About us!

UBES is probably the largest, certainly the most active, and unquestionably the BEST outdoors society at the University of Bristol. We run regular weekend trips hiking, scrambling, climbing and mountaineering all around the UK; in a year, we might visit the Lake District, Snowdonia, the Peak District, the Brecon Beacons and the Yorkshire Dales, to name a few. The fun doesn’t stop during the holidays; at Christmastime, UBES runs a weeklong trip to Scotland for winter mountaineering and ice climbing, and, during the summer, in addition to sending out an Alps cohort, we run several longer expeditions, which in the last few years have taken us to Morocco, Romania, Norway, Corsica, Iceland and the Pyrenees.

During term time, UBESters gather at our weekly climbing sessions, regular pub trips and awesome socials. There’s always something going on! So, whether you think you’d like to get involved in the lively Bristol climbing scene, have mountaineering aspirations, or just love the outdoors and want to meet friendly, adventurous, like-minded people, the University of Bristol Expeditions Society is the one to join! We welcome people of all abilities; don’t worry if you have little or no experience, we’d love to meet you. Get involved - participation is only limited by how much you can squeeze in around your lectures!

Our society aims to be affordable, inclusive and exciting, so make sure you don't miss out!

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A Monday Night Cycling Microadventure

 

While some UBESters are scaling alpine pinnacles, others are traversing Transylvanian ridges and some are journeying as far east by bike as they can get, some of the rest of us are spending the summer hard at work on our PhDs, medical degrees and summer placements here in sweltering Bristol. No adventuring for us then? Well think again, this is just what the 5-9 microadventure concept is for. Anna and I (Dave), being the studious types we are, had been discussing a weekday evening microadventure for quite some time and this week we finally had the weather and the gap in our schedules to make it a reality.

The concept: get out of the city at 5pm, get in some adventure, bivvying and swimming and get back to work the following morning.

The transport: rag tag team of road bikes, mountain and trail bikes with panniers & rucksacks.

The team: Anna (medic), Tim & Jon(engineers), Tom (PhD chemist),& Dave (PhD biologist).

The destination: Brean Down on the Somerset coast.

 

Road selfie!

Under Tim’s roughly printed guidance we set off in the heat covered in bags, helmeted and head-torched to the nines on a picturesque ride taking in Nailsea, Yatton and that village where the Thatchers cider factory is.. The 55km journey was almost too easy and had to be livened up with some super dodgy on-the-move selfies in true UBES fashion.

Cows!

Shortly before the ominously named village of ‘Uphill’ we realized that the fastest route to Brean would be off-road. With the three road cyclists suitably nervous we set off through kissing gates, herds of cattle and lumpy-bumpy tracks until the sun set and we got some real adventuring under-way ragging it down pitch-black tracks all the way to the fish & chip chop in Brean.

Chip shop!

After a hearty dinner including extra free chips from the owners who clearly pitied our Monday night insanity we headed off down some even bumpier tracks to the end of Brean Down peninsula, home to Brean Down Fort (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brean_Down_Fort) which would be our slightly creepy bed for the night. We found a spot in the moat and settled down in our bivvy bags to watch a few shooting stars and check out the milky way.

A view only seen by Tim..

In the morning, Tim was up at 5am to catch the sunset and take photos of the rest of us sleeping (cheers, Tim..). One short hour later we were on our bikes and avoiding the local goats on our way to Burnham-on-Sea for an ill-judged and extremely muddy dip in the sea.

We hopped on the train at Highbridge and were back in Bristol in time for work. That is, of course, if work starts at 11.30.. All in all, a great foray into weekday microadventuring to remind us all that you don’t need to have fancy touring bikes or mountaineering equipment to enjoy all the excitement the UK has to offer.

Dave Wilby

@goinginanyway (twitter.com/goinginanyway)

goinginanyway.wordpress.com

UBES Wear Inspiration

Here are a few examples from previous years to get your creative juices flowing! Be as creative and original as you want, these are just some ideas to get you started!

Alpine Adventures–Conville Course

This summer I travelled out to the French Alps for my first ever foray into the world of slightly higher altitude mountaineering. I was lucky enough to be able to take part in a Conville course. The Jonathon Conville Trust was set up in memory of the young mountaineer who it was named after, who died on the Matterhorn in 1979. They provide subsidised courses in the Alps, among other things, which are aimed at helping young mountaineers start their alpine career safely, with knowledge of techniques such as crevasse rescue and safe rope work over technical ground.

So I packed up my bags and headed out to Chamonix, to live off a diet of tinned food and cheese, and far too few showers, for my first alpine season.

