UKH

What do people think the phrase benighted means?

Is it being out on the hill after dark, an unplanned or forced bivi or something else?

In reply to The Lemming:

Well, going off the earlier "Tower Ridge" thread, it seems that there is a mix.

To me it indicates that something has gone wrong and that it has required additional unexpected action to put right.

Finishing a route after dark with head torches but otherwise walking off as planned does not count as benighted to me.

In reply to The Lemming:

Being forced to make an unplanned or unexpected bivi overnight.

In reply to The Lemming:

Having to wait until first light to continue / attempt retreat due to unforseen delays / injury / weather.

In reply to The Lemming:

IMO benightment depends on the route - where in the case of Tower Ridge it is quite common for normal climbers to be finishing in the dark, and not a benightment to do so.

now if you had gone and done aladdins mirror direct and finished in the dark, that would be a benightment.

As an aside - i really enjoy being out very very late on routes when the light goes nice and soft and warm. we finished Shibboleth at about 11 pm last summer in glorious golden light (third route of the day mind you) and i would never call that a benightment even although most people were in bed or the pub.

In reply to The Lemming: when you end up finishing in the dark due to unplanned circumstances.

In reply to MttSnr:

ditto.

In reply to Caralynr:

Yep - we're all a bit traditional aren't we?

Having to finish the route with a head torch isn't, to me, being benighted. A night on a ledge good enough for one bum cheek praying for dawn and playing the "how long since I last checked my watch" game however would qualify.

In reply to The Lemming:
benighted means to me that I plan to finish the route before dark but my general f*ckwittery has seen dark come down while still on the route. Walking off in the dark is common in my climbing plans and is simply a result of me looking to squeeze every minute of daylight into climbing routes. i don't see walking off in the dark as benightment at all and always go prepared for this even if it isn't planned.

In reply to hindu:

Yup - benighted is NOT when you can still carry on moving (either in ascent or retreat). It definitely infers having to sit the night out and wait.

In reply to The Lemming:

The way I have always understood 'benighted' in a mountaineering sense, is being forced into an unplanned bivi.

Certainly being on a route in the dark does not count as beightment for me, whether planned or unplanned.

In reply to Petarghh:

Then I was benighted in the Pen y Gwyrd for a pint last Saturday before continuing back to Cwm Dyli

In reply to The Lemming: Dictionary says:

"unable to travel further because darkness has fallen" and I'd agree with that.

In reply to Monk:

Ditto. Finishing in the dark in winter is almost derigeur.

In reply to The Lemming: = unplanned bivi - you end up pulling stumps and settling in for a long cold night! If you keep moving all night (including some longish stops for morale), it is not benighted.

In reply to The Lemming: Interesting post. It actually means overtaken by darkness but I have often (always!!) been overtaken by darkness on the Ben in winter but did not consider myself benighted, possibly because it was expected. Perhaps it should mean overtaken by darkness when not expected or planned. It should not necessarily mean having to bivi as in some cases you may decide to keep moving but you are in fact facing the same circumstances and conditions. I think I've talked myself into believing that it should mean overtaken by darkness when not expected or planned.

Al

In reply to The Lemming:

Another vote for an unplanned bivi.

In reply to jezb1:

>unable to travel further because darkness has fallen

I'd suggest that that's the sound of a definative answer

In reply to The Lemming:

Surely to be benighted you have to be CRAGFAST due to the dark.

Any other form is called 'being out at night'.

In reply to The Lemming: Definitely an unplanned overnighter on a cliff because you can't get up it, or have to wait until light cos you've forgotten your torch etc. If you can carry on climbing, even if it's unplanned and even if you climb through the night and into the wee hours of the morning, then it's not a benightment.

In reply to The Lemming:
to me benightment means an enforced overnight bivvy on a crag.
However the "Handbook of climbing" describes it as.

"To spend a night, or part of a night, on a route or a mountain as a result of some miscalculation or mishap; an involuntary or forced bivouac"

In reply to The Lemming:

To me benighted usually means a trip out for me and the dog to find the benighted climber or walker

In reply to Comms27:
This is not entirely to the point, but I was once quite surprised not to get benighted - climbing some ridiculously long route in Romsdal, Norway. By 11PM we were getting quite worried at the prospect of staying out all night, until it dawned on us (no pun intended) that it just wasn't going to get proper dark at all. Similarly, finishing a winter route on the Ben by the light of a bright full moon is a very wonderful thing (assuming you're on a route that gets the direct moonlight).

In reply to The Lemming: It means I've missed dinner and I'll be in trouble when I do finally get home. Having spent an unplanned night out.

In reply to Comms27:


This surely does not mean benightment, does it?

Now if the person that you were looking for had to wait till dawn before you found them, then that must be benightment?

If you found them, and all walked off safely then, I wouldn't call that a benightment.

In reply to The Lemming: it means an unplanned night out ,usually on a longish route ,and more than likely in winter in this country ,or the Alps..

In reply to victorclimber:

Would that include missing the last cable car down and sitting it out at the station count?

I think it would get a tick in my book.

In reply to The Lemming: What, even if they leave the lights on??

Al

In reply to The Lemming:

1.

Overtaken by night or darkness.
2.

Being in a state of moral or intellectual darkness; unenlightened ie about to be flamed on UKC

In reply to The Lemming: Having the Queen place a sword on each shoulder.

In reply to The Lemming:

You're benighted if you're not able to continue up, down, off or out because of darkness.
If you're making progress in the dark, then you're just "out in the dark" otherwise going to the supermarket after work would count as getting benighted which is clearly nonsense.

In reply to The Lemming: It means you're slow.