Clwb Dringo De Cymru
www.southwalesmountaineering.org.uk
Newsletter, December 2003
Notes from the Editor
“Well
I don’t mind doing it so long as there’s no-one else who’s prepared to give it
a go”. How many times have we heard this at AGMs when it comes round to
electing the next year’s committee? Sometimes this is a bit of assumed modesty
but frequently people really do mean it. It’s not that we don’t want to be on
the committee, it’s good to feel that you’re giving something back to the
climbing community and some even have ambitions for our Club, things they want
to see changed.
Committee
meetings this last couple of years have been less of a chore than I remember
them being when I was previously on the committee. My last stint of committee
work was so long ago that I was involved with the publication of the last
edition of the guide book. These days we take it in turn to have the meetings
in our homes and to provide a meal. They are much more social occasions.
Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that the business is at times rather tedious.
This
was not, however, why I meant it when, like almost everyone asked if they’ll
stand for one more year, I used those words at the AGM. I believe in principle
that there should be a turnover in committee membership every year. The
responsibility to run the club should be shared and there’s no reason why
everyone shouldn’t take a turn. There’s a danger that a committee can get
entrenched, out of touch with the membership and in pursuit of their own
agenda. New committee members question the assumptions, the status quo and
bring fresh ideas. That’s why it’s so good to have so many fresh faces on this
year’s committee.
John Goodwin
Annual General Meeting 2003
Not having the minutes to hand to refer to I’ll have
to rely on my memory for this account. Those of you who know me well will know
that this is far from infallible. However, this is not the official account of
the AGM just my report on the goings on. I’m sure that if I make any errors
those of you who were there will point them out. I might even make a few
deliberate mistakes in order to provoke a bit of correspondence.
Nigel gave the Chairman’s report of the past year.
The current membership of the club was given as 99 but I know that we’ve had at
least one recruit since then so we’re into treble figures! The achievements and
activities of the year were summarised. Nigel then invited past Chair Gwyn
Evans to give an update on work on the guide book. The good news is that we are
actually at the stage of submitting copy to the printer and it is expected that
the new book will hit the shops for Easter 2004.
In the newsletter of December 2002 I reported that
there had been no statement of accounts at the 2002 AGM. This year there was a
statement of the Club’s financial position, as I understand it, the fruit of
the joint labours of Gareth Smitham (elected Treasurer in 2002) and Kim Collis.
It was reassuring to see some figures confirming that the Club is in a healthy
position as far as finances go. These were not, however, a fully audited set of
accounts and we look forward to getting back to a more regular state of affairs
with our newly elected Treasurer Llio Elgar.
There were in fact several new people elected on to the
committee. We were treated to the novelty of people spontaneously volunteering
in the meeting for positions on the committee, apparently under no pressure,
obligation or duress whatsoever.
Gary Lewis proposed that there should be a new
committee position created in order to represent a group of Club members who
are based at WICC. It wasn’t possible to do this at the meeting since this
would require an amendment to the constitution and due process has to be
observed in such a case, the proposed amendment being notified in advance to
the membership etc. etc.
The committee is, however, empowered to co-opt
members to join them. By common assent, therefore, Pete Wardman was asked to
serve on the committee for the forthcoming year. The committee will consider
whether any change to the current constitution is necessary or desirable and
will bring any consequent amendments to the next AGM.
Here’s a full list of the new committee and how to
contact them. Remember, we want to hear from you, it’s your Club.
|
Nigel Lewis |
Chair |
(mobile) 07989 571 191 |
|
Stuart Lloyd |
Secretary |
01446 792 363 (mobile) 07710 187 924 |
|
Llio Elgar |
Treasurer |
|
|
Kim Collis |
Barn Warden |
18, SA1 6HT |
|
John Goodwin |
Newsletter Editor |
37, CF23 5QR 029 2030 9056 |
|
|
Membership Secretary, |
029 2062 1069 (mobile) 07817 423 195 |
|
Sylvia Noorbhai |
Ordinary Member, |
|
|
Tim Hoddy |
Membership Secretary, |
41, Y Berllan, |
|
Chris Wyatt |
Ordinary Member, |
christopher.wyatt@majotech.com 19, Cwmdonkin Terrace, SA1 0RQ 01792 521228 (mobile) 07890828031 |
|
Pete Wardman |
Co-opted committee member |
07808 365 248 |
The
Annual Dinner
And after the AGM, as always, came the Annual Dinner.
