This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Hi all.
The new university year is almost upon us and so here is an advanced warning of the Manchester University Club's freshers meet to Froggatt on 24/09/06. This is not intended to banish you from the crag, and we will be courteous and make way for you. It will, however, be quite busy.
The second meet, which is also generally quite busy, is at the Roaches 1/10/06, after this things tail off because people realise there's some getting cold involved!
The new university year is almost upon us and so here is an advanced warning of the Manchester University Club's freshers meet to Froggatt on 24/09/06. This is not intended to banish you from the crag, and we will be courteous and make way for you. It will, however, be quite busy.
The second meet, which is also generally quite busy, is at the Roaches 1/10/06, after this things tail off because people realise there's some getting cold involved!
In reply to Chris Tan Ver. XLIX sp2: why don't they take them somewhere closer like Whimberry?
In reply to Papillon: suspect the 'long' walk in might put them off...
In reply to Papillon:
Or a nice deep, dark, dissused quarry a long long long way from everyone else.
> (In reply to Chris Tan Ver. XLIX sp2) why don't they take them somewhere closer like Whimberry?
Or a nice deep, dark, dissused quarry a long long long way from everyone else.
In reply to Chris Tan Ver. XLIX sp2: yeah would be amusing to watch though! Might see you at Salford next Tue if you're there.
In reply to Removed User:
They would like them to pay a membership fee before they give up! they would also like a few to actually take the sport up...
> (In reply to Removed UserPapillon)
> [...]
>
>
> Or a nice deep, dark, dissused quarry a long long long way from everyone else.
> [...]
>
>
> Or a nice deep, dark, dissused quarry a long long long way from everyone else.
They would like them to pay a membership fee before they give up! they would also like a few to actually take the sport up...
In reply to Ben1983:
looks like there could be a lot of fighting for routes at froggatt then, cos my local climbing club has two mini buses booked for froggatt that day too.
looks like there could be a lot of fighting for routes at froggatt then, cos my local climbing club has two mini buses booked for froggatt that day too.
In reply to Ben1983: Before anyone complains, my introduction to rock climbing was the MUMC freshers meets to Stanage and Froggatt in 1974 and yes, it was crowded back then! I'm glad I got a good introduction to our superb sport, rather than some esoteric hole in the ground (although I've since developed a taste for these to and even enjoyed some obscure parts of Lancashire). If you don't like the crowds, take a short walk on to the left end of Curbar - some good climbing that seldom sees queues.
In reply to Bret (rock god):
Why do Uni club find appropriate to bring vasts amount of freshers to Froggatt? It's a small crag that get crowded very quickly!
Rockfax has 151 routes there. Less than Birchen which is a lot more appropriate for beginners anyway, less than Curbar, less than half Stanage pop or plantation.
And out of 151 only 51 are at VS and below!
There's no need for student clubs to have to jockey for routes there, let alone quality ones. A sunny week-end is enough.
How about taking them to Baslow? or Birchen or why not Stanage if you can make small groups and spread out?
?
A.-
Why do Uni club find appropriate to bring vasts amount of freshers to Froggatt? It's a small crag that get crowded very quickly!
Rockfax has 151 routes there. Less than Birchen which is a lot more appropriate for beginners anyway, less than Curbar, less than half Stanage pop or plantation.
And out of 151 only 51 are at VS and below!
There's no need for student clubs to have to jockey for routes there, let alone quality ones. A sunny week-end is enough.
How about taking them to Baslow? or Birchen or why not Stanage if you can make small groups and spread out?
?
A.-
In reply to ArnaudG:
Froggat has a good range of climbs at various grades, an easy walk in and a nearby pub.
We don't particularly want to go somewhere thats only suitable to begginers cos it'd be boring for everyone else. Stanage doesn't work very well for freshers meets cos everyone gets too spread out and you loose the social aspect of climbing together.
Froggat has a good range of climbs at various grades, an easy walk in and a nearby pub.
