Troy Quarry

Wed 26th Apr, 2006

An excellent turnout for the first evening meet of the year. Dave Dillon, Scott Sadler, Duncan Lee, Dave Wylie, Al Metelko, Mark Ashley, Trish Cranston, Karen Kennedy, Lucy, Socks the dog, Anna Neubert, John Cox, Roger Daley and about half a dozen others (sorry, I don't have a full list!) put in an appearance. The usual routes - "One Way Street", "Rapunzle", "Stacked Deck", "Left Siamese Twin", "Right Siamese Twin", etc. all saw plenty of traffic. Climbing continued until well after sunset, then most people headed off to the pub (once we found one that wasn't already packed).

Anglezarke

Wed 3rd May, 2006

Another well attended evening meet, on a warm sunny evening. Al Metelko, James Richardson, Dave Wylie, Duncan Lee, Vicky Alderton, Scott Sadler, John Cox, Roger Daley, Dave Dillon and several others came along to enjoy the delights of the quarry. So did the midges!

Wilton 3

Wed 10th May, 2006

Good fun, loads of sun, some climbing by moon light, went to the Black Dog in Belmont afterwards...

Hobson Moor

Wed 17th May, 2006

Amazingly, despite the weather, this evening meet actually took place! On Wednesday James Richardson headed to Hobson Moor Quarry with Al Metelko. Al did a couple of lengths on the back wall and then left James to it. He spent the next hour there bouldering around and even got a couple of routes in. He then headed to Stalybridge Station Café for a beer and met up with Dave Bish and Katie.

Yellowslacks

Wed 24th May, 2006

This crag was originally developed by the KMC, in the early days of the Club. The local farmer didn't like the idea of people climbing there and tried to blow up the crag! Several years later, some members went back and did lots of new routes on the re-shaped outcrop. The farmer then blew it up again. The current routes were put up by climbers who were not from the KMC. Hopefully, now that it is on designated Access Land, it should be safe to climb there without fear of detonation. A fine, though rather cool, evening only tempted three KMCers out to this infrequented crag: Dave Wylie, Mark Ashley and Andy Grantham. In addition, on the way in, Dave encountered Gary Cook who was out for a walk, but not climbing. Dave soloed/bouldered some micro-routes on the craglets on the edge marked as "Yellow Slacks" on the map, before proceeding to the main crag ("Dog Rock", according to the Ordnance Survey). Here he found Mark starting up his first route: Curbstones (V-Diff). Andy and Dave followed him up this. Next, Mark decided to have a go at Mantelshelf Buttress (Hard V-Diff). Perhaps this was a poor choice, as he revealed that he can't actually mantelshelf! Instead, he ended up in the grassy corner off to the left of the lower part of the route. By the time Andy and Dave had also scrambled up this, it was getting late and very cold, so they called it a day. Where was everybody else? Who were the climbers on Shelf Benches on the other side of the valley? Who left the broken vacuum flask littering the craglets? Will anybody turn up at Cow's Mouth Quarry Next Week? Find out, if you can...

Cow's Mouth Quarry

Wed 31st May, 2006

This proved to be popular venue. Al Metelko, James Richardson, Vicky Alderton, Dave Wylie, Duncan Lee, Robert Clark, Mark Ashley, John Cox, Roger Daley, Dave Bish, Jamie, Mel, Wozzname and Erm all turned up at this evening's meet. Much soloing was done (though the final moves were avoided on routes where the finish was too chossy). Plenty of roped action too, including aid ascents of "Overhanging Crack"!! The neighbouring route, "Z Crack" also proved interesting: Mr. Clark did a good lead, but Mr. Bish was repulsed by the finishing moves - though he did later cleanly second it. Other routes, such as "Sandy Crack", "The Romeo Error", "Flake Crack", "Groove", "Groovin", "Cornette", "Route One", etc., etc. all saw plenty of attention as well. At least one person disappeared into the bowels of "Curving Chimney", though exactly how/where/if they emerged is not clear. As the sun started to drift towards the horizon, the quarry was gradually abandoned for the warmth of "The White House" pub - the early absconders just managing to make it there in time to get the last two portions of chips before the kitchen closed! Once everybody was in attendance, the full democratic process began to select the crag for next week. The Webmaster's suggestions of Pordenack Point, Fox Promontory and Chair Ladder weren't taken seriously, even though they will be "local" for him at the time of the next meet...

Egerton Quarry

Wed 7th Jun, 2006

An interesting evenings climbing. A sad, bedraggled, quarry - Ten days later, cleaned!

