CYHA News

The Monthly Newsletter of Chelmsford YHA Local Group

March 2004

Looking on the Bright(on) Side

It takes more than setting fire to our accommodation to spoil our weekend plans! After last month's pub debacle (where the Crown in Sandon fell victim to a chip pan fire on the day of our intended visit), the news that Eastbourne YH had burnt to the ground made us wonder if fate was thumbing its nose at us or whether an arsonist had taken to reading our programme. Unperturbed, we accepted YHA's offer of alternative accommodation at the magnificent Patcham Place YH. Handily situated opposite a pub and within a stone's throw of bus stops to take you into the throbbing heart of Brighton, it proved to be an excellent choice.

Saturday saw most of the group labouring up Ditchling Beacon in showery squalls, whilst Helen & I enjoyed the delights of Brighton Pavillion. The group munched on cheese and pate sandwiches, whilst Helen & I selected from the many plying for our trade, a bistro commensurate with our level of taste and sophistication. The group nibbled thankfully on battered penguin biscuits, whilst Helen & I selected from only the choiciest of hand made chocolates. The group arrived back at the hostel damp, wind-ruddied, spattered in mud and desperate for tea, whilst Helen and I stepped elegantly from our bus clutching gorgeous memories, glamorous purchases and also desperate for tea! Thirsty work this shopping lark. Sorry culture, I meant culture. We were taking in the culture, the shops just happened to be there too.

Sunday was by far the better day weather-wise so it was by virtually unanimous agreement that we all headed off to Cuckmere Haven for a closer acquaintance with the Seven Sisters. Some necessary car shuttling meant that Dave, Amanda, John and I got a head start. We'd bagged about 3 of the Sisters and had just settled down to an early lunch when the others caught up. It was a blowy day which meant finding a sheltered nook large enough for 15 people as no mean task, but somehow we managed. After lunch and a couple more Sisters we got to the famous Belle-Tout lighthouse (the one that was on Tomorrow's World being moved back from the edge of the cliff). It might have been due to that wet weather we've been having, but parts of the cliff edge looked to be in a parlous state - cracked and undercut. Of course the boys had to check for themselves by crawling all over them - I couldn't watch!

After a restorative cuppa at Beachy Head we rounded off our weekend with a trip to see the blackened remains of Eastbourne YH. There really wasn't much left apart from the front wall and the chimney stack. A real pity it's gone as it was in a lovely secluded location, yet still quite close to the town - unfortunately this is probably what the arsonist liked about it too.

Ali

(See some more pictures of our weekend)

Slides Snowed Off

As many of you know our meeting on the 28^th January had to be cancelled due to appalling weather conditions and the virtual grid-lock of Chelmsford town centre. Fear not that you have missed your chance to see Claire's slide show - we have re-scheduled for 21^st April (see inside for details).

A Walk in the Woods

Thanks to George for leading a fine walk in January through Hatfield Forest. A good pub lunch, an afternoon tea stop, and lots and lots of mud!

Ship-spotter's Paradise

George also led February's walk on Shotley Peninsula, along the banks of the rivers Orwell and Stour

With, purely coincidentally, fine views of the docks at Felixstowe and Harwich. And George just happened to have his notebook and binoculars!

Hugh's News

I will shortly be travelling to Amarah in Iraq to work once more under The Salvation Army. Amarah is north of Basrah in southern Iraq, under the British Army wing of the Coalition Forces.

I have been asked to help the Marsh Arabs find new ways of making a livelihood through agriculture and livestock.

The Marsh Arabs suffered much under Saddam Hussein. They were bombed, gassed, routinely murdered and their huge area of marshes drained. Their lives were dependant on the marshes which now seem for ever lost.

I am really looking forward to meeting and getting to know them.

Hugh Pilcher

News from New Zealand

Jane and Dave send greetings to everyone, from their new home in Hamilton, New Zealand. Jane arrived on Christmas Eve, and they've been enjoying a belated honeymoon, the warm summer days, swimming with dolphins, and bagging a few peaks! More soon...

The CYHA Winter Olympics

In late January a group of us jetted off to the Italian Alps for a spot of ski-ing. The group were: me, Robert, Mike, Jonathon, Trevor, Graham, Geoff (Trevor's brother) and Andrew (one of my drinking mates).

The venue was Sauzed Oulx, close to the French border, part of the famous Via Lattea or Milky Way and venue for the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. There was loads of snow (more than Chelmsford got in the cold snap we missed) and a large skiing area to play on.

Other than Mike, who was a beginner, we had all been before and had achieved varying levels of competence in earlier holidays. Trevor turned out to be the most accomplished skier and Mike proved to be an annoyingly quick learner and was soon accompanying us on some red runs, which are supposed to be quite hard runs - second only to black runs - and not usually attempted by beginners on the first day on the slopes!! (see Graham s article!)

The views in the mountains were spectacular and we all got thoroughly knackered after 5 days of non-stop skiing followed by the traditional and obligatory apres ski which means you have to drink lots of beer in order to properly prepare for the next day s skiing.

