firestarters summits of desire visionaries & vandals

TUPLILAK • LEADERSHIP • METALLIC EQUIPMENT • NUTRITION

ISSUE 25 - SPRING 2002 £2.50

FESTIVAL OF CLIMBINGSKI-MOUNTAINEERING

GUIDEBOOKS - THE FUTURE

FESTIVAL OF CLIMBINGSKI-MOUNTAINEERING

GUIDEBOOKS - THE FUTURE

FirestartersChoosing a Stove

Summits of DesireInternational Year of Mountains

Visionaries & VandalsGrit Under Attack

31465_Cover 12/2/02 9:59 am Page 2

BMC SUMMIT - ISSUE 25 3

FOREWORD... NEW SUMMITS

BMC Chief Officer

As the new BMC Chief Officer,writing my first ever Summitforeword has been a strangely

traumatic experience.

After 5 years as BMC Access Officer - suddenly my head ison the block. Do I set out my vision for the future of theBMC or comment on the changing face of British climbing?Do I talk about the threats to the cliff and mountain envi-ronment and the challenges of new access legislation? Howabout the lessons learnt from foot and mouth disease orSeptember 11th and the recent four fold hike in climbingwall insurance premiums? Big issues I’m sure you’ll agree- but for this edition I going to keep it simple and say a fewwords about the single most important thing which makesthe BMC tick - volunteer involvement.

Since its establishment in 1944 the BMC has relied heavilyon volunteers and today the skills, experience and enthusi-asm that the many 100s of volunteers contribute to climb-ing and hill walking in the UK is immense. For years, stal-warts in the BMC’s guidebook team has churned out qualityguidebooks such as Chatsworth and On Peak Rock and theBMC is firmly committed to getting this important Commit-tee back on its feet after the recent downturn in fortunes.Volunteer Access Reps play a vital role in maintaining andimproving access arrangements throughout England andWales - their efforts often going unnoticed and their onlysatisfaction being the knowledge that they have helpedmaintain access to our precious crags and mountains. TheBMC’s Management & Specialist Committees (Access, Tech-nical, Training, Youth, Walls and others) comprise technicalexperts who advise the BMC on everything from land man-agement in the uplands, safety standards for helmets, childprotection, risk management and equity issues - not tomention the future direction of the organisation as a whole.Indoor events and youth meets are another area wherevolunteers are vital - try running a major competition with-out volunteers and you’d soon see what I mean.

But its not just people with special skills or interests whocan get involved. All climbers, hill walkers and mountain-eers can get involved by simply pitching up at one of theBMC’s quarterly meetings held in 9 different areas aroundEngland and Wales (see p48 for dates/venues). The Peak

Dave Turnbull - The new BMC Chief Officer

insurance guide cover

District meetings spearheaded by John Horscroft and teamare pointing the way forward on this front. These have turnedinto real social occasions with lively debates on everythingfrom bolts to birds, with attendances of up to 60 peopleand lively slideshows to round off the evenings - long maythey continue. Other areas including the Lakes, the northWest, Yorkshire and the South West would benefit from simi-lar impetus, new blood and fresh ideas and I’d encourageanyone with an interest to pitch up at these meetings, stirthings up, rattle some cages and help create lively, healthyforums in your own area.

What I’m trying to stress is the importance of volunteersupport for the BMC and to say that the opportunities to getinvolved are many and varied. If at the end of the day allyou want from the BMC is a quality insurance package andpeace of mind that we’re taking care of access, then fairenough, but if you’d like to put something back into Britishc l imb ing then why no t ge t in touch by go ing towww.thebmc.co.uk and click on ‘Getting Involved’, or moreradical still - give us a call or drop us a line.

A big thank you!In December BMC Membership topped55,000 for the first time ever, and wewould like to say a huge thank you toall our club and individual membersfor their continuing support.

By being a BMC member you make possible a tremendousrange of vital programs since all the income from member-ship, publications and insurance goes directly into support-ing the BMC’s work.

With the new Mountain Services structure in place we arecommitted to constantly improving the membership pack-age. We start this year with our best ever Travel Insurancepolicies and great discounts on new books like the Moun-tain Traveller’s Handbook, Care & Maintenance and the BriefHistory of British Mountaineering. There are members onlydeals including half price entry to the Helly Hansen NationalMountaineering Exhibition and, via Summit Financial Serv-

ices, members can access a fantastic Life Assurance andIncome Protection scheme that doesn’t load against risksports. And later in the year we’ll see a brand new MembersHandbook including a massof useful information, a newpublications catalogue giv-ing you even better dis-counts on an increasedrange of books and muchmore.

We wish you all the beston the hills, and lookforward to serving youover the coming year.

Don't forget the new BMC number - 0870 010 4878

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:32 AM3

FEA

TURE

SRE

GU

LARS

25 CONTENTS6 News

ACT launch, Festival ofClimbing,grit license,Annual Gathering & AGM.

10 Access newsSnowdonia Park n' Ride,Stanage, area restrictions.

36 ForumGuidebooks - what thefuture holds.

12 FirestartersStoves - how to choose theright one for you.

16 TupilakAl Powell's cold trip toGreenland.

18 Festival ofClimbingThe biggest event of 2001.

20 Outdoors ShowBringing the outdoorsindoors.

22 Body FuelNutrition on the go, by JoFarrington.

24 LeadershipMountain leaders are made,not born.

26 InsuranceOur great new policies.

50 ArenaHuts, Mancom summary,report and accounts.

52 BriefingAll the latest events.

53 MLTBMountain days explained.

62 Last thoughtsRules of the game.

WWWWWelcome to issue 25 of

Summit is the membership magazineof the Brit ish MountaineeringCouncil. The BMC promotes theinterests of climbers, hill walkers andmountaineers and the freedom toenjoy their activities. The primarywork of the BMC is to:

Negotiate access improvementsand promote cliff and mountainconservation.Promote and advise on goodpractice, facilities, training andequipment.Support events and specialistprogrammes including youthand excellence.Provide services andinformation for members.

BMC, 177 - 179 Burton Road,Manchester M20 2BB

Tel: 0870 010 4878Fax: 0161 445 4500

e-mail: [email protected]

EDITORIALContributions for Summit shouldbe sent to Alex Messenger a tthe above address [email protected] .uk . Everycare is taken of materials sent forpubl icat ion, however these aresubmitted at the sender's risk.

PUBLISHING Gill Wootton

Display AdvertisingJane HarrisClassified

Paula TaylorTel: 01536 382500Fax: 01536 382501

PUBLISHED & PRINTED BYGreenShires PublishingTelford Way, Kettering Northants, NN16 8UN

Tel: 01536 382500

Neither the BMC nor GreenShires Publishingaccept responsibility for information supplied inadverts. Readers are advised to take reasonablecare when responding to adverts.

RISK & RESPONSIBILITYReaders of Summit are reminded thatclimbing, hill walking andmountaineering are activities with adanger of personal injury or death.Participants in these activities should beaware of and accept these risks and beresponsible for their own actions andinvolvement. The BMC publishes awide range of safety and good practiceadvice and provides trainingopportunities for members.

Cover: A focused Sandrine Levet.Winner of the Snow + Rock WorldBouldering Cup at Climb '01.Credit: Ian Parnell

28 The white wayWhere to goski-mountaineering?

31 HH exhibitionSpecial BMC members offer.

32 Visionaries &vandalsThe damage to gritstone.

38 A degrading lifeCare & maintenance ofmetallic equipment.

42 MountainsThe mountain environment.

44 Summits of DesireClassic peaks from aroundthe world.

44 44 44 44 44 Summits of desire

6 6 6 6 6 Festival of Climbing

32 32 32 32 32 Visionaries & Vandals

36 36 36 36 36 Guidebooks

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 12/02/2002, 2:37 PM4

LETTERS

WRITE A LETTER AND WINWRITE A LETTER AND WINWRITE A LETTER AND WINWRITE A LETTER AND WINWRITE A LETTER AND WINTHIS BERGHAUS EXTREMTHIS BERGHAUS EXTREMTHIS BERGHAUS EXTREMTHIS BERGHAUS EXTREMTHIS BERGHAUS EXTREMSAC!SAC!SAC!SAC!SAC!Come on, write in to Summit,with any news, views, or com-ments on the issue, and youcould win this great BerghausExtrem Climb 32 litre sac.This issue, the prize goes toEd Grindley for putting forwarda detailed and thoughtful re-sponse to Dan Bailey. Nextissue...it could be you. Justemail [email protected], orpost to BMC, 177-179 BurtonRoad, Manchester, M20 2BB.

RAVANEL RESPONSEI am writing to express concern at thecontent of the letter from Dan Baileyregarding the behaviour of the owner ofthe Chosalets campsite in Argentiere -Bernard Ravanel. The Chosalets camp-site is a quiet, well run site used byclimbers and non-climbers from all overthe world. The reason for having a gatewhich is locked at 10pm lies partly inthis mixed usage. Climbers are often upand away very early and non-climbersdon’t enjoy being woken up by a massexodus for the first telepherique, it isn’tmuch to expect them to park the nightbefore 100m down the road. Climbersalso seem to prefer to drive to the puband so the gate is locked to cut downnoise after 10pm when most areasleep. Apart from the noise there isthe danger to campsite users. Therehave been several incidents includingone when an inebriated climber forgotto put his hand-brake on, the vehicleran down the hill, and was stopped onlyinches away from sleeping children bya parked trailer.

So Bernard Ravanel is a lively char-ac te r. Eve rybody who uses LesChosalets knows that. Indeed Mr Bai-ley admits he knew it, but that still didn’tstop the bold Mr Bailey from disturbinghim at home. I think that in the circum-stances described most people wouldhave reacted in the same way as MRavanel. He works from 5am till 10pmeveryday on the campsite - what areyour working hours Mr Bailey?

Like most people Bernard Ravaneltends to mirror the attitude of those hedeals with. If you are friendly and rea-sonable, then so is he. With Bernard yougets out what you put in. If you have anaccident in the Chamonix and are stay-ing at Les Chosalets, he's the one whokeeps the press off the campsite.

I can accept that there are those likeMr Bailey who still dream that the ma-cho French-bating of the 50's and 60'sis still part of the Chamonix scene, but Istrongly object to the BMC giving himtacit support by not only publishing hisviews, but by also giving him a prize forbest letter. The BMC represents Britishmountaineering on the internationalscene: the last thing it should be doingis giving support to xenophobic whingingof an obviously shallow minded and in-considerate British climber. I would ex-pect a rethink and retraction from who-ever allowed the letter to be published.

Ed Grindley, Lochaber

- We received many letters on this is-

sue, most in support of M. Ravenel.

Thanks to everyone who took the time

to write, and please remember that the

letters page is a chance to air your

views, and is by no means the opinion

of the BMC!

ANTI-SCULPTINGI recently moved away from Stafford-shire due to the calling of a new job.However for a long while myself and acouple of colleagues would enjoy noth-ing more than heading up to thegr i ts tone edges a f te r work . TheRoaches, Ramshaw and more recentlyNewstones were our favourite venues,not just because of the distance tothem but also because of the varietyof climbs they offer. The Roaches of-fer single and multi pitch from gradesVD to E7, there are juggy routes andthose that require the delicate frictionmoves I have come to associate withgritstone. Ramshaw rocks offer thesame but I felt the exposure here wasa little more daunting. Finally we cometo Newstones, a lovely little venue withsome great bouldering and tricky littlesingle pitch routes. I am not that com-petent at climbing but I found thatthere was enough to keep me goingthroughout the summer nights. If I feltlike bouldering there were problems Ienjoyed repeating or ones I set my-self. If we had a little more time wewould get the ropes out and lead someVS or HVS or even top rope E6, E7.Sure there were times when I wishedthat I could reach the next hold, orthat the gear I was above was a littlemore than psychological but neveronce did I feel the need to make myown hold or widen a crack to make thecam fit better. If I came off a route Idid not change it, I changed myselfuntil I completed it.

In an area with such an abundanceof routes, grades and styles this newbout of ‘rock vandalism’ shows noth-ing more than a lack of imagination. Ifyou cannot do a route then it has won,there is no need to bully it in to sub-mission. Change your style of climb-ing, watch others do the route you didn’tmanage, practise, learn but do notsculpt in the outdoors. There areclimbing walls always looking for routesetters try there not on gritstone.

Simon Hobbs, Powys

CROW CRIMES?I read with interest the article ‘As thecrow flies’ published in Summit 24,which built on a similar article in Highand editorial by Terry Gifford in High224. In each case the benefits ofclimbers and conservationists workingtogether for the benefit of rare, vul-nerable or protected species are pre-sented in a form likely to mislead theill informed.

I fully accept that the majority ofclimbers, mountaineers and hill walk-ers are responsible people who enjoyevery aspect of the countryside re-specting the need for conservation in-stinctively without the need for legis-

lation. I also acknowledge the good workdone by the BMC in this area and theneed for monitoring breeding sites sothat they can be used for recreationalpurposes if birds are not in residenceor breeding attempts have failed.

However when the BMC use phraseslike ‘voluntary restraint’, or ‘climbersaccept restrictions which are mutuallyagreed’ [Summit 24] people could belead to believe that the BMC has nego-tiated an opt out clause to the Wildlifeand Countryside Act [WLCA]. There isnothing in Section 1 of the Act thatmakes voluntary compliance of the lawan option.

Whilst I read endlessly about accessand our rights and responsibilities I haveread nothing about our liabilities. Norhave I read anything about the CRoWAct amendments to the WLCA, whichnow make climbers and hill walkersmore liable to prosecution in respect ofSchedule 1 birds. I don’t know why thisshould be.

In short; the amendments to the WLCAmean that any climber or walker whorecklessly disturbs a Schedule 1 birdcan be arrested, could loose all of theirkit including rock shoes, rope, rack,sack, car, risk being fined a small for-tune and receiving a custodial sentence.

The ‘restricted access bird ban’ list isa fantastic tool for climbers and hill walk-ers and we should all be grateful to theBMC for producing it but at the end ofthe day it is a list not a law. You maywish to bring these changes to the no-tice of your readers. It really is in every-one’s interest.

Steve Downing, Force Wildlife Officer(& Climber), West Yorkshire Police

- The system of restrictions agreed by

the BMC and conservation bodies since

the 1970s are more than just a tool for

climbers - they are an excellent way of

promoting self policing of restrictions

and ultimately of protecting important

nesting birds from disturbance - Ed.


31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:36 AM5

6 BMC SUMMIT - ISSUE 25

NEWS ACT support - Festival of Climbing - AGM

Tony Blair and George Band start theirexhibition tour. Credit: Charlie Hedley

Art and Photocompetition...Many thanks to all who en-tered the ACT Art and Pho-tographic Competition, tocelebrate the launch of thenew Access and Conserva-tion Trust. The closing dateis now past, and we've hada great response. The win-ning images will be pub-lished in the next issue.

The Entre-Prises and BMCFestival of Climbing took theNIA in Birmingham by stormover the weekend of 7-9thDecember '01. This latestevent builds on previoussuccessful events; notablyClimb ’97, and Climb’99,and with an impressive ar-ray of competition climbing,lectures, shopping, and de-velopment activities, it hasbecome an event not to bemissed.

But if you didn’t make itdown to Birmingham thisyea r, then don ’ t wor r y,

Access & Conservation Trust continues to growAs reported in previous is-sues the mountaineeringcouncils in the UK and Ire-land have launched a newcharitable Trust- the Access& Conservation Trust. TheTrust has now been officiallyregistered as a charity andreceived its public launch atthe Entre-Pr ises & BMCFestival of Climbing at theNIA in December. The BMCwelcomed the Rt. Hon. AlunMichael MP, Minister ofState for Rural Affairs as theguest of honour on Sunday9th and, on behalf of the

ACT t rus tees , rece i vedcheques f rom new ACTmembers. Mr Michael thenmade an extensive tour ofthe Festival watching theaction at the come-and-try-it walls and on the maincompetition wall.

Swell ing the ACT fundswere Berghaus and theMounta in Tra in ing Trust(managers of Plas y Brenin)who became Platinum andPlat inum Plus partners.Chair of MTT Ally Kellas pre-sented the cheque on be-half of MTT. Ally was visiting

the popular Plas y Breninstand where outdoor ex-perts were on hand to an-swer arrange of queriesf rom the 6,000 s t rongweekend audience. AlanHinkes and Lewis Grundyrepresented Berghaus, whosponsored a lecture thea-tre at the Festival and Alangave two lectures to packedhouses during the weekend.Berghaus and Plas y Breninalso contributed prizes tothe Winter Skills Workshopcompetition. Also joiningACT recently are the Climb-

ers' Club, Mountain LeaderTraining Board, Tiso, ThelwellConsultants, DMM and FirstAscent. The Trust is now be-ing expanded to enable in-dividuals to contribute aswell, so contact the BMC ifyou would like to know moreabout how you can becomepart of the ACT, or [email protected].

(L-R) Dave Turnbull (newBMC Chie f Of f icer ) , R t .Hon. Alun Michael MP, andAlly Kellas from MTT(PyB).

Entre-Prises & BMC Festival of Climbing

The Volunteer Leader Con-ference took place along-side the Festival of Climb-ing at the NIA. Chaired byRichard Callicott CEO of UKSport and Margaret TalbotCEO of CCPR, this was highlya successful training eventwith over 230 participants

Volunteer Leader Conference

you’ve got another chanceto see some great competi-tion climbing at the A5 Brit-ish Bouldering Champion-ships. The final round takesplace over the weekend of16/17th March at the Ord-nance Survey Outdoor Showat the NEC in Birmingham -Juniors on the 16th and Sen-iors on the 17th. Supportsponsors are High, OTE,Snap, The North Face andEntre-Prises.

For full details on thisexciting event, see page18 of this issue.

discussing the different as-pects of risk and adventure.Conference proceedings areavailable from the BMC Of-fice ([email protected]).Many thanks to all the or-ganisations and volunteerleaders who contributedtheir valuable opinions.

ACT - 2002 monthly prize draw!The producers of the Art ofNavigation CD ROM and ACThave teamed up to bring youa great new monthly prizedraw. Each month there’s acompetition running on thesite (www.outdoornav.co.uk)related to navigation skills,with a different prize do-

nated by one of the CD’ssponsors. March’s prize is aWynnsters Firefly 2 tent,RRP £150.00, and previ-ous p r i zes inc luded aGarmin GPS. So get online,test your navigation skills,and support ACT all at :www.outdoornav.co.uk

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:36 AM6


Grit license - Alpine lectures - Ruskin artwork

This years Annual Gatheringwill take place in the LakeDistrict, over the weekend ofthe 5th – 7 th Apr i l 2002.Come along for entertaininglecturers and slide shows,volunteer training workshopsand seminars, the AGM andNational Open Forum (at theRheged Discovery Centrenear Penrith), and finally anexcellent dinner at the ShapWel l s Hote l . A l l AGMattendees will have the op-portunity to visit the HellyHansen National Mountain-eer ing Exh ib i t ion f ree ofcharge. With issues up fordiscussion such as the les-sons learnt from Foot andMouth and the BMC Guide-book Programme it will be animportant weekend, and at ime for change - DerekWalker will complete his term

If you’re thinking of visitingthe Alps during 2002, thendon’t miss the BMC AlpineLecture Series starting onMarch 5th. Steve Bell andLibby Peter are teaming upagain for an entertainingand interactive introductionto the alpine environment.

This is a great way to pre-pare for the Alpine season,spot new adventures andremember, whether you’re anovice or hardened alpinistthere is always more tolearn! So why not take thisopportunity to find out moreabout equipment, tech-nique, training, new areasor ask their opinions on yourtrip. Tickets are available viathe BMC office in, priced £3to BMC members (inc. stu-dent club members) and £5to non-members.

From April 17th over 40pieces of artwork by the in-fluential British artist JohnRuskin will be on display atthe Helly Hansen NationalMountaineering Exhibition.

The collection will focus onRuskin’s paintings and draw-ings of Switzerland and thedisplay marks the beginningof a series of events in Cum-bria to celebrate the UnitedNations International Year ofMountains. Ruskin was aninfluential social philosopherand art critic and a highlyta len ted pa in te r anddraughtsman. He touredSwitzerland in 1833 andhad a lifelong passion forthe Alps. After a breakdownin 1890 he lived in the LakeDistrict until his death tenyears later. See this display

as President and CathyWoodhead and Crag Joneswill complete their terms asVice Presidents.

