Celebrations started with a splash, as Midge and a few others (with dry land support crew) went for a spellbinding moonlit dip in the Padarn.  Dave Shotton toughed it out in his budgie smugglers, the rest of us wore varying amounts of neoprene.  Coloured floats containing torches created a magical atmosphere as we swam out into the lake.

The moon came out for a few seconds as we got changed, and all returned to the bar at the Vic for a drink and a chat – no mulled wine available sadly, but good to meet up with the other early guests.  Thanks to Midge for an invigorating start to the weekend!

Saturday morning started with torrential rain, clearing a little by 10 so six of us set off to climb Snowdon via the Snowdon Ranger path.  Visibility was awful and Midge and Graham (who had been consistently picking wet days for his walks for ages), decided to head back to the Pantri when we got to the col.  The rest of us plodded up through the mist, happily being caught up by Roger and Bridget after a while.  We made it to the summit, had our photo taken as evidence then trudged back down to the Vic (and up again to Ty Powdwr in Dave W’s case) for hot baths and a change.  Sean, Jo and Jared set off to do a route on Tryfan in the morning, but the north face was streaming wet so they scrambled over Bristly Ridge before heading back.

41 people sat down for dinner – Jim Gregson delivered a lovely message with warm congratulations from ex-president and longstanding KMC member Dennis Gray.  Our after-dinner speaker Andy Halley gave an inspiring talk about his work with Urban Uprising, a charity which uses rock climbing to build resilience, social skills and physical health for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.  UU don’t operate in Manchester at present, but have teams of volunteers in several locations around England and Scotland – if you want to know more about them https://www.urbanuprising.org/ is the website, you can make donations via this page too.

After dinner our raffle raised £210 Which will be donated to Urban Uprising – thanks to Phoebe and Craig for selling tickets and running the raffle, and everyone who donated gifts, particularly Jim Gregson who brought some really covetable prizes. 

When the last of Sheena Hendrie’s old guidebook collection had been taken, we moved to the lounge for some relaxing chat and a haiku poem/caption competition.  There isn’t enough room here to print all the winners (or the random rude poems about Andy S and Jim S, who seem to be inspiring subjects for poetry), but my favourite haikus on the subject of “Type 2 fun” and “Ty Powdwr” were:

Type 2 Fun ("Team One"):

Moonlit dark cold lake

Brave souls swim lit by torches

Tingling hands and feet

Ty Powdwr (Sue and Pete):

Damp, moist and homely

But enough about the guests

And no snoring please!

And here’s one which started well but didn’t follow any of the rules at all (by Jim, Sue and Phillippa)

There was an old couple like Batman and Robin

But one was Craig and the other Colin

They had type 2 fun on an ice fall

One had a ball, the other a fall.

Thanks to all who came along, the location of next year’s dinner is not yet fixed but will not be Wales – if you have any ideas for great venues, let me know!

Karabiner Mountaineering Club 80^th Anniversary Dinner

The Royal Victoria Hotel, Llanberis

Saturday 16^th November 2024

Book now for the social event of the year – a weekend of outdoor fun with a lovely dinner and entertaining speakers - the KMC Annual dinner.

This year is the club’s 80^th Anniversary, so it would be fantastic to have as many members as possible to celebrate 80 years of great adventures, and catch up with friends old and new.  We have an external speaker, Andy Halley from Urban Uprising/Enduring Missions, who will be speaking about "Bringing Young People Into The Mountains", using experiences from his volunteer work and from his own early mountaineering life.

N.B.

HOTEL Booking deadline 16^th October, so get in contact soon before the rate cap ends.

DINNER Booking deadline 5^th November

Friday 15th November

If you are staying at The Royal Victoria on the Friday night check in is from 3pm.  In the evening, there will be an informal drinks in the bar starting around 8pm – or later for those going for a celebratory moonlit swim with Midge Castick:

** Meet at 1945 at the vic and we will walk down to the swimming spot (about 1 mile) **  

"By fortunate coincidence there is a full moon, and a supermoon at that, the Friday night before the Dinner. 