There were no serious injuries and no one missed the plane home, Robert swore a lot and I was impressed by the Italian weather forecasts which on one channel is presented by a top ranking army general complete with medals, a large hat, a silly beard and a big pointing stick. This imposes a bit of discipline on the weather which never dares to differ from the forecast.

A good time was had by all and bookings will be taken soon for 2005!!

Dave J

P.S. we skied part of the proposed Olympic downhill course - although our time of 1 hour was somewhat short of the expected winning time of around 2 minutes!!

Where's Michael?

Here is an incident from the recent group ski-ing holiday (see above!)

One day, after lunch, four of the more experienced members of the party were spending the afternoon exploring some new runs, coaxing the beginner along the more difficult parts of pistes. On this particular day the wind was strong, particularly at the top of the mountains (about 2400m) The group had decided to ascend on an isolated draglift to the top of the mountain, with the intention of trying out some new runs.

When they arrived at the top, after waiting a while they realised that they were one man missing; the beginner! It was approximately 2.50 pm local time, the temperature at the top was about minus 20 degrees C; and, due to the wind, conversation was only achievable by shouting. Hats and scarves exacerbated the communication problem. After about 5 minutes had passed, the group realised that there was a problem.

People were still getting off the lift, i.e. it was still working. The gaps between those getting off could not be directly attributable to people falling off. None of the group at the top had a mobile phone with them. Looking at the piste map, one red run crossed the drag lift path about half way up. None of us had the skill (or nerve) to ski "off piste" downhill along the path of the draglift.- which is forbidden anyway!

With the piste map flapping violently in the strong wind, the group realised that none of the runs from the top of this draglift go straight back to the bottom of the lift which could only be reached by a tortuous route. Also, there was no downward run at the bottom of this particular draglift.

So, even if Mike went down to the bottom of this lift there was nowhere for him to go except up on the same draglift. The lifts closed at various times from 4.15 to 5.15 pm, and no-one could remember what time this particular lift closed. The stop time of lifts are on a notice board at the bottom of it.

He could have injured himself falling off and we did not want to leave him to get to the top of the lift himself and ski down alone as it would be a irresponsible to let a rank beginner ski down a potentially icy steep red run which he had not done before, a run which would be at the limit of his capabilities even when visibility not impaired by low cloud and occasional driving snow!

Additional information

You cannot go down the mountain on a draglift.
We know that Mike got on the draglift
There is no attendant or phone at the top of this lift.
The travel time of the draglift, bottom to top is about 12 minutes
We are pretty certain Mike had a piste map.

What would you have done if you were at the top? What did Mike do?

Find out what happened in the next gripping issue of this newsletter…..

Graham

Please send any comments on these pages to Dave Plummer

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		CYHA News The Monthly Newsletter of Chelmsford YHA Local Group March 2004