Sur rounded by theCumbrian fells and withPenrith Climbing Wall closeat hand the weekend willbe the perfect opportunityto combine enjoyable ac-tivity with some importantissues. For those needingaccommodation the ShapWel l s Hote l (01931716628) is offering a spe-cial BMC AGM B&B pack-age of £30.00 per personper night (£8.00 singlesupp lement ) . P leasequote “BMC AGM” whenbooking. Please see thespecial Annual Gatheringflyer in this issue of Sum-mit or the website for fulldetails.

See Ruskin artwork at the Helly HansenNational Mountaineering Exhibition

The Alps and Beyond?You need the BMC Alpine Lectures 2002

ManchesterUniversity of ManchesterTue 5 March, 6.45pm

PenrithUniversity of Central LancsWed 6 March, 6.45pm

NottinghamUniversity of NottinghamThu 7 March, 6.45pm

LondonUniversity College LondonTue 12 March, 6.45pm

BathUniversity of Bath Campus,Wed 13 March, 6.45pm

ExeterUniversity of ExeterThu 14 March, 6.45pm

See the online events diary

at www.thebmc.co.uk for full

addresses and links to maps

for each lecture.

After recent discussions, theBMC has agreed a license toRock fax fo r the i r newGritstone guidebook whichacknowledges the BMC’s in-tellectual property rights forgritstone rock climbs. This fol-lows lengthy discussions be-tween all parties involvedwherein the BMC sought toprotect the interests of thevoluntary system, but werealso striving to representclimbers as a whole, as wellas having to address certaincommercial realities. The out-come was that it was felt thatlegal action was not justified,compromise and co-opera-tion- from both sides- ap-pearing to be the better op-tion. The final message inthis is that while commercialguide production may be re-ality, the BMC will do theirutmost to support the con-tinuing tradition of the volun-teer based guidebook. Finally,the BMC would like to wishRichard Wheeldon as the

AGM and Annual Gathering 2002Heading for the Lake District

of Ruskin’s work any daybetween 17 April and 12October when you visit theHe l l y Hansen Nat iona lMountaineering Exhibition.Entry to the Exhibition is£4.50 for adults (£3.50 forBMC members), £3 for chil-dren and £3.80 for seniors(£3 for BMC members).

Turn to page 29 of thisissue for a great BMCmembers offer. Entry foronly £2.25!

Supported by Jagged Globe

Grit license and the Stanage guidenew Chair of the guidebookcommittee and Niall Grimesas the new guidebook co-ordinator the very best ofluck for the future. It ishoped that all those with aninterest in Peak District rockclimbing will give enthusias-t ic support to the newstructure and contribute tothe publication of qualitydef init ive rock cl imbingguides produced by volun-teers. The programme is al-ready moving efficiently for-ward, with the publicationof the new Stanage guidenow very close. Asides fromStanage, almost all theother guides in the area arewell in hand with very strongand enthusiast ic teamsputting their boundless en-thusiasm into their areas,and it seems that amongothers, the StaffordshireGri tstone and Sheff ie ldArea Gritstone will not be farbehind Stanage.

March 2nd is a red letter day!The Alpine Club has invitedsome of the world’s greatestmodern alpinists to talk andlecture in Sheffield. Lecturersinclude Voytek Kurtyka onc l imb ing and c rea t i v i t y,Yashushi on his solo of K2,Silvo Karo on Patagonia, Jack

Alpine Style Climbing SymposiumTackle on Alaska, AndyKirkpatrick on what makeshim tick(!), Louise Thomason Ba f f in and S imonRichardson on Scottishdevelopments. For moredeta i l s check ou twww.alpine-club.org.uk

Ray

Woo

d

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:37 AM7

8 BMC SUMMIT - ISSUE 25

NEWS Troll recall - Dewhurst resigns - New wall?NEWS International Meet - Staff changes - Technical

Once again, some of theworld’s leading climbers willbe gathering at Plas y Breninfor a week of climbing ad-venture on the 5th – 12th

May. The Meet is now an es-tablished event in the out-door calendar and involvesdebates, workshops and so-cial events as well as climb-ing - a guaranteed great timefor those wishing to expandtheir climbing knowledge,discuss opinions and meetnew friends! This year, theBMC will be inviting around50 of the sports leading in-ternational exponents to themeet, and is looking for asimilar number of Britishclimbers to act as hosts andshow the guests what it’s allabout. The only require-ments are that you be anactive climber (regardless ofability) living in the UK andhave a good knowledge ofclimbing in North Wales. Ifyou are selected as a host,all accommodation and foodfor the week at Plas y Brenin

will be provided by the BMC.The general theme for themeet is “breaking barriers”within the outdoor commu-nity, and so applicationsfrom minority groups are es-pecially welcomed. Pleasesend a climbing CV to StuartIngram at the BMC office([email protected]) bythe 15 March. Don’t missthis great opportunity to addsome international flavour toyour climbing activities!

Fo l low ing the recentrestructurings, there arethree major staff changes.Firstly, it’s farewell to RogerPayne, who has guided theBMC for many years, and isnow leaving for the delightsof Development and SportsDirector for the UIAA in Swit-zerland – we wish him all thebest. On the MSL side ofthings, Andy Macnae beat astrong field of candidates tobecome the new Chief Ex-

Look out for an increasedtechnical presence in Sum-mit pages this year – as partof the BMC shake-up, morestaff time has been freed toget you the vital safety in-formation you need aboutmountaineering equipmentand it’s use. As well as atechnical article in each is-sue, the BMC website willhold regular updates on cur-rent work areas, importantincidents and technical is-sues from around the world.There will also be more tech-nical booklets with Cram-

BMC InternationalClimbing Meet, May

Technical Support! pons, I ce-axes and V iaFerrata equipment all slatedfor attention in 2002. Re-member that a problemshared is a problem reduced- if you have experienced anequipment failure that youfeel warrants an investiga-tion we would like to hearabout it! Either downloadthe report form from thewebsite or contact the BMCto get the opinion of the UK’sleading voluntary experts.

Care & Maintenance isnow available at £4 tomembers. Call 0870 0104878 or order online.See page 36 of this issuefor a great taster.

BMC Staff Changesecutive of Mountain Serv-ices (Limited). However,Roger’s departure still left avacancy for Chief Officer ofthe BMC, and Dave Turnbullhas just been appointed.Dave, an Access & Conser-vation Officer at the BMC forover three years, has astrong climbing background.He recently tackled someMozambique rock as part ofa mixed UK/South Africanteam featuring Leo Houlding

and Ben Bransby. And last,but by no means least, NiallGrimes has been temptedover from Sheffield for thenew post of Guidebook Co-ordinator. Niall has a greathistory of involvement withthe Peak guidebook scene,and is ideally placed to workwith the team of dedicatedvolunteers, and expand therange of quality guidebooks.

GreenShires Publishing, Telford Way, Kettering, Northants NN16 8UN

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31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 12:12 PM8

1 0 BMC SUMMIT - ISSUE 25

ACCESS NEWS

Snowdonia "Green Key"4th March DeadlineThe Green Key Strategy is a new initia-tive about improving the economic per-formance of the area and is basedaround a Park and Ride scheme. Theproblems encountered during Foot andMouth when much of the roadside park-ing was curtailed and visitors had touse a Sherpa bus has not been forgot-ten; and while the residents of CapelCurig are keen to see an improved pub-lic transport service and opportunitiesto improve visitor facilities, in line withvisitor needs, they do not want to seethe closure of parking spaces within theSnowdon area.

The consultation deadline has beenextended to the 4th March, and thes t ra tegy can be found a twww. gwynedd . go v. u k / ad r annau /economaidd/Green_key index.english.htm,or www.snowdonia2002.fsnet.co.ukComments should be emai led togwenl l [email protected] pressure from the BMC the Na-tional Park are now committed to a us-ers focus group being set-up as part ofthe consultation process, so that theviews of mountain users are repre-sented in the consultation process.

Peak Line ProjectThe Buxton Advertiser headlined thatthe Matlock to Buxton Rail Link, viaChee Dale, is coming. In fact DerbyshireCounty Council have just secured fund-ing for a feasibility study for the project,which will make clear what is involvedand will evaluate the options for build-ing the line. Only after a second feasi-bility study will it become clear what isbeing proposed, and at this stage theCouncil will have to try and gain fundingfor the project. The County Council iswell aware of the BMC’s interest andthe potential impact of the project onclimbers, hillwalkers and the flora andfauna of Chee Dale.

Stoney and HorseshoeThe track leading from the electric sub-station to Mortuary Steps at StoneyMiddleton has been blocked by largeboulders. The boulders have beenplaced by the local Council to preventillegal tipping and are not an anti-climb-ing measure. At Horseshoe, new signs,highlighting the dangers of the quarryhave been placed. The owners havean obligation under the Mines andQuarries Act to place signs to stop peo-ple entering the quarry.

Please do not pull down these signs,as they may be replaced by more ef-fective means of stopping entry. TheNational Park Authority have yet to ar-range the proposed meeting betweenthemselves, the owners of Horseshoe,Tarmac, and the BMC to attempt toset-up a management agreement forthe site. The BMC has reminded thePark Authority of the importance of pro-gressing this issue.

Stanage UpdatesOn a bitterly cold and misty January 3,2002 a formidable team assembled atStanage, under the auspices of theStanage Forum, for the long awaited sitevisit called to resolve any conflict be-tween climbing (particularly bouldering)and Ring Ouzels. For those involved inthis issue, sorry if the following para-graph does not do justice to the 3 hoursstood freezing on the Edge, your feel-ings on the subject, or the large amountof time and effort that you have put infor climbers on this issue. Despite be-ing half frozen the team did a good jobdefending the BMC’s position not toendorse a restriction on bouldering be-tween Apparent North and the CowperStone, which the ornithologists werepushing for. At the same time positivesuggestions were made which wouldhelp to improve the habitat require-ments of the birds and minimise dis-turbance. The following were acceptedas ways in which climbers could helpto minimise disturbance from midMarch to mid August. Please accessthe areas of Apparent North and theCowper Stone from Burbage North,Cabin Track and Hooks Carr. Pleaseavoid using the lower path from Hook’sCarr which leads broadly across toCongo Corner. The following will alsominimise your disturbance of nestingbirds between mid March and mid Au-gust: for access to and from boulderingareas use the edge top, avoidingbreeding and feeding areas below theedge; be aware of the legitimate con-cerns of ornithologists, to the extentthat if you can leave the area undis-turbed, do; no gardening; flash prob-lems, but don’t hang around beyondMagnetic North, if you do unwittinglydisturb a bird a few minutes will not

matter, 10 will; take any litter, includ-ing biodegradable litter (which can at-tract predators) away with you. If yousee other people wandering aroundunder the edge, please ask them notto and explain why.

Range West BriefingsThe following dates have been proposedfor the 2002 Range West briefings:13th June - Gloucester29th June - Castlemartin, Range West27th July - Castlemartin, Range WestThe Range will open on the 27th July.

Stone FarmThe BMC secured ownership of StoneFarm at the end of 2001. Chris Tullisand John Gal loway, have alreadystarted ground erosion work at the site.Croydon MC volunteered their time tohelp with the preparatory work andmade substantial progress with someof the more labour intensive work.

The erosion work has been fundedmainly by grants from the Climbers'Club Kirkus Fund and from English Na-ture and the BMC would like to thankthem for their support. The manage-ment of the site will be undertaken bythe BMC’s Harrison’s Rocks Manage-ment Group.

Lake District BirdsThe following nesting restrictions havebeen confirmed in the Lake District forthe 2002 season. All the restrictionsare variable and will be reviewed inApril, and lifted if birds have not nested.Check the BMC website and localshops for information.

1st Mar - 30th June:Upper Falcon and the Gully betweenUpper & Lower Falcon Crag, Borrowdale.Heron Crag, Eskdale.Raven Crag , Yewdale, Coniston.Wallowbarrow Gorge, Duddon Valley.Upper Thrang Crag , Mart indale.Chapel Head Scar , Whi tbarrow.Gowther Crag, Swindale.

1st Mar - 31st May (Ravens):Swarthbeck Gill, Howtown.Lower Thrang Crag, Martindale(not including Farm buttress).Raven Crag , Threshwai te Cove.Buckbarrow, Londsleddale.

Avon Gorge Gear DebateCome along to the Avon Gorge fixedgear debate at 7pm, 24th April at theBristol Climbing Centre. The meeting isan open meeting for climbers to dis-cuss the replacement of fixed gear inthe Avon Gorge. Should it be replacedat all? Replaced like for like? Comealong and have your say and help todecide the climbing ethics in your area.

For the latest access info on more than 600 crags in England and Wales - check out the Regional Access Database (RAD) on www.thebmc.co.uk


Cold, cold Stanage. Credit: Grimes

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:40 AM10


The modern manifestation of a fire (lets call it a stove!) isone of the most critical pieces of equipment for climbers

and trekkers. In many situations a properly functioning stovecan literally mean the difference between life and death inthe mountains. At the very least it will dictate whether youget that steaming bowl of pasta and mug of tea before bed,or make do with cold water and snack-food! This articleaims to give a round up of what’s currently on the market tohelp you choose the bundle of warmth that’s best for you.

What’s out there?At the most basic level, there are two principal types ofstove, those that run on pressurised fuel (eg. paraffin, pet-rol, gas) and those using unpressurised propellants (egMeths). Pressurised stoves, which can be further subdi-vided into models using liquid fuel and those using gas cre-ate more heat and work more efficiently at altitude thanunpressurised models, and also offer advantages in weight,bulk and running costs. On the other side of things, liquidfuelled stoves require regular maintenance to keep themoperating properly, whereas gas and unpressurised stovesneed little or no user care in order to function well. A morerecent development are ‘multi-fuel stoves’ capable of run-ning on more than one type of fuel – you can even findmodels that will take both liquid fuels and gas!

If you choose to take a pressurised liquid fuel stove, it isessential to maintain it regularly to avoid a failure at somecritical time. Make sure that you understand it’s construc-tion and the way it functions before you get to the middle ofnowhere, and pack plenty of spares, especially fuel jetsand jet ‘prickers’.

Another important consideration is the availability of fuel –this may often determine the type of stove you buy (or packif you own more than one). Take care to find out which fuelswill be available in the area you are visiting and make yourchoice accordingly. Let’s not forget price, either – a top notch(pressurised) liquid-fuelled stove might set you back £100or so, but an unpressurised meths or gas stove could be aslittle as £20. Think about how often and under what circum-stances you are going to use the beast before you buy it!As a general guide, pressurised liquid fuelled stoves arebest for long-term worldwide backpacking, trekking and ex-pedition (high-altitude) use. Pressurised gas models aregreat for Europe and suited to more occasional use, al-though climbers will often carry these to altitude for usewhen bivvying. Unpressurised liquid fuel stoves are good forgroup use and those on a budget.

How to get the best from itFirstly, read the instructions! Know how to fuel, light and regu-late your stove whilst in use, again before you have to use it“in anger” – this will save you a load of trouble when it mat-ters. Be careful to buy suitably sized pans for you stove, andset it on a stable, level surface (some manufacturers pro-duce bases for this purpose) to avoid tipping it over, spillingyour gourmet creation and causing dangerous flaring.

Always position your stove safely away from objective haz-ards in a well- ventilated area. Camping in fine weather willallow you to cook al fresco – some would argue that there’snothing finer in the outdoors than stuffing your face whilstadmiring the beauty of nature. However, in wet conditions,many campers are forced to cook in their tent vestibule,even though tent manufacturers heavily discourage this.

FIRE

STA

RTER

S

Ahh, the warmth and comfort of the flames atthe end of a hard day. Fire has representedone of the cornerstones of human survivalsince the Neanderthal tribes coveted andfought over it. In our modern day air-conditioned and centrally heatedenvironment, we invariably take its presencefor granted. But when we pursue our activitiesin the outdoors, the absence of a means ofwarming and feeding ourselves becomes alltoo apparent. Stu Ingram looks at what youneed to be a firestarter.

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BMC SUMMIT - ISSUE 25 1 3

Tents are highly flammable, and the consequences of aburning tent – especially if the incumbents are in their sleep-ing bags at the time of the blaze – could be disastrous. Ifyou have no option but to cook inside the porch entrance,do not allow any part of the shelter to come anywhere nearthe stove. Be prepared to boot the entire stove away fromthe tent if the burner flares and if your tent does not have arear exit, keep a knife handy so that you can slash thefabric and escape if the tent starts to burn. Complete famili-arity with the stove’s operation will minimise the chance ofan uncontrollable blaze during the lighting or cooking proc-ess; through experience in use you will realize what you canand can’t get away with.

If the stove’s fuel tank needs refilling during cooking, turnoff the burner and double-check that the flames have beenproperly extinguished before attempting to refill the tank.This is particularly important for stoves that burn transpar-ent fuels (eg. Meths), often producing a colourless flame.

IMPORTANT: Remember that all combustion of flamma-ble material gives off carbon monoxide. A build-up of car-bon monoxide in a confined area (such as a sealed tent,snow hole or mountain hut) is virtually undetectable withoutspecialist equipment, and can rapidly lead to unconscious-ness and death. For safety’s sake, always ensure that youcook in a well-ventilated area.

But it’s freezing cold!Everything becomes more difficult and time consuming whenit’s cold, and using a stove is no exception. Apart from theinevitable fumbling with valves, matches, fuel pumps etc.with half-numb pinkies, there are some additional safetyissues. Firstly, it’s vital to prevent your fuel supply fromsolidifying. Gas canisters can be popped in a sleeping baghalf an hour before being connected to the stove, whilst apressurised liquid fuel burner may need extra encourage-ment if regular priming is ineffective - applying a small amountof ‘burning paste’ around the base of the stove can do this.Light this paste, and allow the gentle flames produced toheat the stove. When they have self-extinguished, openthe fuel valve and ignite the burner.

A light dusting of snow can be brushed away before set-ting the stove down on frozen ground. However, if you arecooking on deep snow or ice, it is important that a piece ofinsulating material (eg. sleeping mat foam, cardboard) isplaced between the stove and the cold stuff. If this precau-tion is not taken, your burner is likely to melt itself into theice with attendant consequences! If you need to improvise,

Paraffin/KeroseneStove: pressurised liquidAvailability: Asia, Africa, HimalayaPros: cheap and easily available,even in rural communities; effi-cient up to 6500mCons: stove requires priming; fuelline clogs quickly if not cleaned;messy; fuel easily taints food

Petrol/Unleaded petrol/BenzineStove: pressurised liquidAvailability: almost everywherethat has access to motorisedtransportPros: widely available; cheaperthan white gas; efficient up to6500mCons: stove requires priming; fuelline clogs quickly if not cleaned

White Gas/Coleman Fuel /Benzina BlancaStove: pressurised liquidAvailability: North America, UK,benzina blanca becoming in-creasingly available in SouthAmericaPros: clean, so doesn’t clog fuellines as quickly as paraffin or pet-rol; efficient up to 6500mCons: stove requires priming; fuelmore expensive than petrol

STOVE ANDFUELCOMPARISONCHART

Butane or PropaneStove: pressurised bottled gasAva i l ab i l i t y : Eu rope , Nor thAmerica and certain other popu-lar trekking regionsPros: clean; hassle-free; propane/butane mix burns efficiently at allaltitudes and the coldCons: heavy; several differenttypes of connection produced socompatibility with stove not guar-anteed; empty cartridges must bedisposed of carefully; butane-only mix performs poorly in sub-zero temperatures

Alcohol/Methylated Spirits/Ethanol/Alcool á brûlerStove: unpressurised liquidAvailability: Europe, Scandinavia,North AmericaPros: evaporates quickly if spiltCons: expensive; burns quickly;low heat output; performs poorlyabove 3000m; some fuels aretransparent so difficult to seeflame – take extra care when re-filling to ensure flames have beencompletely extinguished

Solid fuel (e.g. Hexamine)Stove: unpressurised, and uncon-trollableAva i l ab i l i t y : Eu rope , Nor thAmerica (especially military units)Pros: easy to light in any weather;can be used to ‘prime’ otherstovesCons: very low heat output; un-controllable flame; fumes are poi-sonous so only use in extremelywell-ventilated areas

Get THE Book!The useful guide to fuel (above)is taken from the new MountainTravel ler 's Handbook. Thispocket sized book spills thebeans on every aspect of theperfect trip. Can you afford toleave it behind? Priced just £13(£11.50 to members), phone0870 010 4878 to order now,visit www.thebmc.co.uk, or lookout for it in all good shops.(LEFT) Life by the fire. Credit: Alex Messenger.

