UCD Mountaineering Club

by Donogh Lang (Captain 1995/96) -with additional material by Rory O'Connor and Declan O'Keeffe

UCD Mountaineering Club celebrated its 25th anniversary in characteristic style with a highly memorable and entertaining evening in An Culturlann in Monkstown in February 1993. The evening consisted principally of a
series of presentations covering various eras of the Club's history, which allowed older members a chance to reminisce, and gave newer members an appreciation of how hard it all was in the old days. The 25th anniversary was quickly followed by the Club's annual pilgrimage to Wales, returning once again to purify ourselves in the fleshpots of Nant Peris. The standard ritual of Day 1 - Crib Goch & Snowdon, Day 2 - the Glyders, and Day 3 - Tryfan and the Bristly Ridge was performed by all present. Winter conditions were not to be found but entertainment was not lacking thanks mainly to the copious quantities of duty free that had been acquired on the outward journey.

Following the usual programme of Sunday walks, the pre-exam season ended with the AGM held in the Ballyknockan Inn on the shores of the Blessington Lakes. The meeting itself, which saw the captaincy pass from the capable hands of Dee Flynn to the equally capable hands of Bryan Raleigh, was followed by the kind of drunken debauchery which can only be associated with thirty people sleeping together in one small room.

The final official trip of the academic year saw the Club going to the Mournes. Most present used the opportunity to brush up on rock-climbing skills which had become slightly rusty during the preceding exam period. In August, Paul Harrington and Bill Murphy, made some very notable ascents in the Alps, including the Gervasutti Pillar on Mont Blanc de Tacul and both the Bonatti Pillar and American Direct on the Petit Dru. This in addition to a week of hard climbing in the Verdon Gorge. The official Club Alpine trip in September was not, however, blessed with such success. Bad weather restricted most activity to low-level crags and bars. Fitness
levels were maintained by some members of the party by means of indoor pursuits.

A significant event occurred for the Club that Autumn. After considerable planning and negotiation with the College Authorities, the first major extension to the indoor climbing wall in the Sports Centre was opened. This turned what had been a relatively modest affair into the best climbing wall in the Dublin area, giving Club members free access to a first-class facility. In a new departure, the wall was also opened to the public and
quickly became the most popular winter climbing venue in Dublin. In November, the Club returned to the IMC hut in Glendalough for the so-called Navigation weekend. Despite the best efforts of all concerned, there really was no getting away from the fact that this was principally an opportunity for drinking and carousing. There were some impressive feats of navigation alright, but very little of it in the mountains. The comparatively mundane aftermath of the Navigation weekend ended abruptly with the shock resignation of Rory O'Connor as Meets Secretary. Reports that this was part of a secret deal with an unknown party (ah you know...) in exchange for their silence on Rory's secret forty-a-day smoking habit have never been proven.

For the Christmas/New Year trip, the Club descended upon that Mecca of Irish mountaineering, Beaufort, Co.Kerry. Good weather all week combined with snow over 2,000ft to provide excellent winter walking and scrambling among the highest peaks in the country. New Year's Eve was marked by a memorable late night in Kate Kearney's Cottage. Unfortunately the party which was to have followed had to be abandoned when the unwitting landlady was inadvertently invited to along. February 1994 brought the tragic news of the death of club member Bill Murphy following an avalanche in Scotland. Bill was a very experienced and capable mountaineer, the veteran of numerous trips to Wales, Scotland and the Alps, and he had many impressive routes to his name. His death was a sad loss to his many friends in the Club who will remember the affable
Corkman with great fondness.

In March, the Club held a successful weekend in Glendalough which introduced many of the newer members to the pleasures of outdoor rock-climbing for the first time. A compact group headed to Wales only to be greeted by appalling weather conditions which were not conducive to pleasant mountaineering. Respite was sought at the climbing wall in Plas Y Brenin, but this was to prove a bad move for Dee Flynn who was unfortunate enough to break her ankle while bouldering. Meanwhile a mainly graduate expedition headed for Onich near Fort William in Scotland. An enjoyable week was had by all, with the exception of Declan O'Keeffe. Whilst engaging in mountaineering-related activities (i.e. walking home from the pub), Declan succumbed to a rugby tackle from the now Dr. Norton, breaking his forearm clean in two. The steel plates are still there for all to feel.