This year it was
Following this, a presentation of one of the newly
designed club shirts was made to Benedicte Cordier, retiring Ordinary Member,
After the speeches the band struck up. Since this was
a ceilidh band, after a while Dave Parsons was prevailed upon to organise a few
set dances. Dave is an expert at such things unlike a large proportion of the
participants. This, of course, makes it so much more fun. There were a few collisions
and much confusion. Individuals were often seen heading off in the wrong
direction partnerless. At one point two such met but I have to tell you, sad to
say, that Kim refused Gary’s outspread arms and carried on in search of a more
acceptable partner.
An excellent night, thanks to Chris Wyatt for
organising it all.
Reports
from the committee
A
regular item in the newsletter, however, there’s nothing to report from the
committee since there’s been no meeting since the AGM.
The
first meeting of the new committee will be on 13th January 2004. If you have anything
that you would like the committee to do something about just contact any
committee member (details above).
Letter
from the Barn Warden
Well,
the Christmas lights are up on the barn and looking great. This year we have a
full set of flashing reindeer to go with Santa and his sleigh - it's good to
know where your membership fees are being spent.
The
work weekend in October was not a great success attendance-wise. I was the only
club member there, although two of my mates came up and together we painted the
outside of the barn, or as much as three of us could do in a weekend. It looks
very smart on the outside just now. If you are prepared to lend a hand at the
next work weekend in February or March, please get in touch.
The
question of barn fees for 2004 is still to be decided. A small increase in the
overnight fee may be necessary to compensate for the fact that we now have no
electricity meter, courtesy of the person who smashed his way into it.
If
anybody has a radio or even better a micro hi-fi system to spare, please get in
touch. The coffee table could also do with replacing if anybody has one. Email
me at kim.collis@ntlworld.co.uk
Kim Collis
Hut keys are available from Kim or, for members
living at the
Membership
Matters!
Subscriptions for club membership are due on January 1st. These can be paid to
membership secretaries by sending a cheque made out to the SWMC, handing over
cash to membership secretaries, or the preferred option which is to set up a
standing order. Membership forms including a standing order mandate are
available from the website.
You
can find the contact details for the Membership Secretaries in the committee
details above.
Please
note that BMC insurance is dependent on being a member of the BMC and that if
you haven't paid your subs and are not a member of the BMC by any other means then
you're not covered by the BMC insurance.
An
additional benefit of membership next year will be the substantial members
discount on the new guide book to South East Wales and Gower.
Using e mail to communicate with members saves time and money. Can any member who
has recently got an e-mail address or changed their address please send an
e-mail to their membership secretary so they can be added to the club’s
distribution list.
Club
Shirts
Gary
Lewis is organising a bulk order of club T shirts, sweat shirts, hoodies, or
smarter shirts (as modelled by Benedicte at the club dinner). You can order
through
The
shop is LOGO at 9, Royal Arcade,
If
you want to order through
Club
Meetings
During the Winter months, as
usual, there will be slide show evenings in both
The
The venue for the
“Kalanag - Ski Mountaineering in the
Cardiff slide show 14th January
BMC Dates and Information
Area meetings are open to all, here are the meeting dates. If
you’re interested you can check out the venue details for meetings and
volunteering opportunities on the BMC website.
http://www.thebmc.co.uk/thebmc/areacom/area_res.asp?area_drop=7
|
Date |
Event |
Venue |
|
|
Area Committee for |
To be confirmed |
|
27th March |
Area Committee for |
To be confirmed |
|
9th June |
Area Committee for |
To be confirmed |
|
18th September |
Area Committee for |
To be confirmed |
|
20th November |
Area Committee for |
To be confirmed |
Old
Places, Older Faces
Gwyn Evans
“As
you’re a member of the CC any chance you could arrange for a couple of us to
stay at Helyg?” This was Guy Richardson
calling, another CC member (Caravan Club).
