Welcome to the new Mountaineering column! Read all things orienteering, hiking and climbing.
Hi all, I’ve been drafted to get you involved in the Bath University Mountaineering Club, or the BUMC as we know it. What is Mountaineering, I hear you say? Amazing question, we encompass 3 different sports, Orienteering, Hiking and Climbing. Because of this, we have quite a large number of members, but also a hell of a lot of trips, with something happening every 2 weeks on average, and competitions once a month on average.
Orienteering
Orienteering is effectively an easter egg hunt, but instead of clues, you have an A3/A4 map (often more detailed than maps you’d have seen before) given to you at the beginning of the race. You have to find the most efficient path between checkpoints, called control points. At each of these control points, there is a timing device in races, which records the exact time you passed them, both for time and to check you didn’t cheat… This ends up being quite a difficult situation to juggle, as you have to ensure you take the shortest route to your destination, whilst also not tripping over on a variety of surfaces.
BUCS Orienteering 2025
Orienteering races can be in tame neighbourhoods, where a pavement is your biggest trip hazard, all the way to sand dunes or muddy woods, where every footfall is a question of whether you will be getting mud all over you. Frequently, as well, orienteering races can include several hundred meters of elevation gain, and every race is different, resulting in the need for some serious mental strength. The BUMC has been to BUCS for orienteering, scoring competitively high, but we also organise multiple races in the nearby area in cooperation with Bristol Orienteering, and weekend training trips.
Hiking
Hiking is one of our more popular sports, with roughly 200 people being involved, and regularly 50 people turning up to our weekly Sunday walk. These walks are generally around 12km, or 3-4 hours long, often in a loop, or as we did recently, walking back from Bradford-on-Avon.
Often heading out in the most adverse weather conditions, the hikers brave the storm with unrivalled optimism. Sometimes they can be battered by sideways rain, or end up with sunburns like last year, when they headed to Dartmoor for a wild camping trip and underestimated the strength of the Sun.
A hiking group on our trip to North Wales
In terms of trips, so far this year, we have had our regular Fresher’s trip to Snowdonia, where the hikers summited Glyder Fawr. As well as a hike up to the infamous Snowdon (Yr Wyffda) due to the conditions being incredible, even experiencing a Cloud Inversion. This is a fairly rare event where the clouds sink into the valleys of an area, giving the illusion of greater elevation. We have also had day trips to Pen y Fan and the New Forest, with walks of around 15km, taking most of the day to enjoy the scenery. In terms of winter mountaineering, the club runs a trip to Scotland once a year in the inter-semester break, which involves the use of Crampons (metal spikes attached to Boots) and Ice axes.
Climbing
Climbing is an umbrella sport for a variety of disciplines, including bouldering and rope climbing. Bouldering has gained a lot of popularity in recent years due to its accessibility, requiring only climbing shoes! Both types of climbing involve problem-solving, putting together a precise set of moves using technique, balance, and strength. Bouldering is performed over a safety mat on a climbing wall indoors or on actual boulders outside, with pads we bring with us.
A day trip to Cheddar Gorge for some sport climbing
The club runs lots of trips throughout the year, notably a trip to Fontainebleau, a forest just south of Paris, which is notorious for its good quality of rock and wide variety of boulder problems.
In the club, we also get involved in rope climbing through running teaching courses from beginner through to sport and trad outdoors. This is done by local gyms and guides, as well as members, through a discounted rate. The club can provide equipment such as harnesses and ropes to members, allowing them to expand their skills in their own time alongside the trips we run around the UK.
Our two most popular rope trips are trad climbing in the peaks and sport climbing in Portland. Traditional climbing involves placing gear into the rock as you go to keep you protected, whereas sport climbing involves clipping draws into bolts already secured in the rockface.
A group of boulderers at Frome raising awareness for Movember
The club also has weekly socials, the majority of which are relaxed pub socials on Thursdays, with no pressure to drink. These are a great opportunity for those interested in joining us to come and have a chat with members or the committee and ask any burning questions, or just to figure out if you like our vibe. We also recently had our Christmas meal and Ice skating socials, and will be undertaking more sober socials in semester 2. I hope we will see you guys soon. Keep an eye on this column for trip reports from us!