On the first day of the course, after a quick briefing and kit check, we caught the Montenvers railway up onto the Mer de Glace, to practise crevasse rescue technique and roping up. The day started with the descent of over 250m ladders, to get us down to the level the glacier had retreated to. We watched with envy as groups of school kids marched out with us. Why didn’t my school do that! We were greeted at the bottom by the cool breeze off the glacier, and the smell of ice. Crevasse rescue turned out to be fairly fiddly and tiring work. We split into teams, three Convillers to a guide. Our guide taught us how to improve the system to make it efficient as possible, but I still reckon I’d have a hard time pulling someone out. As one of the lightest, it seems likely I’ll fall into the role of crevasse poodle (literally).

The second day we caught the amazing Midi lift (the third most visited tourist attraction in the world), up to the grand height of 3800m at the top of the Aiguille du Midi. We started by roping up in the famous ice cave entrance, and then slowly tiptoeing our way down the thoroughly exposed Midi arête. The day was spend applying the previous day’s learning, doing the first two points on Pointe Lachenale (one of them is definitely more of a bump), and slowly acclimatising to working at altitude.  

The third day we made our first attempt at a route, in the slightly lower Aiguilles Rouges. The three of us moved together, along the Traverse of the Crochues, a PD+ ridge, while our guide soloed alongside us, cajoling us along, so as not to turn the trip into a faffalanche. It turned out at the abseil that two of us had taken the motto ‘fast and light’ too far, and our guide was not impressed by the lack of belay plates, so we were plied with his and told to be snappy. Climbing in big boots turned out to be a lot of fun, and also surprisingly practical, in stark contrast to my pre-Alps practice in the gorge, which as by all accounts, traumatic. All in all, it was a fantastic route, covering lots of interesting ground, surrounded by amazing views of the Mont Blanc Massif. To top it all off, there was enough snow for a speedy descent, practising both our skiing, and more often than not, our bumsliding. 

Over the next few days I spent plenty of time watching the rain gush down the windows of the refuge, and studying various ambitious routes. When the sun was shining, I did manage to fit in the Cosmiques Arete, an exciting variation on Pointe Lachenal, some long mountain sport, an epic valley level ‘grade 3’ scramble, and some ice climbing on the Mer de Glace. I had a great time and I can’t wait to get out there next year.

 

More information about the Jonathon Conville Mountaineering Trust: http://www.jcmt.org.uk/

If you want to see how little it has changed, this is an article my friend wrote 11 years ago (Midnight Express has been a thing for that long, and you still can’t get it in every café in Wales?!!): http://www.jcmt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Summit_37.pdf

 

Rebecca Millington

Romania Summer Trip Returns

As of yesterday, all eleven UBESters who went to Romania are safely back on British soil, after two weeks of exploring a diverse and beautiful country. Truly a place where East meets West and old meets new, the busy fortnight saw them take in the wild, remote expanse of the Fagaras Moutnains inlcuding Romania's highest peak, Moldeveanu (2544m), the picturesque and precipitous limestone ridge of the Piatra Craiului, the ancient and bustling transylvanian market town of Sibiu, the famous gothic castle at Bran and the fascinating city of Bucharest, where faded baroque splendour rubs cheeks with Caeucescu era concrete and modern glass. Some of the trip also visited the Black Sea.

The group found themselves on a cultural journey as well as a physical one, experiencing at first hand the lonely lives of mountain shepherds and the traditions of small villages, where donkey carts share the roads with modern cars, the mountaineering heritage represented by some of the cabanas and the vast amounts of history represented by the walled city of Sibiu and Bran castle protected the pass between Transylvania and Wallachia. Bucharest is a country within a country in its own right, giving a picture of every historical period and way of life.

A key theme throughout the trip was the biodiversity of the Transylvanian highlands, whose vast tracts of virgin beech and mixed forest and rolling alpine meadows provided a home for a vast array of flora and fauna which added hugely to the natural beauty of the area.

A full trip report will follow in due course, but in the mean time, Transylvania comes very highly recommended indeed.

Notice for the Appointment of UBES Honorary Presidents

This year we have made the decision to appoint two individuals to the position of UBES Honorary President. This is a purely ceremonial award to recognise the significant contribution an individual has made to the society over a number of years or to expeditions taking place outside of the UK.

George Cave

George was originally a kayaker at university before making the switch to mountaineering. He spent a number of years on the committee, one of which as President and he still continues to add value to the society by returning and joining us on trips. Over the past three years, George has been fortunate enough go on two overseas expeditions. One to the Russian Altai, which he organised and led and then more recently the high profile expedition to the Djangart region of Kyrgyzstan. Both expeditions saw world first ascents achieved. With the undertaking of these expeditions and multiple ‘67hour’ adventures we feel that George truly embodies the sense of adventure that UBES strives to develop and nurture.

