Details: Winter meet in the Lake District.

Staying at Causeway Foot Farm Camping Barn near Keswick.

Situated close to the A66 route and the Keswick hub of local roads we should have easy access to get here and to venture out for whatever activities suit the weather conditions.

Blencathra (Saddleback) and Skiddaw can both provide fun walking conditions in snow for highflyers, whilst the central fells are within driving distance for ice climbing, scrambling and similar adventure. Added to which there is Whinlatter Forest and Derwentwater for true Lakeland scenery. Great views from Catbells or Ashness Bridge and many low lying fells provide great rewards with little effort. Then there is Keswick for creature comforts and gear fondling.

Further afield there is Cockermouth where Wordsworth was born and the rolling country at the ‘back o’ Skiddaw’. Not to mention the Heskett Newmarket brewery and the peaceful Mungrisdale and Mosedale valley. There is also good off road cycling of various grades and surfaces.

The maximum number is 16 so please let me know as soon as possible if you want to come. Then I can confirm the camping barn which I expect to cost £7 to £10 each per night depending on numbers. Friday and Saturday nights are provisionally booked and, subject to availability, there is the option to extend if you want to stay longer.

Please call me or email for more information.

David

Details: This is one of the events organised by Suffolk Orienteering Club for orienteers in the Eastern Region. Non-members are welcome. There is no special help for beginners, but IMC members who are used to navigating in the hills should find that they can cope well with one of the easier courses. The harder courses may prove more of a challenge.

For further details visit the Suffolk Orienteering Club fixture list.

Details: It's the first wednesday-of-the-month club meet.

Details: Now that David’s February Lakes meet is well underway I would like to leap frog forward to mid-March and the scheduled raid on the Brecon Beacons.

Initial scan of bunkhouses shows there are plenty of big ones but not so many smaller ones that we could possibly hire on sole occupancy. Before I make any further enquiries with owners, I would like to gauge the level of interest so I can choose one that is the right sort of size.

The Brecon Beacons (and slightly overlooked cousin next door The Black Mountains) offers a wide and varied range of activities. There is plenty of good walking, with opportunities to hone those navigation skills! the highest point of the Brecons being Pen y Fan at 886m or Waun Fach at 811m in The Black Mountains, Mountain biking – routes from easy yellow to ‘killer’ black (apparently), Kayaking – white water excitement on the Usk or the quieter waters of Llangorse lake and the canals, climbing (outdoors, mostly at Llangattock, if the weather is kind enough & indoors), Horse riding/pony trekking, even caving if you fancy giving it a go or the show caves of Dan-Yr-Ogof

The town of Brecon itself is worth a visit for a wander round the Cathedral. For the more erudite amongst us the book seller’s mecca of Hay on Wye is only a short drive up the road

So, drop me an email or I’m occasionally at Stowmarket or Copleston trying to climb!


Ian

Details: Back due to popular demand.

Climbing, raffle, cakes and ale, prizes.

Free entry.(you do have to pay the usual climbing fee)

All and every level of climbing welcome to enter.

Beginners and irregulars Challenge.
Intermediates Challenge.
IMC Champions Cup. (current champ: Chris)

All just for fun.

Register on the night. Although you do need to be an IMC member to enter.

We'll start from 7.15pm, but you can still enter up until 7.45pm.

The competitions will take place during the evening when the wall is open to the public, so we will need to be patient and considerate to other users and pay £4.20 in the usual way.

Look out for details of competition rules. They'll be sent out soon.

See you there.

Details: Early season chance to get your hands on the real thing. I know it's not everyones cup of tea, but I think a sunny day out at Harrison's or Bowles is alot of fun.


For those that have never been- it's all top roped (well strictly speaking bottom roped)- lots of variety of grades, but most require a strange mix of delicacy and brute force- but don't let that put you off.

31st is a Saturday-let's have a look at the weather.

If Saturday no good then Sunday might be.

Details: It's the first wednesday-of-the-month club meet.

Details: A change from our usual Easter meet in Cornwall.

There is sea-cliff climbing of all grades in North and South Pembroke.

some of the classic crags in the area are St Govan's head, Saddle Head, Porth Clais and Carreg y Barcud

Details: An early-season visit to the peak district.

Details: It's the first wednesday-of-the-month club meet.

Details: May Bank Holiday in the Wye Valley.

Planning to stay at Cherry Orchard Farm.

Plenty of climbing e.g. Wintour's Leap, Symonds Yat, Shorncliff, see the IMC guide.

This is planned to be a climbing trip, but other activities are possible in the area such as canoeing

Details: Another chance to pick up some skills useful for outdoor climbing and the beginners weekend.

We can go through things like setting up belays, use of double ropes, and use of prussiks for abseiling and ascent.

Details: Our annual beginners meet, usually based at Hardhurst Farm near the village of Hope.

All welcome regardless of experience. Come along and experience real rock!

