Mega Spring

What a fantastic spring we have had in Wales. It seems like we’ve had all the best weather and it’s actually been better here than in the south! Cloggy has been packed Right Wall and Lord have been chalked up for weeks, it’s been too hot at Gogarth and we’ve been chasing shade at the Orme.
The Tremadog Revival still rumbles on with interminable delays in the collection of environmental reports and funding requests, fingers crossed we’ll see the tree surgeons here in the autumn trimming out the invasive sycamore trees. The Cromlech sustainable path projects also crawls along slowly waiting again, for everyone to say their piece.
Coastal Access is looking very disappointing in Wales with the Welsh Assembly Government committing time and funds to the creation of an all Wales Coastal Path using existing rights of way. This ‘new’ path will be open for the London Olympics and features improved accessibility and new signage along the route, if offers nothing for existing walkers and climbers though. Cath Flitcroft and Ian McMorrin continue to lobby hard on our behalf but having recently been stonewall by the CCW rep at a Local access forum I hold little hope true coastal access in Wales.
BMC Cymru meetings continue to be well attended and the case for a supporting professional officer in Wales grows despite the fact the Sports Council for Wales does not see Mountaineering as a priority in the Principality.
Desperate to join in with the spate of BMC crag cleanups the Wolverhampton Mountaineering Club have recently offered to adopt Cwm Idwal. Having no handy local crags they decided to look around Deiniolen, where their hut is based, for a project they could take on board. I just have to clear things with the National Trust (the landowners) the National Park and CCW (nothings ever straight forward is it!) before we can make an official announcement, but what a fantastic offer from the club, I wonder if other English based clubs with huts over here would like to follow suit?

Spring forward

Blog time again! We really are poor at blogging aren’t we. It’s daft really ‘cos there’s so much going on, I guess blogging is just low on our priorities.

BMC Cymru News should be out next week, so you’ll be able to catch up with all out news then. It’d be brilliant if you could come along to our next meeting too, April 8th The Vaynol, Nant Peris, 8.00pm and we’ll feed you.

As I write it’s chucking it down here but last weekend was great apart from stunning winter walking over the tops I know someone who did Jubilee climb on Cloggy in full winter conditions whilst I managed to sneak up a new sport route in the quarries.

If you don’t get BMC Cymru News and you want one email bmccymruwales@live.co.uk

Make a date for the Tremadog Festival 26th April – Free Beer!

February Update

Blimey, I’ve just received this months Climber and that bloke Kocsis is telling everyone about our blog so I thought I’d better bring things up to date.

Big meeting tomorrow night, hoping for a good turnout. We’ll be discussing a joint project with the Snowdonia Society. We want hillwalkers and climbers to tell us where there are stashed bundles of rusty wire fencing littering up the hills and those big white empty rock bags which they carry footpath building materials up the hill on helicopters are. We then plan to put together some volunteer days to et the trash removed. If you know the whereabouts of any such detritus then send a grid reference and location description to bmccymruwales@live.co.uk. You could also look out for days on which you can help out in the future.

We’ll also be talking about our bid for a BMC officer to be based in Wales. Given Wales small population and massive amount of hillwalking and climbing venues and the fact that it has it’s own Government no we feel that Cymru deserves a higher profile and a dedicated officer to support the excellent work already being done by the Manchester team.

We’re after a new National Council reps and it looks like a two horse race, unless of course you want to come along and throw your hat into the ring. We always have an open forum to discuss anything that is concerning the hillwalkers and climbers operating in the area too. We’ll be launching the next TremFest, introducing a new hillwalking rep, issuing police report forms to fill in if you see illegal off roading taking place, Local Access Forums and possible crag clean up. You are welcome to come along and chip in with your thoughts, ideas, opinions and points of view.
Other top news is getting the Art of the Slate slide show form the family of the late Paul Williams to show at LLAMFF. BMC Cymru/Wales are apart sponsor of this event. It looks like we could have John Redhead, Johnny Dawes, George Smith and Trevor Hodgson plus loads of other all on stage at the same time to rant about the golden era of slate and lycra; the eighties.

Plus the weather has been gorgeous today and Caff was out trying a new 8b in the quarries, hope the boy done well again.

