of ascent and only two days, carrying everything you need on your back. The weekend started below freezing point (-3 ~ -8), making a cold night. On Saturday, it was sunny and it was very nice to run. Though it was very cold (too cold to feel blisters), everyone enjoyed Saturday running very much. It was a bit warmer on Saturday night/Sunday early morning (partly due to the fact that the Laser Photon 1 tent is so small you have to stick to each other during sleep). Sunday the weather deteriorated. It was raining the whole day, and the running conditions were much worse — super muddy ground (wet, cold and slippy). It was misty most of the places, which added some difficulty to navigation. On the top of the hills, it was a struggled to see whilst the wind and rain lashing violently. But both teams enjoyed the finishing part very much — Highlander in April then…
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Peak District, November: The Peaks is one of the real greats for trad climbing. Whilst the weather might be abysmal, given a dry spell and it only takes minutes for the rock to dry. It’s a frequent occurrence to see climbers hiding under the rocks, just waiting for a break in the rain. Trip to Stanage edge, where some people did their first lead, then back to hut for good old fun and games with traditional apple bobbing being the highlight.
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Lake District trip, November: Mountain biking, yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No climbing this weekend, just two wheels and some pedal power. The Lakes offers some of the best natural mountain bike trails. Hope we go there again soon!
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St Mary’s hut, December: Final trip of the year and it’s Christmas! Some early winter climbing (which means climbing of wet rock in “storm trooper” boots). Matt and Dan took a steep ascent up to the Snowdon summit (picture). This was Dan’s first time Winter climb, and they had more snow then the rest on Cribb Goch. the evening finished with stir fry and mulled wine by the fire.
