UKH

Hi,

I'm looking for some information on the mountaineering club at the University of Sheffield in the past for a piece in our club journal. Any info is appreciated, including what the club was called at the time, stories of what people were up to and the weekly/yearly program of the club etc. Any photos/videos of things happening in the club at the time are also appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Joe Dyball

I started climbing with Sheffield uni MC in 1989. They were known affectionately as SCUM in those days. The elder members ran a ferry service out to the peak district filling the back of vans with loose students and driving like lunatics to Lawrence Field or stake on the weekend. My first met and my first route was in fresher week. Christmas curry with the mica finish. I was in awe of the more experienced climbers dancing across the mica 200 feet of the ground. I'm sure some of them were unroped. I was hooked. 

Fireworks night was an event in that first year. A party was organized in the Lawrence Field quarry. Quite a lot was drunk as you can imagine, and late into the night some bright spark rained lighter fluid bombs down on us from above the quarry. No one was hurt and it was a hoot. Sleeping out overnight in my newly purchased sleeping bag and bivi bag purchased with my student loan (all of it) from the Rock and Run shop on Devonshire Street. I woke up two feet under the snow which had apparently fallen overnight snug as you like. 

All my friends at uni were in the SCUM. The foundry opened that year so even in the winter the club was active. 

Happy memories. And elsewhere in the club Adrian Berry lead all the gritstone arrets while I struggled to climb VS's. He went on to first ascent vast numbers of routes in South Wales. Others may know more.

Scum.used town Ruthwaite Lodge, in Ruthwaite Cove on Helvellyn. It was horrible. Awkward Bind took it over and it is much more pleasant.

On one of the meets in North wales with the SCUM, if I remember  rightly some chap from the club soloed right wall on-sight. Quite an achievement, specially as the wall didn't  look totally  dry at the time. 

I wasn't sheffield so can't directly help but when I tried to do a similar thing at my uni club the University's Alumni office were happy to email everyone who they had details for who said they have been part of the Mountaineering club when they were students with the club's email address to get in touch and help us trace the history. 

We got some gems. One chap posted us a CD of a load of photos he had.

We ultimately discovered that the club in effect was older than the university itself as the club had moved out of london with the university from when it had been a polytechnic before establishing as the University of Surrey.

I was a member of SCUM 1978 to 1982 I think. I have a magazine we produced during the early part of that I think, which if it is of interest I can dig out; it probably has some photo's and terrible writing in it!

Hi Jo

I have a copy of the SUMC Jubilee Journal 1958-9 plus the journals dated 1960-61, 1961-62, 1964 and 1965

I can scan some of them if it would help

I was a member of SCUM in the 90s... there was much drinking and climbing... soloing buildings, out climbing other clubs at midnight near The Grouse pub after a bet, some very good climbers doing high E grades, free qualifications to help up-skill the club and reduce accidents... fun times 😁

This is something that my old uni club, (University of Nottingham Climbing Club) used to do extremely well, and are trying to resurrect again since it was disrupted due to COVID. Every year there was an annual dinner trip which was attended by both current members and alumni. It was routinely attended by people that were in the club many many decades ago, one of the alumni, John Kendrick, attended his 50th annual dinner a few years back.

It went a long way to keep the link to the past active, keep the stories alive, and keep traditions going.

It is something I would actually recommend for every historic climbing club, it was an amazing experience.

Assume you might've already come across these, but here they are anyway if you want really old:

https://sheffield.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15847coll6/id/1058...

https://smhccg.org/rock-climbing/sheffield-university-mountaineering-club-s...

It'd be worth asking about the very active "High Peak Club" days (Mostly 00's I think- that's when I was involved at least) as plenty of folk had cameras and took a lot of pics.

Midnight post pub mass ascents of Tegness Crazy Pinnacle - good times!

As I understand it the current club are the high peak club, just renamed about 10 years ago. The original SCUM disbanded 2000ish, I don't know why.

Yep that's why I mentioned it- it's the same club unless I missed something major when I was at Shef (Entirely possible given student antics...)!

SCUM and High Peak were completely separate clubs when I was there in the mid to late 90s

Agreed, when SCUM stopped for whatever reason around 2000/2001 High Peak became the de facto mountaineering club and ultimately changed its name.

Hi I was in the club from 2012-16, chair in 15-16. It was called the High Peak club when I started but we renamed it in 2013, to it's current name. 

We had good fun. Lots of climbing trips, foundry sessions and too much drinking. Lots of us still live in Sheffield. 

Happy to ask around for photos if you like. 

SCUM had unfortunately finished when I started in 2006, there were a few rumours why.

I was kit/safety officer and social sec at various points between 2006 and 2009 

I've got plenty of pictures from during that time and happy to give a few stories.

Cheers

Tremadog. Minibus.

😜

Hi, if you've got the time a scan of some of the pages of that magazine would be really appreciated!