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Girl Power at the Lakes Area Meeting + Bolt Discussion FireworksVideo

© Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com
Mick Ryan

This has been read 26,869 times
On Wednesday night the BMC held a Lakes Area Meeting at the Golden Rule, Ambleside.

It was well attended by over 50 Lakes climbers and expertly facilitated by BMC Volunteers' Officer, Martin Kocsis. Also present, perhaps signifying the importance of this meeting was BMC CEO Dave Turnbull, Dan Middleton - Technical Officer and Cath Flitcroft - Access & Conservation Officer.

See a photo-montage of the assembled throng here.

The purpose of the meeting was to encourage more climbers to participate with and help the exisiting BMC Lakes Area Meeting who have served Lakes' climbers for quite some time - but more than that. There are lots of issues in the Lakes that need addressing and lots of work to be done. Below are some of the topics which were discussed as recorded by Marian Parsons.

  • Footpaths: controversial rebuilding work.
  • Car parking fees: in National Park: unfair to those wishing to park for more than 4 hrs.
  • Lower-offs on crags: who places them, and who removes them, and should they be installed in the first place?
  • Neglect of high crags: Why are they so out of fashion? Can we find a way to attract climbers to the big mountain crags? Many youngsters, who climb indoors, lack mountain skills and equipment.
  • Crag clean-ups: it is acceptable practise to re-garden routes which are documented and described, and not in an SSSI. It was proposed that local volunteer groups be established to institute rolling programme of clean-ups on quality routes at start of each season, and advertise their progress in a suitably funky way.
  • Group use of crags: a problem, or does it actually help keep routes clean?
  • Reinstatement of Climb Info website: This would spread news re progress of crag clean-ups, etc.

    To finish, Ron Kenyon kindly gave a slide-show of a recent climbing trip to Croatia and Slovenia.

    At least two volunteers came forward, Carissa Lough and Ellie Fowler who will be writing, designing and helping to distribute the BMC Lakes Area Meeting newsletter.

    The next meeting will be held on 28th November at a bigger venue to be announced. Wilf's Cafe and the Hawkshead Brewery Beer Hall at Staveley has been suggested. It is hoped that more people will step forward to help.

    It was a lively meeting, and friendly, but it seems that the bolt debate is not quite over. Despite there being retrobolts on some routes on Lakeland slate and limestone passions still run high, and opinions are divided. This will be one of the issues addressed at the next meeting in November but meanwhile...........

    VIDEO: We've uploaded an unedited 10 minute video clip of Ambleside celebrity Stuart Wood in full anti-retrobolt flow. You can watch the video HERE

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    Comments

    Andy Say
    5 Oct, 2007
    I'm getting blocked from the UKC server when I try to access the vid - seems to want a password different to my UKC registered one?
    Michael Ryan
    5 Oct, 2007
    Andy Say
    5 Oct, 2007
    Thank you kind sir. Someone in that clip says 'elitist' - must be the word of the week! And nice to see someone telling Dave Turnbull to 'get his shit together'!
    Enty
    5 Oct, 2007
    Great video. A room full of passionate climbers and one woman. She thought the guy was sad becuase a route he was passionate about had been ruined by retro bolts. WTF? The Ent ™
    DaveR
    5 Oct, 2007
    No she thought he was sad because he thought his achievment would be diminished if it was retro bolted. Which personally, I think is a bit sad. One good point which didn't really get answered, was that should the F.A. have the right to retro bolt the route. I think they should personally.
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