News
19 May 2013
****Summer barbecue/ Glen Shiel summer trip/payment for the Lakes expedition****
Howdy hikers,
** Glen Shiel Summer trip**
Breaking news - there is still one space left for the Glen Shiel trip! The trip will take place from the 20th and the 26th June in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland with two of your favourite LUUHC leaders, ladies’ favourite Rich Pooley and our spiritual guru Aj Zein!
Sign up for the trip will be taking place at the normal time, this Wednesday from 1.30-2.30pm in room 3 of the Union. The trip will cost £85, and there will be a card reader machine available to pay with.
**Summer Barbecue**
This is the first annual social event for LUUHC organised by our brand new social sec Rowan taking place on Friday the 31st June! The summer barbecue is taking place on Friday the 31st of May, perfect timing to come celebrate the end of the year and say goodbye to your hiking friends for the summer! Once again, if you would like to attend come to sign up and pay £5 (yes only a fiver for delicious BBQ food!).
Please also let us know if you are a vegetarian when you sign up so that we can accommodate for this when we buy the food.
**Lakes Expedition**
Unfortunately the Lakes Trip is now full. For those going accommodation is going to cost £30.50 each for a stay in two campsites and a hostel. For those who have not yet paid please could you bring this money to sign up on Wednesday. If you are unable to make it because of exams etc can you please send a message to , thank you very much!
Peace out hikers!
14 May 2013
Howdy Hikers,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsW9MlYu31g
There have been a few changes to the Glen Shiel trip. To sweeten the deal – the trip is now £85* (cor, what a deal!). The dates of the trip are now from 20-26th June.
So if you want to take advantage of this new and exciting price, see you at sign up tomorrow!
(*Price does not include food, sorry!)
14 May 2013
Howdy Hikers,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsW9MlYu31g
There have been a few changes to the Glen Shiel trip. To sweeten the deal – the trip is now £82.10* (cor, what a deal!). The dates of the trip are now from 20-26th June.
So if you want to take advantage of this new and exciting price, see you at sign up tomorrow! (*Price does not include food, sorry!)
13 May 2013
******Summer barbecue/sign up for Glen Shiel summer trip/payment for the Lakes expedition/Merrell photo competition*****
Hello hikers,
Once again it’s your favourite time of the week, as I am about to tell you all the exciting things the club has in store over the next few weeks!
** Glen Shiel Summer trip**
For those who are unable to go to the Norway summer trip (or even for those keen beans that want to do both!) there is going to be another summer trip consisting of a week in Glen Shiel, in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The trip will take place from the 19th to the 26th of June and promises to be a fantastic week of hiking and hanging out with your LUUHC mates! Sign up for the trip will be taking place at the normal time, this Wednesday from 1.30-2.30pm in room 3 of the Union. The trip will cost £127, and there will be a card reader machine available to pay with. If you are really unable to make it to sign up, you can also send an email to to reserve your place, because we’re nice like that.
**Summer Barbecue**
This is the first annual social event for LUUHC organised by our brand new social sec Rowan! The summer barbecue is taking place on Friday the 31st of May, perfect timing to come celebrate finishing uni for the year/forever for some people (eek!) or even just to say goodbye to your hiking friends for the summer! Once again, if you would like to attend come to sign up and pay £5, and bish bash bosh you can tuck in to some delicious barbecue food on the 31st! Please also let us know if you are a vegetarian when you sign up so that we can accommodate for this when we buy the food.
**Lakes Expedition**
Unfortunately the Lakes Trip is now full. For those going accommodation is going to cost £30.50 each for a stay in two campsites and a hostel, so please could you bring this money to sign up on Wednesday. If you are unable to make it because of deadlines or exams etc can you please send a message to , thank you!
**Merrell photo competition**
For those still wanting to enter the Merrell photo competition, the deadline is less than a week away!
The Merrell Rep Lydia is organising a photo competition as part of her role at student brand ambassador for Leeds. There are a number of budding photographers in the club and if you enter the competition there is a chance to win footwear up to the value of £100! All photos entries must be sent to and be in jpeg format. Entrants must be a member of LUUHC and there can only be one entry per person. All entries must be received by Sunday 19th May and the winner will then be decided upon by a voting system. For more information go to:https://www.facebook.com/LUUHCAndMerrellPhotoCompetition2013
Thanks for reading hikers, good luck with deadlines/exams and hope to see you soon!
7 May 2013
***** PHOTO COMPETITION, SOCIAL, NORWAY PAYMENTS/MEETING *****
Hey hikers!
