Members - Dan O'Brien, Duncan Lee, Vicky Alderton

Guests - Rob Embry

So it seemed a good idea to host a bouldering meet with a long walk-in as the first meet of the year but as Saturday approached, the weather looked to be taking a dive.  With an astonishing display of low moral fibre I decided to plump for the alternative option of Boulder UK in Blackburn.  

Although the day, in the end, dawned sunny and cold (ideal conditions for gritstone), plan B went forward anyway and Rob and I arrived at Boulder UK at 12:00; finding it to be almost as cold as outside (and significantly less sunny...)

We were later joined by Duncan and Vicky (who had come for a quiet climb, unaware that they had inadvertently just attended their first KMC meet of the year...)

For my first trip to BUK for a good decade I was impressed how little the place had changed.  The routes still hard, the route-setting still good, the atmosphere still relaxed and the place freezing cold.

Pack your duvet jacket, thermos, hat, gloves and crash pads – the first official meet of 2015 is Thorn Crag in Lancashire.

It is south facing moorland gritstone which means we should catch any sun that is about and the friction will be awesome – assuming the rain stays off.  The guidebook can be downloaded from the lakesbloc website (http://www.lakesbloc.com/guides/thorn-crag-guide.pdf).  It is a combination of bouldering and routes of all grades and should be just the job for kick-starting the season after the Christmas lull….

The approach is a little convoluted and parking in Tarnbrook is limited (2-4 cars) so please car-pool (if you want a lift from Manchester then please get in touch via scribble).

If it is wet I will be instead heading to Boulder UK (http://boulderuk.wix.com/boulder)

See y’all there!

Dan