We don't particularly want to go somewhere thats only suitable to begginers cos it'd be boring for everyone else. Stanage doesn't work very well for freshers meets cos everyone gets too spread out and you loose the social aspect of climbing together.
In reply to Mark Kemball:
Nice to see someone sticking up for university clubs!!Thankyou, and thanks for the understanding.
While we're at it, I think we ought to mention that on the 23rd September, Leeds Uni Mountaineering Club will be at Brimham, and then the following weekend, 1st October we will be at Birchen for our two Freshers meets.
I hope this doesn't cause too many problems with everyone, and as my Manchester couterpart said, we will be courtious and we understand that this can be somewhat of an inconvenience to others. However, as Mark said, university clubs are a great way of introducing new comers to our sport. We usually manage to scare off a good proportion of the novices by Christmas anyway!
Nice to see someone sticking up for university clubs!!Thankyou, and thanks for the understanding.
While we're at it, I think we ought to mention that on the 23rd September, Leeds Uni Mountaineering Club will be at Brimham, and then the following weekend, 1st October we will be at Birchen for our two Freshers meets.
I hope this doesn't cause too many problems with everyone, and as my Manchester couterpart said, we will be courtious and we understand that this can be somewhat of an inconvenience to others. However, as Mark said, university clubs are a great way of introducing new comers to our sport. We usually manage to scare off a good proportion of the novices by Christmas anyway!
In reply to Ben1983: I too went to Manchester University but the freshers meet in all the time I was there (and as a hanger on for a number of years) was to Stanage End and along to High Neb. I thought it a much better venue as:
a) There are lots of good, easy grade routes for beginners.
b) It's a lot quieter than the Popular End and Froggatt so less likely to piss anyone off and a lot easier to co-exist with other crag users.
c) You can spread out or move on through the day so that you aren't monopolising a particular area.
I reckon it was a good option and would recommend it to any large university group.
a) There are lots of good, easy grade routes for beginners.
b) It's a lot quieter than the Popular End and Froggatt so less likely to piss anyone off and a lot easier to co-exist with other crag users.
c) You can spread out or move on through the day so that you aren't monopolising a particular area.
I reckon it was a good option and would recommend it to any large university group.
In reply to bronsonite:
Birchen has a short walk in and a pub at the car park. Chatsworth is on the otherside of the road and has climbs that will challenge the vast majority of climbers (sentinel crack anyone?)
Baslow is at the same carpark as Curbar, and for Stanage, if you do the sensible thing and climb in groups of 2 or 3 then the social aspect while at the crag is pretty limited (unless you count as social shouting to your mate on Great Slab from Sickle Buttress).
The pub is down the hill and since you're likely to be in a bus it's not that hard to free wheel to the Scotman's pack or the one in Calver.
I'm not having a go at student clubs (I've been in 2) or Fresher's meet but Froggatt always struck me as a very poor choice for a busy meet.
A.-
Birchen has a short walk in and a pub at the car park. Chatsworth is on the otherside of the road and has climbs that will challenge the vast majority of climbers (sentinel crack anyone?)
Baslow is at the same carpark as Curbar, and for Stanage, if you do the sensible thing and climb in groups of 2 or 3 then the social aspect while at the crag is pretty limited (unless you count as social shouting to your mate on Great Slab from Sickle Buttress).
The pub is down the hill and since you're likely to be in a bus it's not that hard to free wheel to the Scotman's pack or the one in Calver.
I'm not having a go at student clubs (I've been in 2) or Fresher's meet but Froggatt always struck me as a very poor choice for a busy meet.
A.-
In reply to El Greyo: Hi Steve, i agree with you there, that Stanage End always was good for the first freshers meet and it was probably a long enough walk to put off half of them in one trip!
In reply to NickST:
23rd Sept? Christ when does freshers week start this year? I'll hopefully try to meet up with you lot at the northumberland meet whenever that is.