(ABOVE) Cold cooking 20ft underground in the north wall of Trugberg,Bernese Oberland. Credit: Tom Povey.

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:41 AM13


EQUIPMENTthen a spare pan lid can suffice. If using snow or ice as yourwater source, then remember that ice produces a greaterreturn and is faster, as it does not contain any air. If youonly have snow available, it is worth taking the time to pro-duce a pyramid of hard-packed snowballs before starting tocook – as well as providing ammunition if the chef isn’t upto scratch, snowballs melted one at a time are more effi-cient than a simple filling the pan.

What about altitude?Never mind the cold, when high altitude (significantly less oxy-gen and air pressure) and stoves mix, things really start to getfruity! Unfortunately under these more extreme conditions,your stove is literally your life – no pubs to fall back on uphere! This is when it’s more important than ever to know yourstove and its capabilities. Pressurised liquid models will workreasonably up to around 6500m but make sure you get theright kind of jet – certain types are almost useless at altitude!Above that propane/butane mix gas stoves are the only realchoice, and the simplest to operate (big advantage).

The stove is likely to be in constant use due to slow boiltimes, so it must be in top working order beforehand (it’shard enough to cook with headaches, nausea, and tired-ness without the stove packing in). At altitude you need todrink more water to stay properly hydrated, 4-6 litres perday minimum but when you consider it can take an hour tomake a panful of water from snow and another hour to boilit, the difficulty is apparent. Add to this altitude-inducedloss of appetite – to keep psyched you will need to makeyour meals as varied as possible by adding spices, pickles,milk powder etc. to the necessarily simple dishes (pasta,rice, noodles) that are easiest to cook.

So, the question here is not “will my stove work?” – itshould provided you look after it – more “will I be in a fitstate to make it work?!”

Are there any accessories?There are a few gizmos you can use to improve the efficiencyof your stove (at any altitude), and some accessories thatwill make life in the outdoor kitchen more enjoyable:Maintenance Kit: Essential for those stoves requiring fieldmaintenance, and not always included when you buy thestove.Windshield: Some stoves have integral windshields or comesupplied with a bendy aluminium foil strip to wrap aroundthe stove – if not it’s worthwhile getting one to keep thedraughts out and increase efficiency.Heat Exchanger: a system of coils that transfers heat fromthe burner back around the gas canister or cooking pot.These can increase efficiency by over 50% if a good fit isachieved – commercially produced models exist, or makeyour own from copper wire/or ensolite foil (see ClimbingNo.145 for dubious details!)Hanging kit: This will allow you to hang your stove from atent/portaledge tab or directly from the rock/ice, saving spaceon those cramped bivis. Will only fit specific modelsAuto-starter: Many gas models can now be fitted with a piezo-electric igniter to prevent “the lighter’s run out!” scenarios.Cooking kits: Many variations now exist containing spatu-las, chopping boards, shakers, little pots for sauces etc.allowing you to prepare the feast of your choice in the re-mote backcountry. Pass the salt…Espresso maker: Not a stove gadget, but definitely essential!

Many thanks to Go Gas for help with this article.For more information on the Go Gas range ofproducts, or advice about choosing the right outdoorstove for you, contact them on 0161 477 3330.The Go Gas range is available through EllisBrigham, Oswald Bailey, Blacks Leisure stores andCotswold. PS - don't miss the reader's offer below!

Summit StoveWeighing in at only 332g, this safety checked and tested product is ideal where space and weightsaving are vital. As an all-weather stove that gives constant high performance, the Summit Stove hasbeen designed to provide maximum safety alongside superior cooking ability. RRP. £15.00Zenith StoveThis one is almost exactly the same as the Summit Stove, although has the added benefit of aremovable windshield for optimum wind protection of both the flame and cooking pan. What morecould you ask for on a cold, windy mountain! RRP. £18.00Questions:How much does the Summit Stove weigh?What is the approximate retail price of the Zenith Stove?What is the name of the range from which these products come?

For more information contact Go Gas on 0161 477 3330

SEND YOUR ANSWERS ON A POSTCARD TO:GO GAS COMPETITIONGREENSHIRES PUBLISHING, TELFORD WAY, KETTERING,NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. NN16 8UN

All winners will be selected at random and notified in writing. Closing date for entries is 8th April 2002All prizes offered are non-exchangeable for cash or any other alternative.

Go Gas, manufacturers of the Go System range of outdoor leisure equipment products, have joinedforces to offer you the opportunity to get your hands on over £700 worth of top quality outdoor stovesin time for this year’s mountain climbing retreat!

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31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 13/02/2002, 12:17 PM14


“When you get in right, there’stwo ways of doin’ it …..”

With 10 minutes to go on a Fridayafternoon, I could think of better thingsto be doing than teaching a bunch ofteenage delinquents GCSE Maths.

“Then when you get it going, makesure you ‘ave yer foot on the clutch.”

“But what about the handbrake?”

“Take that off an’ all, ye stupid!”

So we bided our time till the bell rangand headed out to the car park – I tomy own car, they in search of someoneelse’s. For me however, the journeywouldn’t be ending in a few hours timewith a box of matches...

T U P I L A KSILENCE OF THE SERACS

Supply teaching may not be glamorous, but it is flex-ible and that’s what matters to expedition climbers.As usual the biggest problem had been finance, and

since the last trip, what remained of my rack had neithergrown nor been replaced. Being a bunch of mates ratherthan shiny media climbers, attracting support had been tricky.

Several hours on the phone convinced a few generousmanufacturers as to the obvious commercial benefits theywould accrue by handing over kit for free – but the Wilkosrepair department had to be called in to deal with the rest.

First a pair of old rock boots bit the dust in search ofreplacement rubber, as the Mk IV superboot emerged gleam-ing under layers of gaffa tape and superglue. Next, an ex-tended operation with a mole-wrench, bits of chain andmore gaffa tape brought the successful mating of a petrolstove with a hanging cook set. Then finally, in a creativegenius to rival the Whillan’s sit harness, a weekend spentsewing up bits of old tent and rucksacks produced two hang-ing bivi seats and a set of Russian aiding gear. Weeks ofuntold misery were now assured.

Two days later, we found ourselves stepping out of a chop-per onto a small knoll in the middle of nowhere, and theboys were somewhat surprised...“Bloody Hell! – you didn’t

Escaping the demands of teaching for blissfullyquiet minus 40OC bivis. Al Powell describes thehighlights on just one of last year's BMC/MEFfunded expeditions.

(LEFT) Al Powell on Tupilak. Credit: Jon Bracey. (BELOW)Jon Bracey enjoying some tropical conditions. Credit: AlPowell.

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 14/02/2002, 10:21 AM16


tell us about this Al!”...“Erm, well it’s Greenland in winter-what did you expect?” ...“I know - but it’s absolutely Baltic!”

Trying to finish our first hot meal before it froze to the plate,the month ahead provided a somewhat cold and uncertainprospect. No one had tried winter climbing here before andat -35'c in Base Camp the reasons were obvious. Bivis onthe North Face of Tupilak could be tickling the –40'c mark.

Such thoughts came home to roost sooner than we imag-ined. After five days in fact - in the form of super chilledspindrift pummelling down on our sitting bivi tent. Wrestlingwith a flaring petrol stove swinging inches from ones weddingtackle left little time to appreciate the sweet sensation ofsinged eyebrows and numb toes. Soon the inevitable mar-riage of overtrousers with stove occurred amid a puff of bluesmoke, as I struggled to pass a mug of soup to Jon. Outside,giant veils of light flickered across the heavens. Maybe thespirits of the dead were reminding us of something. Thecurse of the Tupilak: those hideous mythical creatures sofeared by the Inuit. Next day we took the hint and retreated.

Back on the glacier, it began to dawn on us that actuallystudying the face might have been a good idea - rather thanblithely hacking straight up for two days to a dead end.Much squinting through binoculars revealed a line of uncer-tainties further left, so Mr Bracey duly fished out hissketchpad: our combined efforts resulting in a topo lyingsomewhere between artistic, optimistic and autistic. Wefelt that added to a bit of trail laying and kit stashing the daybefore, this might just tip the balance.

Subtle differences separated this new line from our origi-nal one: thankfully it looked less steep, and the powderappeared to be stationary rather than constantly streamingdown the route. On the other hand there remained thequestion of how long this snow would remain stationary whenwe attempted to climb it, lying as it did mostly on slabs.There was also the small matter of the serac, but we pre-ferred not to think about that.

Gaining time from our various stashing and stomping activi-ties, these mysteries rapidly resolved themselves on the firstday after a lung bursting dash past the serac lead to excellentmixed ground. The first traverse went pretty well too, apartfrom one ‘look mum no hands’ section cramponing across aslab. And so it continued – cheeky mixed pitches linking scariertraverses, till the arctic shadows lengthened and a suitablebivi site emerged. Jon checked out the feasibility of the steepground above, declaring a good crack before descending tojoin the excavation project. In true Bracey style, this didn’tappear to require the use of gloves like any normal humanbeing. Instead it appeared he had pure antifreeze runningthrough his veins. Not that I’m envious or anything!

Across the valley on Rodebjerg, two tiny dots appeared atthe top of the glacier. A minute later they whooped down,carving dozens of turns back to Base Camp. Jonny andStan were finishing their own route in a blaze of powder.Taking in the view with a hot brew, snapping photos, layingout for the night – this all felt a far cry from our previousforay. To compound the pleasure temperatures had rock-eted to a tropical –25C, as we snuggled up in the coffinwarm and safe from spindrift.

4.00 am alarms are never pleasant, but we needed to getmoving to make the most of any dawn light on the face. Amishmash of aiding, hooking and hauling had us estab-lished on the crucial link. Jon followed, then cranked andtorqued on up a superb groove, teetering round a hugecoffin lid high on the pitch. Having failed to trundle it on theway past, I gave up procrastinating and focused on the realjob in hand – traversing the Slab of No Return.

An Inspector Gadget style reach proved necessary to es-cape the chimney and gain the main sweep of the slab.Though for the most part straightforward, such pitches werealways accompanied by the trepidation of discovering atwhat point the powder would finally cease to be load bear-ing. A preliminary estimate of 30+ metres rang out with the

ominous thud of front points on rock. The supporting layerbegan to thin out and slide off alarmingly, revealing the topof a flake resting on the slab. Slotting a wobbly hex in pro-vided diversionary relief, before probing and shuffling re-sumed – following a hunch toward a shadowy line under thesnow. Beneath, it appeared that a tiny foot ledge mightspan the final meters to a crack. Summoning sufficientnerve to mantel onto the ledge proved nearly as difficult aslocating it, but finally faith and side-stepping prevailed asthe crack was reached and a lower off arranged.

When the rope ran out, rigging any kind of belay provedeven more enthralling as we finally settled for a tied offknife blade. Pulling ropes through the lower off, the phrase‘Fully Committed’ came to mind. I tried to ignore it. Thenext couple of hundred metres also proved something of aSahara Desert on the protection front, as possibilities rap-idly dried up. Moving together up snow ribbons on the bluntrib, ever more creative placements were tried till finally alone skyhook lay between us and eternity. Probing out theshallow grooves that lay beneath whilst desperately seek-ing to avoid excursions onto slabs felt like some giant invis-ible maze game, which thankfully we negotiated with all ourlives intact – ready for the exit cracks.

Quite how these cracks managed to be overhanging, con-stricted, off width and slabby all at the same time I don’tknow – but Jon seemed to be discovering this in no uncer-tain terms amid a trail of tied off slings, wedged sacs, skit-tering front points and plenty of cursing. Down below thetiny dots reappeared, moving across the glacier to checkout our progress. Seconding proved less traumatic with atrail of nuts to hook, but still required a couple of hanginglock offs to do justice to all those pull ups on the stairs backhome. With that the final pitch came as a breeze, stompingup easy ice to the col. Whooping and hollering echoed upfrom the glacier – we returned the salute with glee.

To our left the East summit looked feasible but not till themorning, so we settled down to bivi in the jaws of Tupilak. Itseemed our presence had been noted. Jon got up to Pee at4.00, as snow flurries ripped across the col. We debatedwhether to descend, deciding to look out at 5.30. Pre- dawnlight creeping over the horizon rapidly changed this to ‘Letsget the hell out of here, NOW!’ as dozens of lenticular cloudscrowded the inland sky. Greenland Piteraq storms can reacha devastating 200mph, so we had an overwhelming desireto be back in our storm bunker as soon as possible.

Ten abs down the back reached familiar ground – the greatamphitheatre cirque below the South Face. A further sixraps, one big bumslide and an endless slog had us nearlyout of there as storm clouds wreathed the summits. Justone more link to secure our escape. Breasting an emptycol to be hit by the gale, still uncertain. A few more steps,then - yes! - two pairs of skis delivered as planned. Kickingin and pushing off, we headed to the valley for ten days ofjoyriding in virgin powder.

The Greenland Winter Expedition would like to thank thefollowing: The BMC, Mount Everest Foundation, SportEngland, Nick Estcourt Award, Gino Watkins Award, Rab,North Cape, Troll, Garmin, Terra Nova Equipment &Wholebake.

" Maybe the spirits of thedead were reminding us ofsomething. The curse ofthe Tupilak: those hideousmythical creatures sofeared by the Inuit. "

The next closing date for MEF/BMCgrant applications is the 31stAugust. See www.thebmc.co.uk/world/exped/grant.htm

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 13/02/2002, 10:32 AM17


REPORT

The Entre-Prises & BMCFestival of Climbing

The biggest event of 2001!Well, it was 18 months worth of work,from the early planning meetings(“should we have a bouldering or aleading competition?”) to the frantictwo weeks beforehand (“the BerghausTheatre is going to cost us more thanwe thought!”), right the way through tothe three-day event and the post eventthank you letters. So was it worth it?Was it a success? Well you tell us, butthe 7,200 total visitors, the 2,500people cheering on the competitors inthe World Bouldering Cup, the frenziedbut happy shoppers, the 250 interna-tional competitors, and the 1,000people on the Come and Try It Wallsall seemed to enjoy themselves.

The CompetitionsThe competitions were one of the mainattractions at the Festival and theydidn’t let us down. The Snow + RockWorld Bouldering Cup proved to be thehighlight for many, with so much going

The Entre-Prises and BMC Festival of Climbing washeld at the NIA, Birmingham on the 7-9th December2001. We were there, were you?

on all the time in a friendly and re-laxed atmosphere. Highlights for manyof the audience were the fantastic per-formances from the Brits, two finalistsfor the women and four for the men –Malcolm Smith missed out on a po-dium place by the slimmest of mar-gins, finishing a brilliant fourth in hisfirst World Cup.

The Petzl and Beal European Cupalso saw some amazing performancesfrom tomorrow’s superstars and onceagain the British Team performed mag-nificently – with a total of eight final-ists in the six different categories. Andwe got someone on the podium, RobElliot from Wakefield took third placein the Male Junior Category, his bestever result that took him to 7th placeoverall in the European rankings.

The culmination of the Festival wasthe Snow + Rock International Mas-ters, an invite only leading event. Thir-teen of the world’s best were there,including the only woman, NatalyaPerlova from the Ukraine who bravelytook on the men on the same routes.Current World Cup Champions AlexChabot walked off with the title after af lawless performance on the tworoutes.

(CLOCKWISE) EYC on the main wall.Credit Arran. Katherine Schirrmacher,doing well in the qualifiers, Rob Elliot,3rd in the EYC male juniors, and theEYC trophies. Credits: Parnell.

A 70 minute video of the main competitors

is available direct from the BMC.

Check website for details.

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:50 AM18


REPORT

All sorts of other competitions tookplace over the weekend. The Saturdaysaw the first running of the Entre-PrisesScout Regional Climbing Series Final,some impressive climbing from the com-petitors who had qualified from regionalheats. However the opportunity for theaudience to climb on the World CupBoulders was one of the best aspectsof the Festival. Hordes of juniors andseniors competed on the Sunday, tack-ling a variety of problems including someof the final problems from the World Cup- someone likened it to being allowedto play on the pitch at Wembley afterthe FA Cup Final!

The Outdoor Designs InternationalDyno competition proved to be a bigdraw, and it was a hard decision to de-cide whether to watch the Masters withits cool calculated climbing or the mad-ness of people flying through the areatrying to latch onto a hold in excess of2.35 metres from the starting holds.

The LecturesWith two lecture theatres this time,there was a stunning line up of lectur-ers, and one of the unique featureswas the Mount Everest FoundationSeven Continents slot. Here, on a Sat-urday afternoon in Birmingham, justmetres away from the best indoorclimbers in the world, the audiencewere taken on an adventurous tour ofthe globe. It was an impressive line-up, including Ian Parnell on MountMcKinley, to Crag Jones on the Antarc-tic Peninsula, and Doug Scott onKanchenjnga.

But it didn’t stop there, John Dunne,Jamie Andrews, Al Powell, and Al Hinkeswere just some of the names enter-taining the public throughout the week-end. New for 2001 were a series ofworkshops on subjects such as Moun-tain Travel and Expedition Medicine,and these went down a treat. And fi-nally, for those who just couldn’t getenough, the Best of Kendal Films wereshown for early risers and late finish-ers over the whole event.

The Come and Try it WallsThe Come and Try it Walls are alwayspopular, and this year proved no ex-ception. This time there were threewalls, plus the boulder to have a goon. Under the watchful eye of experi-enced instructors, everybody had achance to try their hand, although onSunday, quite a few people defectedonto the main boulders to sample someof the World Cup problems.

Art & Photographic ExhibitionThis year saw an expanded Art andPhotographic exhibition, with a greatvar iety of sty les on show. Shel lyHocknell occupied the bar with her vi-brant colours, whilst Dave Simmonite,Ginger Cain, Gordon Stainforth andAlastair Lee staked out the balcony.

Volunteer Leaders ConferenceAdventure and Risk - a sporting bal-ance. That was the theme of the inno-vative Volunteer Leaders Conference,held on Friday in the Olympian Suite.Over 300 delegates attended for astimulating day on safety, training, andliability for programme and facilitymanagers and volunteer leaders. Witha mixture of presentations, seminars,and practical workshops a great dealof valuable ground was covered. Moreinformation and proceedings are avail-able from [email protected]

Thanks and next timeAs ever the BMC is extremely gratefulto all of those people who generouslydonated their time to help make theFestival the best one ever, especiallyUndercover Rock for providing thebelayer training. So for anyone outthere who was a belayer, a marshal, ajudge, a video operator, a wall builder,a lecturer, a speaker, a harness putter-on, an isolation escort, or any one ofthe numerous other jobs that were per-formed exceptionally well… a huge andheartfelt thank you.

We are already planning the next bigevent, Climb’03 with all of the usual

lectures, seminars, and of course a bigcompetition. And all this in the yearwhen we will be celebrating the 50th

anniversary of Everest – no prizes forguessing what the theme will be! But ifyou can’t wait until 2003 get yourselfalong to the NEC in Birmingham on15th-17th March for the OrdnanceSurvey Outdoors Show, here you canwatch the final of the A5 Series BritishBouldering Championships, catchsome great lectures, and of course, dosome shopping!

Turn over to find out more about theOutdoors Show...>>

(CLOCKWISE) Sandrine Levet, winnerof the S+R Bouldering World Cup.Credit Parnell. Steve Mclure compet-ing in the S+R Masters. Credit Arran.The strong Malcolm Smith, he came 4thoverall. Credit: Parnell.

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 13/02/2002, 10:33 AM19


The biggest names in theoutdoors will be at The OrdnanceSurvey Outdoors Show at the NECin March with one message –“Get out there!” With over onehundred exhibitors under oneroof the show will be the idealplace to plan a whole year ofactivities.

SpeakersRay Mears, Sir Chris Bonington, AlanHinkes and David Bellamy will all be atthe show to inspire the public to getout into the countryside.

