The Walk

Members present, Dave Bish, Roger Daley, Joe Flynn, Dave Wylie, Iain McCalum, Alan Peck, Linda Crossley, Karen, Brian Street, Andrew Croughton.

Guest, Sarah.

Not much I can say about this meet really, it took place and was very enjoyable.

It was a wet and wild day that didn't deter the hardy group from eating ice creams, drinking beer and taking shelter when the rain stopped, in order to have food and drink.

Not sure if this was a walk or a social gathering now. A big thank you to those who braved the weather and completed the circuit almost as planned despite the horrendous conditions. Lets hope for better weather this summer.

The "Climb" - Castle Naze

Members Present: Dan O'Brien, Heather Brooke, Mark Ashley.

Guests Present: Graham Hasselhurst, Neil (journalist guy, sorry), Tim Howarth, Rhian Blade, Laura Bond.

Scene #1, Castle Naze. Weather looked awful and the wind was howling, but our enthusiasm would not be dampened. So with the barest minimum of dragging we arrived at the crag to find that most of the routes were wet. The two dry routes at the far left of the crag ("Double Crack" and "The Arête") were ascended by each member of the team and after receiving a soaking on the belay at the top we retreated to the cars.

Scene #2, The Beehive. With the rain in we headed for the pub. There was a nice open fire and Graham enjoyed Gammon and Eggs. The mistake was made when someone spotted in the guidebook that New Mills Tor would probably be dry in this weather. We abandoned the warm comfort of the pub and headed out into the maelstrom again.

Scene #3, New Mills Tor. Not quite as dry as we had hoped. The wind had been blowing the rain under the protective canopy of the road bridge and soaking the routes underneath. Seepage was moistening everything else. Undeterred, Heather began working a long traverse on the dryer part of the wall, Mark and Neil headed off in the direction of a grotty looking corner whilst Tim and myself attempted original route (VD). The rain by now was battering down ("Why on earth is he still going up?" - Tim) and I was pleased to hear that only one extra person wanted to second the route thus prolonging my misery on the tree belay. An abseil descent followed by a second retreat, to a second pub, followed by a third retreat, to a third pub and a lovely slide-show.

The Slide Show

This year's photo competition/slideshow had the benefit of a fantastic judge who not only carefully considered all entries, but honoured us with his charming presence on the night to present the slideshow. There was lots of quality as usual, and he had a very difficult job choosing the winners.

The photo competition/slideshow winners are as follows:

Rock Action
Winner: James Bouldering at Wimberry by David Bish.

Mountain Action
Winner: Lliwedd by David Bish
Close 2nd: Untitled slide by Colin Maddison.

Mountain Landscape
Winner: Untitled slide by Duncan Lee.
Close 2nd: Lliwedd View by Sean Kelly.

Human Interest
Winner: Untitled slide by Colin Maddison.

These pictures can be seen in the gallery

Both myself and the judge were a bit disappointed that there weren't more really funny human interest photos this year, so get busy with those shots for next year, the sillier the better!

Thanks go to Alan (H) Jones and Kevin Anderson for their efforts on the projectors. And Al Metelko for providing the emergency last minute judging venue!

(The awards are not being treated with the reverence they deserve? Apparently someone left their Cup / Award from the slide competition behind at the Swan. It is behind the bar awaiting collection by Sabina (kindly). Ed)

Contact Andy Croughton about the Walk, Heather Brooke for climbing, Sue Brooke for the Hot Pot, and Jenny Varley for the slide show

Walk - Andrew Croughton

Meet 9am for a 9.30am start at Pym Chair car park, GR 995768 OL24.

The walk will go from Pym Chair along Cats Tor to Shining Tor before descending to Errwood Hall. From Errwood hall we will contour round Errwood reservoir and head up to the White Hall outdoor pursuit centre and then onto Castle Naze to meet with the climbers. From Castle Naze we will head down into Coombs Village where a liquid lunch may be had at the Beehive public house.

After lunch we will head back towards Fernilee reservoir and onto Taxal before heading back over Taxal moor and along Windgather rocks and back to Pym Chair.

This should hopefully be a pleasant walk leaving plenty of time at the end to head over to the Swan Inn in New Mills for the Hot Pot & Slide Show.

Any queries please contact me on my mobile (Due to the shift pattern I now work it is not always easy for me to answer the phone, so please leave an answer phone message or send a text message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Climb - Heather Brooke

The plan is to climb at Castle Naze for the day.

Hotpot - Sue Brooke

Contact Sue, or David Lygate, for booking. This year, the Hotpot will be held at the Swan Hotel, New Mills (on the A6). (Ed. At the deadline, only Mr. Lygate knows the mealtime and cost!)

Slide and Photo Competition - Jenny Varley

The deadline for entries into this year's slide show and photo competition is Thursday 30th March. Entries which reach me after this date will not be judged - NO EXCEPTIONS.

A gleaming trophy, honour, and adoration will be awarded to the winner of each of the following categories:

• Rock Action
• Mountain Action
• Mountain Landscape
• Human Interest

The winners will be decided by an impartial and incorruptible judge, who will also honour us with his presence on the night to present the slideshow and award the prizes.

The entries must be photos taken by KMC members THIS YEAR (i.e. since 1st April 2005, with some allowance for processing time being granted). As it is almost impossible for me to know if this rule has been broken, I have to rely on the honesty of members. However, if I find out after the event that anyone has flaunted this rule, their prize will be withdrawn, and they may be disqualified from all future slide shows. I will also be tempted to do something extremely painful and humiliating to them.

Entries can be either digital photos in jpg format up to 2 MB size, or slides. Digital photos will be accepted on CD, DVD, USB memory stick, or by email. Please mark all entries clearly with your name, the category, and a brief descriptive title. For digital entries, choose a descriptive file name, this will be used as a title. There are no rules as to the embellishment of the photos, but I urge caution as over-embellishment frankly looks rubbish and we've all seen it before.

Due to being inundated with huge numbers of entries last year, this year I am limiting entries to three per category per member. Further photos with particular relevance or humour are welcomed, but will not be judged. Whether they are shown in the slideshow is at my discretion, and only if there is time, so please don't send me every one of your holiday snaps! Please make sure you mark clearly which photos you would like to be judged, and which are just for the slide show.

In order to keep the slideshow to a reasonable length, if entrants are as enthusiastic as last year, it may be necessary for me to limit the number of competition entries shown on the night. However, all valid entries will still be judged. I will decide which entries will be shown, with guidance from the judge.

Please email entries to slideshow@karabiner.org, mail them to my address (which is in the handbook), or hand them to me in person. I will be in the Crown and Anchor pub on 30th March until 10 pm, then will call briefly into the Castle Hotel equipped with gas mask to collect entries from those who can stand the air quality in there.