There are only a few things that need mentioning this week so it’s going to be a quickie! :p
****Photo competition****
The Merrell Rep Lydia is organising a photo competition as part of her role at student brand ambassador for Leeds! There are a number of budding photographers in the club and if you enter the competition there is a chance to win footwear up to the value of £100!
All photos entries must be sent to and be in jpeg format. Entrants must be a member of LUUHC and there can only be one entry per person. All entries must be received by Sunday by Sunday 19th May and the winner will then be decided upon by a voting system. For more information go to:https://www.facebook.com/LUUHCAndMerrellPhotoCompetition2013
****Social****
If you need a revision escape, the social at the Eldon will be taking place as usual on Wednesday from 8:30pm onwards. So come destress and have a cheeky pint or four with your favourite club LUUHC.
****Norway****
Although there is no sign up for this week, we will be taking final payments (or first…) for the trip at the usual time between 1:30 and 2:30 pm in room three of the Ark, upstairs in the Union. There will also be a meeting taking place on Wednesday from 7pm in the common room in the Union for all those going to Norway.
See you soon!
7 May 2013
***** PHOTO COMPETITION, SOCIAL, NORWAY PAYMENTS/MEETING *****
Hey hikers!
There are only a few things that need mentioning this week so it’s going to be a quickie! :p
****Photo competition****
The Merrell Rep Lydia is organising a photo competition as part of her role at student brand ambassador for Leeds! There are a number of budding photographers in the club and if you enter the competition there is a chance to win footwear up to the value of £100! All photos entries must be sent to and be in jpeg format. Entrants must be a member of LUUHC and there can only be one entry per person. All entries must be received by Sunday by Sunday 19th May and the winner will then be decided upon by a voting system. For more information go to:https://www.facebook.com/LUUHCAndMerrellPhotoCompetition2013
****Social****
If you need a revision escape, the social at the Eldon will be taking place as usual on Wednesday from 8:30pm onwards. So come destress and have a cheeky pint or four with your favourite club LUUHC.
****Norway****
Although there is no sign up for this week, we will be taking final payments (or first…) for the trip at the usual time between 1:30 and 2:30 pm in room three of the Ark, upstairs in the Union. Most people should have paid the first two instalments of £80 and £95, and there is just £105 to pay for the final instalment. For those that have already paid the full amount, there is another £10 to pay as we are staying another night in Flom. For those that haven’t paid the previous instalments (not naming any names….Aj, Jessie, James… :p) could you please pay these on Wednesday as well (there will be a card reader for those that want to pay by debit or credit card rather than paying in cash).
There will also be a meeting taking place on Wednesday from 7pm in the common room in the Union for all those going to Norway.
See you soon!
7 May 2013
***** PHOTO COMPETITION, SOCIAL, NORWAY PAYMENTS/MEETING *****
Hey hikers!
There are only a few things that need mentioning this week so it’s going to be a quickie! :p
****Photo competition****
The Merrell Rep Lydia is organising a photo competition as part of her role at student brand ambassador for Leeds! There are a number of budding photographers in the club and if you enter the competition there is a chance to win footwear up to the value of £100! All photos entries must be sent to and be in jpeg format. Entrants must be a member of LUUHC and there can only be one entry per person. All entries must be received by Sunday by Sunday 19th May and the winner will then be decided upon by a voting system. For more information go to:https://www.facebook.com/LUUHCAndMerrellPhotoCompetition2013
****Social****
If you need a revision escape, the social at the Eldon will be taking place as usual on Wednesday from 8:30pm onwards. So come destress and have a cheeky pint or four with your favourite club LUUHC.
****Norway****
Although there is no sign up for this week, we will be taking final payments (or first…) for the trip at the usual time between 1:30 and 2:30 pm in room three of the Ark, upstairs in the Union. Most people should have paid the first two instalments of £80 and £95, and there is just £105 to pay for the final instalment. For those that have already paid the full amount, there is another £10 to pay as we are staying another night in Flom. For those that haven’t paid the previous instalments (not naming any names….Aj, Jessie, James… :p) could you please pay these on Wednesday as well (there will be a card reader for those that want to pay by debit or credit card rather than paying in cash).
There will also be a meeting taking place on Wednesday in the common room in the Union for all those going to Norway; we will let you know times as soon as we know.
See you soon!