April marked the end of an era for UCDMC. The AGM of that year was the fourth and last to be held in Ballyknockan. A potentially divisive meeting for the Club proved to be less than controversial and Bryan Raleigh was returned as captain for a second year. An important outcome of the meeting was the appointment of a committee to review the Club constitution. Summer started with two simultaneous post-exam trips. Some went to the Mournes for a weekend, while the gang of ten went for a week-long expedition
to try out the sun, sand, sea and rock in Cornwall. Sunny it was indeed - so sunny in fact that some members of the group sought the shade in preference to climbing, and spent their time (don't you mean your time,
Donogh? - ed.) composing such timeless ditties as The Portdenack Point Climbing Disaster. Not everyone approved. July and August saw two separate groups heading for the Alps. Declan O'Keeffe, Geraldine Coleman, Ronan Laffan and Dee Flynn headed initially for Chamonix, taking time to savour the delights of French cragging at Saffres on the way. They then headed for Arolla in Switzerland before rounding off the trip with some bouldering in Fontainebleau. Meanwhile, Mick Cunney, Bryan Raleigh, Donogh Lang and Mick Thornhill headed initially for Zermatt and Zinal in Switzerland, returning via Chamonix to finish off with the traverse of Mont Blanc.

That September, one of the most ambitious expeditions yet to be organised by members of UCDMC, departed bound for Satopanth (7075m) in the Garwhal Himalaya led by Ciaran Clissman. After establishing their highest camp on the shoulder of the mountain, Ciaran and John MacEnri made a bid for the summit only to be forced to return due to route-finding difficulties. The following day, with the benefit of knowledge gleaned from Ciaran and John, Paul Harrington made a solo ascent of the mountain, equipped with a hand-held video camera which provided some amusing home-movies later in the year.

The new academic year started in October with the usual large numbers joining the Club - due in no small part to the attraction of the climbing wall. It is an encouraging trend that despite relatively large increases in the cost of membership over the years, the level of interest in the Club has remained steady. Whether this is due to an increase in the disposable income of students, or excellent marketing on the part of the Mountaineering Club is difficult to say. The first buses of the year were reminiscent of a refugee camp, and those wishing for a quiet ride home were disappointed as the infamous Club choir did its best to corrupt innocent minds.

The Navigation weekend was held as always in the IMC hut in Glendalough in November. As before, an honest effort was made to teach some navigational skills but it really was a getting-to-know-you weekend. About this time, the club was plunged into a deep constitutional crisis, the like of which had not been seen before. Paralleling events in Irish politics at the time, the well-respected Morality Officer was forced, reluctantly, to resign. (who's that then Donogh? - ed.)

For the Christmas/New Year trip the Club decided to go upmarket, renting a group of houses in the Beaufort Holiday Cottages complex. Numbers per house were limited, meaning, for the first time, that (almost) everyone got a bed. The weather was more mixed than the previous year, but New Year's Eve itself again provided some excellent walking and scrambling in real winter conditions. The hards did the full Ridge of the Reeks, while others enjoyed a fabulous day on the Coumloughra horseshoe. Two weeks after New Years Day, tragedy again struck the Club with news of the death of Con Cormican in Co. Fermanagh. Con died in an attempt to rescue two friends who were caught in strong river currents whilst caving. Con had spent most of his mountaineering career with Bolton St. Mountaineering Club and had joined UCD after graduating from Bolton St. He had also joined us on the September 1993 Alps trip. He had an infectious enthusiasm for life, and mountaineering in particular, and his death was the loss of another good friend. In February, the annual trip to Wales broke with tradition and stayed in Llanberis town itself. This was somewhat fortuitous, as the heavy rain and strong winds made spending the days perusing gear in Joe Browns a substantially more attractive prospect than traversing Crib Goch. So bad was the weather that the trip was cut short and we got an early boat home. By contrast the climbing weekend in Glendalough in March was blessed with good Spring weather to welcome us back to the great outdoors. Also held this weekend was a General Meeting of the Club at which the results of the deliberations of the Constitutional review sub-committee (Bryan Raleigh, Donogh Lang and Declan O'Keeffe) were presented. Some further amendments were proposed, and the new constitution was unanimously accepted. The AGM was also held in Glendalough and marked the end of the
reign of Bryan Raleigh, as the captaincy passed to Donogh Lang. More disturbingly, Ian Norton became Meets Secretary and Cormac Flynn Assistant Meets Secretary. Rumours that the new committee would abolish short and medium walks, and replace them with long, really long, and weekly Lug walks proved to be
unfounded.