Egerton - June 2006

First 3 Pictures: A good turn out from KMC members to The BMC North West area meeting. Lots of cleaning was done at Egerton Quarry and a new route was put up on Lonely Wall by Roger Daley and Dave Bish.

Egerton - May 2006

Two shots of Scott Sadler on the second ascent of "Money Shot", E5 6b, at Egerton:

Witches' Quarry

Wed 14th Jun, 2006

Over a dozen KMCers made it out to Witches' Quarry, including: John Cox, Mark Ashley, Dave Wylie, James Richardson, Duncan Lee, Vicky Alderton, Roger Daley, Scott Sadler, Al Metelko, Karen Kennedy and Andy Grantham. There were also a few other climbers around and at least one of these may have been persuaded to come along to the Club! We were also joined by rather a lot of sheep and a few midges. The routes proved to be generally good, though with a few areas of loose rock near the top. The anchor points installed in the grass at the top of the crag were a bit sparse, requiring some cunning (and at least one tree-root) to set up safe belays. "Belladonna", "Broomstick", "Problem Child", "Elizabeth", "Serenity", "Nance", "Cracklap" and several other routes all saw ascents by various people. The post-climbing pub was the Assheton Arms in Downham, where the usual democratic process for selecting the next mid-week crag took place.

Aldery Cliff in Earl Sterndale

Wed 21st Jun, 2006

We had a good turn out for this meet, 9 in all: James, Scott, Al, Karen, Roger Daley, New John, Anna + 2 Others. Weather was fine until 10 but very windy.

Millstone

Wed 28th Jun, 2006

Millstone was very good last night, fantastic evening sun. Quite a few routes were done, including James making a mess of the crux on Great Portland Street (his first proper HVS lead). Roger did Great Slab, Gimcrack and some others. Scot had failed leads on Regents Street and an HVS off-width. Attendees: James, Scott, Al, Roger Daley, Karen, Gary Cook, New Andy, Jamie.

Pule Hill

Wed 5th Jul, 2006

At least two Johns, two Daves, a Trish, a Roger, a Mark and a Jamie turned up. The two guys from the Rucksack Club were not there for the KMC meet, so they dind't count. Neither did the minibus load of kids, nor any of the other random people who were passing. The ominous thunder over to the West also failed to get a meet tick as it stayed dry at the crag all evening.

Blackstone Edge

Wed 12th Jul, 2006

Another respectable turn-out by the KMC, with regulars Dave Wylie, John Cox, Mark Ashley, John Guest, Trish Cranston, Dave Dillon and Al Metelko being joined by newcomers Matt from Milnrow, plus young Gordon (who climbed) with his Dad (who supervised). A brief (and rather incomplete) summary of the routes climbed is as follows: South Chimney (Diff): Dave W. (solo) North Chimney (Moderate): Dave W. (solo, twice), Trish Cranston (solo), John Guest (solo) Pendulum Swing (VS, 4c): Mark Ashley (lead), John Cox (second, then lead), Trish (second), Dave W. (lead), John Guest (second with lots of blood) Pendulum Swing Direct (HVS, 5a): Dave D. (top-rope), Al (top-rope) Twin Cracks (V-Diff): Dave W. (lead, right hand crack only) Central Groove (Severe, 4a) Central Crack (V-Diff): John Cox (lead) Belly on a Plate (VS, 4c): John Cox and Mark Ashley (comedy lead/second combo) Random bouldering By the end of the evening, at least half a dozen from another (non KMC) group had also turned up, so this small gritstone outcrop was getting pretty crowded!

Tonacliffe Quarry

Wed 19th Jul, 2006

Dave Wylie, John Cox, Mark Ashley, Dave Shotton, Trish Cranston, Karen Kennedy, Roger Daley, Al Metelko and Young Gordon visited this small quarry just North of Rochdale. A superb, warm, sunny evening with just enough breeze at the top of the crag to prevent people being roasted. Most of the worthwhile routes in the low to mid grades saw multiple leads. Given the small size of the quarry, most of the routes done actually seemed very good! After a few routes, the first four of the climbers named above headed off to Roy and Ivy Lee's Garden Party, where the venue for the following week was decided by a unanimous vote. Roy and Ivy wrote: Please will you thank the Karabiner Mountaineering members and friends for the wonderful support at the garden evening in aid of St. Ann's Hospice with the sale of plants and donations. £118 was raised on the night but the main point it was lovely meeting friends again. With our other events, a cheque for £677.50 will be sent to the hospice. Thank you all once again, Kind thoughts, Roy and Ivy Lee.