29 April 2013
****DOVESTONES TRAIN HIKE, OUTDOORS FILM NIGHT, RILEYS, SUMMER TRIPS AND MORE!****
Hello everyone, it may be the last week of term but there are still some exciting opportunities that LUUHC has in store for you!
-Dovestones train hike – Sunday 5th May : We will be heading to the Peak District for our last official Sunday hike of the year! Come and relieve some exam and essay stress with a great day out with your favourite club! We will be getting a train 10:08 and will be meeting at the train station at 9:40, we plan on getting a train back at either 17:06 or 18:06. Sign up for the hike will be this Wednesday 1st May upstairs in room 3 of the Union between 1:30 and 2:30 pm.
-Outdoors film night – Thursday 2nd May: There will be no social this week on Wednesday as instead we will be heading to the Terrace on Thursday for 7pm. Some of our very talented members have submitted videos with footage from this year’s trips and we need you to come down and vote to make sure we win! There are lots of prizes on offer for the winners, as well as free popcorn and drinks deals for those that vote!
Rileys Awards – Friday 3rd May: LUUHC has been nominated for a prestigious Rileys Award! Four members of last year’s committee will be representing us on the night and the rest of us will be watching with live stream in the Old Bar with a cheeky pint or two! Come and support your favourite club at LUU’s very own version of the Oscars!
-Summer Trips – Two further summer trips are being planned for this summer, there will be a backpacking trip to the Lake District 2-7th June, as well as a summer trip to Glen Shiel in Scotland 19th-26th June, watch this space for more information in the upcoming weeks!
-Thank you – So far the club has managed to raise £6375 for the Cairngorm mountain rescue team. This week we would like to give a special thank you to our very own gear sec Hannah and the Nelstrop family for putting a week’s stay in her house in Keswick up for auction and also to the Gomm family for putting in a successful bid of £600, a fantastic contribution to the CMRT donation!
-Well done- Fantastic well done to the LUUHC group who successfully hiked the Yorkshire 3 peaks in 8 and a half hours! We also had our first hike of the new committee last Sunday to Hebden Bridge, it was a thoroughly good day out and chilled hike for all! Finally we would also like to congratulate the 9 hikers that will be awards club colours this Wednesday!
Hope to see you soon hikers!
23 April 2013
Helloooo hikers!
This is it, the moment I know you have all been waiting for, the first email of the new committee 2013/2014. In the voice of Rich Pooley, I would just like to say hello ladies (and gentlemen).
Now to get down to business, although we may be nearing the end of term there are still many exciting events being run by the club to get involved in.
BMC Alpine Dreams Lecture – Wednesday 24th April
This Wednesday a group of hikers are travelling to Harrogate to go to the BMC Alpine Lecture to discover some essential alpine skills. The line-up for the lecture includes British mountain guide Tim Neill and alpinist Rob Greenwood who will be discussing topics including glacier travel, avalanche awareness, route selection and many more to inspire any would-be alpine warriors!
For those that aren’t going we’re still going to be having our social at the Eldon, so it should be a great night for everyone whether you’re going to a fantastic alpine lecture or whether you’re taking a break from work and coming to the pub for a catch-up and a cheeky pint!
Hebden Bridge Train hike –Sunday 27th April
This Sunday is the first walk being organised by the new committee. Our new Trip Sec Michael has organised what should hopefully be a fantastic (and most importantly cheap) trip to Hebden Bridge in Calderdale in West Yorkshire next Sunday 27th. We’re going to be getting a train at 9:02 am so we will be meeting at 8:30 at the station, and will be getting a return train at 16:52. For those of you that are lucky to have a rail card a return ticket only costs £4.25 and for those that don’t it’s still cheap at £6.40! We will be having sign up at the usual time and place between 1:30 and 2:30pm upstairs in the union on Wednesday 24th in order to gauge numbers. So come have a great day out on the first ever walk of the new committee. For those with work due in over the next few weeks (I feel your pain!) this shall be a great day to relieve some essay and revision stress!
Graham’s memorial hike in Blencathra - Saturday 20th April
Last Saturday a hoard of hikers, including current members, old members and Graham’s family, descended on Blencathra in the Lake District for a fantastic day hiking in the sun. It really was an absolutely fantastic day with over 100 hikers in attendance. It was all round an amazing day which I think I can say everyone really enjoyed and a fitting walk in memory of the club’s great friend Graham Connell! The sun was glorious with many having to reach for their sunglasses ( possibly for the first time this year) and special thanks go to Graham’s family for treating all the hikers to Haribo and to Simon’s parents for giving every hiker in attendance a cheeky Mars bar! We topped the day off with some chips and a pint in the pub, a perfect end to a perfect day.