If the sky is clear I hope to have some company at the lagoons on Padarn Lake for a moonlit swim. The water will be cold by November, plus the Cold Air temperature will mean a short dip with a wetsuit or shortie ideally. Bring a hot drink, headtorch, and warm clothes. 8pm seems a good time especially if you are driving down from Manchester after work. 

Final confirmation will be on the day via KMC wild swimmers WhatsApp group"

Saturday 16th Novembder

PRE-ANNUAL DINNER CLIMBING/SCRAMBLING – Volunteer needed!

PRE-DINNER WALK - meet at 10am at the entrance to the Royal Victoria - we'll probably walk up Snowdon via the Snowdon Ranger path, and down by the railway unless anyone has a better idea!

Pre Dinner Drinks: from 6pm

Call to Dinner: 6.45pm

Dinner:  7.30pm – 8.45 pm

Speeches, raffle, awards:  9pm – 10pm

Speaker (Andy Halley from Urban Uprising/Enduring Missions on "Bringing Young People Into The Mountains).

After dinner drinks:  Retire to the bar for drinks and merriment until the inevitable end, a separate lounge will be available downstairs to congregate and socialise

Raffle:  If you would like to donate something to the raffle please contact Christine or bring it along on to the dinner on Saturday. Tickets are £2 each. All proceeds to go to support Urban Uprising.

Sunday

To be arranged nearer the time

Count me in!  Where do I stay??

The KMC has reserved 15 rooms at The Royal Victoria and we fully expect demand to exceed supply.  Rooms need to be booked by 16^th of October 2024. A capped rate of £125 / night for a double/twin room including breakfast has been agreed, please use group booking reference no. 67132 to get this agreed rate and book with the hotel direct on 01286 870 253  (You can book after this, but the price may rise).

Please note this is a capped rate and may not be the cheapest rate at the time of booking - check online first!

If you prefer you can of course stay at Ty Powdwr (pay hut fees as normal to hut account), please let me know if that is what you intend to do so we can make sure there is room (unlikely to be an issue). 

There are several B+Bs in Llanberis if you want to stay nearer the hotel but for less.

The cost of the dinner is £35 per person for the Gwynedd menu and £30 for the Vegetarian/Vegan menu.

So when booking please

1. pay the full cost of the meal only into the club main account with a clear reference (eg AD24NAME)
2.  e-mail myself @ president@karabiner.org  indicating your menu choices and how much you have paid and copy in Roger Mapleson @ treasurer@karabiner.org with the reference of annual dinner 24 so he can keep the club accounts straight.

What’s on the menu??.

Vegetarian / Vegan Menu £30

STARTERS

(1) Tomato soup, herb oil (ve)

(2) Dovetail of melon, raspberry compote & raspberry gel (ve)

MAIN COURSES

(1) Vegetable curry with coriander rice and poppadum (ve)

(2) Creamy mushroom stroganoff, herb rice, truffle dressed rocket (v)

DESSERTS

(1) Salted caramel chocolate brownie, fruit coulis (ve)

(2) Fruit salad with raspberry compote (ve)

Gwynedd Menu £35

STARTERS

(1) Tomato soup, herb oil

(2) Salmon gravlax, guacamole, sour cream, sourdough toast

(3) Duck and orange pate, toasted bloomer, onion chutney

MAIN COURSES

(1) Feather blade of beef

(2) Roast pork loin, caramelised onion, apple sauce

(3) Steamed haddock, white wine sauce, crispy kale

All of the above served with creamy chive whipped potatoes and seasonal vegetables

DESSERTS

(1) Raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake, mixed fruit coulis

(2) Lemon meringue, raspberry compote

(3) Selection of Welsh cheeses, oat cakes and chutney

House-blended coffee/tea with mints

Key: (v) vegetarian, (ve) vegan

If you have any allergies or intolerances please include these in your email and I will let the hotel know.

 Any queries please call or text me on 07765502626

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Christine