York Alpine Club Blogfor members to let us know what they have been up to
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Catherine had missed out on the previous week's leading at scuggy with Karl so was keen to get outside. The sun shone but it remained bitterly cold in the wind, but we had a fun couple of hours setting belays and placing gear. 
Been much nicer without that freezing breeze along the top but the occasional touch of warm sun was nice.
We did have Catherines Christmas cake (C5!) to keep us warm though.
Eventually it just got too cold on the fingers, so we ran away.
more of peri's pix
Slate Quarries
After packing for a soggy weekend, we were instead greeted with a mild and dryish one, with the rain holding off until near dusk both days. This means biking, climbing and walking got done and a good time was had by all.
Donal persuaded Peter and Ann to go biking in Betwsy Coed forest – mainly so that he could purchase a new cycle helmet first, having left his at home and not impressed with the loan of Ann's ca 1970's bright yellow Joe Brown climbing lid. After haggling hard at a bike hire shop, Donal became the proud owner of a used, but considerably more modern form of head protection. Suitably equipped, the trio headed off to cycle the Marin Trail – fitting, as both Donal and Ann have Marin bikes.
Ignoring the substantial barricades and huge 'trail closed' signs, they found the route to be surprisingly good, if somewhat slippery in places. "If it was dry, we'd nail this" was a frequent comment as bikes went sideways down the trail. (Dry? Wales? I think not!). They were really enjoying themselves, but when Peter and Donal stopped at the end of a long fast section, they realised Ann wasn't with them.
Moments later, the forest echoed with a very loud 'bang' and being alone in a dark Welsh forest, thoughts of 'Deliverance' sprang to mind as they both assumed Ann must have been shot. Donal bravely retraced the route to find Ann, looking like some sort of rural skip rat, dragging her bike along. The back wheel had literally exploded, signalling the sudden and long overdue death of her less than well maintained bike. Ann (with her armful of scrap metal) and Peter (with a map) were left to find their way back down into Betwsy whilst Donal completed the route (with a few short cuts) in order to retrieve the car.
Stairs
Sharon and Mike pootled around the quarries whilst the climbers headed en masse to Anglesey to Holyhead mountain (not a mountain) for some cragging. It was a quiet and grey day, and mild out of the wind. Rob guided Justine and John up various routes including Stairs (S*) and Pigeon Hole Crack (S 4a) then taught them how to abseil, and set them back down again.
Everyone else hopped up and down the crag and climbed routes including Candlestick (HS 4b) and the ominously-named Vegetable Garden (VDiff). The weather started to threaten a bit more insistently so we buggered off back to the cars, almost timing it perfectly and only getting rained on for about 15 mins. Ah well.
Saturday evening saw a lovely dinner cooked by Sharon, Mike and Rob, sat around the huge table in the slightly soggy kitchen. As the hut didn’t have an oven, Annie went on the scrounge across the field to the Lincolnshire club hut returning with warm bread rolls and a warmer complexion. No questions were asked, comments made or michael taken. At all.
On Sunday, Donal was fighting off a cold and did very little, whilst Peter and Ann went for a little walk. Sharon and Mike rode the Marin trail Sunday. Unlike the Saturday group, they finished it.
The climbers nipped up the road to the atmospheric state quaries at Denorwic for some sport climbing. A new venue for several YAC-ers, the slate lived up to its quick-drying reputation, literally drying off before your eyes.
A good sociable day was had with everyone leading and top-roping the delicate routes under the surprisingly blue sky and taking lots of pictures. We wern’t the only Yorkshire group in attendance, York uni and Leeds uni were there, and Rob got blanked by one of his students.
Late afternoon drizzle sent us back down the hill the scenic way via tunnels, back to the hut and home. A good weekend snatched from the jaws of the weather gods and a good lesson in the rewards to be had from braving dodgy weather forecasts and just getting out anyway!
widdop in the autumn sun
Here is the short version of our Sunday bouldering:
Me, Graham and Angela went to Widdop, it were gopping wet, we stayed a while then went home.
The longer version – well, it was gopping wet. We stayed till 3.30, but in the end only found a few problems dry enough to get up, everything was horribly slithery. But its a lovely place, overlooking the reservoir with the colours all gold tinted in the low autumn sun, and frustratingly we could see there would be lots of really good stuff with good landings (just as well coz theres a few you have to jump down from) that will be well worth returning for on a 
crisp dry day.
On Saturday me and Rachel went to Froggatt. Once again everything was on the soggy side and we suspected nothing much would be climbable, but in the end we did four very enjoyable routes before the weather clagged in again. I did Diamond Crack, a lovely little HS that I am amazed I have always walked past before, and Sickle Buttress Direct, slightly thin pro at the top but lovely moves. Rachel did Green Gut and Tody's Wall, which she managed very slickly. So a nice day against the odds, but very chilly – it had the feel of one of the last trad days of the year. We were saved the decision between shivering up another route or heading for tea and cakes by the approach of a wall of grey wetness and gratefully abandoned crag for the Outside Cafe in Culver with honour intact – I recommend the St Clements cake.
Six of us decided to brave the Wye Walk – not on foot oh no that is too benign for the average YAC member- we chose to do it on two wheels. Thanks to the intrepid 'navigational' skills of Dan (my other half) we started out from three different directions only to be foiled by fences, gates and walls. Eventually we found our way on to the Wye Walk to start our adventure in search of Monmouth and cake. Along the way we encountered some lovely forests filled with dripping ferns and moss covered rocks, some hairy downhills with trails strewn with branches, brambles and nettles, many gutwrenching uphills and a number of fences and gates – it was like portaging but with mountain bikes. Along the way we stopped at the Boat Inn on the Wye, a lovely country pub nestled underneath a disused railway bridge – but be forewarned don't try to eat your sandwiches on their benches unless you want an earful from the surly landlord.
After downing our pints and gobbling our sarnies behind the cover of the bridge we headed uphill (AGAIN) towards Monmouth. Our intrepid leader took us through what appeared to be a hay field – he thankfully managed to collect most of the grass in his rear derailleur – then we went along a steep boulder (or they appeared to be boulders) strewn path at a steep angle to the river to another grassy field. We all opted for the road – suicidal motorcyclists and maniac mini-van drivers were more favourable to yet another slog through the grass.
Upon arrival in Monmouth we headed for Henry's Cafe for much needed cake and tea – cake is ALWAYS much needed if you've been sat on a bike for a number of hours. After consuming all the fat and sugar we could it was time to leave Monmouth – in the rain- for the backwoods. We found the trail – uphill again and climbed, climbed and climbed some more only to throw our bikes over some more fences before we took off downhill. At the bottom of the route Annie took off like a demon to get to her soiree, only to discover that she'd gone in the wrong direction! We sent John off to rescue her while Andrew & Dan sorted out our direction. We continued the rest of the way on the road to Brockweir and the mother of all hills.
I cannot add comment about the final climb as I'd been left behind at the local watering hole with an injured back. The landlady fed me paracetamol and told me to wash it down with a pint of cider – it worked a treat!
Tracy