BMC International Meet, Ynys Ettws, 12-19 May 2019

The biennial BMC International Summer Meet came to North Wales and we were blessed with brilliant weather for the week, which made such a difference. The Brits were sometimes overheard to declare it too hot to climb in the sun and the guests were continually reminded that they were experiencing quite abnormal conditions. People were spread out well between the mountains and coast most days and we didn’t get any rain until Friday morning when, ironically, it continued to rain on Anglesey and the Pass dried out. We welcomed 22 men and women from as far as India, Japan and South Africa and the Club was well represented, with 17 CC members out of the 25 UK hosts.

The abilities and experience of the guests were wide-ranging, some working in the Severe-VS range, while others went straight onto E3s. We followed the usual BMC formula of changing partners after two days, so everyone got to know at least three people well. Rhoscolyn and Dinas Cromlech seemed to be the most popular crags, with numerous ascents of Savage Sunbird, The Sun, Mask of the Red Death, Centrefold and Trail of Tears at the former and Cenotaph Corner, Cemetery Gates, Foil, Resurrection, Left and Right Walls at the latter. Other teams went for link-ups in Ogwen, sun and shade in the Pass, classics at Tremadoc/slate/Gogarth and Cloggy saw an invasion in the middle of the week – Shrike, November, Great/Bow combination, Great Wall – all dry. Some teams even managed to fit in Crib Goch and Snowdon, ice creams at Beaumaris and the beach at Criccieth for an all-round North Wales holiday experience.

Taking a lead from the 2016 Women’s International Climbing Meet, the evening meals were mostly based at the excellent Cafe Caban in Brynrefail, with breakfast on site in the marquee. The guests from South Africa, Croatia and Kazakhstan whetted our appetites for trips abroad with slide shows from their home countries, while Emma Twyford’s final Friday night talk perhaps inspired us all to try a little harder. The Saturday night party at the hut saw us all eating paella, dancing to the brilliant Banda Bacana, followed by some hard-core table rolling around the unhelpfully large table in the hut.

All in all, a brilliant week of climbing and sociability. Special mention must go to Ynys Custodian Geoff Bennett, who not only did the extra jobs on top of his normal duties (changing the locks, being there for the marquee team, sorting electrical and sewage problems), but also was a host climber every day and managed to get round the table on the last night!

Thanks to Geoff Bennett, Chris Karanikas, Steve Montebello and Hilary Lawrenson for the photos.

Hilary Lawrenson