Special thanks have to go to everyone who donated to the walk, with your help and donations we smashed our original target and raised over £5500 (and counting) for the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue team, a tenth of what the CMRT need to raise in a year! Donations are still being collected until the 20th of July so keep spreading the word.
Closing date for bids for a week in Keswick - Friday 26th April
As you’ve probably already heard our very own Gear Sec Hannah and her family have very generously decided to auction a weeks stay in their house in Keswick, which sleeps 8, in order to raise more funds for the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue team. Bidding closes this Friday at 5pm, so spread the word and get the bids in quick to . It really is a fantastic opportunity for a week in the Lake District and to raise some more money for a very honourable cause!
Finally, I just want to say a big thank you to the old committee who really have done a fantastic job this past year and left the club in an amazing position for the new committee to have the best year yet! I’m personally so looking forward to this upcoming year and all the exciting opportunities we have in offer. So… bring… it …on! x
19 April 2013
WE'VE DONE IT, WE'VE RAISED OVER £4000 FOR CMRT! HATS OFF TO EVERYONE! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/grahamconnell
What a fantastic contribution to the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team's funds. More to the point, what a fantastic testament to the memory of Graham Connell. We have so many people coming on our Blencathra walk, around 90 in total, a huge turnout which reflects the great impact that Graham had on LUUHC. Thank you to all for your support and your efforts in fundraising, the money will go a long way.
On that note...
FINAL DETAILS FOR BLENCATHRA, 20TH APRIL (tomorrow, get excited!)
GETTING THERE: COACH - The coach will be leaving from the Parkinson Steps at 07.30. DO NOT be late. If you are late, we will leave you behind, as it's not just a few people you'll be holding up, it's a coach of 52 other people who made it on time, as well as all of the other people, Graham's family and ex hikers, who will be meeting us in the Lake District. So think again if you're considering hitting that snooze button.
GEAR: As always, please make sure you have all of the appropriate gear necessary on all trips. You will need walking BOOTS with ankle support, a full set of waterproofs, spare warm clothes, a rucksack and food. NO JEANS. See "Sunday Trip Essentials" on the website - http://www.luuhc.com/gear.
ROUTES: There will be 5 routes of varying difficulty, so there'll be something for everyone. It's going to feel very special when we reach the top of that mountain, I'm sure.
GETTING BACK: The coach will be leaving from the Lake District to go back to Leeds at 18.30.
I can't wait to see everyone, this will be a day to remember. We've put in lots of hard work with organisation and fundraising, and the walk will be the cherry on top of the cake, see you tomorrow!
In other news...
CLUB COLOURS AWARDS - WEDNESDAY 1ST MAY
Well done to the following people who will be awarded Club Colours at a black tie dinner during celebrate week on 1st May: Eliot Bianco, Sarah Carr, Gavin Fenton, Hannah Nelstrop, Fabiola Segovia, Liz Smith, Stijn Vermeeren, Warren Yabsley, Aj Zein. Club Colours are awarded to members and committee members who have gone "above and beyond." The actual dinner is open to anyone, you don't have to be a nominee. Tickets for club colours dinner are on sale unil 21st April (this Sunday) for anyone who wants to come along - the more the merrier, you know it'll be a good night when hikers are involved! £28 for winners/nominees and £30 for guests.
http://www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/celebrate/sportscolours/
RILEY AWARDS - FRIDAY 3RD MAY
Heard of the Oscars? Well the Riley Awards are Leeds Student Union's own version, only obviously much more prestigious than winning an award for saying a few lines in an action film. AND guess what?! LUUHC have been nominated for an award!! We don't know which one yet, the Union are keeping us in suspense, but once we know, we'll tell you! 4 people from each club are allowed to go to the actual awards night in the Riley Smith hall, so Katie, Liz and Aj are going to be attending, as President, Secretary and Treasurer of the club, as well as Tascha, our faithful social sec, who has been on the committee for 2 years. Fear not! We've booked a space in the Old Bar for a big group of Hikers, where the awards will be streamed live on big screens. Keep the date free!!