We're in the news!

Just seen the very nice news item by Jack Gelderd (thanks Jack) on UKC so thought I ought to update the blog! I was going to include a very exciting picture of the AGM meeting but I forgot to take one. It was a very good day with lots of positive vibes and people keen to contribute. Unusually for us the meeting went on a bit long, but no-one seemed too upset. We had two great presentations from Ray (conscience tripping) and Mark (hilarious).

I got so carried away though that I forgot to ask what people want to discuss in February! Never mind I'm sure something will crop up.

Four of the team met yesterday to put together a paper to try and persuade the BMC to base an officer in Wales, should be interesting to see what they come up with. I've been drafting a letter to North Wales Police asking them not to put warning signs on Crib Goch and Crib y Ddysgl.

And as if you didn't know is chucking it down here today, think I'll go skiing next week then write our next newsletter over Christmas. So any issues for the February meeting? Any news for the newsletter?

Cheers, Merry Xmas and all that

Mike

BMC Cymru/wales Hillwalking and Climbing Funday

Here's looking forward to a good turn out.
Food should be great, produced
with local welsh black beef (vege option too) please getthere at 5.30 for your free food as PYB kitchen busy from 6.00 with a full house of students. Here's the view from the bar 'cos it'll be dark when you get there!

BMC Cymru/Wales Interim News

Just had to put out an interim newsletter containing stories on. 

Plas Y Brenin 6.00pm 24th November, an Extra AGM item, the Cloggy Path,
 BMC move to Sheffield, Meashafn, a query from CCW, Conwy Coast
Access, Pembroke Belay Stakes, NWAIMOR (North Wales Alliance to
 Influence the Management of Off-Roading), Free Holiday Money,
The Devil's Gorge, Green Key, Cymreag translations,
North Wales Bolt Fund activities and a
North Wales Limestone update.

If you'd like a copy please email me at mikerraine@hotmail.com

See you on the 24th

Mike Raine
Chair BMC Cymru/Wales

New news

Always a very exciting time when the new news letter comes out. Keith Robertson has done a great job in producing an eye catching design. We're very, very please that we have with some exceptionally hard work by dedicated volunteers been able to produce this edition in Welsh. It should be available on the BMC website soon or, if you live in Wales, you should receive one by email this week.

News which hasn't made the newsletter is the re-opening of Maesafn Quarry, see BMC news for more details, well done everybody involved with that one. It will be great to see as many of you as possible at the BMC Cymru/Wales climbing and hillwalking funday at Play y Brenin of 24th November, please come along and give your views on anything you like!

The Great BMC Cymru/Wales Climbing and Hillwalking Fun Day

This exciting new event will take place at Plas y Brenin on Saturday 24th November.

There will be free access to PYB's climbing wall all day. The meeting will start at 6.00pm
 and incorporate a short AGM. Up for discussion will be  footpath work and erosion
control at climbing and Bouldering spots in Wales (Do we want to see a pitched path all
the way to the Cromlech? Come along and have your say). Should we push for a BMC
 Welsh National Officer? Open forum and anything arising fromthe newsletter. 

There will be a book sale  featuring rare climbing and mountaineering books at rock
 bottom prices(you can bring yours to sell too) 

You will be given to opportunity to contribute to the North Wales Bolt fund,
 remember every bolt cost sat least £6, how many have you clipped this year? 

There will be a free meal provided for everyone who turns up and a major audio
visual presentation at 8.00 featuring stunning images from two of Britain top climbing
 photographers Ray Wood andMark Reeves, a rare treat not to be missed
 (hecklers will be welcome).

We are proposing to run some free workshops during the day. Each workshop
 needs six people for it to run so if you're interested let me know

• Navigation with only a map and compass 

• Navigation wit a GPS 

• Coaching movement skills 

• Video climbing analysis 

• Self rescue 

• The geology of Snowdonia 

In fact we can do anything you want or you can offer to run one, let me
 know your thoughts orto book a place on a workshop email me at
 mikerraine@hotmail.com. Places must be bookedand confirmed by
5th November.

ALL CLIMBERS AND HILLWALKERS
BASED IN WALES WILL BE WELCOME.