The Summer season commenced with the post-exams Mournes weekend. As usual, although there were no official activities during the Summer, Club members could usually be found in Dalkey Quarry on fine weekday evenings, and in various locations around the country at weekends. In July, Enda Mooney, Ronan Laffan and Dee Flynn headed for Ailefroide in the Massif des Ecrins. A good list of routes was topped off with an impressively fast traverse of La Meije in a fraction of guidebook time by Enda and Ronan. By the end of July a much larger group had assembled in La Berarde. A mass assault on the delicate spire of the Aiguille Dibona by a variety of routes included a classic combination of the Boelle and Madier routes by Bryan Raleigh and Donogh Lang. Next on the hit-list was the 4000m Barre des Ecrins via a bivvy below the Col des Ecrins. However, long queues on the summit ridge forced a re-think and the Dome de Niege des Ecrins was taken as a consolation prize instead. The following night, which was Mick Cunney's official birthday, was one to remember, if only anybody could. It is unlikely, however that any of the good citizens of La Berarde
will forget it in a hurry.

The 1995/96 academic year was marked by the breaking of a number of Club traditions. Firstly, the first Sunday bus went to Glenmalure as opposed to Glendalough, and secondly, and perhaps more radically, a novel departure known as the Beginners Weekend was held in Powers the Pot in the Comeragh mountains in October. This weekend, which was predominantly attended by Erasmus students, wasn't quite as incestuous as the usual Navigation weekend, but it did have its moments. We returned to Beaufort Holiday Cottages again for Christmas/New Year.

This time the limit on numbers wasn't quite so strictly enforced, and this, combined with some undiplomatic behaviour on the part of the Climbing and Equipment Officer ensured that this was to be our last year in Beaufort, at least for the time being. Nevertheless, the New Year's Eve party was good, and a good week of walking was available for those who wanted it. Thankfully, some traditions were reinstated that year as the Club returned to its old haunt, the sole habitat of the curious Nant Peris spongeworm (i.e. the Nant Peris bunkhouse) for the Wales trip on St. Patrick's weekend.

This year the gods smiled on us and we got excellent winter conditions which gave three fantastic days of walking and scrambling. The weather was equally good for those who headed for Scotland the same week, as good quality winter conditions made for a week of excellent climbing in the Torridon Hills. Once again the AGM was held in Glendalough, just about. It would not have happened at all had it not been for our former bus driver, Dominick O'Rourke, who drove us to Glendalough at very short notice following the non-showing of the booked bus. This time, the heavy burden of responsibility that is the captaincy landed on Ian Norton's broad shoulders. The first responsibility of the new Committee was to organise the forthcoming Mournes weekend which was timed nicely to coincide with the Queen's University Belfast Mountaineering Club bar-b-que. The smiles on the faces of Sinead and Clare (surnames withheld to protect the innocent) the morning after, told of an historic two-nil victory for UCD. In July, a merry band of four comprising Mick Cunney, Donogh Lang, Dermot Lynch and Mark Purcell headed to revisit the town of Zinal in the Swiss Valais. While descending the Glacier de Mountet after completing a second day of climbing, Mark put his foot through the thin layer of fresh snow only to find that he had stepped into a crevasse and was descending a bit further than expected. Having arrested his fall, his colleagues, being engineers, wasted no time in getting the lad out. After a sleepless night in the Grand Mountet hut, Mark elected to take the swift way down and was promptly helicoptered to hospital where he was diagnosed with a dislocated elbow. He returned home shortly afterwards leaving the remaining three in Zinal from where an ascent of the Bishorn was made. Following this they met up with Mr.Clissman & Co. in Chamonix whence they made a joint ascent of Mont Maudit.

The first term of the 1996/97 academic year followed much the same pattern as the previous one, with a Beginners weekend in the Comeragh Mountains in October followed by the Navigation weekend in Glendalough in December. For the Christmas/New Years trip there was a major departure from previous years. Having tired of Kerry (and in any case not having the option of returning to Beaufort, at least not as UCDMC), the Club block-booked Delphi Adventure Centre in Doolough. This was a bit of an unknown quantity. Firstly, there was only one industrial specification kitchen which was going to add an element of interest to the catering arrangements. Secondly, the location was remote and there was only a smallish bar in the Adventure Centre itself.

