Welcome from the President
Dear lovely SCC members!
You don't need me to tell you this has been a very strange time to be president of our climbing club! Despite the difficulties faced by many of you, I have been overwhelmed by the positivity and creativity shown by our members to keep spirits high. From "pub" quizzes (organised by our fab social secs Jasmin and Sarah, with contributions from various other enthusiastic members) to bi-weekly high energy physical training sessions organised and ran by Paul (our own version of Joe Wicks! 💪), and excellent theoretical training organised by Chris and delivered (free of charge!) by Tim. Not to forget the newly formed SCC Book Club, set up by VP Esther! (This month's book is "Tides" by Nick Bullock - you've got until the 20th July to read it if you want to join in!) - I cannot thank you all enough for working so hard to provide virtual entertainment and learning opportunities for our members. And of course, to everyone who joined in for any of these or other hangout opportunities, massive thanks for getting involved!
Of course now lockdown is easing, we can start to resume our fabulous climbing calendar put together by Kizzy and Paul at the start of the year - and just in time for the planned Cornwall meet! As this was so last minute, we have decided it would work better as a "member organised" meet, as we had no way to know how feasible a club-organised trip would be so soon after re-opening of campsites and other facilities. For those of you who cannot join us due to the short notice, fear not! There is already another trip planned to the Peak District in the calendar, and as the situation becomes clearer over the coming weeks we will start populating your calendars with more awesome trips.
A note of caution, our main aim is to keep all our members safe. So should you or someone in your household feel unwell in the days leading up to a trip, please do not attend. Whilst on a trip, please try to maintain social distance from other people not in your household (e.g. only share a tent with people you live with) and if you decide to car share with people not in your household it is recommended that you sit as far from each other as possible, wear face masks throughout the journey and try to maintain an airflow through keeping windows open a little. Do bring hand gel with you so that you can use it before eating whilst out climbing for the day. Whilst in normal times we welcome novice climbers (providing there are enough experienced climbers available), at the moment we feel it is not possible to maintain a social distance whilst demonstrating skills (e.g. helping to tie in, or making an inexperienced climber safe at the anchor). Therefore until the risk has reduced we would encourage inexperienced members only to attend if a member of their household can take complete responsibility for them whilst climbing.
I am so excited at the prospect of climbing with you all again - although I think my "muscles" are now a shadow of their former selves so it's going to be a struggle - but one I cannot wait to embrace! Stay safe everyone and make the most of the current levels of freedom to make some new good memories.
Upcoming outdoor meets
Your meet sec's are Kizzy and Paul, and they're so happy that meets can start happening again!
We kindly ask that all members follow government rules on social distancing when attending a meet.
Please also read the BMC website on what the 4th July changes mean for climbing.
11th - 18th July - Cornwall
This will be an informal meet so individuals would be required to book their own accommodation and arrange travel and climbing partner independently.
We will be staying at Trevaylor campsite (https://www.cornishcamping.co.uk) from 11th to 18th July, although we appreciate this is a last minute meet, if you wish to join please book directly with the campsite.
Please note: the campsite may fill up quickly so other campsites and accommodation may be available.
The Facebook event for this meet is here.
7th - 9th August - The Roaches, Peak District
Finally, after a long absence from the Western Peaks we're making our return to the Roaches! Booking will open on the website on Wednesday 8th July at 7pm, so get in there quick as this meet is always popular and spaces will be limited.
Details available on the outdoor meets page.
15th - 8th August - Lundy
This meet is still going ahead for people who booked camping before lockdown through the Landmark Trust, but there will be changes with regard to C-19. These details are due to be released but some of the restrictions are below:
- Click & collect system for the shop
- Booking time slots for the pub, plus takeaway service
- Certain showers assigned to certain 'households'. Unclear how that will apply to camping but we'll see.
Meet details can be found here, and the latest updates are on the Facebook event page.
Memberships
We're half way through the year now (how did that happen!), so it's time to slash our membership price in half. If you have any friends or family that are mad on climbing, and would like to join us, do let them know.
Send them to the SCC Website to find out more!
Upcoming training dates
At SCC we want you to get the very best out of your climbing, so throughout the year we have a programme of training events to motivate and educate you!
See training section for more details.
We currently cannot run any group training sessions due to COVID-19 unfortunately, but we are running online training sessions where we discuss a wide range of topics. These are usually on Tuesdays @ 7.30pm, checkout the Facebook page below to get involved and let us know what training you'd like to see in the future.
Recent meets
Scotland Winter Meet
It was a tough winter this year, with lots of wind and snow making climbing conditions tricky and the mountains avalanche prone. Nevertheless, everyone stayed safe and were able to fulfil some climbing objectives. Even the skiing conditions were on good form! Scottish winter newcomers were able to learn new skills and tick off their first winter route, whilst the more experienced parties ventured toward less travelled corries in search of icy lines and shelter from the westerlies. Not to mention hunkering down in a bothy and drinking mulled cider. Already looking forward to what this winter brings!
Boulder Shack
Tim and the Boulder Shack team have long been supporters of the club, and during lockdown they've been busy making improvements to the wall. Not only do they have a new shop area being filled with Patagonia gear, but a completely revamped kitchen area with pizza oven!
I'm sure that's got everyone excited and licking their lips!
They hope to be opening their doors again in the coming weeks.
Club Gear
Don't forget that the club has a stash of gear that members can borrow, not to mention all the guidebooks too in our club Library at Boulder Shack.
Club Facebook group
All members of SCC should have access to this closed group. If you're having any difficulty joining the group, please let us know by emailing sotonclimb@gmail.com.
Club indoor sessions (once climbing walls re-open)
As usual, here are the details of the club's weekly indoor sessions, great for socialising and getting a midweek climb in.
- Tuesdays at Boulder Shack from approx. 7-9.30pm. Our discounted club night, followed by a trip to the local watering hole, usually The Book Shop (pizza available next door) or The Rockstone.
- Thursdays at Calshot from approx 7pm onwards, again with a discount (which in fact is valid any time in Calshot) and a drink/food after in the bar. We'd recommend using the club's Facebook group to check who else is going and coordinate lifts, especially during the winter!
As always, please get in touch if you have any feedback about the club or ideas for future activities.
With best wishes,