Easter Term Bulletin 1
Welcome back to approximately sea level after an Easter hopefully spent somewhat above it. If you didn't manage to get out of Cambridge...well, commiserations - all the more reason to join us on the first trip of term! Read all about it below.
- Weekend Trip to Rhyd Ddu, Snowdonia - 7-9 May, £36
- Day Trip to The Roaches - Sunday 23 May, £17
- Summer Scotland Trip Planning Meeting - 13 May
- Wilderness First Aid Course, 17-18 June
- Summer Trip to the Alps
- New Website - HOW EXCITING IS THIS?!
1. Weekend Trip to Rhyd Ddu, Snowdonia - 7-9 May, £36
Rhyd Ddu of thy exam term blues* and come to Snowdonia for the weekend! We'll be staying at Tan Yr Wyddfa in the village of Rhyd Ddu, ideal and convenient for an ascent of Snowdon by the back door - or avoid the crowds and head for the Nantlle Ridge. Maps and guidebooks will be at lunch and pub meets this week and next, so come along and get keen.
To bag your place, haste ye to St John's at 0800 on Monday morning (3 May) where payment of £36 will be collected as usual - details of how sign-up works can be found on the trip information page on our website: read first, then email me if you still have questions. At the last weekend trip sign-up, the first reserve space was filled at 0801. Note that we have clarified our policy on pre-signs, so please make sure you've read that bit and follow the instructions if you can't make it to sign-up (old-timers and non-Cambridge types, this includes you!)
We will depart from outside Churchill College at 1730 on Friday 7 May in a minibus and a car, with a short stop en route for food, and should be back in Cambridge by midnight on Sunday. You'll need standard hillwalking equipment for this trip - see the list of required kit here. We have some items available to lend to members, the veritable catalogue of which may be viewed here. Contact the Safety Officer, Joe (jlh79) if you have any kit-related questions.
*This may make more sense if you speak Welsh...
2. Day Trip to The Roaches - 23 May, £17
We only run two weekend trips this term, but fear not! - there's a day trip, too. Whether you need a break from revision, thesis-writing, post-exam partying or a Real Job, join us for a day exploring the Roaches and surrounding area in the Staffordshire Peak. This gritstone escarpment is a lot of fun, offering crags, peat, heather, excellent views and (according to Wikipedia) a small colony of wallabies - what more could you want!? Not far away are Gradbach, Ramshaw Rocks and the intriguing Lud's Church. It should take no more than 3 hours to get there, so we'll leave Cambridge at 0700 and be back by 2300. To sign up for this trip, follow the instructions at the bottom of the trip information page - let me know by Tuesday 18 May at the latest (but preferably earlier) if you want to come. Which, obviously, you all do.
3. Summer Scotland Trip Planning Meeting, 13 May
Over the summer vacation, we traditionally make the most of the long days and lack of being chained to Cambridge to go camping in Scotland for a week or so. Scotland is awesome (there must be some reason half the club has decamped to Edinburgh - apart from being eternally sunny and not at all infested with midges, obviously...) Seriously, the Highlands are bigger, wilder and more varied than the hills we visit during the rest of the year, and are well worth a visit or twenty.
If you're interested, come to the pub on Thursday 13 May - we'll be at the Castle on Castle Street from 21.30 as usual. This will be an opportunity for everyone who is keen to discuss where and when to go. The trip is often in late June/early July (after May Week, but before people have got stuck into jobs), but September is a possible alternative - it's entirely open to debate. If you can't make the meeting but have strong preferences for either location or dates, voice your opinions by emailing me before May 13. There'll be more information on what's decided and how to sign up in future bulletins.
4. Wilderness First Aid Course, 17-18 June
This is now confirmed for the Thursday and Friday of May Week, 17-18 June. It will be held in Cambridge and there are 12 places - more information and details of how to apply will follow in the next bulletin, but if you're interested, put the dates in your diary now and keep them free.
5. Summer Trip to the Alps
Plans are afoot for a camping trip to the Alps this summer. Details are not yet finalized, but now is the time to register your interest and have your say on dates and location. People are likely to be doing a mixture of mountaineering, climbing and via ferrata-ing as well as walking, but please don't be put off if you just want to walk - all are welcome and there's plenty of non-technical stuff to enjoy. If you've never been to the Alps, they're stunning - and have the added bonus of being midge-free, often with more reliable weather than the UK (but don't quote me on that!). Have a look at the wiki and add yourself if you're interested. If you'd like more information, you can email me - but it's probably best to come along to any of our regular socials, where you'll find several people more than happy to bore you for hours with alpine chat!
6. New Website...
...is up and running here, thanks to Matthew's hard work (as you may have noticed if you clicked on any of my links in the items above). It's still a bit of a work-in-progress, so keep checking back for more additions (we're slowly moving all the archived content across), and do let us know if you spot any mistakes, inoperative links etc, or have any other constructive comments. In the meantime, the old website is still available - though future events, news and trip reports will only be added to the new one. Note for Internet Explorer 6/7 users: compatibility issues will be fixed eventually...but you could just get a new browser!
Well, I think that's quite enough excitement for one morning - see you at sign-up/lunch/pub/formal/on a trip soon!
Cheers,
Jo
President, CUHWC
