Winter Madness…
By Gareth Williams
Kinder Downfall – Wednesday 28 February 2018
Members present: Andy Stratford and Gareth Williams
The Beast from the East promised a sustained cold snap at the end of February, so it seemed only right to make the first mid-week outdoor meet of 2018 a nocturnal trip to Kinder Downfall in the hope of finding enough ice to climb the waterfall.
Andy picked me up after work, and we drove to Hayfield in his car, counting ourselves very lucky that he has winter tyres that coped admirably with the snowy conditions, the car’s thermometer getting down to -7.
We set out from Bowden Bridge at 6pm, full of enthusiasm which was only heightened as we exchanged conversations with teams coming the other way, teams who’d climbed the
downfall in the daylight. So now we knew the downfall was in nick, the only question was how many other teams would be on it.
Walking in was very arduous. Deep, unconsolidated snow, high winds, spindrift and floundering over steep ground, often strewn with boulders. Crossing a plantation, we were surprised to see a light ahead, which turned out to be a torch within a tent. Little did these solitude-seeking campers realise they’d have a steady stream of ice-climbers passing them all night!
We stopped just short of the downfall, on a nice flat spot around 9pm to gear up. The downfall was deserted, but headtorches were approaching and overtook as us we got our final bits of gear on. But the race wasn’t over – the other team had yet to gear up, and we pipped them to the post.
I took the first lead, setting off up Downfall Climb (II/III ** 40m). The ice was solid enough, but very fluted, which made for nice climbing but awkward protection. I ended up on the large ledge system having placed 3 or 4 screws and wishing the steep section had been longer. After a horizontal traverse protected by another screw and a threaded icicle, I arrived at a comfortable rock belay on a bomb-proof #7 wire and a solid cam. The climbing hadn’t been too tough but doing it by headtorch added a touch of spice.
Andy followed with no difficulty and was soon at my belay. He set off up an iced-up corner and was confronted with an exposed traverse in softer, even slushy ice. It was poorly protected with just one poor screw before the long run out until the safety of some rock gear was reached. There was no way to climb this without stepping through a section of very drippy, almost flowing ice, so staying dry was not an option. Fortunately, the bits that got wet froze within a minute or two so we didn’t feel wet in the least.
Wanting to prolong the fun, Andy took a belay which meant we’d have the fun of a third pitch. A slightly tenuous move relying on a horizontal can-opener axe placement in a crack permitted progress, and we had soon both topped out. We now realised quite how sheltered we had been on the route, as the full force of the wind hit us on the plateau.
Looking back down the route, the team who’d almost beaten us to the climb were not far behind us, and we could see a further team setting off up the first pitch. It was now midnight! We packed our gear and decided to try to find a way back that would involve less flailing in deep snow than the approach.
So, we headed north west along the plateau edge, towards Ashop Head. Much of the track was wind-scoured and easy going, but in other places we encountered deep drifts which took large amounts of effort to wade through. The tail wind became a head wind, which seemed odd. After a quick navigation check, we realised we’d started heading in the wrong direction altogether. Andy suggested getting the compass out, a very wise suggestion! Now staying in the right direction, we picked up the track leading down William Clough. It wasn’t the easy going we had hoped for, but eventually we ended up back at Kinder Reservoir, from which it was a straightforward trudge back to the car at 3am.
The road conditions had deteriorated considerably, making the drive home an interesting one, provoking Andy to remark that it had been on the very limit of what his snow tyres could cope with. But cope they did, and after a quick sort of the gear at my house, Andy was off home and I was off to bed at 4am.
A quick note of thanks to Andy for being a willing participant in this little adventure. A winter ascent of Kinder Downfall has been something I’ve wanted to do for many years. Doing it at night, in blizzard conditions at extremely low temperatures made it all the more exciting. It certainly lived up to what I’d hoped for.
Broadbottom Waterfall – Saturday 3rd March 2018
Members present: Lucie Crouch and Gareth Williams
Since we moved to Mottram, Lucie has picked up a booklet of walks local to Broadbottom. One of them includes a tour of Broadbottom waterfall (on a tributary of the River Etherow) and Broadbottom beach (on the River Etherow itself).
The walk itself was a very pleasant 10km but given the cold snap thanks to the Beast from the East, I was optimistic that Broadbottom waterfall might provide some frozen fun. Being an optimist, I took my axes and crampons.
It turns out that there was enough ice, just about, to make an ascent, although there was certainly plenty of running water too. The route was hardly noteworthy in its own right, only worth recording as an ascent of a local waterfall. Soloed at Grade 1. Some photos below (all taken by Lucie).
