Meets
Climbing and Mountaineering
Meets normally include weekend meets at our own hut, or other clubs huts, camping meets for climbing or walking (usually in the Summer), extended meets in Scotland, the Alps, or other regions, and local evening rock climbing meets. The club also schedules Working Weekends for repairs and improvements to the Club Hut.
St.Helens is conveniently situated close to the motorway network and is just one and a half hours drive from popular rock climbing venues in the Lake District, North Wales and the Peak District. Cheshire sandstone (including Frodsham, Helsby and Pex Hill) and Lancashire grit (including Brownstones, Wilton and the Rivington quarries) are also close enough for an evening's climbing or a short winter's day.
The members elect a committee who arrange the programme of meets for the year. Club meet details and venues are printed on the membership card issued to all members. The venues are a reflection of suggestions from the club members.
In addition to the official meets, many members arrange their own informal meets most weekends. These are arranged by e-mail, in the pub or at the indoor climbing meet. If you are interested in coming along, just ask.
Some meets are specifically designated as beginners' meets and the club arranges for the more experienced members to be available to supervise novices. If you are interested in joining the club and would like to attend one of the meets then please contact enquiries@sthelensmc.org.uk.
Pub Meet
The Abbey Hotel, Hard Lane, Dentons Green, St Helens is the traditional meeting place for the club and has been used to host committee meetings and other official functions. The Club meets there regularly on Wednesday evenings at around 9.30pm. Members find this a useful venue to make arrangements for the organised meets, or to arrange their own informal meets, and enjoy a drink and a chat.
In the summer, if the weather is suitable, the Abbey Hotel meet, is occasionally combined with an early evening session of climbing and bouldering at Pex Hill Quarry in Cronton near Widnes.
New and prospective members are welcome to attend but please contact the Chairman to check that a meeting is planned and that somebody will be expecting you.
Indoor Climbing
Since we have a price concession on Monday evenings, our indoor climbing meet is at the North West Face climbing wall, in Warrington(on the A49 near Tesco), every Monday evening from 7pm onwards (except bank holidays and other seasonal holidays). Attending this meet is the quickest and simplest way for prospective members to meet us and to have a go at climbing. Enquire at the desk at the North West Face and the staff will introduce you.
Training for climbing is hard work so we also visit one of the local hostelries for some refreshment after our exertions.
Rambles
The club also runs a series of rambles on the first Sunday of each month. These are usually around 8 to 12 miles and include a stop for a pub lunch. Past venues have included the Lancashire moors, the Pennines and even the Wirral.
Meets List
Please note that there may have been changes to the meets list since the publication of the membership card. The information presented here, on this page, is currently the most up to date available.
Also the club also has a private group on Facebook for members to communicate the latest news and information about meets. Additional information for non-members is made available on the club's public profile on Facebook.
How To Attend A Meet
All members, prospective members, and guests of the club, are asked to contact the meet coordinator if you wish to attend a meet. The coordinator's contact details(including phone numbers) are published on the club membership card and their email addresses(where applicable) are also linked in the meets list below.
Non-members who wish to attend a meet where the coordinator does not have e-mail should contact enquiries@sthelensmc.org.uk stating which meet they wish to attend and their own address and contact telephone number.
The meets list for 2010 is below. The dates of the rambles and the camping/bivvy meets are reasonably definite. The hut meets are still subject to possible rearrangement and depend upon bookings of other huts since our own is currently not available.
| 2010 Meets List | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Date | Venue/Activity | Coordinator |
| January | Sun 10th | Ramble - Whalley Area More details |
Ken Fyles (email) |
| 15 - 17th | Hut Meet - Wales | Stephen Fletcher (email) | |
| 29th - 31st | Winter Skills - Scotland More details |
Graham Calderbank (email) | |
| February | Sun 7th | Ramble - Nicky Nook, Garstang More details |
Dave Archer (email) |
| 19th - 21st | Hut Meet - Lakes | Gareth Rowlands (email) | |
| March | Sun 7th | Ramble - Delamere Forest to Boothsdale Rescheduled meet, more details |
Ken Fyles (email) |
| Sat 13th | Annual Dinner - Plas y Brenin Details here and latest news. |
Stephen Fletcher (email) | |
| Sun 28th | Beginners' Climbing - Burbage North More details |
Andy Gee (email) | |
| April | Sun 11th | Ramble - Clwydian Hills More details |
Roger Sager (email) |
| Mon 19th | Evening Climbing - Pex Hill | Will Simm (email) | |
| Sun 25th | Beginners' Climbing - Windgather Rocks More details |
Derek Hatch | |
| 30th Apr - 3rd May | Bank Holiday Camping - Cornwall More details |
Andy Gee (email) | |
| May | Wed 12th | Evening Climbing - Helsby | Will Simm (email) |
| 21st - 23rd | Camping - The Lakes | Will Simm (email) | |
| June | Sun 6th | Climbing Skills Meet More details |
Andy Gee (email) |
| 11 - 13th | Joint Merseyside Clubs Meet - Langdale More details |
Ken Fyles (email) | |
| Fri 18th | Day Climbing(9am - 9pm) - Houghton Quarry More details |
Graham Calderbank (email) | |
| 25 - 27th | Beginners' Hut Meet - Lakes More details |
Trevor Jones (email) | |
| July | 9 - 11th | Achille Ratti Hut Meet - Bethesda | Trevor Jones (email) |
| 30th July - 1st Aug | Camping Meet - Wasdale | Dave Lunt (email) | |
| August | Wed 11th | Evening Climbing - The Roaches | Trevor Jones (email) |
| 13 - 15th | Camping - Cadair Idris | Graham Calderbank (email) | |
| 20th - 22nd | Hut Meet - Langdale | Trevor Jones (email) | |
| September | Sun 5th | Ramble - Dunsop Bridge to Slaidburn | Lionel Greenslade |
| 10 - 12th | Camping - Northumberland | Dave Lunt (email) | |
| 24 - 26th | Camping - Anglesey | Andy Gee (email) | |
| 30th Sept - 2nd/3rd Oct | Adventure Climbing Meet | Graham Jones | |
| October | Sun 3rd | Ramble - Winter Hill | Les Berry |
| Wed 6th | Annual General Meeting | Trevor Jones (email) | |
| Sun 10th | Climbing - Swindale | Derek Hatch | |
| 22nd - 24th | Hut Meet - The Lakes | Gareth Rowlands (email) | |
| 30th - 31st | Halloween Bivvy - The Lakes | Andy Gee (email) | |
| November | Sun 7th | Ramble - Peak District Rescheduled meet. |
Brian Smith (email) |
| Sat 13th | Scramble - North Wales | Dave Lunt (email) | |
| Sun 28th | Bouldering - Widdop | Will Simm (email) | |
| December | Sun 5th | Ramble - Parbold Area | Les Berry |
| Sat 11th | Scramble - Duddon Valley | Graham Calderbank (email) | |
Previous year's meets lists are still available in the Meets Archive.