Issue 11 March 2002
FEATURESThis issue included Pastimes, By David Menteith, an article won joint 2nd prize in the MCofS prose category of the 2001 Mountain Article Competition This issue also included The Ascent of the Black Spout, by Alex Guild, a report of a climb on Lochnagar, part of ... Climb Through History – make it happen this year! We now have 61 routes allocated from the total of 112 routes selected from records each year from 1810 to 1998. The last summer's dismal weather put paid to many folks attempt to complete their route, but lets hope the sun shines through a long summer this year. As this is The International Year of Mountains, completing your chosen 'Climb through History' route or signing up to do one, would be an excellent way of personally celebrating this event. There are still easier routes as well as some harder ones not allocated, so there is a great range available for most tastes from almost scrambling to the absurdly technical and serious. For Instance:
The Witch'e Step, Arran (Diff)
Contact the Office for an up to date list, or see our website. The site also now has eight completed articles posted on it to inspire you. Sign up today
Exploring the Staunings AlpsBy Colwyn Jones Our six-man expedition went to the Northeast Greenland National Park from 22nd July to 17th August 2001. The team consisted of three Scottish Mountaineering Club members, Myself (Leader and Medical Officer), Chris Ravey, Brian Shackleton, plus three Lake District climbers, Jim Fairey, Colin Read and Nick Walmsley We travelled on scheduled flights from Glasgow to Keflavik, transferring to Reykjavik and onward to Akureyri later the same day. On 23rd July we flew in a small, chartered turboprop from Akureyri to Mestersvig, a gravel airstrip in Greenland. Two members were flown by helicopter to base camp on the Great Cumbrae glacier that evening. However, as the helicopter pilot had exceeded his daily flying quota, the other four had to wait until next morning. Our objectives were the first ascent of the unclimbed South Face of Sussex (a towering wall of golden granite), the first ascent of the unclimbed South Ridge of Dansketinde (the highest mountain in the range) and first ascents of peaks in the area. After a day of base camp preparation and rifle practice (in case we met any polar bears!) we reconnoitred the Great Cumbrae on skis. On 26th July the first route fell - all six of us made the first ascent of 'Keswicktinde' (2430m) by its northwest ridge, an AD line involving a grade 2 couloir and a long exposed snow ridge leading to the summit. After a rest day Colin and Brian made the second recorded ascent of Sussex (2390m) via a new route on the southeast face (650m, D). Chris and Nick attempted a new route on the northeast ridge of Sydney (2300m) and got to within a frustrating 60m of the summit, but reached an impasse. Jim and myself attempted a huge ridge (initially dubbed The W**ker Spur), which dominated the SE end of the glacier basin - the southwest spur of the western outlier of Sefstromsgipfel. The route was started at 0830 and we climbed continuously through the day and night taking 28 hours to complete the 25 pitch, 555m, ED route. Two of the pitches required some aid. Retreat was by multiple abseils into a long gully on the eastern flank of the spur, which took another 8 hours. While descending the gully, and in full view of the rest of us, Jim was caught in an avalanche and was swept 300m into a bergschrund. Luckily we all made an immediate crevasse rescue and he was hoisted out completely unhurt. Checks for a head injury for the following 24 hours revealed no (new) abnormalities. The ridge, which was composed of excellent granite, was named the Jones-Fairey Spur (2570m) and the descent gully named Jim's Gully. Mild weather thereafter made snow slopes and couloirs unreliable, although the avalanche also spooked us all, so we made a number of ski tours up unexplored glaciers, confirming the enormous climbing potential of the area. As most rock ledges were now clear of snow, attention focussed on the South Face of Sussex. We ferried equipment to the foot of the face and made an attempt the following day while it was sunny and clear. After negotiating the bergschrund, the technical difficulties were much harder than we expected and we retreated after 3 hard won pitches. It was clear that this big wall would require big wall tactics. On the 6th August Jim and I attempted to climb the west ridge of Emmanuel. After climbing 12 pitches up to ED and A2, through the night, we reached a steep wall less than half way up the ridge, which barred the way. We retreated by abseil into an adjacent couloir and pitched a descent in fear of a repeat of the avalanche! A further couple of days were spent ski touring and on 10th August Chris, Colin, Brian and Nick made the first ascent of the southwest ridge of Mears Fjeld (2100m, PD). They first attempted an adjacent peak but failed to achieve the summit due to dangerously unstable rock. Meanwhile, Jim and I made the first ascent of the delightful 200m southwest ridge of the Pap of Cumbrae (1885m), a shapely minor peak at the junction of the Little Cumbrae and Cantebrae, graded AD. We also snatched the first ascent of the south face of Tandlaegetinde – the tooth doctors or dentists peak (2350m 500m, TD). Descent was by multiple abseil back down the excellent granite face. The South Ridge of Dansketinde could not be attempted, as the helicopter was not available to move our base camp to Gully glacier as planned. Our scheduled return, which