Some info on the area here.

Details: A long weekend visit to the IMC West country branch to try out the Sea cliffs and possibly inland crags.

Details: It's the first wednesday-of-the-month club meet.

Details: Details TBC

Details: It's the first wednesday-of-the-month club meet.

Details: It wouldn't be a proper IMC meets calendar without a North Wales trip. Details TBC.

Details:

Valkyrie

Lots of climbing at the Roaches (see the planetFear Roaches article, or the UKC crag database for Roaches Lower Tier, Upper Tier and Skyline), with classics such as Black and Tans (S), Technical Slab (HS), Valkyrie (VS) and the Sloth (HVS), and also the neighbouring Hen Cloud, which even has a 3 pitch gritstone route: Central Climb (VS)

The Don Whillans Memorial Hut is booked for 2 nights (20th Jul and 21st July). The hut costs £192 for the weekend, and the cost will be divided between the number of people that go. The hut sleeps up to 12 so costs could be from £16 (12 people), to, say £24 (8 people).

Don Whillans Memorial Hut

Details: It's the first wednesday-of-the-month club meet.

Details: Our annual beginners' multipitch climbing meet in North Wales. Your chance to learn the special skills of multipitch climbing in one of Britain's foremost mountain rock-climbing areas.

I'll probably book the Nant Peris campsite directly opposite the Vaynol arms.The entrance is just on the Llanberis village side of the Vaynol Arms.

This meet is a good way to improve your skills & experience on bigger crags. You will need to be a competent belayer and, ideally bring your own harness & helmet although a few spares will be available.

This is a "formal" meet so I will organise climbing partnerships each day to make sure that those with less experience are teamed up with someone who can "show them the ropes".

Hope to see you there - Jeremy.

Details: A proposed trip to the Gower - final venue is up to whoever volunteers.

Plenty of trad and sport climbing of all grades in the Gower area.

Details: It's the first wednesday-of-the-month club meet.

Details: The return of a venerable IMC tradition - a weekend of mildly competitive dashing & climbing around the peak district.

Details: A late season weekend of climbing on the Swanage cliffs. Portland is also within easy reach. Please read the IMC article on the area for an idea of the area (note: some of the climbing can be steep and serious).

We'll be staying,as usual, at the well-equipped Tom's Field campsite. A good pub serving a fine pint of Ringwood Brewery's finest and hearty food is within walking distance.

If there's interest we might take in the live music at The Square and Compass on the Saturday night.

It's steep. It's juggy. It's fantastic. It's Swanage!

Details: It's the first wednesday-of-the-month club meet.

Details: It's the first wednesday-of-the-month club meet.

Details: You may or may not be aware that 2012 is a momentous year. It is the
year that the Ipswich Mountaineering Club reaches its 25th anniversary.

To enable us to mark this fantastic achievement the Thorpe Woodlands
Adventure Centre in Thetford Forest has been booked for the weekend of
24/25 November 2012. See below for further details.

Without you, the club would not be what it is, so we would really like
to use this opportunity to gather as many past, present and founder
members together as possible.

What better possible excuse could there be to catch up with old friends meet new ones and talk about the rock and mountains that we all love so much?

We hope past members will recognise at least one of the signatories
below, and many of those in the "To" list above. We've tried to get
email addresses for as many former members as possible, but if you spot someone we've missed, and you are still in contact, please do forward this on.

Some preliminary details of the event are given below, and more
information will follow in the summer. But for now it would be good to
have a rough idea of who hopes to be able to join us on 24 November. No definite commitment is required at this stage.

Please RSVP to 25years@ipswich-m-c.co.uk

Hoping to see you there!

Some preliminary details of the venue and the event

Thorpe Woodlands is an outdoor education centre in a very scenic part
of the forest, not too far from Ipswich (about 50mins) and in the right
direction for former members who have moved away to be nearer the
mountains. There are no mountains in Thetford Forest of course, but the centre does have a climbing wall, high ropes course, off-road cycle trail and a variety of other activities to entertain us. It is chiefly a venue for young people, but we will have exclusive use of the centre for the night. There is a large function room, and 37 beds of good hostel standard.

The focus will be a celebration dinner on the Saturday evening, but
there will also be a chance to try the activities (optional) during the day on Saturday and/or Sunday. People who wish to stay overnight will have a choice of hostel beds or camping.

We will confirm the cost later, but the aim will be to keep it
inexpensive. There is an overnight charge of £14.40 per head in the
hostel or £5.20 for camping. Catering will be in addition, and activities on a pay as you go basis. (Some are free - eg the bike trails if you bring your own bike!).

Members, past, present and founder, will have priority, but we hope to
have space for non-member partners and families as well, especially if
you are just coming for the day, or are happy to camp.

Please let us know what you are interested in when you RSVP.

Details: It's the first wednesday-of-the-month club meet.