23rd Sept? Christ when does freshers week start this year? I'll hopefully try to meet up with you lot at the northumberland meet whenever that is.
In reply to beermonkey:
Hey there. Freshers weeks is from the 18th this year. Our Northumberland weekend is on Friday 6th to Sunday 8th October. Lokoing forward to seeing you there
Hey there. Freshers weeks is from the 18th this year. Our Northumberland weekend is on Friday 6th to Sunday 8th October. Lokoing forward to seeing you there
In reply to hutchm:
What is this? Some kind of MUMC reunion?
Hello Martin. I see you have headed north as I've headed south. How's life in Teesdale? Nice part of the world.
My profile pic was taken while I was still in Manchester so I've probably changed a bit since then - I've certainly lost some hair.
Steve
What is this? Some kind of MUMC reunion?
Hello Martin. I see you have headed north as I've headed south. How's life in Teesdale? Nice part of the world.
My profile pic was taken while I was still in Manchester so I've probably changed a bit since then - I've certainly lost some hair.
Steve
In reply to ArnaudG:
First up froggett isn't a small crag and it runs into Curbar anyway. 51 routes will give plenty for a university club to have a go at. As for Birchen, that is a far less sutible venue for a beginers meet than you would expect. The one time I was involved in a freshers meet there it was over crowded. I was up there on sunday and the prescence of one small school group (a single mini-bus of kids) was enough to seriously restrict possibilities. There may be more routes in rockfax but the sections for birchen and froggatt in the BMC guides are more similar. Also the majority of the routes at birchen are extended bolder problems anyway no more than 5-10 moves long. Add to that a closer look at the grades, lots of routes with grades like VD 5b and bolder problem starts that hide the true nature of run out horrors. A lot of novices will have difficulties getting off the ground there. If you are setting top ropes on sections of the crag their is a very limited selection of belays availible so taking 3 or 4 out of use for a top rope restricts everyone more than you might think. Can you run a good session there for a small group of beginneers? yes you can, I did last weekend. Is it sutable for a group of 40 or so novices? no there are much better locations. The only way to get round those problems is to spread out to chatsworth and gardoms which gives much greater spread than at stanage.
First up froggett isn't a small crag and it runs into Curbar anyway. 51 routes will give plenty for a university club to have a go at. As for Birchen, that is a far less sutible venue for a beginers meet than you would expect. The one time I was involved in a freshers meet there it was over crowded. I was up there on sunday and the prescence of one small school group (a single mini-bus of kids) was enough to seriously restrict possibilities. There may be more routes in rockfax but the sections for birchen and froggatt in the BMC guides are more similar. Also the majority of the routes at birchen are extended bolder problems anyway no more than 5-10 moves long. Add to that a closer look at the grades, lots of routes with grades like VD 5b and bolder problem starts that hide the true nature of run out horrors. A lot of novices will have difficulties getting off the ground there. If you are setting top ropes on sections of the crag their is a very limited selection of belays availible so taking 3 or 4 out of use for a top rope restricts everyone more than you might think. Can you run a good session there for a small group of beginneers? yes you can, I did last weekend. Is it sutable for a group of 40 or so novices? no there are much better locations. The only way to get round those problems is to spread out to chatsworth and gardoms which gives much greater spread than at stanage.
In reply to davidwright:
A fair few good points there.
I still think Froggatt is a crag that has a reputation for being big classic crag but isn't. Out of the 51 climbs probably 20 to 30 are regularely climbed and will attract all the attention. If you're trying to show beginners a good time for their first outing you don't want to try and find the low grade esoteric gems at a place like froggat, so you'll stick to the 20 classics that everybody climbs.
Anyway. You may be right re Birchen it a long time since I last went there. I remember a lot of in VS-S range with the odd wierd climb like Trafalgar Wall or Nelson Slab, I also remember my (very inexperienced and even reluctant)missus having a good time when I took her there.