“My mate has been reading all about the oldest climbing hut in
In
1974 the SWMC sent a foraging party west, to
Time
wore on and eventually Guy saw the light and headed to the Lakes. There he had
met Dave his “mate”. Mike and I had
stayed in
Friday
Saturday
morning, after stocking up on bacon and eggs and further large mugs of tea it
was off to the crag, but not in the traditional way, we chose to drive, well I
had to be in Llanberis for
North
Buttress (moderate) was the obvious way up to Terrace Wall. The passage of countless feet (many booted)
over the years has rendered the first groove of this route in need of regrading,
even when using sticky rubber. Eventually we arrived at the Terrace Wall “the
pride of the East Face; a cheerful sunny spot, which gives a refreshing
opportunity to indulge in some gymnastic climbing”. Of Belle Vue Bastion the guide says, “...the
Bastion Edge is an imposing prospect”.
The first pitch goes out beneath some overhangs and round the corner
into a more lonely world, out of sight and sound of the second man. An interesting step left onto a small ledge
on a steep slab being distinctly lonely with not much more protection in 2003
than Ivan Waller enjoyed in 1927 (or when he repeated it 58 years after that
ascent). When Dave came up there was
much comment about old, bold men! The
second pitch makes similar moves right and out onto an exposed “bracket”
followed by a mantelshelf. After that
it’s all over, ending within walking distance of Adam and Eve. This was not to
be a truly traditional visit however; Dave’s ankle was giving him some gyp, so
we forewent the summit and retreated to the sacks where Dave announced that
there was a bottle of champagne waiting in Helyg. It transpired that he had wanted to do Belle
Vue Bastion for at least 16 years and my role in the planning of the previous
night became clear.
But
we couldn’t justify a bottle of champagne on just two routes so, bad ankle or
not, Dave was bundled down to the Milestone for the Superdirect. A party from Jagged Globe was already on it
but we managed to speed them up it until the last pitch. Here the leader stood aside, ostensibly
teaching his charges how to place nuts and make belays, so we could go through.
Unfortunately the fluidity of the lower pitches departed and there were a
number of forays onto the front face of the block before the moves into the
crack were made. At this point it seems
the JG crew opted to finish by way of the
The
champagne justified I set off for Llanberis and the others for Cobden’s. The
champagne cork was launched over the roof of Helyg later that night and then we
went indoors to a traditional roaring log fire and mugs of tea. Here we heard tales of Crag X (somewhere in
the
Stories from the Vertical World
Thomas
and Alex Huber and Leo Houlding are touring together in January with their
Stories from the Vertical World Tour and will be in
Tickets are priced at £10 or £8.50 for BMC members and NUS student card
holders. Further information is available on the Berghaus website and
tickets are available from the Taliesin box office at the University of
Wales, Singleton Park campus or you can call them on 01792 295 491.
South
Wales U16 Climbing Competition
Linda Jenson
In
an effort to increase the number of youngsters representing
The
event was a great success, with fourteen entrants and no one went home empty
handed – many thanks to the W.I.C.C., Lyon Equipment & Megagrip for their
generous prize donations.
Competitors
were aged between 9 and 15 and split into 3 age categories, each climbing 3 top
roped routes and 5 boulder problems (with the exception of 13 year old Liam Fife who opted to lead his final route,
topped out and went on to win his age category).
As
the competition progressed, route setters realised that they had underestimated
the climbing standards of the competitors, but it all just about worked out with
clear winners emerging in the different groups.
We
hope to hold more competitions for youngsters over the next few months, the
next one will be a bouldering only event on the
There is a club for experienced young climbers
at WICC which is held on Saturday mornings between 10.00 and 12.00. The next session will be held on January 10.
For more information contact Linda Jensen 029 2065 2992 or Roy Carr 01443 710
828.
Merry Christmas and
Happy Climbing in the New Year!
Coming
Soon
The
next newsletter will be published in March 2004. Please submit items, requests
or pictures by 1st March. See above for my contact details.
All
submissions will be considered for publication and almost definitely printed.
Remember,
the submission date means the date for inclusion in the next newsletter.
Any item can be sent to me at any time for future publication.
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If you
think you can, send any items for the newsletter to: |