HANNAH'S HOUSE AUCTION
As mentioned in the previous email, Hannah Nelstrop's parents have kindly offered us the chance to raise even more money for CMRT, by auctioning a week's stay in their house in Keswick. Bidding is by email, , and will close on Friday 26th April at 5pm. The house is a few minute's walk from Keswick town centre and the Lake, is fully centrally heated and has 4 bedrooms (1 large double, 1 large twin, 1 small twin and 1 single with a pull out bed underneath.) There are loads of activities to do around Keswick besides just walking, mountain biking, climbing and kayaking on Derwent Water to name but a few. The brochure for the house will be posted on facebook later today. Let your friends and family know, anyone can bid on the house, there's no need to be a member of the club!
Thanks everyone, well done again for the fundraising and see you on Saturday! x
15 April 2013
HIKERS OF THE WORLD...UNITE!
What an a great effort on the fundraising for Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team by everyone, the fact that we surpassed our original target of £2000 in a matter of days is ace. SO NEW TARGET OF £4000! Keep sharing the link all over the place, you can't plug this too much, it's for a great cause and in memory of a great man. We're over halfway there so let's smash it! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/grahamconnell?currentPage=2&update=new
BLENCATHRA, SATURDAY 20th APRIL.
We have the leaders, we have the coach, now we need the hikers. This really is going to be a great day, with membersof Graham's family, 'old' hikers, or hiking alumni as I like to think of them, and loads of current hikers all taking part. Get yourself to sign up on Wednesday, 1.30-2.30pm in Room 3 Upstairs in the Students' Union to take part in what is going to be a fantastic day. We've ordered good weather in especially. Cost of the trip is £10, see you on Wednesday.
WIN A HOLIDAY!
Ok, not quite but this is a chance to bid to win a stay in Hannah Nelstrop's house near Keswick. Her parents rent it out as a holiday home and they have very kindly said that any money raised by the auction will go to Cairngorms Mountain Rescue Team, boosting our donations further. It's 4 beds, sleeps 8, takes dogs, is in walking distance of Keswick centre. Sound good? Why not get a few mates and put your money together, train to Keswick is very easy! Tell your parents and their friends! To put in a bid, email . The auction will close on Friday 26th April at 5pm.
CLUB COLOURS
Well done to the following people who will be awarded Club Colours at a black tie dinner during celebrate week on 1st May: Eliot Bianco, Sarah Carr, Gavin Fenton, Hannah Nelstrop, Fabiola Segovia, Liz Smith, Stijn Vermeeren, Warren Yabsley, Aj Zein. Club Colours are awarded to members and committee members who have gone "above and beyond." The actual dinner is open to anyone, you don't have to be a nominee. Tickets for club colours dinner are on sale unil 21st April (this Sunday) for anyone who wants to come along. £28 for winners/nominees and £30 for guests.
http://www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/celebrate/sportscolours/
SOCIAL - WEDNESDAY
The Eldon calls for our first official social back after Easter hols. See you all there from around 20.30 onwards!
Much hiking love, and remember....keep sharing the link! https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/grahamconnell?currentPage=2&update=new
x
8 April 2013
Hikers!
Hungry for more hiking? Looking to work off your Easter egg eating? Not a chance of that on our club trips with the huge food portion sizes, but we do have some hiking for you...
SATURDAY 20TH APRIL, BLENCATHRA, THE LAKE DISTRICT
This is our much anticipated sponsored walk up Blencathra in the Lakes in memory of Graham Connell. Graham's death was tragic and saddened many current and ex-hikers, so this walk up Graham's favourite mountain will be a fitting testament to his memory. All are welcome! We will be raising money for the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue team, and our aim is £2000 - it would be great if we could go beyond that though! For anyone wishing to come on the walk, here are the key details:
When: Saturday 20th April, leaving at 7:30 in the morning, coming back around 09:00 in the evening
Where: Blencathra in the Lake District
Cost: £10 (for coach travel from and back to Leeds)
Sign up: Wednesday 17th April, 1.30-2.30, room 3 in the Union
Aim: have a great day out and raise money for Cairngorm MR
We are in the process of setting up online sponsorship/donations on justgiving and will send out the link soon. In the meantime, get mentioning this to your friends and family, sometimes it takes people a while to get round to donate! You could also collect cash from them and once the online justgiving has been set up you can donate it for them on there. This is going to be a lovely day, with current and past members of LUUHC coming together, as well as some of Graham's family. One not to be forgotten.
Hope you've all had a great Easter and hope to see you soon x
11 March 2013
Here we are again hikers, last week* of a busy term (*yes, Rich Pooley, I recognise that this is in fact not your last week as Met finish later, apologies also to those who don't finish this week or at all...) and what a term it's been. It's nearly time for the committee to lay down their positions and make way for next year's lot...