Anyway, we can argue the toss till cows come home but it's still rather good of Uni clubs to publicise their outing. That means I'll stay clear of Froggatt and Lawrencefield on the 24th etc etc..
A.-
A fair few good points there.
I still think Froggatt is a crag that has a reputation for being big classic crag but isn't. Out of the 51 climbs probably 20 to 30 are regularely climbed and will attract all the attention. If you're trying to show beginners a good time for their first outing you don't want to try and find the low grade esoteric gems at a place like froggat, so you'll stick to the 20 classics that everybody climbs.
Anyway. You may be right re Birchen it a long time since I last went there. I remember a lot of in VS-S range with the odd wierd climb like Trafalgar Wall or Nelson Slab, I also remember my (very inexperienced and even reluctant)missus having a good time when I took her there.
Anyway, we can argue the toss till cows come home but it's still rather good of Uni clubs to publicise their outing. That means I'll stay clear of Froggatt and Lawrencefield on the 24th etc etc..
A.-
In reply to ArnaudG:
It's possible to have a very good day with a novice or two there, if you can choose routes to suit them. But if you are forced on to the availible lines it can be very frustrating for them.
David
> (In reply to davidwright)
> Anyway. You may be right re Birchen it a long time since I last went there.
It's possible to have a very good day with a novice or two there, if you can choose routes to suit them. But if you are forced on to the availible lines it can be very frustrating for them.
> Anyway, we can argue the toss till cows come home but it's still rather good of Uni clubs to publicise their outing. That means I'll stay clear of Froggatt and Lawrencefield on the 24th etc etc..
>
> A.-
Yes, ought to do it. My club (University of London) doesn't as a rule but I gernraly don't make the decision untill the morning of the day we climb and we rarely have more than 4 teams (8-10 climbers total) anyway so it is not as if we swamp anywhere
>
> A.-
David
In reply to El Greyo:
Like the teeshirt! I still have my original we thought up the logo one beery evening at the Black Dog.
> (In reply to hutchm)
>
> What is this? Some kind of MUMC reunion?
>
>
> What is this? Some kind of MUMC reunion?
>
>
> My profile pic was taken while I was still in Manchester
> My profile pic was taken while I was still in Manchester
Like the teeshirt! I still have my original we thought up the logo one beery evening at the Black Dog.
In reply to Mark Kemball:
So Think Drink goes right back to the mid-seventies then? I've wondered when it originated from. I was there from 1988 for a few years and it was still the club teeshirt. I've not seen one for years though (possibly I still have a battered teeshirt at the bottom of a draw somewhere).
So Think Drink goes right back to the mid-seventies then? I've wondered when it originated from. I was there from 1988 for a few years and it was still the club teeshirt. I've not seen one for years though (possibly I still have a battered teeshirt at the bottom of a draw somewhere).
In reply to bronsonite:
"Stanage doesn't work very well for freshers meets cos everyone gets too spread out and you loose the social aspect of climbing together."
Thats the whole point groups: are supposed to minimise such an impact on popular crags and classic climbs.
"Stanage doesn't work very well for freshers meets cos everyone gets too spread out and you loose the social aspect of climbing together."
Thats the whole point groups: are supposed to minimise such an impact on popular crags and classic climbs.
In reply to El Greyo:
I hung around with MUMC for quite a time after graduating. I think we designed it some time in the early 80s, it was myself, Paul Clark, Bill McKee (who later started up On the Edge with Ed Douglas) and Katie Quinn (now Katie Douglas) - she provided the "artwork".
> (In reply to Mark Kemball)
>
> So Think Drink goes right back to the mid-seventies then? I've wondered when it originated from. I was there from 1988 for a few years and it was still the club teeshirt. I've not seen one for years though (possibly I still have a battered teeshirt at the bottom of a draw somewhere).
