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Swaledale Outdoor Club |
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Swaledale Outdoor Club |
| > Home > Newsletter > Climbing > Keith's Bivvy Night |
Keith's Bivvy NightKeith, Sue and myself were the first arrivals and established ourselves by some boulders at the edge of Goat's Water below the soaring buttresses of Dow Crag. For some inexplicable reason Keith had considerable difficulty erecting his tent perhaps because it was the sort of tent primarily intended for sunny days in the back garden. He finally got it sussed and the three of us scrambled up to the crag to try our wings on the Ordinary Route on C Buttress - this was for Sue's benefit, you understand of course! Another delightful little route, Giants Corner, and then back to the bivvy site for supper. As dusk was turning into night five stumbling figures were discerned endeavouring to cross the stream at the outlet to the tarn. This having been more or less successfully accomplished they turned out to be the rest of the party ie Jim, Dave, Dave, John and another Peter. A somewhat raucous evening got under way and a fair amount of alcoholic beverage was consumed before we all rolled into our respective tents or bivvy bags. I woke at 6.30 and peering out of my bag saw a clear blue sky with the mist burning off the crag as the rising sun touched the tops of the mountains. Wonderful! The first thing that I heard was a voice expressing amazement at waking and finding himself in his sleeping bag fully dressed, complete with hat and pertex jacket and with only his boots missing. And he couldn't even remember removing them! By 8.30 we were starting climbing and as the crag faces east it was already hot and the climbing was what one dreams about on those cold and rainy days that represent so much of the British summer. All in all an excellent weekend and thank you Keith for picking such brilliant weather! Peter Dyson |