		Looking on the Bright(on) Side It takes more than setting fire to our accommodation to spoil our weekend plans! After last month's pub debacle (where the Crown in Sandon fell victim to a chip pan fire on the day of our intended visit), the news that Eastbourne YH had burnt to the ground made us wonder if fate was thumbing its nose at us or whether an arsonist had taken to reading our programme. Unperturbed, we accepted YHA's offer of alternative accommodation at the magnificent Patcham Place YH. Handily situated opposite a pub and within a stone's throw of bus stops to take you into the throbbing heart of Brighton, it proved to be an excellent choice. Saturday saw most of the group labouring up Ditchling Beacon in showery squalls, whilst Helen & I enjoyed the delights of Brighton Pavillion. The group munched on cheese and pate sandwiches, whilst Helen & I selected from the many plying for our trade, a bistro commensurate with our level of taste and sophistication. The group nibbled thankfully on battered penguin biscuits, whilst Helen & I selected from only the choiciest of hand made chocolates. The group arrived back at the hostel damp, wind-ruddied, spattered in mud and desperate for tea, whilst Helen and I stepped elegantly from our bus clutching gorgeous memories, glamorous purchases and also desperate for tea! Thirsty work this shopping lark. Sorry culture, I meant culture. We were taking in the culture, the shops just happened to be there too. Sunday was by far the better day weather-wise so it was by virtually unanimous agreement that we all headed off to Cuckmere Haven for a closer acquaintance with the Seven Sisters. Some necessary car shuttling meant that Dave, Amanda, John and I got a head start. We'd bagged about 3 of the Sisters and had just settled down to an early lunch when the others caught up. It was a blowy day which meant finding a sheltered nook large enough for 15 people as no mean task, but somehow we managed. After lunch and a couple more Sisters we got to the famous Belle-Tout lighthouse (the one that was on Tomorrow's World being moved back from the edge of the cliff). It might have been due to that wet weather we've been having, but parts of the cliff edge looked to be in a parlous state - cracked and undercut. Of course the boys had to check for themselves by crawling all over them - I couldn't watch! After a restorative cuppa at Beachy Head we rounded off our weekend with a trip to see the blackened remains of Eastbourne YH. There really wasn't much left apart from the front wall and the chimney stack. A real pity it's gone as it was in a lovely secluded location, yet still quite close to the town - unfortunately this is probably what the arsonist liked about it too. Ali (See some more pictures of our weekend) Slides Snowed Off As many of you know our meeting on the 28^th January had to be cancelled due to appalling weather conditions and the virtual grid-lock of Chelmsford town centre. Fear not that you have missed your chance to see Claire's slide show - we have re-scheduled for 21^st April (see inside for details). A Walk in the Woods Thanks to George for leading a fine walk in January through Hatfield Forest. A good pub lunch, an afternoon tea stop, and lots and lots of mud! Ship-spotter's Paradise George also led February's walk on Shotley Peninsula, along the banks of the rivers Orwell and Stour With, purely coincidentally, fine views of the docks at Felixstowe and Harwich. And George just happened to have his notebook and binoculars! Hugh's News I will shortly be travelling to Amarah in Iraq to work once more under The Salvation Army. Amarah is north of Basrah in southern Iraq, under the British Army wing of the Coalition Forces. I have been asked to help the Marsh Arabs find new ways of making a livelihood through agriculture and livestock. The Marsh Arabs suffered much under Saddam Hussein. They were bombed, gassed, routinely murdered and their huge area of marshes drained. Their lives were dependant on the marshes which now seem for ever lost. I am really looking forward to meeting and getting to know them. Hugh Pilcher News from New Zealand Jane and Dave send greetings to everyone, from their new home in Hamilton, New Zealand. Jane arrived on Christmas Eve, and they've been enjoying a belated honeymoon, the warm summer days, swimming with dolphins, and bagging a few peaks! More soon... The CYHA Winter Olympics In late January a group of us jetted off to the Italian Alps for a spot of ski-ing. The group were: me, Robert, Mike, Jonathon, Trevor, Graham, Geoff (Trevor's brother) and Andrew (one of my drinking mates). The venue was Sauzed Oulx, close to the French border, part of the famous Via Lattea or Milky Way and venue for the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. There was loads of snow (more than Chelmsford got in the cold snap we missed) and a large skiing area to play on. Other than Mike, who was a beginner, we had all been before and had achieved varying levels of competence in earlier holidays. Trevor turned out to be the most accomplished skier and Mike proved to be an annoyingly quick learner and was soon accompanying us on some red runs, which are supposed to be quite hard runs - second only to black runs - and not usually attempted by beginners on the first day on the slopes!! (see Graham s article!) The views in the mountains were spectacular and we all got thoroughly knackered after 5 days of non-stop skiing followed by the traditional and obligatory apres ski which means you have to drink lots of beer in order to properly prepare for the next day s skiing. There were no serious injuries and no one missed the plane home, Robert swore a lot and I was impressed by the Italian weather forecasts which on one channel is presented by a top ranking army general complete with medals, a large hat, a silly beard and a big pointing stick. This imposes a bit of discipline on the weather which never dares to differ from the forecast. A good time was had by all and bookings will be taken soon for 2005!! Dave J P.S. we skied part of the proposed Olympic downhill course - although our time of 1 hour was somewhat short of the expected winning time of around 2 minutes!! Where's Michael? Here is an incident from the recent group ski-ing holiday (see above!) One day, after lunch, four of the more experienced members of the party were spending the afternoon exploring some new runs, coaxing the beginner along the more difficult parts of pistes. On this particular day the wind was strong, particularly at the top of the mountains (about 2400m) The group had decided to ascend on an isolated draglift to the top of the mountain, with the intention of trying out some new runs. When they arrived at the top, after waiting a while they realised that they were one man missing; the beginner! It was approximately 2.50 pm local time, the temperature at the top was about minus 20 degrees C; and, due to the wind, conversation was only achievable by shouting. Hats and scarves exacerbated the communication problem. After about 5 minutes had passed, the group realised that there was a problem. People were still getting off the lift, i.e. it was still working. The gaps between those getting off could not be directly attributable to people falling off. None of the group at the top had a mobile phone with them. Looking at the piste map, one red run crossed the drag lift path about half way up. None of us had the skill (or nerve) to ski "off piste" downhill along the path of the draglift.- which is forbidden anyway! With the piste map flapping violently in the strong wind, the group realised that none of the runs from the top of this draglift go straight back to the bottom of the lift which could only be reached by a tortuous route. Also, there was no downward run at the bottom of this particular draglift. So, even if Mike went down to the bottom of this lift there was nowhere for him to go except up on the same draglift. The lifts closed at various times from 4.15 to 5.15 pm, and no-one could remember what time this particular lift closed. The stop time of lifts are on a notice board at the bottom of it. He could have injured himself falling off and we did not want to leave him to get to the top of the lift himself and ski down alone as it would be a irresponsible to let a rank beginner ski down a potentially icy steep red run which he had not done before, a run which would be at the limit of his capabilities even when visibility not impaired by low cloud and occasional driving snow! Additional information You cannot go down the mountain on a draglift. We know that Mike got on the draglift There is no attendant or phone at the top of this lift. The travel time of the draglift, bottom to top is about 12 minutes We are pretty certain Mike had a piste map. What would you have done if you were at the top? What did Mike do? Find out what happened in the next gripping issue of this newsletter….. Graham
Please send any comments on these pages to Dave Plummer