CYHA NEWS

It is a well known fact that New Year is a time for "casting off" the past and "baring up" to the future. However it does not pay to take these things too literally!

This year’s New Year party, with it’s usual array of glamorous celebrity guests, was held in a converted barn in Pant-y-Gelli, a village at the base of Sugar Loaf in the Welsh Black Mountains. The evening started tamely enough with us all huddled around the blazing wood stove, shaking off the effects of a rather substantial meal (what else?) courtesy of George. We sipped genteelly on mugs of mulled wine and the odd can of finest ale (just to keep the cold out you understand). Snuggled together we shared sparkling intellectual conversation and sniggered over Chris’ Viz annual.

It was a jolly, vibrant evening and as the hour approached Chris tuned the wireless to Radio 1 so we would hear "the bongs". New Year arrived and we joined hands and attempted to sing along to a rather funky version of "Auld Lang Syne". It was at this point the evening slipped into a veritable maelstrom of drunken revelry and excess!

People stiff, bruised and tired from a hard day on the hills leapt miraculously to their feet and started strutting their stuff like a bunch of teenagers at a rave! Beer, wine and Twiglets flowed as the party hotted up (literally) in the early hours of New Years Day.

Hot Chocolate’s hit "You Sexy Thing" boomed out across the airwaves and, alarmingly, Jim began to remove his clothing! Luckily he was restrained before too much flesh was bared, but it was a narrow escape! Whatever your New Years Resolution is Jim, I trust it’s something you do fully clothed.

Lorna: On Monday, in rain, sleet, and snow showers six of us went up the Table Mountain (which isn't flat!). Despite cloud at 600m we went on up to the 700m trig point beyond. Tom & Chris marched ahead and went over the next couple of summits too before descending to the valley.

As we reached the top the mist cleared and we saw freshly snow-clad rolling hills and vast swathes of England under a bright blue sky. Wow!

All the way back down again with view of green fields, brown hillsides, grey roofs and the river silvery reflecting the sun. A splendid hike. As Dave P says, never give up on a foul day!

Chris S: Skirrid was in sight right from the bunk house which made navigation that much easier! Mercifully, on this day, the top was free from cloud. Seven expectant souls and one expecting soul (Janet) set off. The mud and water, a theme for the whole trip, made walking somewhat difficult with cries of "whoah" (me) and "b*ll*cks" (Robert) punctuating the air as we slipped. This also made stiles, not normally a problem, become menacing obstacles claiming casualties (Janet and myself).

Half way up we came across level ground - supposedly being the resting place of Noah's Ark - more like a land slip to me. Climbing further on up the exposed ridge prompted lunch at the only sheltered place. Timely tots of brandy warmed several cockles. The summit was reached easily marked by a few stones and a trig point. This was the site of a 15th century church no less. Good views around South Wales were enjoyed by all.

The decent was dramatic in places and tested our nerve. Large boulders and muddy boots don't make good companions !. Thanks goes to Dave for an excellent day's walk which left its mark literally on more than one of us.

Jane: 'Let's go for a walk', they said. 'I just want a limbering up sort of a walk for my first day', I said. 'OK'', they said. So we set off. I should have known.... Tom was in the party... there must be a serious walk in the offing. 'But', they said, 'he's doing an extra bit, don't worry and there's several shorter versions of the route', they said.

We drove to Llanthony Priory and kitted ourselves out. We felt a bit out of place amongst all the 'Barbour jackets, wellies and gundogs' ( Polly wasn't sure about the latter, as she was still recovering from meeting the farm dogs at the bunkhouse the day before). Fortunately the shooting party spent their day on the east side of the valley while we walked up the west!

We managed the 'climb' up to Bal-Mawr (607m from 223m) quite easily and north along Bwlch Isaf. The view was quite good especially back south and west.

Somewhere between there and Bwlch Bach we stopped for some lunch, not for too long as the wind was quite chilly (definitely a hood and woolly hat day). Tom set off for the additional tops which confused Polly a bit because she was trying to stay in touch with everyone. Perhaps Trudi and I should have taken a shorter route, but you know what it's like when you're on a ridge, you just keep going and going. We reached Blacksmith's Anvil and 'turned down by the pile of stones, as bidden by the book'. That's when life got a little more interesting. The path looked more like a track suitable for mountain goats! So we concentrated on picking our way carefully down the rocks. But you can't stay serious for long when you can here Robert's Fraser impression 'We're doomed, we're doomed.' drifting down from above!

From the Capel-y-ffin it was just a low level walk back to the Priory, they said. No problem, much better than sitting in the cold to be collected by car later, so Trudi and I kept walking! It was very wet, boggy, muddy and some of the stiles were built by giants with long legs! At one point the mud came up over the top of one of Robert's boots, ****** ******! (just in case you're reading this before the water shed)

We had a very good walk, even if I did creak a bit afterwards and we were back to the Priory in time to get those artistic sunset photos. Also able to see the product of the day's shooting, around seventy pheasants and/or grouse! Back in plenty of time for dinner. Polly was so tired she couldn't even eat her dinner, but no such problem for us!

