Back in Spring, we had quite an interesting club social. Read on for the official report 🙂
The BARF social calendar once again swung into action on Sunday 7th May, with our own Dawson Stelfox hosting a dedicated scramble and climb over Binnian. The challenge was to climb to the top of every Tor along the crest of Binnian with a choice of easy scrambling or more demanding climbing and finish up at Binnian true Summit.
A strong turnout of 20 plus Barfers were greeted in the morning with bright warm sunshine, the Mournes looking ever splendid with clear views welcoming us in to have some fun. Barf stalwarts Mallon/McNiff/McClenaghan were on hand to assist too, mind you, their antique climbing gear compared to some of the new shiny stuff on display did nothing to inspire confidence!!! (Only joking)
The start was at Carrick Little car park with a gentle walk to Binnian Lough via the wall then some gentle scrambling and easy climbing practice together with rope techniques on Fred Becky Slabs, convenient to Binnian Lough. With everyone enjoying their limits on the slabs, we then continued to the North Tor via some easy scrambling to gain the heights to start the traverse. Various climbing routes on the North Tor were accomplished by the more experienced, while others enjoyed a more leisurely activity of taking time for some lunch and sun rays!
Of course, some others opted to spend the lunch break thrashing their hands on ‘Rankin’s Crack’. Named after the late Denis Rankin.
We then gathered ourselves after spending some time enjoying the panoramic views on offer and continued along the crest southwards behind our leader Dawson, climbing ever Tor and outcrop towards the Summit.
Just prior to circling around the top to pick up the southern Tor for final approach to our Summit goal, Dawson called out and offered a further challenge…’let’s see how many Barfers we can get on that pancake stack just through the hole in the wall’!! Not to disappoint our host, we lined up and comfortably secured 18 Barfers on top of the stack, which no doubt will be increased in years to come! Can we beat 18??
The final climb over the Southern Tor (Standing Stone) was challenging and exciting for many, and eventually, the true Summit of Binnian was reached concluding a great adventure on this splendid mountain. Just before leaving the Summit to return to the car park, a crate of bubbly was produced from the social secretary’s rucksack much to the surprise of all, and once the refreshments were dry, plenty of chat ensued of the day’s events on our walk out with plenty of banter.
A big thank you to Dawson for leading us over a very interesting route and to the more experienced climbers who helped all achieve their individual goals. A very memorable day for the club made special by the perfect weather conditions, the company and the craic.
Keep a watch for the next installment of our BARF social outings.
Gareth McKeown
Social Events Coordinator