High 2013-2014 2013-2014 Society CUHWC has now officially provided its 25th year of hard mountain pleasure... Issue 4: 2013-2014 Cover Photo: Constanze Hammerle: Brecon Beacons, December 2013 2 | P a g e Editor's Foreword by Vicky Ward One of the earliest memories that I have of the club is sitting at the Castle Inn at my first pub meet, struggling to make conversation with people I didn't really know and generally feeling exceedingly intimidated. Looking for something to hide behind, I saw a copy of High Society (volume 2) on the table and started to peruse it. Suddenly the club didn't seem so frightening – the magazine made it seem fun and full of down-to-earth people! Hopefully, there is some fresher/new member out there who'll read this edition of High Society and think exactly the same thing... so whether young or old, have a little read! Among other things, in this edition you can learn how to identify British birds of prey, read about the unofficial Cape Wrath and Mournes summer adventures, and get to grips with the mind of the new mascot, Ben More. This edition also contains the standard crossword (thanks cookie!), a quiz to help you identify your inner biscuit, and rants from various members about hills they love to hate... Many thanks to all those who have contributed photos and articles for this edition of High Society, and also to all those who have made my three years with the club so phenomenal. Ex-President, VW (Photo: © Philip Withnall 2014, CC-BY-SA 4.0) 3 | P a g e Contents Binsey – the Hill that Once Was 5 “There’s pleasure in dragging though peat bogs and bagging” 7 My First Day Out 9 Backpacking to the Cape: Section 1 11 What Type of Club Biscuit Are You? 13 A Hillwalker’s Golden Rules to the Photo Faff 17 Backpacking to the Cape: Section 2 19 UK Birds of Prey 22 Shabby Hills 26 Letters 30 THE Crossword 34 "It's pretty unlikely that CUHWC is ever going to become a terrorist cell" [JH] Photo: Paul Fox: Bryn Brethynau, 2014 4 | P a g e "Well that's a 'blow' to my weekend" [MJ] Photo: Rose Pearson: "Mystery Trip" (Northern Lakes) February 2014 Binsey – The Hill That Once Was by Rose Pearson The two friends awoke early, for they had a long day ahead of them. They were excited and bubbled around the kitchen. The others took a dim view of their bubbles and derided their plans, but this only excited the friends who worked themselves into a frenzy. Bubbles went everywhere. A short while later, each downed their fifth cup of tea and headed for the door. Here they paused to strap on their boots as ankle support would be important on the long journey ahead. Moving briskly, they stayed true to their path until the Cockups. Here they deviated. Upon reaching the top of the first they met three others; greetings were exchanged and a photo taken before the wind picked up and they were blown asunder. A short while later the friends stood atop the lesser of the Cockups. They surveyed the view. To the west there was grey. The south was worse; east no better. Shivering they turned north before at last their eyes were drawn north-west. They gasped; there, bathed in a ray of sunshine, lay their destination. The excitement was all too much for the lesser of the two, who had to pee atop the very tip of the Cockup. 5 | P a g e They hitched their rucksacks high on their backs and set off, their determination renewed. Across mud and grass alike they strode. Time passed, and they found their stride shortening and their breath catching. They looked around and lo, in front of them was a rise. The pair wound up and up, until suddenly they were surrounded by gold that came dancing down from the heavens and flitted lightly all around. The friends were filled with wonder and joy. Silently they spun and in every direction the earth swooped down, for they, they, were atop Binsey. Refreshed they waited, for they were expecting two friends. Hours passed and the light began to fade. Still they waited. At last, the light was gone. A darkness entered the air, and in every direction the land lay blighted. With it, a cold wind came; it told the friends 'The glory of Binsey has passed. You are no longer welcome.' And so they departed, the grass tugging at their heels. Their hearts were heavy, for they knew they could share the wonders they had seen with no-one, not even their absent friends. They trudged back through the mud and grass, below the now futile Cockups, along the Cumbria Way. With each step they took the sky grew lighter. This gave them hope, and soon they were thinking of home. A meal. Two cups of tea. Friends. They were