May 5th - 7th - BH Old Man of Stoer - Michelle Harvie and Duncan Lee
By Duncan Lee
The Stoer, Sterndale, Stanage and Sharpness Meet.
Members present: Cathy Devine, Jeremy Engineer, Chris Williamson (sunbathing only), Sabina Cosulich, Dave Bone, Al Metelko, Neville McMillan, Sheena Hendrie, Dave Dillon, Andrew Croughton, Christine Beeston, Craig Marsden, Sue Marsden, Tony Major, Roger and Bridget Mapleson.
Guests present: Andy and Anna Lidston, John Warburton, Carys and Owen Mapleson, Martin Heaton, Julie Davis, Phoebe and Thomas Marsden and Amanda?
Stoer was not to be. Yet another casualty of the Foot and Mouth epidemic unfortunately but at least the stack will still be there next year. Plan B, devised in the pub the Thursday before, was a tour of The Peak. Aldery Cliff (Earl Sterndale) on the Saturday, Stanage (Wall End area) on the Sunday and a serious case of grit rash on the Monday at Ramshaw Rocks.
Saturday saw a variety of hardy folk (and Chris) out for an active day on the rock and the roads. Cathy and Amanda seemed to disagree with Jeremy on the concept of a gentle cycle ride. Cathy retired early to sunbath and by the end of the 30-mile toil Amanda wished that she had done the same. Chris just sat around. The rest of us blitzed the crag. Routes done include Surface Plate, The Bender, Terrace Wall, The Arête, November Wall, The Fly, Jinbaloo, Broken Toe and the beautifully named Snot Monster (Sabina's idea). The later being a rarity over recent years; a possible new route to report on a KMC meet (details sent to BMC).
The crux of Sunday's activity at Stanage was finding a parking space followed by a tricky move to find an unoccupied climb. Having completed the above tasks successfully avoiding being photographed by Dave and Andrew was impossible. The highlights of the day's rock action were Sheena vicious assaults on Fern Crack (revenge was sweet) and Goliath's Groove. Other routes ascended included Wall End Slab, Fina, Centurato, Wall End Crack, Pullover and Coign. We had to do something to work up a thirst to celebrate Neville's birthday with a wine tasting at The Whaley Café. Mary and Steve swelled the numbers for the alcohol drinking part of the weekend but they are not getting a tick.
Monday saw the brave and the foolish venturing (or limping in my case) out to Ramshaw to lose some flesh. Sheena was the proud winner of the award for the most skin lacerated. Closely followed by Jeremy but then again what do you expect if you climb with Warby. John's ability to pick routes with the words "esoteric jamming" in the route description was highly commendable for the entertainment the ensuing antics provided the rest of us. The day's finest effort however was definitely Bridget seconding Louie Groove (E1) as her first route since the birth of little Owen. Jeremy could still be heard begging for mercy as the rest of us fled whilst Warby was dragging him off towards another hideous looking off width crack.