Ray Mears, from television’s “Worldof Survival” and “Tracks” will be speak-ing at the Craghoppers Adventure TravelTheatre on Saturday lunchtime. His talk“Bushcraft, a Step beyond Survival” willbe de-bunking the myth that bushcraftis all about survival. With a few basicskills, Ray believes we can live in har-mony with nature and wildernessbushcraft can become a way of life.

Visitors can meet world-renownedmountaineers, Alan Hinkes and SirChris Bonington. Sir Chris will bespeaking at the Berghaus MountainTheatre. He commented, “Foot andmouth had a terrible effect on the tour-ist trade in rural communities. Thisshow will be a real boost to the out-doors and encourage people to getback out there.” The Berghaus Moun-tain Theatre will also feature the bestof the Kendal Mountain Film Festival.

Alan will be discussing his future plansfor Challenge 8000 – his attempt toclimb all the world’s 8000 metre pluspeaks. Visitors to the Berghaus standwill see exactly what kit Alan will beusing on his expedition.

David Bellamy, President of the YouthHostel Association and Wildlife Trusts,will be speaking about “The Green Ren-aissance”, a worldwide movement toshow how the great outdoors is being

put back into working order. David said,“The growth of worldwide tourism hasmeant increased pressure on the ecol-ogy of the planet. I’ll be at the show tospread the good news that more andmore groups are looking to safeguardtourist hotspots so that we can all en-joy them for a long time to come.”

Stonebee environmental testingchamber in association withTrailHailed as “the greatest of all Arctic trav-ellers” by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, polarexplorers Richard Weber and MikhailMalakhov will also be at the show. In1995 they became the only people tohave ever achieved the ‘Polar Grail’,walking from Canada to the North Poleand back, totally unsupported. InStonebee’s Kit Testing Zone in asso-ciation with ‘Trail’ Magazine, visitors canexperience Arctic temperatures as theystep into the Stonebee EnvironmentSimulation Chamber which will plungethem down to a chilling - 30°C!

Ordnance SurveyFurthermore, it won’t be just person-alities who encourage us to get intothe outdoors. The Ordnance Survey isorganising events for the young andyoung at heart with a kid’s treasurehunt and interactive quizes and gamessuch as “Design Your Own Map”.

Climb 2002Climb 2002 in association with Juice –friendly electricity from npower withGreenpeace - will be giving budding rockclimbers the chance to have a go atclimbing with expert tuition as well aswatching the very best of Brit ishboulderers in the A5 British BoulderingChampionships.

Ramblers AssociationThe Ramblers’ Association “Walking for

Health” workshop will be aimedat those new to walking and willbe encouraging everyone to geton their feet th is spr ing –whether it’s a walk in the parkor a day in the hills. Nick Barrett,Chief Executive of the Ram-blers’ Association said, “We’redelighted to be taking part inthis exciting and innovativeevent and in particular to beable to highlight the health ben-efits of walking with our Walkingfor Health workshops.” He

added, “Promoting use of the country-side for health and recreation providesa very positive and timely boost, notonly to the outdoor industry, but to ru-ral communities so badly affected byfoot and mouth disease.”

Rural Pavillions in associationwith Country WalkingIf you’re looking to explore a new areaof the UK and Ireland, “Rural Pavilions”in association with ‘Country Walking’Magazine is the one-stop source of in-spiration. The Cumbria Tourist Boardwill be there along with organisationssuch as The Irish Tourist Board and theEast of England Tourist Board.

RelaxationWhen you need to relax, visit the YHACommon Room sponsored by Soreenor why not visit Regatta’s Classic Land-scapes with soothing music and im-agery from a year in the British coun-tryside?

InformationThe Ordnance Survey Outdoors Showtakes place from the 15th – 17th March2002 at the NEC, Birmingham. Friday15th and Saturday 16th March from10am until 6pm, Sunday 17th Marchfrom 10am until 5pm. Adults: £8 inadvance (£10 on door); Children/ stu-dents/ OAP/ disabled: £4 in advance(£5 on door); Association/ Club mem-bers (BOF, CTC, Ramblers, BMC & YHAMembers only): £8; Group discountsavailable. The Ordnance Survey Out-doors Show takes place in associationwith Go Outdoors, the Outdoors Indus-tries Association.

Ticket hotline: 08701 214141

Reader's Ticket Offer!

The Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show- the first ever show for outdoor enthu-siasts - takes place from 15th to 17th

March 2002 at the NEC in Birming-ham. The first 200 Summit readers tocal l the t icket hot l ine on 08701214141 and quote ‘Summit’ will wina free pair of tickets to the show. Oth-ers ringing thereafter can purchase 2tickets for the price of 1 – that’s only£8! The offer is open on all pre-bookedtickets paid for by credit or debit cardup to 12 noon on the day prior to vis-iting the show. Offer subject to capac-ity restrictions.

...the biggest names in the outdoors, indoors!

EVENTS

The Ordnance Survey Outdoors ShowNEC, Birmingham March 15 – 17th 2002

If you missed out on the Festival ofClimbing (LEFT), don't miss this!Credit: Parnell

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 13/02/2002, 10:33 AM20


What you choose to eat and drinkcan help you maintain the pace

for longer, stay alert and reduce therisk of mistakes. It can increase yourenjoyment of the day, and will assistyour body’s ability to recover – leavingyou able to do it all again tomorrow.

But when you have to carry every-thing with you it‘s not always possibleto obtain the perfect balanced diet,and your main priority should be to in-take as much energy and fluid as youcan. You can’t afford to let thirst andhunger be your guide. Altitude and ex-ercise both squash your appetite; youmay not feel hungry even though youcould easily be using twice the energyas in daily life. And by the time youfeel thirsty you are already dehydrated,especially at altitude when you’ll needmore fluid just standing still let aloneonce you have started to move.

It might feel impossible to eat anddrink enough to meet the demands oflong routes and mountain days, butthere are a few tips, based on nutri-tional science and lessons learnt byexperienced mountaineers and climb-ers, which will help you to fuel your body.

1. Plan food and drink into the day. Itisn’t always practical to make these aspecific time but, for example, you coulddecide which belays/stages to use - andstick to it. It is a fact that if you leave itup to your appetite and desire for food/fluid you will end up having less, per-haps a lot less on a demanding routewhich is where you need it even more.Negotiate this with your partner duringthe preparation, you may have very dif-ferent ideas about the timing of food anddrink and different needs too. It will avoidunnecessary tension on the route if youhave discussed it beforehand.

2. A key principle of sports nutrition isthat 60-70% of the energy you haveshould come from carbohydrate. And asa general rule of thumb, if you are doingtwo or more hours of exercise a day, youshould have between 8-10grams of car-bohydrate for every kilo you weigh. Ingeneral most climbers and other athletesunderestimate the amount they need.

But do remember that this doesn’t meanno fat, or that you have to avoid higherfat foods completely.

3. Try to have at least 20g of carbo-hydrate in every hour, in theory 60g iswhat you are aiming for.

4. Make sure it is easily accessible. Ifanticipating low temperatures, takesomething edible when very cold. Youcan use body heat from the previouspitch to warm it if necessary (e.g. put itin inside pocket of your fleece). Make apocket if there isn’t one, ideally high upnear the top of the zip for easy access.

5. Take food you really like, its nogood having something nutritionallygood if you can’t face eating it - thisdefeats the whole object.

6. Take a variety so that you don’tget tired of the same foods. You canget fed up of even your favourite foodif it is all you are eating.

7. Fat adds palatability to food, abig bonus, as altitude and exercise bothhave an anorexic effect. But food witha higher fat content is more likely tocause stomach discomfort and crampsthan high carbohydrate types. So don’twait for the big route to find out whatyou can tolerate, try it during training.

8. Its better to snack as often as youcan than to binge occasionally. Have anibble at every belay or photo stop ifpossible.

9. Try out unfamiliar foods before yougo. If it’s your partner who organisesthe provisions check it out all thesame. You could have different tastes.

10. Try cooking the meals you areplanning at home. Extra spices andherbs can work miracles. If you can’tstand the idea of eating it on an ordi-nary day, how’s it going to feel whenyou’re tired and maybe even feeling abit sick? And if you don’t like the re-sult it’s much better to find out beforeyou go.

11. There can be a strong urge tobinge after a period of food deprivation- resist it. To make up the deficit, eatsmall amounts more often, it could saveyou a lot of gut ache.

12. Getting into a routine of eatingand drinking during training will standyou in good stead for the big routes andtrips. You will be doing it as part of climb-ing, as much a part as gearing up andorganising the belay instead of it beinga special effort you have to make.

13. Another bonus of taking in en-ergy and food during the route is toreduce the risk of indigestion later inthe day when you do eat. Fear andanxiety increase acid production in thestomach and food helps protect thestomach lining. Chewy indigestion tab-lets can easily be taken without a drinkat the same time.

14. Above all learn from your ownexperience and judgement about whatworks.

Jo Farrington is a Sports Dietitian ac-credited by the National Sports Medi-cine Institute and the British DieteticAssociation. In addition to relevantdegree and postgraduate studies, shehas been a State Registered Dietitianfor 15 years, has the Diploma in Ad-vanced Dietetic Practice and is a spe-cialist in diet and cardiovascular health.She works with climbers, the BMC andthe High Performance Group. She hasworked with individuals at elite level,run workshops and seminars, and car-ried out research in nutrition and moun-taineering.

BODY FUELIt’s a basic fact of life that we need food and drink to survive. Butthat’s not all, taking a moment to think about your nutrition canmake a big difference to your performance and experience on thehill or crag. And the closer to your personal limit you are, for examplethe longer and the harder the route, the more it will matter.

How to keep your energy up for long routes orhard days on the hill. By Jo Farrington.

PERFORMANCE

Ian Hey and Lucy Creamer fuelling up in Narssaquark,

Greenland.Credit: Niall Grimes

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 12/02/2002, 9:32 AM22


Accept the responsibility. If you want todangle around fine, but don't blameothers if it all goes wrong!

RESULTS

Credit: John Arran

As guides we are paid to lead. But that means far morethan being first on the rope or breaking trail in deep

snow. In many guiding situations today, be it an 8000metre peak, a high altitude trek, or an ML training course,group management is as important as technical skill. Theability to create a team out of a group of disparate individu-als and to be aware of their differing needs and changingfeelings is a crucial part of our job. Upon it depends notonly the enjoyment of our clients and their repeat business,but often their (and our) safety as well.

Technical skills and people skillsAs guides we need to be respected, and liked. Respectedfor our technical skills - our climbing and skiing competence,our physical fitness, and our experience and knowledge re-flected in an air of confidence. Liked for our people skills -our interest in people as individuals, our attempt to achieveCarl Rogers’ “unconditional positive regard”, our readinessto notice tone of voice and body language, and to act tact-fully and discreetly on what we notice.

The traditional view was that “leaders are born, not made”;a forceful personality allied to technical skills was sufficient.Nowadays, it is widely accepted that leaders of that typeare definitely limited in their effectiveness and can be totaldisasters. Scott and Shackleton provide a fascinating con-trast in leadership style and effectiveness, despite comingfrom similar naval backgrounds and leading similar bodiesof men. Both were “strong” personalities, both were re-spected, but only Shackleton was liked by his men.

However, although it is important for forceful personali-ties, the “natural” leaders, to develop their people skills, itis also possible, indeed common, for less forceful person-alities to become effective leaders in situations where theirexperience and technical skills give them added confidence.Guiding is an obvious example.

Leadership stylesIt is useful to recognize that we all have a preferred style ofleadership somewhere on a continuum running from Au-thoritarian at one end to Democratic at the other. Over-bearing behaviour, a desire to always be in front and areluctance to listen to others are symptomatic of one ex-treme, while a reluctance to make decisions or impose one-self on a group are typical of the other. Both are likely tostem from a lack of confidence and neither make for effec-tive leadership. Most of us will operate somewhere in themiddle much of the time, but it is vital to be flexible - ablizzard is not the time for discussion any more than a plan-ning meeting over a beer is the occasion for insisting onpre-determined ideas.

This view of leadership was elaborated on by Tannenbaumand Schmidt in a well-known model illustrating styles ofdecision-making. Leaders may choose to: TELL, SELL,CONSULT, SHARE or DELEGATE in their dealings with thosethey lead. In a mountain context it is important for a guideto be able to vary his or her style along this continuum, notonly to suit the situation, but also to suit the needs of indi-viduals. Some will feel under-valued if they are not allowedto have an input; others will feel that they are on holidayfrom decision-making or that they have no spare energy atthat particular moment. Some will relish a role or responsi-bility; others will shy away from the idea. People need to betreated and communicated with as individuals as well asmembers of a group: obvious, but often overlooked, par-ticularly with quiet people.

Leaders and teamsAnother useful model,one of the earliest toemerge from manage-ment training, is JohnAdair ’s Three Ci rc les(r ight). He suggestedthat the role of a leaderis to balance the inter-locking needs of the taskin hand, the team andthe individuals within it.Too often, he felt, theneed to accomplish thetask becomes the over-riding concern until theteam feels put upon andfragments into a group of de-motivated individuals, makingthe task that much harder to achieve. Synergy, which makesa group so much more powerful than the sum of its parts, islost, or never achieved.

Doug Scott has often commented on this in relation toexpeditions. When personal ambition or obsession with agoal prevents the formation of a strong, mutually-support-ive team, the chances of success are diminished and thelikelihood of an accident increased. Events on Everest overthe last few years have borne him out. Scott’s expeditionsare usually leaderless, by choice, and the harmony he seeksdoes not always materialize, despite his efforts.

As guides we are in a better position to create a team,deliberately influencing what happens. Needless to say, itis critical that we never allow our own desires or ambitionsto cloud our judgement of what individual clients are capa-ble of or to impede the building of a strong team.

Creating a teamOur technical skills should enable us to select and achievean appropriate objective, other factors permitting. Our peo-ple skills should enable us to respect and respond to theneeds of individuals and to be alert to changes of behaviourthat could be significant (in bad weather, or at altitude, espe-cially). But how do we go about consciously creating a team?Some groups do seem to gel better than others; but how webehave, right from the start, is the key factor. The sign of ahealthy team is a lack of overt leadership much of the time;jobs appear to just get done without pressure. However,that stage is not reached immediately and it is helpful torecognize that there are definite stages that a group can gothrough. These have been described as:FORMING, STORMING, NORMING, PER-FORMING. Not every group will go throughevery stage, but it can help to know thata certain amount of initial conflict canlead to a stronger, more aware teamin the end.

MotivationAnother well-known model thatis relevant to our work isMas low ’s H ie ra rchy o fNeeds (right), which he ex-presses as a pyramid. Atits base are those basicphysiological needswhich must be met if

Rob Collister looks at leadership in the mountains. This is based on apresentation to trainee guides, but is relevant to all leaders in the outdoors

SKILLS OF LEADERSHIP

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:55 AM24


we are to survive. At its apex are those rare moments hecalls “peak experiences” when individuals transcend theiregos to connect with something much bigger. In betweenare the needs for security and shelter, the need for love,companionship and community, the need for self-esteemand recognition, and the need to fulfil one’s potential orbecome “self-actualising”.

Each particular level can only be attended to when theneeds of the one below have been satisfied, and we quicklyregress to a lower level when circumstances change. At itssimplest, personal achievement becomes meaningless ifwe are starving; and it will be hard to build a team if indi-viduals feel threatened, physically or emotionally. We needto recognize that our clients’ motivation, their desire to bewith us in the mountains, usually stems from one of theirhigher levels of need, but if they are to satisfy it (howevertemporarily), we have to ensure that their more basic needsare also met. For instance, if we fail to create a happy teamand instead are leading a group characterized by bickeringand selfish behaviour, it is quite likely that we will fail in ourobjective, to the disappointment of those looking for achieve-ment or recognition, and we will certainly not provide anatmosphere conducive to a “wilderness experience” or thosefleeting moments of unity or loss of self that some of ourclients may be seeking.

ConflictIn any group, sooner or later a situation will arise that needsconfronting or conflict will occur between individuals or be-tween one or more individuals and the leader. How it ishandled determines not only the leader’s credibility, butwhether the team becomes stronger or weaker as a result.Key to this is the ability to remain assertive without becom-ing either passive or aggressive (or passive-aggressive).Maintaining an assertive position depends on awareness of

the messages we are sending by our posture and tone ofvoice as well as care with the choice and phrasing of thewords we use. Also central is distinguishing between criti-cism of behaviour and criticism of the person. Behaviourcan be altered, personality cannot. Behaviour may be un-acceptable and we must say so, but we reject or judge theperson at our peril.

FearHow we handle fear, sometimes our own but more oftenthat of others, is another aspect of leadership in moun-tains. Our own behaviour and demeanour are all-impor-tant. If we can appear relaxed and confident, even in agnarly situation, it will reduce or dispel anxiety in the group.Tension is the last thing we want, especially when skiing.We need to be aware of how powerfully suggestive lan-guage can be, e.g. “It’s important not to fall here” willensure that that is precisely what happens. It is worth de-veloping a repertoire of jokes, stories or games for distract-ing attention or lightening a situation; and, conversely, waysof focussing attention when needed - deep-breathing, visu-alisation etc.

ConclusionFor a skill on which our success or failure as guides de-pends, most of us pay remarkably little attention to how welead or to how we might develop as leaders. This articledoes no more than skate over the surface of some hugeareas of knowledge and research, and introduce a few rel-evant models; but if it encourages guides (and other in-

structors) to make their leadership a more conscious andconsidered process, it will have served a useful function.

Rob Collister is a UIAGM Guide, based at Plas y Brenin in

North Wales.

SKILLS

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:56 AM25

The distinctive Indian Head, Bridestones

Does Insurance Leave You Seeing Double?Buying something you hope you will never need, might nottrust or benefit from seems an odd purchase decision. How-ever these are the terms on which many commercial insur-ance companies expect you to buy travel and activity insur-ance. BMC Travel and Activity Insurance was established tooffer the benefits commercial insurers could not offer whilstproviding a better deal for you. The BMC now insures manythousands of members such as you because we offer twicethe benefit of commercial insurers. Firstly, active expertsdesign all BMC policies. So you can trust the benefits havebeen tested in some of the most remote regions around theworld. Secondly, all surpluses from BMC insurance are in-vested in work that promotes your interests and protectsyour freedoms – so the only one to profit is you.

No Cost IncreaseDespite the world problems the insurance industry facedfollowing the events of 11 September in America the BMChas negotiated to bring you improved benefits whilst hold-ing prices at 2001 rates. Emergency medical cover has nowbeen extended to cover you up to £10 million to provideyou with peace of mind wherever you travel. Rescue costare increased from £20,000 to £50,000 to cover the in-creasing costs of search, rescue and recovery. The benefitsfor hospital inconvenience, money, cancellation, delayeddeparture, missed departure and legal expenses are in-creased to cover the changing needs of those venturingoverseas.

Clear CoverBenefits are designed to be clear, transparent and avoid com-plex legal jargon. The 5 different levels of cover have beenchanged to clearly reflect the type of cover being provided:

Travel - provides cover for individual or family memberswho are not participating in any sports but require basicmedical, travel and baggage cover.Trek - includes hill walking, trekking, backpacking and easyscrambles including via ferrata, and trekking routes.Rock - covers abseiling, sport climbing, bouldering and nowclimbing with leader placed protection.Alpine & Ski - is one of the most popular policies coveringall previous activities along with skiing, snowboarding, snowand ice climbing, and other winter activities.Expedition - covers climbs and expeditions to remote, dif-ficult and high altitude peaks anywhere in the world.

ApplicationsApplying for cover is easy, there are no complicated premiumcalculations and the forms are the simplest you will find any-where. Policies are available from 3 days to annual coveralong with discounts for families and extensions for baggageand cancellation cover. Finally, don’t forget that with BMCinsurance you see a double benefit with a great policy andthe reassurance that any surplus is invested back into work,such as access and conservation, that benefits you.

Apply Now!In your next issue of Summit you will receive a free copy ofthe 2002 Travel and Activity Insurance Guide. If you wouldlike to apply for cover sooner please call, fax, write or emailfor a copy of the Guide. Alternatively, visit the BMC websiteand apply for cover online at www.thebmc.co.uk

BMC INSURANCETHE CLEAR CHOICE!