AGM
If you haven't already seen the event on facebook, here it is https://www.facebook.com/events/248540055283562/?ref=14. The AGM is THIS FRIDAY, starting at 18.00. There will be speeches, tears, curry and a new committee voted in at the end of it. It's always a great event so don't miss out! We'll be heading to town afterwards and everyone should be there - it's Saturday the day after, so you've got plenty of time to recover. The important stuff ...
The order of business in the AGM shall be:
1. President’s report
2. Financial report
3. Constitutional Amendments
-'changing the name of Ordinary member to General committee member' proposed by Aj Zein
4. Elections
5. Any other business
A copy of the club's constitution is available as a PDF on the website here http://www.luuhc.com/clubdocuments. Any amendments that members wish to propose should be emailed to and they will be voted upon at the AGM.
If anyone is considering running for a committee position, there is a document on the facebook group with a description of the roles, written by the current committee members. This is on the event also.There will be a full handover pack given to the new committee so even if you're not quite sure you know how to do some of the things outlined in the descriptions it's not a problem, you'll grow into your role during your time on the committee. Anyone wishing to run should put their names down on the hiking club positions nominations sheet which is being kept upstairs at the Student Activities desk in the Students' Union. You will need to get one hiking club member to nominate you and one to second the nomination. These people can be anyone, as long as they're current hiking club members.
SIGN UP for the curry buffet will be this Wednesday 1.30-2.30pm in Room 3 upstairs in the Students' Union, cost will be £10 for all you can eat (consider it a challenge...). The AGM itself is free so if you don't want food then you don't have to come and pay, simples. See you there!
TORRIDON
Thanks to everyone who signed up to the Torridon trip last week, details have been finalised and everyone who's going has been added to a group on facebook, so any questions, post on there. All details about food and leaving times will be posted on there as well. ONE SPACE LEFT! There is however one space left to join this exciting trip with some awesome hikers and routes to be done. Cost of the trip is £120 for a full 5 days of brilliance, cost includes your transport, accomodation (in a village hall, not even camping) and breakfast and evening meals...great price for a great trip, don't miss out! Email me (Liz) on .
IN OTHER NEWS
It was the caving collaboration on Sunday, here's how it went in the words of Katie McKay " Massive love for the cavers! Sunday was one of my best experiences so far this year. 7 hikers and 7 cavers. The day started with a greasy fry up at a cafe in the Yorkshire Dales to fuel our descent down the dark, wet and surprislingly warm Alum Pot. We squeezed through spaces the size of Aj's rucksack, traversed round plunge pools, slid down polished rock, adseiled down 20 metre drops, climbed wire ladders to finish in a giagantic chasm with the sun shining down upon us. We even managed to squeeze in 8km walk round Victoria Cave as the sun set over the Dales. The day finished in Settle's best chippy. Satisfied. A huge thank you has to go out to all the Cavers who helped us on our team adventure, especially Warren Mason who organised it. I think Caving Adventure Society have a few new members!" Also fun was had by the hikers in Dent on Sunday, albeit some cold fun as the weather was a bit chilly! A few other people went to the Ice Wall in Ellis Brigham again on Friday and had another good session of ice climbing, good stuff.
SOCIAL - WEDNESDAY
Last official social of the term! If that's not as good a reason as any to go, then what is?! Add to that the cool hikers who'll be there, the free food and the (unfortunately not free) drinks and you've got your Wednesday evening sorted. See you at The Eldon from around 20.30 onwards.
So, see you all on Wednesday and looking forward to the AGM! x
6 March 2013
Hello there hikers, he's the latest installment in the exciting times of LUUHC, the best club at Leeds.
Last week saw a valiant effort by our hikers in their laser quest battle against the mountaineers, sadly they lost out, but the forces of climber and hiker committees came together to defeat all.
NOW, HAVE WE GOT NEWS FOR YOU? (Yes. Read on.)
TRIPS
Caving Collaboration, Sunday 10th March - Those signed up for the Caving Collaboration this Sunday please keep up to date with all of the details on the Facebook event - https://www.facebook.com/events/481866455200559/?ref=3. You will need all of your usual hiking gear. Meet at Parky Steps at 8.15. ALSO IMPORTANT - You will need to attend a basic skills at The Edge climbing wall this Thursday (7th) evening from 6-8pm Sunday Hike, it will cost you £5.50 if you are not an Edge member. For those going please come to sign up today to pay your £8 for the cost of the trip.