gave us a spare night in Mestersvig was also delayed, the weather being poor with low cloud hiding the tops of the surrounding peaks and we had to spend one more night on the glacier. The following mornings clear weather allowed us to leave and all rubbish was taken out. Base Camp was left clean. We flew south late in the evening over the Staunings Alps giving magnificent views in the evening sun. Overall, the weather was excellent and stable during the expedition. Over the 23 complete days on the glacier, there were two days when there were short periods of light snowfall. Whilst the minimum recorded temperature was -8°C, there were several occasions when no overnight freeze took place. Daylight (and the need for sunglasses) was continuous, allowing uninterrupted climbing and removing the need to carry bivouac gear. The Arctic sunrises and sunsets, with the sun shining low on the horizon were staggering in their beauty, especially when seen from a summit. The first sunset at 72°N is on the 8th August. The Scottish Mountaineering Club East Greenland Expedition 2001expedition wishes to acknowledge the financial support of The Mountaineering Council of Scotland, The Mount Everest Foundation and the Scott Polar Institute. |
This issue included the feature Walking wild in ASSYNT, Land of rock and water, by Irvine Butterfield.
GUEST ARTICLENavigational future for our trusty trig pillars
By Richard Short With the advent of global positioning system technology, most of our trusty and much-loved triangulation pillars no longer have a surveying role, so we no longer have a commercial justification for maintaining the majority of them. But the ubiquitous concrete columns must have seemed like a blight on the countryside when they were first constructed. On Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales there was a great protest in 1935 by the residents. They did not want " concrete Cleopatra's Needles" on the Dales Hills. The article finished with "Mr 'Landowner' however feels that concrete posts 15ft or 20ft in height will be unsightly". "We do not want spikes on the top of our hills". These days the Spikes are certainly not lacking in friends – as a recent consultation exercise has proved. Keen walkers will know that in remote locations, trig pillars have become important navigation aids for ramblers and climbers, even though they were never intended to serve that purpose. We have been busy reassuring everyone who asks that we have no plans to remove any of the 4,500 that remain from the original 6,000 built over a 25 year period from the mid-1930s. They were constructed for the mammoth retriangulation of Great Britain, essential for the improved mapping we enjoy today. But while we will not seek to remove them ourselves, it is inevitable that damage will occur at some sites – for example, as a result of lightning strikes or people pushing them over ! – We will continue to receive requests from landowners (particularly in agricultural areas) asking if they can be given permission to remove 'redundant' pillars. From the representations received as a result of the consultation, it is clear there is a widespread wish to see continuing basic maintenance of pillars which have some navigational use, especially in view of the legislation currently before Parliament, proposing greater access to the countryside. In remoter areas, the public safety issue of people needing to be able to identify their location on the ground in poor visibility is a key reason for people wanting to retain some pillars for navigational purposes. We have now made it clear through an official information paper on our web site that we agree that many pillars are likely to have a navigational use, particularly on high ground in remote areas but also some in lower-lying areas – for example, along some rugged coastlines. For the present, it has now been confirmed that we will continue to carry out basic maintenance where it is considered a pillar has real navigational significance. Accordingly, each case of a damaged pillar drawn to our attention will be treated on its merits. When we are alerted to the fact that a pillar is in need of repair, we will investigate the extent of the repairs needed and assess whether the pillar is important to navigation. If it appears to have a navigational role, we will endeavour to take action to carry out basic repairs or consider whether there are alternative ways of marking the spot on the ground if the damage is very extensive. Where a damaged pillar does not appear to have a navigational role, we will consider whether it is more appropriate to remove it rather than arranging for its repair. Similarly, when we are approached by a landowner wishing to remove a pillar, we will consider the navigational aspect before giving a decision, but where there is no clear navigational need we will not object to its removal. It is worth noting that some pillars are located on sites of historic or archaeological importance, and if any action is needed, the appropriate authorities will be consulted before decisions are made. Since the last of the pillars did not go up until the early 1960s, there have been numerous repair missions since then but if anyone does notice a pillar that has a navigational use and is damaged please let the Ordnance Survey know. All we need is a grid reference and a short description of the damage we can then consider what is to be done. Our helpline telephone number to report any damaged Trig Pillars is 08456 05 05 05
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