Despite reservations, the week proved to be probably the most memorable Christmas trip of the last five years. The weather was perfect for walking with clear, bitterly cold days and the large number of cars present (which reflected the growing affluence and increasing age-profile of the Club) meant that the remote location was not a problem. The cold weather gave Mark his second close encounter with ice in the space of a year, when he decided to test the thickness of ice on a frozen pool with the back of his head We shall henceforth know him as Ice-P. To round the week off, the New Year's Eve party went on till the very small hours of the morning with one of the better sing-songs in recent years. New Year's Day dawned bright and clear (a number were still up to see it) and despite hangovers and lack of sleep, many could not resist the temptation to go walking for a fifth successive day.

After a very sparsely attended weekend in the Comeraghs in February, the Club yet again returned to Nant Peris for St. Patrick's weekend. As has become traditional for the Wales trip, good walking was combined with
gross over-indulgence in alcohol. At the same time, the capitalist graduates headed to the far North of Scotland, or Ullapool to be exact, for a week of very pleasant walking/scrambling, including a traverse of An Teallach.

In May a young, radical new Committee came to power headed by none other than the appropriately named Joy Wall, one of Ireland's top women climbers. In an effort to improve the level of experience in the committee the Captain, Meets Secretary and his assistant were sent on a Mountain Skills course in Tiglin - one of the first times that committee members have ever received recognised training! Summer came and went as usual with UCDMC members present on many weekend trips to Gola Island, the latest and greatest hot-spot in Irish climbing, the development of which owes quite a deal to members of UCDMC. Enda Mooney,
Ronan Laffan, Dee Flynn, Michael MacInerney, Ciaran MacDonald and Danny Buckton went to the Bregaglia in September where a number of notable ascents were made. Meanwhile Dermot Lynch, Seamus Keane and Donogh Lang returned to Scotland to pick off the nice parts of the Cuilinn Ridge on Skye. The current season kicked off with a mighty bus load of eager faces in the Glenmalure valley and they were only the committee. It was a spectacular day with views all over south Wicklow and it was even possible to see Lugnaquillia from Cannow mountain.After exhausting the pleasures of the fleshpots of Glenmalure there ensued the usual round of hills including a quick sprint to the Mournes. Most of these trips were marked by the altruistic absence of the committee enabling us assorted oldies, crusties and wrinkles (pick whichever category you chose) to run amok with the walks and do the ones that we actually wanted to.

Various other notable walks included the pair of walks in Glendalough before and after Christmas which broke all records for extreme wetness and turned the area in front of the fire in the Glendalough Hotel into a scene reminiscent of the sauna in Delphi. However the best walk of the year to date must be our trip to Carlingford and the Cooley mountains on St Bridget's day. It was a perfectly clear day with a mild breeze and
excellent views in all directions - except to the Mourne mountains, where we were supposed to go to that day, which remained in dense cloud. There were various resurrections this season - a Sunday walk small enough to fit on a minibus; Dominic the bus driver; Willy Flynn; and Rory's knees - thanks to a new pair of shorts. There were of course the casualties and we bemoan the demise of the Long Walk, the sing-song on the bus and Dermo and Donogh saying they'll have a look at it. This year the Navigation weekend was abandoned in all but principle, and was replaced by the much more accurately named Glendalough Party weekend which is exactly the same as the good old fashioned Navigation Weekend but without the confusion of an orienteering course. However the hut was just as full as ever and smelt even worse. We returned again to Delphi for Christmas/New year but were not quite so lucky with the weather this time round. Two good days and three appallingly wet ones isn't all that bad for the West of Ireland. An excellent gym
soccer tournament was organised by Ian Norton, Kevin Lennon, Sepp Blatter and Joxer (silken skills from Ciaran O'Brien). We also had a volleyball tournament while the pool table and sauna were well used as was the climbing wall. There were many other sides to the trip - the many different approaches to clothing or lack of it in the sauna (Brussels Sprouts much in evidence) - the episode of the Squad Car and the Welly Wash - Eamon Mac An Bheatha the DJ from hell who wound the clock back more than twenty five years and then tried to hide it. Once again, New Year's Eve was pretty good, although the sing-song was more of a shouting match due to the hoarseness of some of the major players present.

On far foreign fields Mary Nash climbed Aconcagua - the highest peak in South America in February. So far as we know this is the first ascent by an Irish woman. Which brings us back to the present. UCD Mountaineering Club has maintained its presence on the Irish mountaineering scene during years of high club activity, and also during leaner years. As the students and graduates of the last five years hand over to the young guns of today it is with a degree of confidence that we can look forward to celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the club in 2008.