Number in series 70; Year of publication 1986 - Fell and Rock ...

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THE OLD MAN AT STOEREd Grindley'Yes, definitely over there' said Maclnnes, pointing to the left of a low mistfringedhill. 'I was here on a reconnaissance a couple of weeks ago'. At Hamish'scommand our assorted and heavily-laden party began to move across the bog.We were here to make a film.Within five minutes the party was scattered across the moor; camera men fellinto old peat cuttings and tried vainly to thrust their cameras onto dry ground;sound men tripped over peat stacks and rammed their gun-mikes into highlandcattle pats.... chaos.Bathgate and myself had the ladder. We set off with it horizontal, one at eitherend, our heads through the rungs. The ladder was piled with boxes. One of ustripped. If you've ever been garotted and hit over the head with a metal trunk atthe same time, you know how it felt. Practice should have made perfect, but in abog like that it didn't. Finally we stretched the ladder across the next mire andwalked across carrying the boxes. And the next mire.... and the next....Some hours later we all reached the cliff-top from different directions.'No bad thing that' observed Hamish, 'More chance of finding the right pathif we spread out'.After five minutes rest it dawned on everyone that the sea below was empty.All eyes turned to Hamish.'Must be the other side of the hill. Difficult to tell in this mist', he mused.'You lads start fetching the rest of the gear and I'll go and look'. With that hedisappeared, empty-handed.Three hours and five trips later it was done: trunks, aluminium boxes,tripods, food for a week, a marquee and twenty crates of McEwan's moved tothe top of the cliff. Just at that moment Hamish re-appeared. 'Took somefinding in the mist', he noted.All that remained was to move the huge mound of gear up and over the hill.Reassured of our safety, Hamish went to investigate the path down to the foot ofthe Old Man.Next day Hamish descended the line of ropes we'd put down the steep cliffpath, poking the odd belay and tutting. Bathgate, Brown and myself made nocomment; we'd just arrived down with the 30 foot ladder.Between us and the Old Man was a narrow and deep sea channel, normallycrossed by swimming. Hamish had other ideas — the ladder.'Should be no problem; used the same technique on a crevasse in the WesternCwm. That was 35ft wide, this is only 30 ft.'Hamish sat down to supervise the operation. Under his direction the ladderwas raised to 45°, by Joe and Dave using side ropes, and myself pushing. Slowlywe got the base of the ladder to the channel's edge.'Let go' said Hamish.330
Ed Grindley 161A couple of hours later we succeeded in removing the ladder from thechannel, along with several tons of sea-weed and two conger eels. The channel,it seemed, was 31ft wide. As a man experienced in the ways of Maclnnes, Joethen produced an inflatable boat from his rucksack and rowed across. After thatthings went smoothly for a spell. Joe and Dave did a new route and Ian Nicolsonand myself did the Original Route to check the belays for the girls' ascent thenext day.The start of the Original route traversed greasy twin cracks above the channel;why I don't know, because we walked around the back and avoided it. An easypitch followed, up a crack to a ledge on the south rib 60 feet above the sea. Thenext pitch was the crux — an awkward crack, slanting up rightwards over abulge. From the stance above, a rising traverse led rightwards; roofs above androofs below; to a ledge. The ledge contained a bird: unmistakably a fulmar, Ithought. This surprised me as my 'How the fulmar spreads' map didn't showthem this far south. Suddenly the air was thick with puke; cracks and ledgesdripped and I wondered if I'd misinterpreted the map's title. Fortunately Iremembered the words of Hamish. 'Flick a sling at them till they run out ofammo'. After five minutes it seemed safe to proceed. Whoosh!'You have to watch that' Hamish remarked later 'they sometimes keep a bit inreserve'.Green-faced, I climbed the final chimney and pulled onto a ledge just belowthe top; there was a fulmar to each side. I tried quickly to remember whatHamish had said about his experiences in the Ypres salient; I believe the correctmilitary term is enfillade fire.The top and as the Americans are so fond of saying, high man, high.Next day the misty weather cleared, Cynthia and Dot climbed the OriginalRoute and Joe and Dave repeated their line for the cameras. Don't think the epicwas over; far from it. Hamish had decided that Joe and Dave must Tyroleanfrom the summit to the mainland. A special steel-cored rope had been made andeventually this was hauled up and tensioned across the 300ft gap.'OK Joe, across you come', shouted Hamish.'No way mate. It's your idea, you can try it first'. Hamish went pale.'Nothing to worry about Joe, I had the rope made specially, 20 ton breakingstrain, steel core. It'd hold a tram'.'After you mate'. Hamish went white and had to be helped down to the rope,a broken-looking man. The rope held, the acrobats were filmed and Cynthia andDot abseiled off to film Cynthia's swim across the channel.At last the Old Man was cleared and the circus departed. Months later thefilm went out. A plain enough tale. Four climbers arrive at the Old Man, swimand Tyrolean the channel and climb two routes, one new. With the help of acouple of handy walkers they stretch one climbing rope across the gap, and twoTyrolean over; the other two abseil.The camera never lies? Well it doesn't tell the whole truth either!131