Alderman Rocks

Wed 26th Jul, 2006

A number of KMCers (nk) did a number of climbs (nc) made up of different numbers of pitches (np). The equipment used on each ascent included a number of ropes (nr) and items of gear (ng). Towards the end of the evening there were a number of midges (nm) in addition to some flying ants (na). At this point the climbers retreated to the Pub for a number of drinks (nd). Given that: nk ≈ 7 nc > 5 1 ≤ np ≤ 2 0 ≤ nr ≤ 2 ng ≥ 0 nm → ∞ na < nm calculate nd

Denham Quarry

Wed 9th Aug, 2006

The Climbers John Cox, Mark Ashley, James Richardson, Trish Cranston, Dave Dillon, Dave Shotton, Dave Wylie, Karen Kennedy, Andy Grantham, Matt from Milnrow, Neil from Southport, Scott Sadler (though this last one didn't actually climb). The Weather Dry; the showers kept away. Very windy - particularly when belaying at the top - though nobody actually got blown off a route. The Crag A reasonably large gritstone quarry, complete with its own car park. Some quality rock, but rather a lot of vegetation on less popular routes. The Routes The Edge Central Buttress Direct Lintel Butterfly Main Break Mohammed the Mad Monk of Moorside Home for Mental Misfits. Mohammed the Mediaeval Melancholic ...plus several others. The Pub The Cavendish Arms in Brindle.

Stoney Middleton

Wed 16th Aug, 2006

Attendees were: James, Keen Andy, New John, Karen, Gordon, Wavey, Trish, Mark Ashley and Mat. Anna turned up for the pub but didn't manage to climb. Wavey started off on a VS with a large number of seconds, while James led Asparagus (VS) with Andy and Gordon. Wavey then headed off with a large contingent to do Tiger Trott (the most exposed VD in the peak) while James did Gabriel with Andy and Mark did Asparagus with Mat. Andy, Mark, Anna and James then headed off to The Moon. On the way past Tiger Trott they had a shouting conversation with Gordon, apparently most people where lost in the cave somewhere. All finally made it to the pub by 10.30 for a pint or two.

Ravensdale

Wed 30th Aug, 2006

This Wednesday night Al, Anna and James arrived at Ravensdale just as it started raining. Al led a wet VD up the outside of the cave. They all finished as it went dark and stopped raining. The walk back down was interesting seeing as nobody brought a head torch. They then went to the Red Lion in Litton which is a very pleasent pub.

Heptonstall

Wed 6th Sep, 2006

A warm, dry, sunny evening at Heptonstall. Just two KMCers ventured out, though - and only one of them did any climbing. The Webmaster arrived early and soloed "Peepod" (Diff, P1) on the Right Hand Outcrop, then did some low-level bouldering on the Cubic Block. A thorough exploration of the rest of the crag failed to reveal any other routes that were easy and inviting enough to be soloed. The Treasurer turned up later, but didn't climb.

Cadshaw Castle Rocks

Wed 13th Sep, 2006

Another fine evening on the rock. Dave Wylie, Roger Daley, Karen Kennedy and Al Metelko turned out to this small, but perfectly formed, crag. Dave arrived early and soloed about half a dozen easy (up to V-Diff) routes before the others arrived. Al also did loads of soloing. Roger and Dave and Karen roped up to do a trio of severes. The routes included: "The Staircase" (Mod) "Pagan Wall" (Severe, 4a) "Corner Chimney" (Diff) "Crack and Wall" (Severe, 4a) "Oak Tree Chimney" (V-Diff) "Split Block Climb" (Severe, 4a) "Curving Crack" (Diff) "East Chimney" (Mod) "West Buttress - Ordinary" (Diff) The rock was dry, perhaps a little polished in places but that wasn't a big problem. A few of the other routes had a some suspect rock or vegetation near the top, but these could always be gardened or avoided! All in all, an excellent little crag.

Hobson Moor

Wed 20th Sep, 2006

Hobson Moor was dry and well fingered by the KMC. Food in the Pub (The Globe in Glossop) was good, as usual. Quiz results need more practice, especially in the Roman goddess department. As this was "Possibly the last midweek climbing of the summer" it was decided to make sure that next week would be "Really, the pretty much, very last midweek climbing of the summer" by going to Hobson Moor again next Wednesday, weather permitting. Same entertainment on offer. Brush up your Latin.

Hobson Moor

Wed 27th Sep, 2006

Yet another visit to Hobson MoorEight people made it out for this final mid-week evening climbing meet of 2006. There was only time for a couple of routes and some low-level traversing before it got too dark and the rain arrived.