THE ESSENTIAL INSURANCE GUIDE

The BMC Travel & Activity Insurance Guide• Travel Value for money travel insurance • Trek Low-cost options for hillwalking and trekking • Rock Popular climbing cover

• Alpine & Ski Comprehensive cover for mountaineering and winter sports

• Expedition Competitive premiums for ascentsin the Greater Ranges

INSTANT COVER

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All surpluses from the BMC services are invested in workthat promotes yourinterests and protectsyour freedoms – so the only oneto profit is you.

unbeatable value for cover you can trust

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31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:59 AM26

SNOW + ROCK :: OUTSIDE :: MOUNTAIN SHACK :: COTSWOLD

First, a clarification. Should we be talking about ski-touring or ski-mountaineering? Basically, they are thesame thing. It used to be said that ski touring was the

same as cross-country skiing (also known as nordic or lang-lauf), using very light free-heel equipment; whereas ski-mountaineering used heavier boots and skis with a bindingthat could be clamped down in descent, to tackle steeperterrain. But the telemark revolution has put paid to that,with free-heel equipment being used on even the steepestof slopes. Some will still argue that ski-touring is about makinga journey either from hut to hut or, failing that, pitchingcamp somewhere new every night; whereas ski-mountain-eering is about the ascent and descent of specific peaks.However, that argument does not really hold water as manyhut to hut tours involve traversing a peak on the way andthe equipment and techniques required are exactly thesame. So let’s regard them as interchangeable terms.

Ask your average climber, or skier, come to that, what theyknow of ski-touring and the chances are they will mentionthe Haute Route. Originally named the High Level Route bythe British alpinists who pioneered it in the 19th century,this wonderfully scenic glacier journey from Chamonix toZermatt is without doubt the most famous ski tour in theworld. As such, it is much-frequented but also often under-estimated. It is by no means a piece of cake and notrecommended as a first tour if it is to be enjoyed rather thanmerely ticked. The journey can be continued to Saas Fée,but it is hard to avoid the lifts and pistes of Zermatt, andafter the drama of crossing three cols and skiing down be-

neath the North face of the Matterhorn, the extra day isliable to feel an anti-climax.

The traditional Haute Route takes six days, weather per-mitting, and crosses a shoulder of the Grand Combin knownas the Plateau du Couloir, which involves carrying skis up atleast three hundred metres of steep snow, sometimes ice.A popular, easier alternative is to by-pass the Grand Combinby taking a route from Verbier to the Lac de Dix, rejoiningthe original route at the Vignettes hut, having traversed thePigne d’Arolla. The Patrouille des Glaciers (Glacier Patrol,so named by the Swiss army in the nineteen thirties) is arace which covers the same ground in reverse, from Zermattto Verbier, in a single day. Another variation, favoured bySwiss and German guided parties in particular, starts fromZermatt but avoids the Grand Combin by crossing the FenêtreDurand into Italy: from the little village of Glacier they travelby taxi to Courmayeur, take the telepherique up to the Torinohut and ski down the Vallée Blanche, somehow persuadingthemselves that they have completed the Haute Route!

It is a weakness of even the traditional Haute Route thatroad transport must be used between Champex and BourgSt Pierre at the end of Day two from Chamonix. However,for the purist a challenging option is to cross the East ridgeof the Grande Lui and descend into the Swiss Val Ferret; asecond day takes one up the valley and over a high col tothe Great St Bernard Monastery which provides cheap dortoiraccommodation for itinerant ski tourers; and a third daytakes one through some steep, complex terrain to the Vélanhut. An ascent of Mont Vélan, a very fine ski peak, can becombined with rejoining the classic Haute Route at theValsorey hut beneath the Grand Combin.

The Pennine Alps, in fact, lend themselves to an almostinfinite number of variations on the Haute Route theme. A

THE WHITE WAYWhere to Ski-mountaineer?By Rob Collister, Plas y Brenin

SKI


31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 10:59 AM28

glance at the Swiss 1:50,000 ski map (with the blue cover)reveals a network of mountain huts, each one the hub of aspider’s web of red lines indicating possible ski routes.Spring is the usual season for ski-touring. The days aregetting longer and temperatures milder, but there is stillplenty of snow in the mountains and glaciers are at theirsafest. During April and May many huts will be open, with aguardian in residence providing meals and drinks, enablingskiers to travel light. However, if you prefer the emptinessof the Alps out of season and are prepared to carry yourown food and a stove, nearly all huts have a winter room,which can be used at any time. It is this hut system thatmakes the Alps unique and has made ski-touring so popu-lar compared with other parts of the world such as Canada,the U.S. and New Zealand.

Nowadays, every region of the Alps likes to boast its ownHaute Route and there is excellent ski-touring to be foundeven in peripheral areas like Bavaria in the north, the Dolo-mites and the Julian Alps in the east and the Alpes Maritimesin the south. The greatest scope, however, is to be found inthe higher, more central areas, where glaciation is mostextensive and snow lasts longer.

Rivalling the Pennine Alps as a mecca for ski-tourers is theBernese Oberland, with a concentration of 4000 metre peakslike the Finsteraarhorn, Fiescherhorn and Gross Grunhorn,which lend themselves to a long approach on ski followedby a short but interesting mixed ridge to the summit. Oth-ers, only slightly lower, like the Ebnefluh and the GrossWennenhorn, can be skied all the way to the top. At thesealtitudes ski-touring is a viable proposition well into June,though you need to start and finish early in the day. Manyskiers access the range by the Jungfraujoch railway fromGrindelwald or Lauterbrunnen and it is tempting to stay thenight at the nearby Monchjoch hut. However, it is at over

Y (LEFT) Skiers below the Grosse Seehorn (3121m), Silvretta,Switzerland. Credit: Doug Evans. (BELOW) Climbingsteeply to the Col du Chardonnet - this is the first stage ofthe Chamonix - Zermatt Haute Route. Credit: Doug Evans.

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TECHNICAL

3600 metres and unless you are already well-acclimatizedthe consequence is likely to be a headache and nausea thatnight and the following day for some, at least, of the party. Itis wiser to descend to the Konkordia hut 600 metres lowerfor your first night (despite the sting in the tail of 350 stepsup a metal ladder necessitated by glacier recession).

In France, the Vanoise national park to the south of MontBlanc gives some surprisingly remote-feeling tours, given theplethora of ski resorts surrounding it, and relatively small hutslimit the numbers in the area at any one time. The plum inthis region is the Grand Casse by its West face which, whilenot in the extreme ski category, is definitely steep (35° –40°) for a thought-provoking 300 metres.

Just over the border is an Italian national park, the GranParadiso, which is known for its large herds of ibex. For ski-mountaineers, the main draw is the 4000 metre peak of thesame name, but the Benevolo hut at the head of the Val diRhemes, south of Aosta, has become a very popular base forday tours and courses (It can also be reached on ski from Vald’Isere in France by crosssing a col.).

South again, the Ecrins region offers serious ski mountain-eering with steep-sided valleys and few cols that are easy tocross on ski, though the slopes of the 4000 metre Dome deNeige des Ecrins are liable to become mogulled during theEaster period! The La Grave unpisted ski area under the Meijeon the northern fringe of the area is a good place to warm upand acclimatize before heading into the mountains, when thereis sufficient snow. To the east of the Ecrins, the Queyras is abeautiful area with more mellow terrain suitable for introduc-tory tours. At the other end of the Alps, areas like the Silvretta,on the Swiss-Austrian border, and the Otztal and the Stubai inAustria, are also good places to start ski-touring.

In Scandinavia, the scope for hut to hut touring is immensebut much of the terrain is rolling and best suited to lang-laufskiing. The Lyngen Alps in northern Norway is a notable ex-ception, like a larger, glaciated Glencoe, but a lack of hutsmakes life complicated. Areas like the Serek national park inSweden require the same sort of expedition approach that isnecessary in Svalbard or Greenland and it is common to usesmall sledges or pulks to carry food and equipment.

Over the water in North America, skiers in general prefer toaccess untracked snow by helicopter or snowcat. Althoughthere are huts and lodges they tend to be isolated and bestused as a base for day tours. Ski journeys are of necessityexpeditions and if the terrain is steep, pulks are not practical,so tents, sleeping bag, stove, food etc. must all go in a pack,which does tend to cramp one’s style downhill. However, aski tour does not have to be an endurance test if time isallowed for camping early and making unladen ascents. Ex-ceptions, where European-style hut to hut touring is possible,are the Tenth Mountain Trail in Colorado and the WaptaIcefields traverse in the Bow Lake area in British Columbia.

And what of nearer home? Inthis era of global warming, goodskiing in Scotland, let aloneWales or the Lakes, has be-come rarer and rarer. The SMCguide to ski-touring in Scotlandmust be one of the most mis-leading books ever published,with picture after picture of flaw-less blue skies and a thick blan-ket of snow. They must have allbeen taken the same week-endsomewhere back in the seven-ties …To experience anythingother than a long walk with somepretty rough skiing at the end ofit, you need to be unemployedand living on the spot, or ex-tremely lucky. No harm trying,though!

If you want to start under tuition or to try out the gear atsomeone else’s expense, the national centres run intro-ductory courses, as do a number of British MountainGuides. The Eagle Ski Club has an extensive programmeof guided and unguided tours, and The Ski Club of GreatBritain also has a touring programme along with ski-safarisand off-piste holidays. But if you prefer to do your ownthing, remember that avalanches are a very real hazardfor the skier. Learn all you can about snow, and carry atransceiver and a shovel, just in case. (See Summit 24) .Consider attending an avalanche awareness course.

Plas y Brenin, North Waleswww.pyb.co.ukGlenmore Lodge, Aviemorewww.glenmorelodge.org.ukThe Eagle Ski Clubwww.eagleskiclub.org.ukThe UK’s largest ski touring and ski mountaineering club. It

organises up to 30 ski trips a year, ranging from hotel and

chalet-based day tours to ski expeditions in the Arctic and

the Greater Ranges.

The Alpine Ski ClubThe Alpine Ski Club welcomes active and enthusiastic ski-

mountaineers that are committed to ski mountaineering.

www.alpineskiclub.org.ukScottish Ski ClubThe Scottish Ski Club was founded in 1907 to promote all

types of skiing in Scotland. The club maintains a number

of huts in Scotland.

www.frogston.demon.co.uk/sscThe Ski Club of Great BritainWith over 27,000 members, the largest ski club in the UK.

www.skiclub.co.uk

GETTING STARTED

Ski touring at St Foy, near ValD'Isere. Credit: John Eales

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Sven Brunso at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, B.C. by Henri Georgi

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 11:02 AM30


Like Everest, the Helly HansenMountaineering Exhibition keeps ongrowing- so make the most of ourspecial BMC offer whilst it lasts, andsee the world for just £2.25!

It’s over six months now since the Helly Hansen NationalMountaineering Exhibition opened its doors to the publicand it continues to go from strength to strength. The mainExhibition houses the permanent displays in a series ofCamps that tell the story of British mountaineering from thefirst meeting of the Alpine Club in 1857 to the antics of thelatest generation of talented climbers. The journey fromthe Golden Days of Alpine climbing stops off in Cumbria toremember the cragrats and their exploits in the fells andthen moves on to cover major British successes in theGreater Ranges. In Camp 4 sit in on an afternoon cuppawith John Peel, Sir Chris Bonington and George Band whomull over climbing past, present and future. If all this isn’tenough there’s a fascinating look at how technology hasplayed a role in climbing’s development and you can take aclose look at some of the ropes, safety devices and foot-wear that climbers have used. After you’ve taken all this inand had a look at George Band’s collection of memorabiliafrom his Everest ’53 climb, you can put your feet up for awhile and watch John Peel’s ‘interview in a tent’ with George.George takes John back to May of 1953 with the help ofthe diary he kept at the time and footage filmed on themountain. It’s a rare interview with someone who was partof one of the most exciting events in human history.

So there’s plenty to see and plenty of time to see it, butthe Display Area and Photo Gallery are home to short-term

displays of mountain photography and artwork so make sureyou don’t miss them. Since August visitors have been ableto see a collection of Abraham brothers photographs and acollection of images by Steve Razzetti who has been explor-ing, photographing and writing about the Himalayas for nearly20 years. In the spring these displays will be updated anda collection of John Ruskin’s work will be added. There arealso plans to show the photos taken on Ed Douglas’s recentEverest Clean-Up expedition and possibly a collection ofpastels and drawings by Howard Somervell. Somervell madea failed attempt on the summit of Everest as part of the nowfamous Mallory and Irvine expedition of 1924 (you’ll haveto read A Brief History for all the gory details!).

And for the rest of this year you can see the collectionfound by the 1999 research expedition who discoveredGeorge Mallory’s body on Everest. Anyone who has seenthe BBC documentary will not be able to forget the imagesof Mallory’s body. Well the items seen there are on displayat the Exhibition. Included are his remaining boot, items ofclothing, his watch and altimeter. All tantalising clues toperpetuate the mystery surrounding their expedition.

And, as this is the first full year of operation the Exhibitionis making a special offer to BMC members...

From now until Sunday April 7th BMC members will beable to get into the Exhibition for half price, bringingthe adult price down to just £2.25. You can also get acopy of A Brief History of British Mountaineering whichaccompanies the Exhibition for just £10 instead of therecommended price of £15. The book is also availablefrom the BMC and you can get details of exactly what ison display at the Exhibition by calling 01768 86800 orvisiting the exhibition website www.mountain-exhibition.co.uk

THE EVEREST OF EXHIBITIONS

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 11:05 AM31


The north face of Cerro KishtwarPhoto: Andy MacNae

But what happens before help arrives?Credit: Ollie Sanders - Plas y Brenin, theNational Mountain Centre

not just in the metaphorical sense in-tended. This is what I discovered whenI paid an early visit: On ‘Cracked Arete’,VD, in the ‘Magic Roundabout’ area ahold has been sculpted at the start forno apparent reason. On the bouldersbehind ‘Dangerous Crocodile Snogging’there has traditionally been a test-piece5b mantelshelf problem almost straightoff the footpath. Not any more thereain’t. Some budding Epstein has chis-elled out finger holds on the startingmove and permanently altered, down-graded, and disfigured the problem.

“It took me several goes to do this, it

was a climb at the top of my ability and

I was really pleased when I finally did

it. Now it’s been ruined. Why can’t

some people accept that there are

problems you have to keep going back

to in order to succeed and lots that

you’ll probably never be able to do?“ -Mike Battye, local climber.

‘Louie Groove’ (who was Louie?), anEl 5b for 36 years, with an ‘intimidat-

ing move’ up into the groove and aboveyour last runner, now sports a freshlygouged-out wire placement in thegroove just where you always wantedone but couldn’t have it.

“The irony is, of course, if you really

want to climb this route as an HVS tech-

nical problem then all you have to do is

step left at the bottom of the groove and

place a wire high up in a crack on The

Arete (Severe). Bingo! A nice safe tick

and the route stays unaltered and in its

original character for those who can ac-

cept its challenge.“- Dave Garnett, Staf-fordshire Guidebook Editor.

That’s not the end of the saga how-ever. Down the road a little, Newstoneshad to wait a few weeks longer to open.When eventually it did, what greetedclimbers was a mosaic of heavily wire-brushed and freshly sculpted holds.The popularity of Newstones as abouldering area has increased enor-mously since the publication of theRockfax guide, and as an inevitable

VISIONARIES????? & VANDALS

Something's eroding the spirit ofclimbing. What can be done?

(LEFT) As it should be. Credit: NiallGrimes. (RIGHT) Newstones - Heavywire brushing and surface damage,problem 19. Credit: Dave Bishop.

f you go down to the boulders to-day, you might be in for a shock.Gritstone is under attack, and the

weapons of choice? Wire brushes andchisels. Whether it’s intentional de-meaning of the rock to suit a person’sstandard, or over zealous brushing, theresult is the same. Permanent, disfig-uring scarring - offensive to all who seeit. Dave Bishop, BMC Access rep forStaffordshire, surveys the damage inhis area, but it doesn’t stop there,Yorkshire Grit has fallen prey too. Readon to find out more, and what peoplereally think about it.

STAFFORDSHIREThanks to co-operation on simpleguidelines and precautions drawn upbetween climbers, represented by theBMC, and the Peak Park as owners,Ramshaw was the first grit crag to open-up in the Staffordshire area during thecurrent foot and mouth epidemic. Thiswas good news as conditions were nighon perfect, every route got repeated,and Clippety Clop (big numbers) hadits first and second ascents. You couldsay that the place took a ‘hammering’.You would be right, but unfortunately

I

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 11:08 AM32


consequence accidental damage tosome of the fragile rock flakes has takenplace. But what has happened hererecently is something else. BetweenCharlie’s Overhang and Sly Buttress wecounted 17 sculpted holds and wedidn’t even bother to count the heavilywire-brushed ones where the rock sur-face had been attacked. The worst af-fected area is on Scratch Buttress wherea low-down horizontal line of holds hasbeen developed and this particular ex-ample is one of that line underneath‘Itchy Fingers’ a B4 problem.

“It’s nothing short of vandalism, and

I’m deeply saddened that climbers and

boulderers can be capable of such

wanton destruction.“ - Frank Connell.A very local climber, Corner House,Newstones.

Yet another ‘improvement’ has beendone on Rockfax problem 30, B4 (seephoto right). Another example of heavywire-brushing for you to see (photo left)is taken from problem 19, a B2 or B6 ,make your choice. (But don’t take yourpick!) There are many more examples,but you probably get the picture by now.

“Most of the damage and altered

holds seem to be low-down. I think it’s

been done to develop sit-down starts

to some of the problems. But it’s still

unacceptable and unsustainable.

Look, if you rub the surface now with

your finger the grit comes off in your

hand.“ - Clare Bond, BMC Access andConservation Officer.

What is difficult to establish is exactlywhen this damage was done, but it alllooks pretty fresh, it wasn’t noticed un-til this Spring, so sometime in the lasttwelve months would be a reasonableassumption. It has proved impossible,so far, to establish exactly who has donethis. Unless whoever it was is readingthis now and cares to own up and jus-

tify their actions (worth E10 at least!),then we shall probably never know.

Do you remember the furore causedwhen The Peak Park sanctioned theplacing of bolts in Hen Cloud in 1999to facilitate the making of a transientepisode of ‘Peak Practice’ for CarltonTV? Overwhelmingly the feeling amongclimbers then was one of disgust anddismay at the thought of ‘our’ preciousgritstone being altered and damagedby what we considered to be outsideinterests, when we, the true guardiansof the rock, had spent years safeguard-ing its purity. That protest was loud,public, and largely successful, and thePeak Park, to their credit, changed theirpolicy so that such actions are unlikelyever to be approved again.

Consider the irony for a moment ortwo. Is alteration to the rock accept-able by climbers because it makes pos-sible new routes, but unacceptable by‘outsiders’ filming for public entertain-ment and commercial benefit, who wishto safeguard their workers? Surely not.It’s either both or neither. For mostclimbers, it’s the second option, nei-ther. Clearly, as evidenced by the aboveexamples and photos, there are ‘climb-ers’ out there, members of the Wire-brush and Chisel Branch of the Out-door Climbing Wall Constructors Guild,who act differently, even if they don’tthink. Their actions affect us all andundermine currently acceptable stand-ards of behaviour.

So that these few individuals can beidentified and persuaded to desist, weall need to be vigilant. Therefore if yousee anyone with a wire brush anywherenear grit, question their motives closely-very closely:

Explain that rock should be climbedas it is and not as you would like it tobe. Altering and designing the rock tomake routes is an unacceptable formof self-indulgence and vaingloriousbehaviour, and it is a crime againstclimbing and the environment.

“It’s nothing short ofvandalism, and I’m deeplysaddened that climbers andboulderers can be capableof such wanton destruction.“- Frank Connell. A very localclimber, Corner House,Newstones.

“String 'em up! I don’t seeany reason why I or anyoneelse should need to take awire brush out on grit anymore” – John Arran. Leadinggrit climber.

“All this chit chat is very nice,but what are we actuallygoing to do about it? Everymonth or so recently itemerges that someone hasimproved some holds orover-brushed something. Butit seems to stop at discussion,and lo and behold thechipping happens again,and again. So what can wepractically do to stop this?We all talk about educatingclimbers, but can this beimplemented quickly andeffectively? The longer ittakes, the more routes getdamaged”- Dave, on Planet Fear.com

Newstones - Martin's Traverse and the Ripple. Credit: Dave Bishop

Newstones - Sculpted hold belowproblem 30. Credit: Dave Bishop

3 3

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 11:09 AM33


Point out that if cleaning is neces-sary to remove loose material then astiff bristle brush can be used (withcare) and the rock left undamaged.

