The Book,

“Pete’s Himalayan Adventure”

By Pete Dutfield

Has been out of print for some time now but for those who are interested there is a copy available for loan in The Wolverhampton Lending Library.

The book is a recollection of an old man’s trip to the Khumbu Valley and Everest Base Camp. The trip was organised by Andrew Tomlinson (Tommo) and Andy Clarke for the spring of 2006, with young Richard Wilkes and the author making up the rest of the team. It goes on to describe the classic trek from the infamous Lukla airstrip, past traditional Sherpa villages and monasteries and cumulating at the incredible viewpoint of Kala Patar above Base Camp. On the way, sometimes camping, sometimes staying in primitive lodges or teahouses, they spend time in the amazing town of Namche Bazaar, well worth a visit in its own right. They encounter problems with Yaks and their crossing of the 5330 metre high Cho La Pass is thwarted by the worst snow storm at that time of year, throughout the last forty years.

Throughout the trip they are cared for by the poor and impoverished but always friendly and happy people of the Khumbu Valley.

The book is an almost day to day account of the trip and should be read by anyone contemplating a visit to that fantastic valley.

A tale of a classic trek told with feeling and well worth a read.

The foreword written by Andy Clarke, former chairman of Wolverhampton Mountaineering Club, is included below. » Read more: Pete’s Himalayan Adventure

For the last two weeks we have been meeting at the Clarendon in Chapel Ash which is a pleasant enough pub as a stop-gap, but not really suitable in the long term.

We’ve now found a pub which might be suitable. It’s “the Wheatsheaf”, in the town centre, about 5 mins walk from the New Inn, and just in front of the Express & Star offices. The attached map shows its location. The beer is good, we can have sole use of a room every Tuesday, and Val, the landlady/barmaid, seems very friendly.

Car parking is available in nearby Tower St. and Castle St. in pay and display spaces, which are free in the evenings.

The proposal is to use this pub on a trial basis for the next few weeks (say 3 or 4), and see how we get on.

As you go in the door from the main road, a short corridor leads past the 2 bar entrances on the right, and “our” room is on the left.
Val will expect us from 9.30 onwards, so if you arrive early and our room is locked, just introduce yourself to Val, and she’ll open it. It’ll be obvious who she is!

See you at the Wheatsheaf (map) next Tuesday

Well its that time of year again. Christmas is just round the corner as is the AGM but I have something to reveal far bigger than either of these. The 2009 meets card has been published! You can download a copy here.

Well last weekend (14^th June) was the annual outing to see how much pain we can inflict on ourselves, yes it was the Welsh 3000′s challange. Most of us spent a cold night on Snowdon before leaving the summit around 4am, across Crib Coch we trod before heading down the North ridge to Cwm Uchaf and down to the road and on to Nant Peris.

Looking back from Pen-Y-Ole-Wen

After a quick break off we set again, all in our own little groups, plodding up the hardest ascent, Elidir Fawr then on to Y Garn before loosing 780ft to immediately climb back up 950ft onto the Glyders. Personally I become exhausted on the way up the south ridge of Tryfan and the decent is the most painful. I was all ready to quit but Phil’s magic cup of tea gave me the energy to continue. Up Pen Y Ole Wen we went then on to the Carneddau, Yr Elen, Foel Grach, Garnedd Uchaf finally finishing on Foel-Fras.
Everyone did well this year and it was quite a large number that completed it compared to the previous two years. I did it in quite a good time but I was lucky. I just missed the cloud that covered the Carneddau, hindering all who were still up there. Personally I think Mick was brilliant, he kept on going when I know i would have thrown in the towel.

For those who wish to know the times this year were:

• Richard Wilkes : 13:22
• Guy O : 15:40
• DW1 & Julie : 16:00
• Rob S : 16:21
• Si C : 16:31
• Mick J : 19:00

Congratulations to you all!

Many thanks to Pete once again for organising it and thanks to Phil B & Neil L who kindly gave up their weekend to support us all.

For over 50 years, the club has existed without seeing any need for written rules. We have always had a constitution – a brief document saying what we are, what we stand for, and how we operate in a general sense. This was written in the 1950s when the club was founded, and proved quite adequate in those days, for a club with only 20 to 30 members.

But times change, we now have approaching a hundred members, a catchment area covering most of the West Midlands, and a thriving hut, which throws up its own issues. With a larger club, it is hard to know everyone well. Members in the further-flung parts of the region have difficulty in attending the regular Tuesday pub evenings. New members have difficulty in finding out about the club’s modus operandi. So do some older ones. The present committee felt the need to have the club’s decisions collected together for easier reference, rather than scattered throughout the minutes of many past meetings. We have grasped this nettle firmly, and the result is the following set of rules.

Society has become more litigation – conscious. We have to change to take account of the changes in the law. The biggest change we have recently made is one undertaken with reluctance – to restrict membership to people over the age of 18. Not to have done so would leave the club and its members liable under child abuse and safety law. Hopefully, a written set of rules will make members more aware of their rights and obligations.

It is not the intention to make the club more bureaucratic. The rules are all made for a purpose. Some of them are hard and fast rules, like the one that says dogs are not allowed at the hut. Others, like the one that says you should do your share of the cleaning, are more in the nature of codes of practice. All of them are thought to be worth following, but not in a petty-minded or officious way, and the committee will give short shrift to any member who tries to play the game of gratuitous rule enforcement.

None of these rules is set in concrete. Unlike the constitution (which requires a two-thirds majority at a general meeting for any change), the rules were made by a simple majority of the committee, and can likewise be unmade or altered by later committees. However, much thought and hard work has gone into their writing, and we trust that future committees will not amend them without good reason and due deliberation. If any member has comments, good or bad, about any of the rules, the committee will always be prepared to listen.

The club rules can be downloaded below.