Page 36 - 2019 AMA Summer

CLIMBINGMEETS
WYE VALLEY MEET 12-14 MAY 2018
By Dan Waterston
Ah, the British weather! I am reliably led to believe that, despite it’s traditional location in the calendar each year being October, the Wye Valley meet is ALWAYS blessed with glorious crisp & sunny autumnal climbing conditions. Having just lived through pretty much the best British summer in living memory, who was I to argue? Stats don’t lie, and having enjoyed a great summer’s climbing in the South West on posting to Bristol, the idea of rain seemed inconceivable. Oh, hubris!
And so it was that 20 members of the AMA who had bagged a slot on the perennially popular (and yet again sold out) trip found themselves sat in work throughout the previous week, flicking their gaze intermittently between the glorious weather outside, as we enjoyed yet another mini-heatwave mid-week, and the grim news on their smart phones. It was going to rain!
Individual strategies were worked out; “the Saturday looks dreadful”, “Sunday looks the best bet”, “I’ll wait and see”, “I’m going anyway”... In the event, 15 members made the trip from various corners of the country on the Friday evening. The conditions on arrival did not look too promising; a persistent drizzle hung in the air as the sun went down. To be fair though, there are worse places to be on a wet Friday night; the Ye Old Ferry Inn is a great accommodation option, with open fires, friendly staff, good beer & food, all within 10 yards of the adjoining bunkhouse.
The Saturday morning rolled round and... it looked...OK! A leisurely breakfast (all included in the price- a princely £20 for the weekend, thanks AMA!), a quick
discussion of aims, a break down into groups and we were off. To guarantee some climbing, one group headed straight to Hereford climbing wall. However the remainder, perhaps a little more optimis- tically, perhaps just a little more ‘frugally’, elected to check out the local crags to see what might be climbable. The Wye Valley has some of the best limestone climbing in the country. However limestone, and popular limestone at that, is not known as being the most accommodating of rock when it is wet. And so it was that much of the climbable rock in Symonds Yat, being shrouded in woodland and prone to some seepage, was rendered rather more challenging than the guide would suggest in more optimal conditions, with routes like Golden Fleece (HS) & Joyce’s Route (S) proving particular sandbags for the day. However once the sun came out (yes, we had some sun!), the more exposed routes, such as the upper pitches of Snoozin’ Suzie, or perennial favorite Vertigo (up the detached spire that sits above Symonds Yat East) proved to be delightful, rewarding climbers with spectacular views across the Wye into Herefordshire.
With zero rain for the rest of the hours of daylight, it was clear that those routes exposed to the elements, and thus quick to dry, were the best bet for quality climbing. And so it was that Wyndcliff, exposed and south facing a little further down in the lower wye valley, proved to be a good choice. There, climbers found a virtually deserted (after all, who would be out in such a dreadful forecast?) and, above all, dry crag, with excellent sports routes, and some challenging trad. Possibly a little too challenging for some, but that’s not for this article.
Having taken on the forecast and won once for the weekend, a bullish attitude towards the met office prevailed. They were fallible! They had predicted heavy rain for Saturday, and sheer willpower had proved them wrong! Yes, they had now altered the forecast to predict heavy rain on the Sunday, but why should that be any more true? Tomorrow was going to be another great day! We retired to the pub to enjoy a hearty meal and more beers and waited...
Sunday arrived. It rained. And rained. And rained. The Wye burst its banks. Fallen trees drifted down the swollen river. There was no question of climbing outdoors on the Sunday, less for complete masochists. You can’t win them all. A trip to Gloucester climbing wall beckoned, for some excellent development coaching & skills training from MIA and all round good bloke Paul Smith; not a bad use of the day.
I know the Wye Valley well, and it is fair to say that this years attendees probably did not get to experience the best of the climbing that this beautiful area has to offer. Nevertheless, in the breaks in weather that we did have, everyone who attended did get to get at least a taste of what is on offer, and I know would be eager for more. It also goes to show the benefit of being on the ground to make the most of breaks in the weather when they come- the forecasts aren’t always right, but the only way to tell is to be there. Finally, stats don’t lie. Now that we’ve got a wet one out of the way, I can only conclude that we’ll be back to another unbroken run of crisp and dry conditions for the next half a decade, so get Wye Valley ’19 in your diaries now!
36 / ARMY MOUNTAINEER