Jane: Hunter's stew, bison grass and a half Monty! The former was one of George's Polish recipes (modified by the limitations of welsh supermarket inadequacies - 'no onions in Safeway - what sort of a place is this?') I can thoroughly recommend the stew, a mix of beef, lamb, pork, sausage and vegetables, which some bravehearts had for New Year's Day breakfast as well!

I can recommend the Bison Grass too! (In small quantities!) A type of vodka complete with a piece of Bison Grass in the bottle. It certainly warmed the back of the throat! Thanks George.

So that leaves the half Monty - you'll have to ask Jim about that!

Andy: My best memory of the New Year Eve party was Steve doing his 'Head Banging' act in the corner to Abba !!!!??!!!.

Andy: Having got to Abergavenny Thursday evening to join in the festive fun for New Year's Eve it was painful getting up Friday for the walk that Dave had planed, but there I was at 1100am walking up Sugar Loaf, my head still pounding from the night before.

We started off in nice dry weather, not bad I thought, but half way up it happened, black clouds appeared, what a surprise. By the time we had reached the topit was 0°C, the wind was trying to blow me back down the hill, hailstones where battering me, and the rain was trying to drown me, but when the clouds rolled back we had some great views, and I for one enjoyed the moment. For me a great start to the weekend.

One new pair of gaiters: (Andy’s - they didn’t look so new by the end of the day!)

Two Beards (Jim won for neatness, but Steve was more Man of the Mountains)

Three have a Picnic (Dave, Ali & Clive sat just below the trig point where we’d nearly frozen eating lunch on the new year trip in ’91)

Four Hardy Striders (Dave J, Clive, Jim & Andy stayed at the front but showed kindness to those of us puffing at the back)

Five OS Maps (Definitely overkill, since Dave P. was leading with his usual skill)

Seven Dolly Mixture Eaters (Steve didn’t have one)

Eight Very Wet Hikers (the rain was constant and cold; got very wet despite wearing what Dave called a "full body sandwich bag")

Dave P: I fancied a long high-level hike, so chose to do part of Offa’s Dyke path - bogs, hail storms, gales and rain - but we were rewarded with some fine views when the sun came out, so I hope the others have forgiven me!

The final day saw the last hardy members of set off for a short stroll on Blorenge, or as we liked to call it, blancmange. While in the past, on are occasions we have been uncertain of our direction while in site of the car park, this time we managed to get lost before leaving it (by taking the wrong path) still the hike across the heather back onto the correct path provided some unexpected exercise. On the summit I had a probably pointless, but nevertheless amusing, mobile phone call with Helen, who was standing about two metres away and who said that she had not yet received a call on her new mobile that she had for Christmas. Lunch was on the top of some cliffs over looking Abergavenny, an unexpected viewpoint that had at some time in the past had a radio mast on it. Now all that remained was a small locked building and the filled in remains of some old earthworks.

Polly: I should have realised there was going to be trouble when my Mum got a pair of Barbour wellingtons for Christmas (& was pleased with them!). I didn’t get any Barbour wellies which put me at a definite disadvantage when we visited a place called Wales.

Mum did warn me that there would be fields with mud in places but a description of swamps with grass in places would have been more accurate. She explained that Wales is sometimes nice and dry but as I’ve always associated it with wet places, I think it’s her mistake and not mine.

My current hairstyle is high maintenance and I do not look or smell good after I have (literally) been dragged through hedges, mud and worse backwards. This leads people to make unkind remarks (like "Urgh"), complain that I smell and banish me to the cardboard box in the corner.

There were good bits too: the salmon sandwiches, the spag bol, George’s groin and a bit of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk that I scrounged off some people I met on the hill. They thought I was cute (I was down wind of them). I also enjoyed some bits of turkey skin and vegetable soup (which looked like mud, but tasted better). There were lots of walks too, one every day! I’m going to sleep for a week when I get home (if Mum will let me!).

Nigel led a splendid Sunday walk, slithering on the ice in bright sunshine to the Square & Compasses for an equally splendid pub lunch.

Another overwhelming culinary success! (Well, apart from a tiny hitch with the vegetarian nut roast which was accidentally served as stuffing). Thanks to all the peelers, choppers, boilers, roasters, decorators and organisers who helped make the evening go so well. The two substantial turkeys did us proud, not only on the night but also for three delicious meals at New Year (and a couple of dog’s dinners!).

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Ian Dinmore has moved to Norfolk…

"I am now a Community Rail Project Officer (this is abbreviated to CRP-yes I know there is an 'A' missing!) promoting rural branch lines through local partnerships who provide finance from various sources."

Lost - Lorna has lost an album (dark blue, stubby) of photos from 1991, including some pics of YHA members on the In Pin on Skye, and wonders whether she has lent them out and forgotten? If anyone has any clues as to their possible whereabouts please contact Lorna.