Sunday Trip - Don't fancy descending into the Cavers territory on Sunday? We thought we'd also have a hike out in the open air for those who would rather pass on diving down dark holes but wouldn't mind mucking around in mud topside. We wil be heading to Dent. As usual, we will be leaving from the Parkison Steps at 9am. Cost of the trip will be £12. Sign up for this will be on Wednesday 6th March, 1.30-2.30pm, Room 3 Upstairs in the Union.
Easter Trip - HELLOOOOO TORRIDON and hello LUUHC Easter Trip 2013. On 17th March, we will be heading up to North Scotland to Torridon, coming back on 22nd, giving us plenty of time to explore. Torridon is an awesome place, more remote than most places we've been this year and more importantly, there are loads of MOUNTAINS. We'll be stopping in Loch Torridon Visitor Centre and doing the usual club stuff, hiking, eating, drinking, but for longer! It's going to be a really great trip with a really small group - places are limited so get yourself to Sign up on Wednesday 6th March, 1.30-2.30pm, Room 3 Upstairs in the Union. Cost of the trip is £120. There will be 3 spaces reserved by email, so if you can't make sign up, email Liz on .
SOCIALS
This Wednesday we'll be back at our usual habitat of the Eldon from 20.30 onwards ready to have a catch up over a few pints and some food, see you there.
Ice Wall - For those who didn't make it last time, we'll be heading to the Ice Wal at Ellis Brigham in Manchester again on Friday 8th March (this Friday!)Details are the same as last time - Cost is FREE but a return ticket to Manchester for the train must be bought - catch the train at 16:55 from Leeds and the session will end at 9-9:30, giving a good 3 hours of ice climbing for 12 people. Sign up on Wednesday 6th March, 1.30-2.30pm, Room 3 Upstairs in the Union.
AGM
Here it is, the big one.
Friday 15th March, Seven Spices, 18.30-21.30.
Come to the AGM for a guaranteed good time and to vote in next year's committee! This is always a highlight in the club calendar, and this year will be no exception. For those wanting to run for any positions (and we hope you do, or the club will cease to exist...) here are descriptions that the current committee have written for their role:
President: President of LUUHC is the most rewarding role within the whole of the University if you ask my slightly biased opinion. It is your responsibilty to organise and oversee the running of hiking club. For a club with such a long-standing and prestigious history it's a role which holds a lot of responsibility. However, don't let this put you off as what you put in you definately get back out. Other 'official' duties involve chairing committee meetings and providing an anual report. Ultimately it's up to you as the president how much work you decide to take on and how much you decide to delegate. The role requires bucket loads of enthusiasm and passion for the club and the outdoors in general. You need to have good communication skills in order to manage the club effectively and keep everyone sweet. Confident leadership skills are also crucial. It helps to have a solid base of mountaineering skills but you can also develop these during your time as president. Becoming president of LUUHC will be your best experience at University 100%.
Secretary: Do you like hiking? Can you write good emails? Can you book accomodation? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should be Secretary now (you're better than me at booking accomodation anyway, I tend to go for the wrong huts, particularly in Snowdonia...) If you answered no to any of these questions, then you should still run for Secretary. Why? Because it's a great thing to do. You are one of the central roles on the committee, and you get lots of emails which make you feel very popular and important. Duties include; booking accomodation for club trips, writing up minutes of meetings, sending out the Official Club Emails, and managing sign ups, both by email and in person. Good time management and communication skills are thus important, but these are definitely strengthened and improved upon during your time as Secretary. Being on the committee, regardless of your position will develop you as a person and will give you experiences and skills, not to mention a special set of friends you might not have had before. All I can say is do it; you won't regret it.
Treasurer: The chief of the club’s finances
Main responsibilities:
- Calculating costs of trips
- Paying money (from sign-up etc.) into the club account
- Ensuring members pay for the trips they are going on
- Reimbursing receipts of those who have spent money on behalf of the club (e.g. for fuel or food etc.)
- Arranging payments for trip accommodation or purchasing new club gear etc…
- Keeping a record of all club transactions
- Regularly monitoring club accounts
- Finding sponsorship for the club (not essential but extremely beneficial)
Ideal candidates should be:
- Numerically competent
- Organised
- Accurate and have an eye for detail
- Be able to use Excel spreadsheet (this can easily be learnt on the job)
In terms of what benefits this role offers, the usual ‘looks good on CV’ applies. Particularly considering you are managing the finances of such a large club. Despite this being one of the ‘top three’ positions, there is relatively little to do, so do not feel too daunted. An informal meeting will be arranged with the new treasurer to be ‘shown the ropes’.
