MYNYDD CLIMBING CLUB – HISTORY

Gatley YMCA was certainly an unlikely venue to found a climbing club where membership has long been associated with high achievement, adventures worldwide and an instinctive ability to party with determination. It was a small beginning but the common interests registered that evening in 1955 gave rise to a Club that has both thrived and stood the test of time. The choice of “Mynydd” for a Stockport based group might be considered strange but it reflected the earliest days when those founding members felt drawn to the larger crags and mountains of Wales as much as the more accessible offerings of the Peak District. The quest for adventure far afield is something that has never gone away. Where a number of other clubs of similar vintage faded and died with the passage of a particular group of friends, the Mynydd Club has been sustained by a firm and loyal membership which has enjoyed, and frequently excelled, in all aspects of mountaineering.

In its first years club activities were characterised by regular evening gatherings at a variety of pubs in the Stockport area and ever-popular coach meets. The promontory on the south shore of Llyn Ogwen was a regular weekend venue when amongst some notable activities on the crags, social extravagances in Bethesda often saw even the driver close to unconsciousness. Langdale and the ODG were popular and camping at Glen Brittle for the Whitsun holiday was also a regular event.

The search for a hut was a high priority from the earliest days. Among a number of possibilities considered, a promising property near Blea Tarn was just missed and imaginative enthusiasts even extolled the virtues of a derelict pigsty in Bethesda. Eventually, in 1958, a lease was secured on Blaen-y-Nant, an old farmhouse in a splendid position at the very head of the picturesque Crafnant Valley. Secluded – perhaps slightly remote – but reachable for energetic weekends using public transport and with a wealth of new crags to unearth and explore.

At first the premises were rather basic having been unoccupied for a number of years. Sheep had to be evicted and considerable work on the roof carried out. There was one tap plus a primitive chemical toilet which lurked first at one side of an adjacent barn and then at the other with respective views identifying Bog Buttress and SH Wall for guidebook immortality.

Exploration of the valley crags was dedicated to the point of being manic as the “hut” became a “home” at a time when access to other areas of Snowdonia was not easy prior to mass car ownership. Ambitions were not limited to Wales however; two expeditions to Cilo Dag in Turkey and another to the Atlas Mountains were significant in their day. By the end of the sixties membership had grown dramatically and the boundaries of club activity were pushed in new directions and to new limits setting trends and traditions which have continued to the present day.

On the accommodation front determined working parties “upgraded” Blaen-y-Nant, first by joining rooms to make a famously large lounge and kitchen – the former with its roaring open fire – then with a septic tank to provide flushes of relief to ever grateful members. Electricity and vastly improved kitchen facilities were to follow. Significant hut projects have continued into the new millennium but the character of the property has never been allowed to die. Blaen-y-Nant remains a true “club hut” with an air of tradition, embodying a host of happy and often outrageous memories and thousands of hours of members’ willingly given time. There is something about the ambience and position of the place that engenders affection in most people who go there, and this contributes in a major way to the nature of the club.

Although Blaen-y-Nant and Crafnant were important, horizons widened throughout the seventies, eighties and nineties with members keeping pace with the standards of the day. As the focus of climbing fashion moved and diversified from the classic areas of Snowdonia, The Lakes and The Peak to Sea Cliffs, Slate, Ice, Sport Climbing and Bouldering, we have always found enthusiasts to take part. In the Alps Mynydd members have succeeded on the high peaks and hardest faces. Further afield they have reached the highest peaks of all continents except Antarctica, and enjoyed fine climbing in a host of adventurous locations. To list all successes would be exhaustive and pointless. Even to try to judge the relative merits of individual member’s diverse successes for the purpose of list making would suggest a mindset which is not what this club has been about. Let’s just say that members have travelled and explored across Britain, Europe and the World to such an extent that there are now very few mountain and rock climbing areas where some of us have not been at one time or another. This record shows that over the years the Mynydd Club has attracted and encouraged many enthusiastic climbers and adventurers with wide ranging interests. We are proud of this, and are determined that Club success will carry on.

On the social front, weekly Club Nights have continued in various pubs including the Robin Hood in High Lane, the Swan and the Queens in New Mills and currently The Royal in Hayfield. An agreeable and convenient place to meet has always been the criteria and the subject of ‘most appropriate venue’ can still produce constructive discussion. Bonfire Night at Blaen-y-Nant and a sociable but energetic New Year Walk are long standing among the traditions of the year, but pride of place in the calendar must be excellent Annual Dinners notable since the early days for elaborate and brilliantly under-rehearsed entertainments.

Perhaps the greatest quality of the Mynydd over the years has been acceptance of diversity of interest and ambition among its membership. The active age range has become very wide and we are unusual among clubs in that children are always welcome at meets and in the Hut. The Club has celebrated achievement and enjoyment at all levels and demonstrated a willingness to enthusiastically embrace related activities such as Mountain-Biking, Ski-ing, Canoeing, Orienteering and Fell Running. All of these things have contributed not only to the Mynydd of the present day, but also have formed a rich base for a successful future.

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