Hill Walking in Winter
David Alexander
Hill Walking in Winter, – David Alexander
The title was rather an understatement for the photos shown on Thursday evening by Carnforth Rotarian David Alexander. We were in awe of his dangerous adventures over several winters, on Glencoe and Ben Nevis.
He began mountain climbing well before Mountain Rescue was formed although, in Scotland, people never gave up looking for climbers until all the bodies had been accounted for. This could sometimes take several months of searching.
David explained some of the conditions he went out in on some of his exploits. One frozen waterfall was 50ft high and 40ft wide, Devil’s Ridge Cornice; vertical cliffs around 4000 ft high, had up to 6ft of solid snow blown against the face which could drop away if stood on.
Sometimes, he had to use bare hands to grip the Verglas (wafer thin ice) in temperatures of -10 degrees, as gloves were too bulky.
He also showed us a photo of a Climbers’ Hut, where people had to carry coal for the fire, and he presumes there was a portable septic tank. He also showed us a photo where a climber had cut out solid blocks of snow and built an igloo for shelter.
One particular sign read Danger of Death in red letters, we felt he was lucky to have survived.
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