Low House October 2023!
The week after the sensation that was Stanage 2023 some super psyched Stoats left a very rainy Birmingham and headed on the delightful Friday night journey to Coniston, in hope of drier weather. Eventually all the Stoats managed to reach the address-less Low House and we were warmly greeted by our much wiser, and slightly older friends from the MAM.
The evening was filled with welcoming some new Stoats to Low House, some hang board practice from the Treasurer, and routes and crags were planned for the next day. Luckily the trip organiser managed to scrounge a pair of shoes off a kindly fellow Stoat after she managed to bring only one, on her own trip…
Saturday morning was a chilly one but The Stoats headed off hopefully to the wonderful Long Scar in the hope of at least a morning's climbing. Unfortunately, shortly after we arrived at the crag, it started raining, and then hailing, whilst some Stoats were half way up their first routes! Some managed to downclimb and others powered on to the top and we then quickly packed up and hurried to the cars, but not before Max used his emergency shelter, lucky he did a demo for everyone in the hut the night before!
After piling almost all their belongings into the dry room and a warming lunch, The Stoats headed off in two groups for some wet weather activities. Some had a touristy time in Ambleside whilst other Stoats went to Kendal Wall, proclaimed: ‘the coolest place ever’ by at least 3 members of committee. Our excellent fangirling at Kendal Wall secured us some free stickers at reception and the psyche then returned for some Stoats to tackle the crazy 25m wall! The Stoats and MAM all then reunited at the hut for a classic Low House evening of fish and chips, a pub trip, and card games.
The weather on Sunday was much more promising and so the Stoats headed back to Long Scar, with some groups heading to the close by Black Crag too. Unfortunately the previous day’s weather made some parts of the approach rather boggy, which our VP found out all too well whilst trying to leap across a small stream. The new Stoats finally got their first outdoor climbs in and some others got some first leads in too! The Black Crag group had a photoshoot on the Pinnacle to get some totally tradtastic photos (the most important part of a club trip) and those at Long Scar enjoyed climbing with MAM members and appreciated their expertise when anchor building conditions were less than ideal.
After an obligatory stop at Maccies on the way home to share some final stories The Stoats headed back to Birmingham, with a reinforced appreciation for their waterproof jackets!