Above all, tell them that if they can-not do the problem as it stands thenthey should keep trying; train harder;or admit they ain’t good enough andleave it for better climbers.

That’s the challenge; that’s the ad-venture; that’s the learning curve. I’mtold that to get a serious point over abit of humour helps. Well, tell them ajoke if you have to, but make sure theyget the point.

The future of climbing and the envi-ronment in which we enjoy it is downto you. Are you up to it?

STOP PRESS: There is some freshwire-brushing damage on the Springboulders at The Roaches, and moreof the same with chipping at theDoxey Pool Boulders. It’s vigilantetime now, before it’s too late.

“Sad I know but some ignorantt*****s have been out with the steelbrushes again. The boulder under theUnconquerables at Stanage has beenvandalised. The front face looks likeit's been climbed with ice tools andholds systematically improved. But youreally have to see the back face - ittakes brushing to a new level. You canactually see grooves in the rock, flakeshave been ‘brushed off’ and a 10cmdiameter area is now red raw aroundeach hold. These problems were fu-ture classics waiting to be climbed” –Sloper, on ukclimbing.com

“I can’t quite understand this chippingmentality, if you ain’t good enough toclimb it, why don’t you f**k off and trysomething easier instead of ruining the

That last bastion of true British climb-ing - Yorkshire Grit - home of boltlessclimbs housing the hardest routes (welluntil they’re superseded) in the Worldhas also fallen foul of the dreaded wirebrush. Go along to Widdop and Gorpleand you can find Reservoir Dogs,Widdop Wall, Eternal and Carmen Pi-casso and - if you look very, very, hardyou can find where the routes go be-cause their creators did them with theabsolute minimum of cleaning.

But no longer, because an old E5,Purgatory Problem, has been vandal-ised by the most incredible brushing Ihave ever seen over an area of over2m by 1m. Not only is this visible fromhundreds of yards away but some ofthe scratching is so deep that they al-most constitute holds in themselves. Idon’t know how recently it was donebecause I first saw it after six monthsabsence due to Foot and Mouth but itis in the recent past and - because of

the routes difficulty - it must have beendone by one of our peers - who is hardlybe going to criminalise himself by claim-ing it as it covers no new ground.

Now as I’m ancient I’m well awarethat Widdop has always been a placeof sacrilege with pitons on OriginalRoute, cut holds on Artificial Route andbolt holes on Purgatory Problem itselfbut all that was long ago and, today,the Dunne’s of this world have shownthat they can do it without. When thepiton on 3 C’s rotted away no one re-placed it and we manage without. Whycan’t those good enough to climb Pur-gatory do it this way?

No-one can now climb in the areawithout the aid of the “cleaned” rockand everyone suffers the visual intru-sion on a piece of rock so visually out-standing that it used to be Calderdale’saccess symbol illustrated on their bro-chures and road signs.

- John Belbin, BMC Yorkshire Rep.

A WIDDOP VARIATION - THE DISEASE HITS YORKSHIRE

THE BMC LINE:

Treat the rock with respect

Gritstone has a hardouter ‘skin’, try not toremove or erode this

Do not use wire brusheson existing routes orproblems. Be aware thateven plastic brushes cancause damage

Never attempt to improveor change the rock inanyway

Never, ever chip

climb for everyone else? If you want toclimb artificial climbs, build a climbingwall in your house and leave the realclimbing to those who accept minute andmarginal holds for what they are, a chal-lenge!” Robert, on ukclimbing.com

“Also to add to the chipped/overbrushed category is an arete atCratcliffe, Rockfax Guide, p.155, prob-lem 13. - B8 The fine arete from asitting start. A foothold was chippedhere but it has now crumbled away –Well, I tried this in the summer, andtrashed my shin when my foot pingedoff the crap smear. Just went back andthere’s a nice 1/2cm wide footholdthere again, making it at least a gradeeasier. Very clever."-Brendon Tendon,on ukclimbing.com

“The top of Ou Est Le Spit has beenbrushed making a good hold and turn-ing it in to a E4/5 6a. Stop brush-ing!” – Mark S, on ukclimbing.com

“It looks like the nose at BurbageWest has been wire-brushed recently,I suppose to clean the already-very-clean holds, holds that aren’t evenused on the problem. Nice one mo-rons.” – Dave, on ukclimbing.com

“Sadly there is sometimes a neednot just to be responsible but to beseen to be responsible. Stiff nylonbrushes do work, albeit with a bitmore effort, so I don’t see any rea-

son why I or anyone else should needto take a wire brush out to grit anymore - just use the extra effort to helpwarm up” – John A r ran , onukclimbing.com

“I think the simple answer to clean-ing with wire brushes is don’t. Even ifin expert hands. Stiff plastic only. Ifthe wire brushing increases as well asbeing aesthetically displeasing and de-stroying the rock it may eventuallycause access problems” - Mick Ryan,on ukclimbing.com

CLIMBER'S VIEWS..

AND MORE CLIMBER'S VIEWS.. WHAT OF THE FUTURE?So, what do we have to look forwardto? A wasteland of chipped, overbrushed boulders? Hopefully not, if themessage can be continually broadcastthat over-brushing and chipping is justnot acceptable.

But it's always worth rememberingthat rock-sculpting is just one facet ofthe impact of bouldering. It's all tooeasy to decry the dramatic damagecaused by the phantom brusher, butit's sometimes worth thinking aboutyour own habits too. Do you really needthat extra chalk? Have you picked upall your rubbish? Did you really needto take four cars to the crag? Smallthings, but like the strokes of a brush,they soon add up.

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 11:10 AM34


FORUM

Whose Line is it Anyway? – Dave TurnbullGuidebooks go to the very heart of our sport providing thedefinitive historical record of who did what, when and inwhat style. Route descriptions tend to pass from one gen-eration of guide to the next with little change whilst gradesare tweaked (usually upwards), new routes incorporatedand graded lists added. The majority of guidebooks we usetoday are produced purely on a voluntary basis by the Climb-ers’ Club, BMC, FRCC, YMC and others, and the effort in-volved in guide production is simply staggering. Quite rightthen that voluntary producers feel ownership of route de-scriptions and claim copyright over descriptions, lists anddatabases that make up our guidebooks.

The whole question of voluntary versus commercial guide-books is an area where the BMC finds itself on difficult ter-rain. On the one hand the BMC has always had a most im-portant relationship with the country’s climbing clubs, and ingeneral both have always acted in each other’s best inter-ests, so the concerns that clubs have over the ramificationsof commercial guides is a concern too for the BMC. But onthe other hand, the BMC today is a broad church which rep-resents a wide range of climbers, many of whom have noaffiliation to any club whatsoever, both individual membersof the BMC as well as non-members. So, while the BMC isconcerned over the impact of commercial guides, we arealso aware that we, as an organisation, cannot rightfully boy-cott other guides that our members like and choose to buy.So where does that leave us and can a balance be struckbetween the voluntary and commercial sectors? I suspectthe answer lies somewhere in the depths of improving thedialogue between the two. The BMC is ultimately committedto the volunteer guidebook system and will support volun-tary producers wherever it can, but at the end of the daycommercial guidebooks are here to stay and it's up to all ofus to work together to give climbers what they want - qualityguidebooks.

Volunteer Participation – Niall GrimesChange, once one has gotten over the natural human terrorof it, soon starts to seem pretty exciting. And I for one canfeel the terror starting to subside, and more than a vaguetwinkling of excitement starting to glow inside me for thefuture of BMC guides. So what is this change? The wranglesof the past two years have been far from satisfactory toanyone involved in guidebooks in the Peak District – not forthe BMC, nor for Rockfax, and certainly not for the climbingpublic. But these events are past now, and while not forgot-ten, all those involved with the BMC and Rockfax feel it istime to start to move forward. So, in this piece, I intend toconcentrate on what the future holds for the third and mostimportant section of the equation – the climbers.

Right then. The BMC guidebook system is, over the nextfew years, going to provide the climbing public with a collec-tion of guides that will not just serve their needs at the crag,but will inspire, inform and entertain them better than anyguides have done in the past. After many successful years

that saw a continuous output of inspirational gritstone andlimestone guides, a gradual stagnation plagued the BMCguidebook system over the past few years. This is now lift-ing. As editor of the forthcoming Froggatt guide, it has beena pleasure to be involved with some of the best climbers inthe Peak. Ben Heason, writer of the Froggatt section, hasticked almost every route in the crag, including second andfirst solo ascents of many of the desperates, and probablythe first on-sights of many too. I doubt if a crag of thestature of Froggatt has ever been so comprehensively ticked.Pete Robins in doing the same at the mighty Curbar, workinghis way through climbs in superb style, and adding many ofhis own as he goes.

These are just two examples of the new blood that hasstarted to come in to work on guides, but in these two ex-amples and many others like them, lie a great future for thevolunteer system, and are in a way an example of what Isee as the great potential strength of the volunteer system-that is the participation of climbers. The new chair of theguidebook committee, Richard Wheeldon, through his workbehind the counter in Hathersage’s Outside shop, is verywell aware of what climbers actually want. And with a greaterparticipation from a wider group of climbers, as I hope tosee, there will also be a great opportunity to find out firsthand what climbers want, as well as a means to provide it.Well, here’s what I would like to / hope to see develop verysoon for the BMC guidebook system;

- A regular output of good looking definitive guides to allPeak District crags.- For these guides to be as accurate and as easy to use aspossible.

Guidebooks - The FutureAs Confucious might have said - if you want to startan argument amongst climbers, simply mentionbolts, Park & Ride or guidebooks then leave themto it. But what does the future of guidebooks holdfor climbers? Summit asks three people who shouldhave a better idea than most - Dave Turnbull (BMCChief Officer), Alan James (Rockfax), and NiallGrimes (BMC Guidebook Co-ordinator).

The new BMC Stanage guide - due out soon.

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COMPETITIONS- For the guidebook system to be very open and responsi-ble to all the climbing public, responding to their demandsand reacting to their opinions.- To encourage the involvement of as wide a range of activepassionate climbers as possible, from the occasional VDleader to the full time E9 merchant, as well as encouragingall the talented volunteers who had put their time into thesystem in the past, to continue to support the new system- To reward the superb efforts of all volunteer guide writersby getting their work on the shelves as quickly and as at-tractively as it should be- To provide all the information that guide users want, in-cluding good histories, graded lists, informative and enter-taining first ascent lists including such information as firston-sights etc.- To ensure that the voluntary system of guidebook systemcontinues to survive and flourish and gives the public whatthey deserve for at least another hundred years.

That doesn’t seem unreasonable, does it?

Online Vision – Alan James, RockfaxBuying a modern style guide, like a Rockfax, is like sleepingwith the sexy person next door. It’s like cheating on yourtrusted partner, who has given you many hours of pleasureon the crag, in the tent, and even under your duvet. Andcheating on this big old mama with a slick young thing justisn’t a very nice thing to do.

Let’s face it, the endless discussion about guidebooks -how they are produced and, more importantly, by whom - isa discussion shrouded in sentiment. There is nothing wrongwith loyalty and even a touch of conservatism isn’t always abad thing, but I would like to turn to boring cold facts. Afterall, life isn’t just about sex.

What should a guide do? Well it should tell you where theroutes are, how hard they are and it should be accurate andup-to-date. It should inspire you to leave the sanctuary ofyour duvet, and it should be written for climbers, not for theauthors’ ego. In the past there has been limited choiceverging in many areas on a monopoly, with only one guidefor a crag and maybe a selected guide covering the best ofthe routes. This has led to information gaps resulting fromlong waits between guides or reprints. Pembroke and NorthDevon by the Climbers’ Club were both out of print for yearswith no real alternative available. The BMC Stanage guidehas been constantly available due to reprints but it is reallya version of the ‘83 guide with new routes added in ‘89;that’s nearly 20 years since a real re-write. 20 years thathave seen the biggest IT advance in history.

So what happens if instead of the closed-shop approachwe have open competition? What if the route information isregarded as public property and as such can be used openlyand freely by anyone? I believe that this attitude is not onlythe best way to go; it is the only way to go since the web hasmade it inevitable. It is also my belief that it offers remark-ably little threat to the history and tradition of climbing whichis very dear to our hearts.

If you open up access to the information with every routedescribed on the web then the historical record is preserved,the feedback potential is immense and the ability to keep itup-to-date is unparalleled. The amount of information wehave assembled via the Rockfax online route databases istruly staggering and makes all other research look outra-geously undemocratic in comparison. Most club guides areassembled by a team of 30 people at most. The PeakGritstone East Rockfax had emailed comments from over500 people and online votes from over 1000. But all pro-

ducers can tap into this information - it is there on our sitefor all to see - and the more producers get involved in this,the more information there will be.

With competition you get variation, you get innovation andyou get market stimulation. Sloppy products are shown upfor what they are, the innovative products shine throughand gaps are plugged. Climbers get a choice and ultimatelyit will be shown that there is plenty of market room for differ-ent styles of guidebooks to cover one crag. It is often per-ceived that this will mean no coverage for lesser crags. Whois going to include the poxy quarry in their expensive bookwhen it’s only had 3 visits in the last 10 years? Well, don’t,stick it on the web and suddenly you have the information,you have the record, but you don’t have the delays causedby re-writing it for the new edition. What about the minorroutes? Again they could have a permanent home on theweb. However both the quarry and the minor routes willprobably be just as happy in a definitive guide. After all, in acompetitive market, a definitive big mama will have at leastone major selling point over the selective sexy young thing.

There is another old line trotted out each time the watersof the guidebook world are stirred: “We need the funds fromour big seller to help pay for this little fella.” Not so. It ispossible to produce a profitable book for any area. Justlook at the number of small areas which are covered bybooks produced by small businesses: Merseyside Sand-stone (Stone) and Climbing in North East England (SmartBoys Publishing) to name but two. These books may nothave made a lot of money, but they exist, as do the compa-nies that published them.

All you have do to is ask yourself what you want. I suspectthe answer will be that you want both the comfort of the bigmama and the radical appeal of the sexy young thing. Well,unlike in the real world, you can actually have them boththis time and no-one will be upset!

Lucy Creamer on Chequer's Buttress, Froggatt. Fromthe cover of the On Peak Rock reprint (due April '02).

Credit Ian Parnell

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Life moves fast these days. With the increasingpopularity of climbing, manufacturers are takingevery advantage of the latest advances in materialsand technology to make exciting new gearavailable each year. But one thing never changes,climbing has been and always will be a risk sport,and all the latest equipment in the world will onlyincrease the margin of safety at which you operate.Risk can never be eliminated, so it’s absolutely vitalto understand the limitations of equipment, andrecognise the situations that may cause it to becomedamaged or even fail.

But how do you know if a certain piece of equipment isdamaged? Should you throw a rope away after washing it indetergent? What’s a stress fracture? That’s where the longanticipated new edition of the BMC’s Care & MaintenanceBook comes in. This is a concise 60 page full colour guideto caring for your kit, and should be one piece of equipmentnot to forget. Just one of the important subjects covered isdegradation of metallic equipment, so read on if even if youonly own a single karabiner, and especially if you’ve everdropped it in the sea!

Equipment degradationEvery time you use your gear it is under attack from a vari-ety of sources - UV light, dirt, dust, water, salt – really, thesurprise is not that climbing gear sometimes fails, but that itdoesn’t more often! Here are some of the more commonforms of metallic degradation that occur, and some of theways in which you can combat them:

Seawater corrosionSeawater and airborne sea spray present a number of cor-rosion problems of varying severity to all metallic climbingequipment. In all cases the corrosive agent is aqueous chlo-ride ions from the salt in the water, and this generally at-tacks moving parts such as the gate, springs and latch, orareas of equipment where two different alloys are in con-tact with each other.

After every use of climbing gear on sea cliffs, and any-where within the region of sea spray (which may extend wellover and around the actual sea cliff in rough weather), it isrecommended that the following procedure be carried out:

After finishing climbing for the day - keep the dry gearseparate from the wet, and make sure it is kept away fromany damp ropes, slings and clothing etc – even to the pointof carrying a drybag to store dry equipment. Any wet equip-ment should be washed thoroughly in tap water or a fresh-water stream to remove all traces of salt, then after removalof surface water it should be hung out to dry. This should bedone even if the plan is to climb again the following day.

If you are travelling home - do not leave any metal equip-ment that may be contaminated with salt in a rucksack orother carry bag where it may come into contact with slingsor ropes – especially in a warm environment - as this willinduce corrosion. If karabiners or camming devices are leftlike this for, say, a week, they will at the very least becomediscoloured and suffer surface corrosion. Within a few weeks,they could be so badly affected as to be unfit for further use– a costly mistake!

As soon as possible after returning home - all equipmentthat has been contaminated with salt water should be thor-oughly washed in tap water, preferably with a little mild de-tergent. Then remove all surface water and put in a warm,dry airy place (such as a rack in an airing cupboard) to dryoff the remaining moisture. With chocks and camming de-vices, take special care that the wire cables have beenthoroughly washed and dried.

When dry - any hinges, movable joints, wires & cables etc.should be treated with a suitable aerosol lubricant, any sur-plus wiped away, and the movement checked before storage.

FatigueWhilst the maximum failure load is a concept central to allengineering applications and their designs, another aspectof equal concern is fatigue. Fatigue is well recognised byprofessional engineers in nearly all materials, but especiallyin metallic alloys since it affects the life span of a product.If a load is applied that is lower than the stipulated failureload of a particular piece of equipment, but is done sorepeatedly, then the piece may eventually fail. This processis known as fatigue failure. Each load application is knownas a cycle, and the less the load, the more cycles are re-quired to cause a failure (if the load is small enough then afailure will never happen) However in reality for climbingequipment, the load level over a sequence of cycles is not

A Degrading LifeCare and maintenance of your metallic equipment

Sea Cliff climbing can be outstanding - but what'shappening to your gear?

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 11:15 AM38


constant, and a sudden big load equalling the failure loadwill cause the piece to fail.

The importance of fatigue effects implies the need to keepthe amount of load to a reasonable level- well below thefailure load- and to avoid sudden large loads, thus prolongingthe fatigue life of the item. The design of a piece of equipmentshould take fatigue into account in the following way:

“The usual loads expected should be such that manythousands of cycles are required before fatigue failure,and this should be beyond the expected usable lifetimeof the product”

However, if through exceptionally heavy or abnormal usetoo many cycles have been accumulated and failure is near,then cracks in the highest stressed areas will be forming andgrowing. Hence, a close examination with a magnifying glasson well-used equipment will be very worthwhile – a commonexample is cracking at the base of the front points of well-used crampons. In climbing terms, this means that reason-able use should attempt to avoid any chance of fatigue fail-ure by limiting the number and/or severity of the load cycles.Examples of use that go against this are excessive torquing,or repeated hitting of hidden rocks under ice or hard, awk-ward walking over rocks in crampons. Both secnarios willshorten the useful life of the equipment involved

WearWear is a phenomenon that occurs when metallic surfacesare rubbed by other surfaces under pressure, and localshear stresses arise. Because of these, particles on thesurface are eroded, and the physical volume of materiallocally decreases. The higher the contact pressure and thesofter the material, the greater the rate of wear will be.Sharp surface features (like edges and corners) will alsoerode quicker than smoother parts, because the stresses inthose features are higher under a rubbing force. For climb-ing equipment, any contacting surfaces are liable to wearsince most alloys in common use are relatively soft. Themost usual high-pressure situation encountered in practiceis that of ropes passing through karabiners, abseiling andbelay devices etc. Grooves can appear in these items ofmetallic equipment, and since a noticeable groove repre-sents a new surface geometry with some material removed,the performance of these items will alter over time. This hasthe further implication that the failure load and other designparameters of the item are changed, and a safe course ofaction is to retire the piece of equipment once such a groovehas become noticeable.

Stress degradationAny piece of equipment that operates under applied loadsbecomes subject to the effects of the stresses that resultfrom those loads. Thus, any structure or component used inan engineering application becomes stressed during the nor-mal course of their intended operation, and metallic climbingequipment is no exception to this.

