Roaches - The Don Whillans Memorial Hut

Meet Report – Roaches 7-9 Sept 2018

Members: Colin Maddison, Mary Stuart, Andy Stratford, Dan O’Brien, Geri Mihalkova, Robert Clark, David Shotton, Michelle Harvey, Mark Garrod, Roger Dyke.    Guests:  Kate Graham, Dave Rainsbury.

It was a bit cool, damp, and windy, so the highlights of the weekend were the accounts of diving adventures (Kate ) and ocean sailing (David R) by our very welcome guests.   Geri is working out how to get into this sailing game….

There was some climbing.  Colin, Mary and Andy Friday evening on Prow  Cracks and Black Velvet:   Sunday – Colin and David R whistled up Right Route and Pedestal Route.    Colin asked me to note that after this he soloed The Sloth, Saul’s Crack and Matinee, but in the interests of truth, I won’t.   The bribe you offered was not enough anyway Colin.    

Mary was so enthusiastic about climbing on a chilly windy day that she opted to do all the dorm sweeping, toilet cleaning, kitchen cleaning etc instead.   Mary, you should get a medal.

A copper medal – well, actually a gruesome 5” hand-made copper nail from Ty Powdwr’s roof – went to Andy for sweeping 3 bin-sacks-full of leaves and general debris from the kitchen roof, and unblocking the downspout, in full wet-weather gear.  This not only stopped the water dribbling down the wall into the emergency lighting - it caused the rain to stop and the sky to brighten.

Dave Shotton and I took a walk along the ridge to the trig point, inspected Alpha Buttress as the probable location of an early KMC route whose name no longer appears in the guides, and returned to the Hut for lunch and chat.  Then pottered over to Ramshaw, looping back to the Hut to finish closing it down ready for the next party.   

Roger Dyke

Roger Dyke