greeted upon their return with wonder, as all could see they were changed. But they could not share what they had seen, and with time the others grew distrustful. Now, many years have passed. The others have left, and only the two friends remain. You can still see them wandering the hills. Always looking to the north-west. The Art of Splinters Photo: Andrew The Roaches, May ‘14 Williamson: Roaches Day Trip May 2014 The flesh and bone of the forest, Poem: Jade Cuttle fraying, light splits and splays, I tear my way through the shadows, the spill of the sun, spitting out its last ray, this forest has frayed, but so will beauty when you peel back her layers. The veins of this forest are alive, the burst of its blood bleeding blue across the grass, trodden in, peel her petals from the path, the tumble of her scent in blossom then bloom, cut this tree and you’ll see it bleed. 6 | P a g e “There’s pleasure in dragging through peat bogs and bagging” A statistical exploration of the J Hobbs Collective Wainwright Bagging Extravaganza™ by Mark Jackson Come on, you knew I would probably have done this even if Vicky hadn’t prompted me to. The challenge was completed on 14th September on some hill or other (hooray!) after this article was submitted, so I am hastily editing this article now (12th October) to reflect the finished situation under the pretext of proofreading the magazine for Vicky. (Note: proofreading also happened. Blame me for remaining typos.) Most new Wainwrights bagged by person This isn’t so much a register, then, of how many Lake District walks people went on last year, but more a measure of how keen people were to seek out new frontiers. The front runners were pleasingly close together – was there a race to the finish line? Ruth Pettit 30 Phil Withnall 29 Peter Kirkwood 26 Joe Hobbs, Ian & Emma Patrick 22 Michael Fordham 21 Tom Leach, Marcus Taylor 17 Jo Smith 16 Tom Ashton 14 Paul Fox, Vicky Ward 13 Valerie Ashton, David Pettit, Simon Williams 12 Eleri Cousins, Andy Howell, Mark Jackson, Jane Patrick 11 Tom H 10 Fiona P, Anne N, Chris A 9 John O, Dave F, Andrew W, Alex E, Charlotte Z 8 Becky H, Tom D, Alex K, Simon B, Rose P 7 Laurent M 6 Helen & Michael A, Peter & Lottie B, Andrena B, Paul C, Sophie D 5 Chris B, Alison B, Toby S, Matt L, Roger B, Lucy W 4 Ivories, Blakes, Greg C, Haskins, Sherly L, Stuart B, Jack B, Erik W 3 Antonia C, Freya, Helen P, Constanze H, Laura I, Katie A, Kat H, Baileys, Simon T, David C, Mary 2 S, Helen F, Jade C, Peter W, Sarah H-W, Tom O, Julia H David G, Clare G, Clare J, Dave M, Immy C, Dilip, Karol P 1 50 40 30 20 10 0 7 | P a g e Most successful partnership: Ian & Emma Patrick (22). By some distance. Most successful day: Unsurprisingly, 7th June, the Saturday of the Patterdale trip. 18 new Wainwrights bagged. 13th September wasn’t far behind, though – 17 hills. Most successful day for a single person: That Patterdale success was mostly because that was the day Peter K managed to bag 11 of the Far Eastern fells in one walk. Most varied day: The following day, 8th June, and also Saturday 13th September. Both had 5 different walks each including at least one new top. Most successful trip: Scales (the Mystery Trip) with 29. Very close behind are Patterdale (27) and the ‘clearing up’ trip on the 13th and 14th September, on which 24 new hills were climbed – but that was because there were only 24 left at that stage... Least successful trip (for number of people): The 25th anniversary washout dinner. Only 6 new tops despite hundreds of participants. Literally. Most persistent participant: Vicky wrote three successive route cards on the Seathwaite trip for – well – Seathwaite Fell. We finally got up it on the third attempt. Most socially varied bagger: Michael F, who did his bagging in the company of 8 different groups of people. Phil and Vicky weren’t far behind. This seems fair. Best soloist: Ruth did 17 under her own steam. Choicest logs: Binsey (from Scales); Rose & Becky, 8 March: “Because Michael said it was too far away!” Robinson; Jo, Dave, Chris, Chris and Alex, 4th Jan: “After a snock-hunting expedition” Brock Crags; Phil W, 8th June: “Everyone else was swimming in Angle Tarn so I thought Brock Crags would be a nice 15 minute bag.” Angletarn Pikes; Peter K, 7th June: “12:45 am Evening stroll” Sour Howes; Andrena & Phil W, 12th July: “Meh.” "I thought the cow song was particularly poignant" [JA] Photo: Alex Katovsky: (Helvellyn) Patterdale June 2014 8 | P a g e My First Day Out by Ben More 25 February 2014 Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to be a mascot.