>
> So Think Drink goes right back to the mid-seventies then? I've wondered when it originated from. I was there from 1988 for a few years and it was still the club teeshirt. I've not seen one for years though (possibly I still have a battered teeshirt at the bottom of a draw somewhere).
I hung around with MUMC for quite a time after graduating. I think we designed it some time in the early 80s, it was myself, Paul Clark, Bill McKee (who later started up On the Edge with Ed Douglas) and Katie Quinn (now Katie Douglas) - she provided the "artwork".
In reply to sutty: Who is the second photo Sutty? Were you in the mumc? There's a lot of ex-mumc members post on here occaisionally, but I guess they're mostly lurking like me
My Think Drink T-shirt unfortunately dropped to bits years ago.
My Think Drink T-shirt unfortunately dropped to bits years ago.
In reply to Tony Little: The second photo is Denis Gray - never a member of MUMC as far as I know (but very much part of the 70s and 80s Manchester scene).
In reply to Tony Little:
Yes Dennis Gray from cover of his book. Very apt for El Greyo I thought.
Rock and ice, and ex secretary of BMC
Yes Dennis Gray from cover of his book. Very apt for El Greyo I thought.
Rock and ice, and ex secretary of BMC
In reply to sutty: I'm showing my ignorance again here, having not read any of dennis's books.
In reply to Ben1983:
Ok.. things seem to have come to a halt there. Thanks to everyone for their comments, good to hear from a few ex-mumc-ers (little do you realise we now know how to contact you for embarrassing speeches in March). I understand peoples consternation at a uni club going to Froggatt, but in my opinion the only serious rival is Stanage popular, which doesn't seem to work as well and generally lives up to it's name!
PS t-shirt design has been one of the club's forte's over the past few years, we've done a splendid line in ripped off trademarks - Fools of the Trade, Posher, M14, Spoon and several more..
Ok.. things seem to have come to a halt there. Thanks to everyone for their comments, good to hear from a few ex-mumc-ers (little do you realise we now know how to contact you for embarrassing speeches in March). I understand peoples consternation at a uni club going to Froggatt, but in my opinion the only serious rival is Stanage popular, which doesn't seem to work as well and generally lives up to it's name!
PS t-shirt design has been one of the club's forte's over the past few years, we've done a splendid line in ripped off trademarks - Fools of the Trade, Posher, M14, Spoon and several more..
In reply to Mark Kemball:
OK, that's the era that I thought Think Drink had come from. I reckon the MUMC did a fine line in hangers on, Bill was still around when I joined. Later, I too followed in that tradition. Tony as well...
OK, that's the era that I thought Think Drink had come from. I reckon the MUMC did a fine line in hangers on, Bill was still around when I joined. Later, I too followed in that tradition. Tony as well...
In reply to Tony and sutty:
Hmm, I suppose there may be a slight resemblance if you squint a bit (or close your eyes and imagine two people who look similar.) There's no relation though and a different spelling of Grey/Gray. I've read one of his books though if that helps.
Hello Tony, hope all's well.
Hmm, I suppose there may be a slight resemblance if you squint a bit (or close your eyes and imagine two people who look similar.) There's no relation though and a different spelling of Grey/Gray. I've read one of his books though if that helps.
Hello Tony, hope all's well.
In reply to Ben1983: Not Stanage Popular - Stanage Unpopular (Stanage End, Crow Chin etc). I do genuinely recommend it, from lots of experience.
I'm sure if you are considerate, you'll be alright at Froggatt, you won't be the first large group to go there. As someone else said, some people can spread over to Curbar.
I'm sure if you are considerate, you'll be alright at Froggatt, you won't be the first large group to go there. As someone else said, some people can spread over to Curbar.
In reply to El Greyo:
Brookside Buttress might be good too. Its a bit off the beaten track, usually quiet, and your noobs will get to look at a pretty(ish) little waterfall.
Brookside Buttress might be good too. Its a bit off the beaten track, usually quiet, and your noobs will get to look at a pretty(ish) little waterfall.
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...