Robert Wragge-Morley

Rob has been involved with the society ever since he first arrived at Bristol and has been on the committee more times than I can remember and was also President for a year. Initially a very keen climber he soon became an active member of the society before moving towards more general mountaineering, including becoming an avid winter climber. In the past few years Rob has particularly pursued weekend hits to mountainous areas when winter conditions are ‘in’ along with an avid appetite for alpine climbing and exploring new mountain ranges. Most recently Rob and a fellow UBES member attempted to climb Mount Olympus in rather challenging conditions as part of an exploratory trip round the relatively unvisited mountains of Greece. One of the greatest contributions that Rob has made to the society over the years that he has been here is in passing down both his mountains skills and experience. This is something that he has done almost selflessly by running multiple training weekends and days. It is Rob’s wanting to explore and willingness teach and help younger members that we feel embodies the mindset of UBES.

The contribution to UBES and exploration within young people by George and Rob cannot be underestimated and it was an easy decision for us to bestow this position on both of them.

Will

Post Exam Procrastination, a story from south wales...

 

I didn’t take any pictures, so I drew some and tried to paint the rest with my words.

Picture the scene, Monday last week (the sunny week), exams finish and the doors of Lizard Lounge creak limply in the wind due to everyone else’s continued revision. The solution to my disappointment: head to the Breacons; so I packed my bag and jumped on the train. Now, sat bored inside while grey showers patter on windows, I reminisce on the care-free scene….

The hills were seas of grass and moss, the valleys were bright with late spring flowers, and the lambs bleated shouts of joy. From the charming little station of Abergaveny I took the bus to Crickhowl and by early afternoon had set up over the hill of Mynydd Llangatwg. I crossed the plateau and then skirted a small valley to the larger valley of Dyffryn. The evening closed early, since I had started late and the top of the valley seemed the best place to set up camp.  The rough mountain flora created the perfect patched quilt to set up my tent and a ready stream ran by waiting for my sauce pan.

A sneaky pulse of logic hit my tired brain, to set up the stove and boil the water as I set up the tent. Congratulating myself for this foresight I dipped my hand inside the pan for my lighter, sadly however there is a lesson for us all here: don’t store lighters in places where camels might leak on to them (particularly in a pan where water pools and soaks the poor thing through). The lighter obviously didn’t work I settled for breakfast (muesli) instead of dinner.

The morning light woke me early and the cool dewy grass promised another bright day. Happily, the lighter had dried nicely in my sleeping bag and I enjoyed nutritious noodles before setting off through the forest of the Dyffryn valley. The valley was eerily quiet but even in the very early hours, the sun burst through the leaves and set all the little birds tweeting about their morning business. My spirits were high too, and I merrily rounded the valley to come to Tallybont, an even larger valley which would lead to the bigger hills around Pen y Fan.

From Tallybont there is an initial, unyielding steep assent of 200m. From the bottom it is tempting to make a mountain out of a mole hill, particularly with my 14kg of water, tent, stove ect., but step by step the top is overcome quite easily. From here there is a flat stretch to reach the ridge of three summits, the finale being Pen y Fan. The stretch over plateau is simple but, stepping off the path is treacherous and following loose ends of dry tufts could lead in circles around the marsh. Despite my giddy spring spirits I had another blast of clear cut logic; I took a bearing, which to my great delight worked first time and lead me on a dry path safely across to the first summit of Fan y Big.

Here I caught the first sightings of other people, and to my great surprise the population of the ridge grew towards the summit of Pen y Fan which I reached just after midday. It all became clear when on my decent to the road on the western side I saw how truly accessible it was. Not an hour from the top two car parks with burger and ice-cream vans made a lovely day out for visitors. My isolated journey could have been mocked by the gaggle of day walkers in jeans and trainers at my destination. However I ignored the funny looks at my back packer’s plod and descended hill like a (slow) king.

Feeling rather triumphant at my first solo back pack I reached the bus stop and sat on the grassy verge. I was joined by a small, grey bearded man who, I noticed by the size of his bag, had also been camping out. Hoping to share pleasantries and perhaps slip in one or two of my achievements I asked him where he’d been. It turned out he had been out for seven nights and had covered a considerable number of miles. I kept my now worthless boasts to myself and enjoyed the windy bus journey down through the pretty valley back to Cardiff for the train home.