For instance, when a climber falls, the rope takes the climb-ers weight along with the harness, karabiners, slings andprotection placed – all become stressed to a degree. Themanufacturers design their equipment to withstand thesestresses, but in conjunction with wear & tear and time, con-tinued stressing sometimes leads to a failure. For example(again!), crampon points and ice tools are subjected to con-tinual and sometimes abnormal loading (as in torquing whenmixed climbing), which can sometimes be above and beyondthe intended design load. In some cases, this load is greaterthan the equipment can sustain and failure results.

How long is a lifetime?Because of all the variables that affect an item of equip-ment when it is used, it is almost never possible to give adefinitive lifetime for equipment in use. In all cases, theowner needs to take into account everything they know re-garding:

The history of the equipment – has it been involved in anylong falls etc?The way in which it has been used – e.g. top-rope, leadrope?The general advice provided in the BMC Care & Mainte-nance booklet.The manufacturers advice.Most importantly, the results of a visual and physical check– which you should always carry out, every time the equip-ment is used.

This may seem like a complex process, but in reality, muchof the calculation is done subconsciously, leading to the oldgeneral maxim:

If you think it may be time to replace anitem of equipment - then it probably is!

The BMC Technical CommitteeFor thirty years the BMC Technical Committee has beenissuing safety advice and investigating occurrences of failedequipment. Over that time a great body of knowledge hasbeen built up and many members of the committee havebeen deeply involved with others in generating UIAA and ENstandards for mountaineering equipment. This puts the BMCin a unique position to offer members and non-membersalike a range of services regarding technical matters:

Regular news regarding equipment testing, design devel-opments and recent failure investigations.

Authoritative advice on care and maintenance of climbingequipment and good practice in its use direct from the of-fice.

Investigations into gear failure. if you have a failure toreport, contact Stuart at the BMC office (0161 438 3329,[email protected]) or download the report form atwww.thebmc.co.uk/safety.htm

Access to the most knowledgeable body of professionalvolunteers working with climbing equipment in the UK!

An extensive library of reports and documents relating totesting methods and historical failures. See website for cata-logue.

A series of advice booklets on specific items of equip-ment, e.g. Ropes, and Crampons. These detail selection,usage and maintenance.

A yearly conference involving manufacturers, retailers, in-structors and the public to discuss matters of current impor-tance. This year’s conference is scheduled for November.

In short, the Technical Committee exists to serve the climb-ing community by gathering accurate and up to date infor-mation from all over the globe and making it as easily avail-able as possible. Future developments will include elec-tronic conversion of the existing library, email newslettersand downloadable archives, as well as an increased outputof articles and advice booklets.

(INSET) A grooved, worn karabiner. This can happen veryquickly in the right (wrong!) conditions, and it should beretired from active service.

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 11:20 AM39


TECHNICAL

Friendly locals in Mozambique. Credit: Turnbull

CrackingThe presence of cracks in any structure that is designed tocarry load is potentially dangerous, but obviously so wheremetallic climbing equipment is involved. Cracks can arisefor several reasons:

During manufacture or heat-treatment of the equipment,commonly during welding processes – these are invariablydetected at an early stage, or not critical to the intendedperformance of the equipment.

During a sudden overload when the failure load is exceededand the item breaks – this is effectively the sudden initia-tion and catastrophic growth of a crack through the weakestpart of the equipment.

Due to corrosion – see previous section.

By fatigue - as previously explained. Such a crack starts ata microscopically small size, growing as the fatigue lifeprogresses until it is big enough to be noticed by the nakedeye. In climbing equipment, this usually means that thefatigue life is nearly at an end, and that a failure is immi-nent. This is the reason for recommending regular inspec-tions of equipment both with the naked eye and with amagnifying glass, and when such a crack is detected toretire the item immediately. Continued use of a crackeditem will almost certainly lead rapidly to sudden failure – avery dangerous situation.

Another relevant consideration when considering cracks isthe influence of temperature. If the temperature is lowenough, the brittleness of a material can increase signifi-cantly and any small cracks are liable to sudden and cata-strophic breaking, like shattering glass. At higher tempera-

tures, materials exhibit a more ductile characteristic makingsudden cracking much less likely. For the alloys used inclimbing equipment, the transition temperature between thisbrittle and ductile behaviour occurs somewhere in the range-50ºC to +50ºC.

The important factor for climbing equipment is that at coldextremes, it is more liable to brittle fracture, and prolongeduse in these conditions increases the likelihood of this oc-curring (eg. during an expedition). Although a lot of care istaken to consider this during design and material choice, itis prudent to check regularly for cracks in equipment that isused at cold temperatures for extended periods of time.

Find out moreFor further informationon advice on how tolook after all your gear,consult the new editionof Care & Maintenance.Published by the BMCthis booklet is only £4to members and £6 tonon-members, availablefrom www.thebmc.co.ukor call 0870 010 4878.

Any technical or equip-ment related queries, in-cluding reports of fail-ures, may be related di-rectly to the BMC’s tech-nical assistant StuartIngram. Email him [email protected].

DAY 2

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18.00

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 11:20 AM40


VITAL FOR BILLIONSM O U N T A I N S

The declaration of 2002 as theInternational Year of Mountains(IYM) by the UN GeneralAssembly recognises thatmountains are important not onlyto the millions of people who livein them, and those of us who liketo visit them, but to the globalcommunity.

Martin Price from the Centre forMountain Studies, Perth Collegeexplains more.

(MAIN) Island Peak. Credit: TomBriggs / Jagged Globe. (RIGHT)

The Mt Blanc Massif - mountainsare not just important to visitors.

Credit: Alastair Lee

IYM

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All mountaineers know that, as wego higher, it gets wetter andcolder. This can be a nuisance

when we are on the hill, but it is thereason that, at the global scale, thegreatest importance of mountainscomes from their role as ‘water tow-ers’ – all of the world’s major riversrise in them, and they provide betweena third and half of the available fresh-water on Earth. It is not just the factthat more rain and snow falls on moun-tains because they are higher that isimportant; the colder conditions meanthat there is less evaporation of whatdoes fall, and that a greater proportionof the precipitation comes in the formof snow, which remains until the spring.Especially for people living in dry partsof the world, this storage is vital, asthe water released by melting snowbecomes available in the lowlands justwhen it is most needed for agriculture:70% of the water taken from riversworldwide is used for irrigation.

Some of the water coming down-stream from the mountains is meltwa-ter from glaciers. Unfortunately, someof the best evidence that the Earth iswarming up comes from measurementsshowing that nearly all of the world’sglaciers are losing more of their masseach year than is being replaced bysnowfall. Various types of evidence,from landscape paintings to ice cores,show that Alpine glaciers have lost halfof their mass in the past century. Otherfigures underscore that this is a globalphenomenon: Mount Kilimanjaro haslost 82% of its icecap since 1912;Peru’s Qori Kalis glacier retreated 4 meach year in the 1960s and 1970s,but 30 m a year by the 1990s; andthe thousands of glaciers in the TienShan mountains between China andRussia have lost 22% of their ice vol-ume in 40 years. In the short run, theretreat of the glaciers will cause hydro-electric dams and reservoirs to be flushwith water. In the long run, many gla-ciers will disappear, with significant ef-fects on irrigation, domestic wateravailability, recreation opportunities,and power generation. To compensate,

people may use oil or coal for powerinstead, adding more greenhousegases to the environment.

One way to absorb greenhouse gasesis to plant more trees, and the govern-ments of several developing countriesregard this as an opportunity to obtainpayments from industrialised countriesin the form of ‘carbon credits’. In otherwords, countries in the ‘North’ can burnmore fossil fuels, emitting more car-bon, and pay countries in the ‘South’to grow trees that will absorb this car-bon. From lowland capital cities, moun-tain areas appear to be good places toplant such trees: they produce little ofeconomic value, and their people areusually politically marginal. However,the land identified for planting is oftencommunal grazing land which is part ofthe intricate land use system fromwhich mountain people gain their live-lihoods, balancing farming, forest use,and grazing. Plantations on the grazingland mean that grazing animals haveless to eat, so that the balance of landuses is upset – and water flows fromthe hills also change. The governmentsgain carbon dollars; the mountain peo-ple are further marginalised.

One country from which many storiesabout both economic marginalisationand environmental degradation havecome is Nepal. Some have mentionedincreasing soil erosion. Many touristsand journalists, as well as representa-tives of development agencies, havecommented on the erosion of terraces,particularly from landslides during themonsoon. This was interpreted as theresult of inappropriate farming, duemainly to the need to provide morefood for growing populations. Yet re-turn visits show maize growing on theterraces where the debris flow was. Ifyou ask the farmers about the ‘dam-age’, you may find out that it was notnecessarily the result of negligence. Infac t , fa rmers somet imes d i rec tmonsoon water across terraces in or-der to make unproductive land moreuseful for agriculture. This does notmean that Nepalese mountain farm-ers have their landscapes under per-

fect control and never make mistakes.Soil erosion is a problem in mountainareas around the world, sometimeswith important downstream effects. Butit is risky to generalise, especially inmountain areas, where conditions varygreatly from one part of the world toanother – and often almost as muchfrom one valley to another. One aim ofthe IYM is to develop a better under-standing of both the similarities and dif-ferences between mountain areas – anessential component of its most im-portant aim: to raise awareness of themany ways in which a large proportionof the global population depends onmountain environments.

Environmental activitiesduring the IYM in the UKMost IYM events in the UK will have an en-vironmental theme - some emphasisingconservation and management (such asthe international People and Nature Con-ference in Pitlochry in November) and oth-ers considering the integration of differentgroups of mountain users with each otherand the local communities (for example theBMC International Climbing Meeting atPlas y Brenin in May).

The UK-wide National Outdoor Welcome(NOW) will run throughout the year, and isintended to encourage people back to thecountryside after the devastating effects ofFMD last year. The BMC will be organising aseries of open days at climbing walls as partof this initiative, organised by the OutdoorIndustries Association, Go-Outdoors.

Cairngorms Partnership will host a gather-ing of the UK Association of National ParksAssociations, as part of the lead in to theestablishment of the Cairngorms NationalPark around the end of the year. As withthe proposed launch of the Loch Lomondand the Trossachs National Park in May- Scotland’s first national park - the centraltheme of managing mountain areas for thebenefit of both people and nature under-pins the core objectives of IYM.

Another launch taking place in Scotlandduring 2002 will be of particular interest toclimbers and mountaineers. When the Ad-venture Centre at Ratho just outsideEdinburgh open its doors in July, it will, in itsown words, aim “To promote environmentalcare as a widely practised responsibilitythroughout all sports”.

Finally, keep an eye out for internationallybased events run from the UK, like theMCSA/KZN South African exchangeprogrammes in May and September, in-tended to strengthen cultural links amongstclimbers and trekkers (again see News thisissue). And don’t forget to check out Sum-mit magazine’s series of four special articlesthrough the rest of the year celebrating thegreat mountain areas of the world!

For information on the UK’s IYM programmesee www.iym.org.uk or check the worldwidenews at www.mountains2002.org. Regularupdates on BMC related events will appearon the BMC website, and any queries canbe directed to [email protected] or 0161438 3329.

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1344mBEN NEVIS, ScotlandThe Ben, as it is affectionately known is the grand old manof British mountains and is steeped in historical interest andcharacter. Still a forcing ground for modern winter climbs,some of the most historic routes in the UK reside here suchas Point Five Gully, Tower Ridge, and the Orion Face. Frommotorbikes to pogo sticks, it’s seen it all, but as Britain’shighest mountain it is subject to extremes of weather out ofall proportion to its modest size. The Ben can be a seriousproposition, and every year, people get into difficulties hav-ing underestimated how quickly the Ben can turn from asummer stroll into an Arctic fight for survival.

The staging town is Fort William, well equipped with facili-ties, and from here it’s but a short way to the mountainitself. The voie normale goes up from the Glen Nevis Youthhostel, grinding its way up to the ‘Halfway Lochan’, whichlies between Maell ant-Suidhe and Carn Dearg, before veer-ing right (south), crossing the red burn and zig-zagging uplong scree slopes to the summit plateau. When not coveredin snow or eager hordes of summit baggers, 3-4 hours shouldput you on the summit. A more adventurous approach is towalk down the “mule -track” after scrambling up the stun-ning Carn Mor Dearg arête. This involves some mild andexposed scrambling on a rocky ridge crest, and under condi-tions of snow and ice should definitely be considered moun-taineering! It will also add to your journey time considerably– unless you are superman look for a 10hr+ round trip fromthe youth hostel for this one! Or you could also start via the

Allt a’Mhuillinn from Achintree, the Ben Nevis distillery orthe Golf Course car park

The summit itself is full of interest with the emergency shel-ter, ruined observatory, and one of the UK’s two permanentsnowfields residing in Gardyloo Gully (the story behind thegully’s name is less pleasant – there never was a flushingtoilet at the observatory!). However, it’s a treacherous placein bad weather and there have been many accidents involv-ing parties becoming lost on the descent. Make sure youknow how to get off the mountain before you go up it; thereis a detailed description on the back of the OS sheet men-tioned below. Plan well and you will have a great day out,climb the highest point in the British Isles and see some ofthe most impressive mountain terrain we have to offer.

2518mTARANAKI, North Island, NZMt. Taranaki is one of a unique group of volcanic conesfound bordering the pacific plate, geologically referred to asthe ‘Ring of Fire’. This beautiful symmetrical cone has thatclassic appearance like Mt. Fuji (3776m) in Japan, MtSlamet (3428m) in Java and the lesser known KlyuchevskVolcano (4750m) in Siberia. But what makes this popularpeak so special? Although Mt Taranaki’s modest heightdoesn’t quite match the height of its Russian and Japaneserelations it’s the breathtaking exposure and vertical scalethat makes this mountain so appealing. Surrounded by thesea on three sides, poking from New Zealand’s West Coastinto the prevailing ‘Roaring Forties’ of the Southern Ocean,

SUMMITSOF DESIRE

With the parties of Christmas fading andthe British weather up to its usual tricks,it’s time to think about adventures for theyear ahead. What follows is the first in aseries of four articles celebrating the UNInternational Year of Mountains 2002. HereStu Ingram kicks off with a selection ofclassic mountains - all with reasonableroutes to the top, so why not celebrate theYear of Mountains in style?

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the summit of this mountain is an extraordinary place, itfeels like the edge of the world.

There’s a visitor’s centre on the North Side of the moun-tain. From there an hour or so up ‘The Puffer’ gets you tothe Tahurangi Lodge (a well-facilitated private alpine hut)and the round the mountain track. For the less ambitioushiker a few hours in the westerly direction from here willsatisfy your needs. The path cuts through unique snowgrassand herbfields and hopefully gives impressive views overthe surrounding pastoral lands. For the fitter and moreexperienced hiker the North Ridge Summit Track will be ofinterest. Although effectively this is nothing more than asteep hike, be warned, its long, tiring, and at the mercy ofvery fickle conditions and is only marked by poles on theupper section. Every year poorly equipped tourists run intodifficulties, so take the right kit and don’t become a statis-tic. In winter the upper slopes provide some great ice andwinter climbing and on the south-east side there’s a touchof skiing. In summer there’s loads of superb cragging onsome of the hardest rock in the country. Lovely clean Andesiteforms towers and long columnar cracks. At around 1500mthe cragging retains a strong alpine feel too.

4807mMONT BLANC, France/ItalyFormerly the highest summit in Europe, until the inclusionof Mt. Elbrus in the Caucasus after the dissolution of theformer Soviet Union, Mt. Blanc still exerts a powerful allureover mountaineers worldwide. First Ascended by JacquesBalmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard on the 8th August 1786(check the statue in Cham town centre!), the mountain hasconsistently been a focus for pushing achievement in theAlpine arena. This is still the case with today’s top climberscranking out speed ascents and picking off eliminate linesof extreme difficulty. Thousands make the trip to Chamonixeach year with the hope of an ascent of the technicallyeasy but immensely enjoyable voies normale - the magnifi-cent scenery and final exposed summit ridge making thisperhaps the finest snow route in the Alps. However, themountain is long, cold and exposed (-15ºC plus windchill isthe norm), so take plenty of water, snacks, insulation andmost importantly windproofs and sunscreen. Work to a properprogramme of acclimatisation, and don’t be afraid to turnback should the meteo promise of beau temps turn out tobe a little optimistic!

There are two basic route choices from Chamonix, via theGouter or Grands Muletshut (book these months in ad-vance to avoid a cold bivi!). Both routes are graded PD asthe Gouter route necessitates crossing the dangerous“Grand Couloir” with its constant stonefall, and is continu-ally exposed to wind. The Grand Mulets is traditionally themost reliable route to the summit, being more shelteredthan the Gouter, but the ascent to the Col du Dome can berather tedious, with long snow slopes broken by crevasses,and exposure to falling seracs. July and August are the besttimes to go, but of course everyone in the world knows this!Look for a two-day window of clear weather and lowwindspeed at altitude and you will soon have one of themost recognised summits in the world under your belt, andsome memories to last a lifetime!

5869mKILIMANJARO, TanzaniaMount Kilimanjaro lies just south of the equator is the high-est mountain in Africa and one of the highest volcanoes inthe world. With a basal diameter of 40miles it’s “wide as allthe world, great, high and unbelievably white as the sun” -(Hemingway). The leading German Geographer Hans Meyer

made the first ascent by what is still the normal route on 29September 1889, finding a “gigantic crater with precipitouswalls, occupying the entire summit of the mountain” – thenow familiar crater rim. Kili lies wholly within a beautiful Na-tional Park, and ascensionists will experience wildly varyingterrain from rainforest, through alpine meadow, to the sum-mit snows. Time your climb well and you will be one of thoselucky enough to witness the dawn over the “roof of Africa” –an awesome experience by any standards! But watch out,legend has it that a couple who witness this dawn togetherwill be partners for life…

The normal (Marangu) route is easily approached from Dar-es-Salaam, Kilimanjaro International Airport or Zanzibar com-bined with an overland approach to the mountain. The routeis basically high altitude walking, but again the altitude (incombination with the particular lack of freshwater) is a seri-ous consideration. There are fatal cases of AMS each year,so acclimatise well and don’t be afraid to turn back – themountain isn’t going anywhere! The ascent from the Kibo hutat 4700m can be completed in a long day (1.00am start isde rigeur) by most although there are several tiring and steepsections, particularly the switchbacks to Gillman’s point be-fore you reach the highest point at Uhuru Peak.

Kili is another mountain that is beginning to suffer from itspopularity, with over 10,000 visitors to the park each year.Currently, you can only make an ascent with a recognisedtrekking company (independent climbers are often removedat gunpoint), but this has the advantage that they will sortout park fees, hut accommodation and transport for you –US$400-700 is normal for a 5-6 day package. There areplenty of reputable local operators, or just leave it up to aUK based company. Some of them tackle Kili by the quieterand more challenging scrambling routes such as the Umbweroute, followed by the Western Breach.

Kili benefits from a relatively stable tropical climate, withregular rainy seasons, and periods of settled weather. Thebest times to visit are January-February and August-Octo-ber; whilst December is also good - what a way to spendChristmas Day.

6310mCHIMBORAZO, EcuadorChimborazo, an extinct volcano in central Ecuador, enjoysclassic status for a number of reasons, not least becausewhen measured from the centre of the earth (rather thansea level) it is the highest mountain in the world! This strangefact is due to Chimborazo being very near the equator, anddue to the fact that the earth is not really round but isactually an oblate spheroid with a radius that is consider-ably larger at the equator than at the poles. Another curiousfact about the mountain is that for a while in the 17th and18th centuries it was thought to be the world’s highestmountain. Like Aconcagua (see later) it is a mountain whichonce held the height record for Europeans. In 1802Humboldt a German scientific explorer, reached an altitudeof about 5600m on Chimborazo, the highest any Europeanhad climbed at that time.

However you measure it Chimborazo is the highest peakin Ecuador at 6310m or 20,697ft. It is a massive moun-tain, with an extensive and featureless summit plateau, andmany subsidiary summits. It was first climbed in 1880 byEdward Whymper, the famous English alpinist, accompa-nied by two Italian guides, the Carrel cousins. This ascent,together with his other pioneering climbs in Ecuador, is de-scribed in his classic book ‘Travels Amongst the Great An-des of the Equator,’ published in 1892.