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100 YEARS OFROCK CLIMBINGIN THELAKE
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EDITOR'S NOTESGeoff CramIn June 188
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4 THE FIRST ASCENT OF NAPES NEEDLET
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6 THE FIRST ASCENT OF NAPES NEEDLEb
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10 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIM
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H.M.Kelly and J.H.Doughty 33for the
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H.M.Kelly and J.H.Doughty1892 Moss
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H.M.Kelly and J.H. Doughty1923 Toph
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John Wilkinson 47men: Birkett, Peas
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John Wilkinson 53are now Hard Very
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John Wilkinson 57have radically tra
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John Wilkinson 6 5being made by the
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John Wilkinson6SWith the opening up
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Pete Whillance 73good routes on Low
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Page 67 and 68: A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIMBIN
Page 69 and 70: A SHORT HISTORYOF LAKELAND CLIMBING
Page 71 and 72: Ron Kenyon and AlMurray 89climbed b
Page 73 and 74: Ron Kenyon and Al Murray 91spotligh
Page 75 and 76: 94 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIM
Page 77 and 78: Ron Kenyon and Al Murray 97In the E
Page 79 and 80: 102 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLI
Page 81 and 82: 106 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLI
Page 83 and 84: 110 THE NORTH-EAST SPUR OF THE DROI
Page 85 and 86: 112 THE NORTH-EAST SPUR OF THE DROI
Page 87 and 88: ROCK CLIMBING IN NORTHERN ITALYAl C
Page 89 and 90: AI Churcher 119Sergent and Caporal,
Page 91 and 92: 13 MILES FROM THE EQUATORRay Cassid
Page 93 and 94: Ray Cassidy 123and I suddenly found
Page 95 and 96: W. Heaton Cooper 127One element see
Page 97 and 98: June Parker 131show a new route bei
Page 99 and 100: 136 THE ABRAHAM COLLECTIONwas a for
Page 101 and 102: 140 THE WASDALE CLIMBING BOOKClimbi
Page 103 and 104: SCAFELL CENTRAL BUTTRESSG.S.SansomR
Page 105 and 106: G.S.Sansom 145bulge, above-mentione
Page 107 and 108: MORE OF C.B.Bill BirkettWhen the ed
Page 109 and 110: 150 MOREOFC.B.ground, rather overha
Page 111 and 112: 152 CLIMBING IN THE MIDDLE AGEStemp
Page 113 and 114: THE MAN WHO BROKE THE NEEDLEGraham
Page 115 and 116: G. Sutton 157tooth....'Ron's voice
Page 117: G. Sutton 159view; they must have b
Page 121 and 122: 164 THE MODERN ICARUS!This was now
Page 123 and 124: 166 THE MODERN ICARUS!Aware that I'
Page 125 and 126: Angela Soper 169whispered happily,
Page 127 and 128: 172 THE WELL-OILED MACHINE - TWELVE
Page 129 and 130: 174 THE WELL-OILED MACHINE - TWELVE
Page 131 and 132: A. Harry Griffin 111the same mould
Page 133 and 134: A. Harry Griffin 179merged together
Page 135 and 136: 182 WAY OUT WESTone of them picked
Page 137 and 138: 184 WAY OUT WESTseverity it was of
Page 139 and 140: 186 WAY OUT WESTwho made me a pair
Page 141 and 142: SCOTLANDThe Fell and Rock members c
Page 143 and 144: Jim Sutcliffe 193June Parker report
Page 145 and 146: NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESAlan Murray & P
Page 147 and 148: 198 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESIvor the Bo
Page 149 and 150: 200 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESBLEAK HOW C
Page 151 and 152: 202 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESJoker Man.
Page 153 and 154: 204 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESPrivate Eye
Page 155 and 156: 206 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTES6a. Climb t
Page 157 and 158: 208 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESBURNT CRAG
Page 159 and 160: 210 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESYEW CRAGAut
Page 161 and 162: 212 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESSilverstone
Page 163 and 164: 214 IN MEMORIAMGladys died peaceful
Page 165: CLUB OFFICERS AND MEETS 225Libraria
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Number in series 70; Year of publication 1986 - Fell and Rock ...

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