Because of its accessibility Chimborazo is a popular peak.The normal route lies on the southwest side of the mainsummit and is a long climb up glaciers from the Whymperhut at 5000m. For many years it was a very straightforward

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MLTB

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climb, but in recent years dramatic glacial retreat has in-creased the difficulty and danger of this route a wee bit.Apart from the altitude there have always been some ob-jective dangers associated with climbing Chimborazo, thereare large crevasses, a very flat summit area prone to cloud,and sometimes high avalanche risk due to snowfall orwindslab. There are two huts on the normal route - theCarrel hut at the road end at 4800m and the Whymper huta little higher at 5000m. The summit climb takes 10-12hours, and due to frequent early cloud cover it is a goodidea to leave the Whymper hut at about 10pm, and climbthrough the night to arrive on the summit soon after dawn.Many other routes have been done on the peak, both byforeign and Ecuadorean mountaineers.

Chimborazo can be climbed anytime from June to Janu-ary. Bad weather (mainly cloud and snow) can occur at anytime in this period. Some experts reckon that the periodsaround Christmas and in July and August appear to offerthe best chances of good weather. Quito has an interna-tional airport and can be reached from the UK via the UnitedStates, Madrid or Amsterdam.

6189mISLAND PEAK (IMJA TSE), NepalIsland Peak is one of the highest and certainly one of themost popular of the designated “trekking peaks” in Nepal,with literally hundreds of people making the summit eachyear. The beautiful profile of the mountain and stunningviews of Lhotse, Nuptse, Makalu and Ama Dablam, com-bined with its ease of access and pleasant, sunny approachmakes it an essential tick in any high-altitude trekkers list.

The mountain was first “discovered” and named by thefamous Brit Eric Shipton in 1952, and first climbed thefollowing year by Evans, Gregory, Wylie and Tenzing Norgayin preparation for their (successful) Everest bid. Imja Tsewas the peak that they perfected their oxygen systems onbefore going for it on the big hill. Nowadays, any number ofcommercial companies will guide you up its slopes (for anappropriate fee, of course), or if you have the experienceand are suitably acclimatised and equipped, it makes awonderful adventure to ascend the peak by your own means.

Base Camp at Pareshaya Gab (5078m) is reached in twoeasy days from Dingboche, itself just 2 short days up theKhumbu Valley from Namche Bazaar. It is always a verybusy place, so remember to chill out and admire the spec-tacular situation and scenery as you compete for tent pitcheswith other climbers! After heavy snowfall, the slopes herea-bouts can be avalanche prone, so take care on the ascent.Around 1.5hrs climb above Pareshaya are the rocky tentplatforms of the high camp at 5700m. After a night hereyou climb a rocky gully (grade 1 scrambling) and severalshort rock steps, before emerging at the top and traversingonto a ridge. This is followed in an exhilarating and exposedposition to the snout of the summit glacier. The glacier con-tains several crevasses, but leads, relatively easily to a

100m snow and ice slope (40°) up onto the ridge which isfollowed in a spectacular position to the summit. Once ontop, you can revel in one of the most awe-inspiring summitviews you are ever likely to see! The route is about alpinegrade PD+ i.e. noticeably more technical than the otherpeaks in this article, so be prepared.

Island peak can be climbed pre or post monsoon (Febru-ary – April or October-November), and December may alsogive clear if very cold weather. The peak fee starts atUS$350 for up to 4 people and the Everest National ParkFee of NRs650 (about £6.50) also applies.

6959mACONCAGUA, ArgentinaAt a height of 6959m or 22,826ft, Aconcagua is the high-est peak in South America and indeed the highest in theworld outside the greater Himalaya. It lies in the southernhalf of the Andes, entirely in Argentina but only a shortdistance from the main crest of the Andes and the Chileanfrontier.

When it was first climbed in 1897 by Matthias Zurbriggenit was the highest peak in the world to have been climbedto that date. However since then various archaeologicalfinds have been made high on the mountain which indicateit may have been first climbed at the time of the Inca Em-pire (c.1500 AD) when many high peaks in the Andes wereascended for religious worship.

The route of Zurbriggens ascent is now the normal routeon Aconcagua and a very popular climb due to the moun-tain's reputation as the highest peak in the world which isjust a walk up. From Puente del Inca most parties take tento twelve days to climb the mountain via the dusty Horconesvalley and paths up the Northwest rib. Although just a walkfor mountaineers, Aconcagua is certainly not a walk for theinexperienced and should not be underestimated. Everyyear many climbers suffer problems on the normal routedue to the extreme altitude and frequent severe weatherand there are few years without fatalities. About 80% ofpeople who buy a permit fail to reach the summit, usuallydue to the weather, poor expedition planning and skills orlack of fitness.

The only other popular route on Aconcagua is the PolishGlacier on the eastern side of the mountain, a relativelystraightforward snow climb which was first done in 1934.The first ascent of the huge and dramatic south face wasmade by a French expedition in 1954.

Aconcagua is best climbed in the southern hemispheresummer, from November to March. Permits are needed toclimb; these are expensive in high season (up to $200)but are readily available in Mendoza. Several companies inthis pleasant Argentine city also offer mule services for thewalk to base camp and run guided expeditions. Mendozahas an international airport and can be reached from theUK via either Santiago, Buenos Aires or Sao Paulo.

Island Peak. Credit Tom Briggs / Jagged Globe

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Guidebooks and Maps

Ben NevisBen Nevis by Crockett. SMC. A great coffee table issue100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains, StorerScottish Peaks, Poucher1:25000 OS Outdoor Leisure 38, Ben Nevis Mountainmaster1:25000 Harvey’s Superwalker (Ben Nevis)TaranakiClimbers Guide to Taranaki, Ross Eden. (2nd ed. Due 2002)Classic Walks of New Zealand, Craig Potton1:50,000 Egmont Parkmap, Department of ConservationMont BlancThe Alpine Club Guides, Griffin (Volumes 1 & 2) give detail100 Finest Routes, Rebuffat provides coffee-table motivationCarte IGN Blue series sheets 3531ET & 3630OTKilimanjaroKilimanjaro & Mt. Kenya, BurnsMount Kenya and Kilimanjaro, Allan, Mountain Club of Kenya1:50,000 Map & Guide to Kilimanjaro, Savage1:100,000 Special Edition - Director of Overseas surveys 1978ChimborazoEcuador – a climbing guide, Yossi BrainThe Andes - A Guide for Climbers, John BiggarMaps at 1:50,000 available in Quito, but are of little useIsland PeakTrekking & Climbing in Nepal, RazzettiThe Trekking Peaks of Nepal, O’Connor)Schneider’s expensive but detailed 1:50,000 range covers theentire trekking region of Nepal1:50000 Mandala Maps are locally available but not as detailedAconcaguaAconcagua, Secor, covers only the mountain but in some detail andwith very useful aerial photosThe Andes - A Guide for Climbers, Biggar, covers the entire AndesThe few maps available are of little use in reaching the summit

InsuranceOnce you leave the UK, it’s essential to have the best insur-ance cover. BMC insurance will cover you from the taxi rideto the airport all the way to the summit and back to yourdoorstep, with an unbeatable combination of benefits andvalue for money. See page 26 for more details, and takeout online at www.thebmc.co.uk

Thanks & Further Information

John BiggarJohn runs Andes, Britain’s only specialist operator of trek-king, climbing, mountaineering, skiing and biking expedi-tions to South America. They also publish the only compre-hensive climbing and trekking guidebooks to the Andes.www.andes.org.uk

Alastair LeeAlastair is a climber, photographer and performer currentlytouring with his new show Made in China.www.posingproductions.com

Tom Briggs / Jagged GlobeJagged Globe run expeditions to peaks on every continentof the globe, as well as courses in Scotland and the Alps.2002 is their 15th year of operation.www.jaggedglobe.co.uk

Tim Neil, Plas y BreninPlas y Brenin run training courses for all aspects of climbing,mountaineering, and hillwalking.www.pyb.co.uk

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 12/02/2002, 10:26 AM47


ARENA2001 Annual Report and AccountsThe Annual Report and Accounts for 2001 are automati-cally sent to affiliated clubs and volunteers on specialistand area committees. Individual members can obtain a copyby returning the pre-paid request post card enclosed in thisissue of Summit or download as a pdf from the BMC website.

Hut NewsThe date of the BMC Huts Seminar has been changed toSaturday 19th October 2002, the venue is still Plas y Brenin.Once again details are available from the office.

Due to the retirement of their respective Booking Secre-tary’s both the Don Whillans Hut and the Alex MacIntyreMemorial Hut are looking for new people to fill these posi-tions. Details are what is involved are available [email protected] or from the office. The BMC wouldlike to say a very big thank you to Dave Brown (WhillansHut) and Brent Eggo (AMMH) for all of their time and effortover the years.

Area Meetings Calendar 2002

Management Committee SummaryFor the 12th Dec. 2001. Updates were given on the Na-tional Exhibition of Mountaineering and the Guidebook Pro-gramme. Niall Grimes was welcomed as Guidebook Produc-tion Co-ordinator. The latest position on FMD and the BMC’sinvolvement in the Rural Task Force and Rural Affairs Forumfor England were reported. An update was given on thelatest position of MSLLP. Andy MacNae was congratulatedon his appointment as Chief Executive and a partnershipagreement was now in place between all 9 home nationand UK mountaineering councils and training boards. DaveTurnbull was congratulated on his appointment as Chief Of-ficer of the BMC. It was reported that Dave would officiallytake up his post from 1st January 2002.

General and Specific Organisational Structure WorkingGroup recommendations were adopted pending amend-ments to be made following discussions at the meeting.Roger Payne explained that because of personal circum-stances Iain Blair, BMC Financial Controller had resigned.The Finance Committee had advised the acceptance of hisresignation. The nominations committeeput forward a list of names of potentialVice President nominees: John Mason, TutBraithwaite, Kate Phillips, Alan Hinkes,Airlie Anderson and Gordon Adshead.Dave Musgrove has indicated that he iswilling to stand as a successor to DerekWalker as President. Two new club mem-bership applications were accepted: theDuke of Edinburgh Society University ofNottingham Union (Midlands) and the Ply-mouth Primary Schools Climbing Club(South West & Southern). The next Man-agement Committee meeting is on 9 Feb-ruary 2002 at Plas y Brenin.

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BRIEFINGThe Science & Technology of ClimbingThe 2nd International conference on the Science & Technol-ogy in Climbing and Mountaineering is being organised byLeeds University. Topics will include: Physiology, Sports in-jury & medicine, Biomechanics, Equipment design, Textiles& clothing, Climbing safety, Climbing wall design, Coaching& training, Navigation & electronics and Environmental fac-tors/impact. Papers and posters are also invited on anyother aspect of technology applied to climbing and moun-taineering. The conference will take place over 3 days witha number of international keynote speakers and with scien-tific presentations in both plenary and parallel sessions.See the con fe rence webs i te a t www. leeds .ac .uk /sports_science/conference/climb2002/index.htm for fulldetails of this major event.

Peak Guides – Open MeetingThere will be an open guidebook meeting for anyone withan interest in Peak District guidebooks, on the 4th March atthe Norfolk Arms, Ringinglow at 7:30pm. So come alongand have your say – rant about grades, stars, boulderingmats, or anything else you want to make a noise about. Noguns please. The BMC are also looking for good slides forforthcoming publications covering Staffordshire and theKinder / Bleaklow areas. For more information on these andother guidebook matters, contact Niall Grimes at the BMCoffice – [email protected], 0161 438 3301.

Markfield Quarry Cleanup DayStart the new climbing season with a bang, and a clatterand a chop, and a scrape! If you’d like to see Markfieldquarry gain some good belay stakes, remove loose rockafter the winter’s frosts and get rid of much of the gorsechoking some of the routes read on. Turn up at Markfield

Quarry on March 23rd with old ropes, abseil gear, protec-tive gloves, lump hammers, spades, secateurs, rubbish sacksetc. and take part in the grand clean up. The cleanup dayis being organised by Markfield Quarry Coordinating Group.Email [email protected] more info.

MLTB Workshops and SeminarsThe following MLTB workshops and seminars are plannedfor early 2002. For more information contact the MLTB.ML Award Holder seminars (1 day. £30)Sat. 15th June Pendarren House, South WalesML Award Holder seminars (2 day. £110)6th/7th Apr Plas y Brenin10th/11th June Plas y BreninSPA Holder seminars (1 day. £30)Sat 13th May Thornbridge, PeakDisability Awareness Workshops (1 day. £40)Mon 25th Mar KendalTeaching & Coaching in the Mountains (2 day. £110)16th/17th March Plas y Brenin17th/18th June Plas y Brenin

Last Call for South African Exchange!We are still inviting applications for the South African ex-change. This event is open to any dedicated climber ortrekker regardless of ability, and is a great opportunity tofoster stronger international links within our sport, as well ashave the time of your life. Dates are 3-11th May (climbing)and 6-14th September (trekking). The Kwa-Zulu section ofthe MCSA is generously offering hospitality, so all you haveto worry about is getting there and the BMC InternationalCommittee will also provide a £100 bursary to each of thesuccessful applicants. Please apply direct via post or emailto Stuart Ingram ([email protected]) with an activity CV,by 15th March (climbing) and 15th July (trekking).

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MLTBThe Quality of Mountain DaysAt the MLTB we have always taken the view that it is not somuch the ability to perform a certain number of tasks anddemonstrate a certain number of skills that make a competentand skilled leader as the sum total of what that person hasdone. We are big on experience. That is why all candidateshave to complete as thorough a record of their experiences onthe hills and crags as possible. This helps the training processin that the programme can be adapted to suit the competen-cies that the candidates already have and the trainers cantailor their suggestions for further experience in the light ofwhat has gone before. One of the FAQ’s we deal with at theMLTB concerns the phrase “quality mountain days” which cropsup when we ask the candidate to show us what they've done.So just what is a “quality mountain day”?

The rough with the smoothDo all your trips and routes go to plan? Does everything runsmoothly? The sun always shine? The rock feel dry and full offriction? You never get lost? Never drop your rack off pitchthree? Never watch your map blow away into the distance?

Hey! This is all “quality”. This is what memories are madeof and is also what makes for a steeper learning curve thannormal. No-one is perfect and if you are out there actuallyhaving adventures and learning, then things will go slightlyawry sometimes. We all get lost; we all fall off; we all retreat.The crucial thing is to learn from the experience; to get olderand wiser.

Reading between the linesWhen a log book full of experience is handed in, or whenyou simply talk to candidates on an MLTB course there aretwo possible ways of responding to the odd tale of daring.Those candidates who never go out without an epic, whoselog book reads like a potted version of a Joe Simpson expe-dition set off alarm bells. Why does this happen? To them?All the time? The average MLTB assessor will have somequestions to ask.

Conversely there are some log books where the admis-sion that the candidate failed to reach their objective be-cause of high winds and an incoming storm does not pro-duce any derision in the reader. Failure is a great teacherand the average assessor will have respect for someonewho tried, thought about it, and did the right thing.

Bad day: good daySo a “quality mountain day” can be a lousy day. You don’tget what you thought you were going to get in terms of thetypical “pleasure” experience that we often seek. But youstill got experience! And it is the experience at the wildermargins of most forms of mountaineering that enable youto cope with difficulties later on. Not only have you learnedfrom the specifics of your personal epic but you have alsolearned that it is possible for you to cope in more generalterms. That makes you calmer, more likely to think rationallyand better equipped to improvise solutions. And at the MLTBwe are not so much concerned with what a good all-rounderyou have turned out to be; we are concerned with what agood leader you might be. If you can turn that quality moun-tain experience you have acquired into a capacity to copewith not only personal difficulties but also with the care of agroup then you are going through a valuable process. It isquite difficult navigating across a hill in a white out; but askilled leader can do it with half a brain, whilst the other halfmonitors, cheers, cajoles, cares for and motivates the groupand carries out ongoing risk assessments and evolves chang-ing contingency plans to cope with changing circumstances.Superhuman? No, just quality.

So a quality mountain day is one that pulls out the quali-ties of the participant in terms of involvement, enjoymentand challenge. It is also one that develops the qualities thatgo to make up a good leader.

DEFY GRAVITY

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31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 11/02/2002, 11:28 AM53


It has struck me that anyone with a grudge against climb-ers could quite easily spoil their fun. It doesn’t need ahammer and chisel or a wire brush with six-inch nails

stuck in it. I remember a conflict with bikers that led to afavourite quarry traverse being smeared with grease. Fif-teen years later the traverse is almost as slippery in places,but this time it’s the relentless passage of feet that hasdone the damage. In an era of access for all, to suggestotherwise would be at best undemocratic, and at worst elit-ist and arrogant. It’s not unreasonable to assume thoughthat this freedom will simply attract desirable like-mindedindividuals to the sport. Increasingly our freedoms are man-aged for our own benefit, and the BMC works hard to rep-resent what is basically a fairly anarchic bunch of individu-alists doing their own thing.

It’s the flouting of the code of ethics by a minority ofinsensitive individuals that provokes outrage amongst thosewho play by the rules. Many of us have been incensed atone time or other when a piece of rock has been ‘ruined’.The rules of the game can seem arbitrary to an outsider.I’ve never seen these rules written down though, and Ithink they are probably acquired by some form of osmosis.They change over time, and some would say that they haveevolved to reflect a purer ethic relative to what has gonebefore. Look at the peg scarred cracks, which now go free,or the rusting dodgy aid bolts which protect some gritstoneroutes such as Berlin Wall. Ultimately it’s about respect forothers that reins in our anarchic tendencies. Or maybe it’sconformity and fear of upsetting the status quo? I mighteven hope that it’s an increasing environmental awarenessand a sense of responsibility or stewardship.

Those who choose to break the mould tread a tightropebetween being labeled visionaries or vandals. Controversycomes with the territory, but they have at times shown theway beyond an obvious impasse. Who can honestly saythat they have never enjoyed doing a sports climb? Beingrealistic, a proportion of new routes have always beenchipped and probably always will be. I’ve enjoyed climbingsome of them, downhill Racer being a notable example.They occupy a spectrum from the blatantly vandalised tothe artistically altered, being a reflection of the obsessive-ness that climbing sometimes engenders.

This year I walked away disappointed after trying a newroute and discovering that it lacked a couple of crucial holds.The rock was blank, but it occurred to me that if I banged apeg into a weathered seam I could prise out a lump ofdetached rock to create a hold. The route would have beenquite spectacular. I walked away disgruntled, torn betweenwanting to profit from the investment of time and energy,and on the other hand respecting the consensus opinion ofwhat is cricket and what is not. I had committed nothingmore than a thought crime. But the potential desecration ofan obscure, unclimbed quarry wall pales into insignificancewith the heresy of altering an established route, especiallyon god’s own gritstone. Changing a way up rock architecturelovingly created by natural processes rather than explosives.Now that beggars belief!

There’s a crucial issue of discretion regarding how we treatthe medium we like to cling to so tenaciously. Wire brushingin itself is not the problem. Some areas require wire brush-ing just to make boulder problems or harder routes possi-ble- Wimberry or Kinder Northern Edges for example. Softergrit in other areas won’t stand this kind of treatment. Oncethe hard surface layer has been removed the rock beneathcan become very sandy and easily eroded. There is thethorny issue of sustainability, which is easier to ignore thanto address. With a marked increase in numbers over recentyears, what will become of the most popular routes andproblems in ten or twenty years? Admittedly no one wearsnailed boots these days, but many of us like to push thelimits of friction on smears and tiny edges. What have we tolook forward to other than polished, tired venues? On thepositive side there is an increasing recognition of the con-sequences of over-use. We now have resin coated holds atthe Bridestones. Bouldering mats seem to be doing a goodjob by allowing vegetation to thrive at the bottom of popularproblems.

This is a far cry from the anger of seeing a favourite boul-der problem vandalised by someone who either doesn’t orshould know better. The reaction might be just as strongfrom a nature loving dog walker seeing the results of heavy-handed pruning at Woodhouse Scar. Whose sensibilitiesare more important at the end of the day? We all make animpact and maybe we should aim to tread lightly (if you willforgive the pun) as a guiding principle.

LAST THOUGHTS

PLAYINGB Y T H ER U L E S

A view by Andy Stewart

(TOP) Jim Graham, Den Lane Quarry.Credit: Alex Messenger

31465_SUMMIT_25.p65 12/02/2002, 2:45 PM62

firestarters summits of desire visionaries & vandals

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