Web sec: As web secretary your main responsibility is to keep the LUUHC website running and up to date. Depending on your ambition this can go from simple changes (changing some text, adding some pictures) to developing entire new features. You also need to keep an eye on the mailing list, the Facebook groups/pages, our page on the Union website and such matters. Being web sec a great way to learn about web-technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript/jQuery, PHP and MySQL, which will look fabulous on your resume. An extensive handover document with loads of helpful information is currently in development, so don't be put off if you have no experience yet.
Gear Sec: Nope, not the clubs drug dealer, but in charge of, unsurprisingly, all the clubs kit. You get keys to and therefore get to look after the gear store deep in heart of Parkinson and everything within it. It's your job to make sure all the kit is well looked after, helmets checked, shelters and maps dried etc and that all the right stuff is brought on every single trip. It is also up to you to buy new gear; maps, helmets, whatever is really needed. As well as looking after kit, it is also up to you to answer peoples questions regarding kit. This is often done at the Intro meeting and Winter Briefing where it is up to you to do the gear part of the talk, informing the novices what they need and what they should buy. If you're feeling super keen you can also add some articles to the gear section of the website. Despite sounding challenging, this may help reduce the number of questions people ask so is worth trying. All in all it's a great job and one that isn't vastly time consuming however reliability and organisation are key considering how vital some of the kit can be. On a side note you also get to feel super cool with keys to Parkinson =)
Trip Sec: Does what it says on the tin! You have the fantastic task of choosing exciting locations for the Sunday and Weekend hikes. You can be as creative as you like with your decisions, choosing places the club has never been before, but classics are classics for a reason and members are always excited to return to beloved spots such as the Yorkshire Dales. You'll be responsible for booking transport for each trip, making the leaders and drivers facebook events for each trip too, buying food for weekends away, as well as being active in promoting the club at the Freshers Fair and forming that wonderful community feel the club has by being friendly and approachable. By supporting the committee with other tasks you'll create a strong team that will deliver yet another incredible year for LUUHC and you'll make life long friends in the process! Guaranteed!
Social secretary: The Hiking Social Secretary’s job is simple: get the hiker’s out on the town filled to the brim with booze. The main challenges in successfully completing this task are: ‘too much work’ and ‘9am lectures’. Do not feel downtrodden if these enemies prevail over weaker hiking members – remember YOU are no normal run-of-the-mill hiker, you are a whole new class of hiker ideally with a superior liver and a resistance to hangovers.
The main events organised by the social secretary are the Summer BBQ held at the end of each academic year, the Christmas Dinner held at the end of the first term and the AGM held before the Easter holidays. Alongside this the social sec is in charge of the weekly socials, the location of these socials is up to you and could potentially be changed weekly depending on whether or not you make an agreement for sponsorship etc with a pub. Furthermore, it’s the social sec’s job to organise extra special socials e.g paintballing, alton towers, laser tag (etc) and Otley Runs. For the last two years we have had two Otley Runs a year (one before Christmas and one after). Contacting clubs in advance for society deals is a good idea if you are planning a ‘big night out’ especially around the beginning of the academic year when people don’t have too much work on and freshers are wanting to party.
Most importantly, social secretary needs to be game for a laugh and a constant presence at socials with a friendly face for the freshers when they arrive in September. Good luck!
Ordinary Committee member: This is a unique and attractive committee position, because the exact role of the Ordinary Member is not defined. This gives Ordinary Members a huge amount of flexibility. Ordinary Members can develop themselves within committee in a way that is most aligned to their strengths. Ordinary Members should be proactive and enthusiastic, willing to get stuck in and lend a hand. The best Ordinary Members are highly adaptable with good communication skills.
From Wednesday onwards, committee candidates will be able to go to the Activities Office upstairs in the Union to put themselves up for election. Each candidate must be proposed and seconded by 2 other members, neither of which can be themselves. Members of the club who are not from the University of Leeds may only apply to be Ordinary Member.
Become a BNOC; join the LUUHC committee.
And finally, last Thursday a group of around 70 hikers, along with countless other family members, friends and collegues said an emotional farewell to a great man, friend and hiking club member, Graham Connell. It was a sad day but with lots of fitting tributes. Thank you to all for their support and we look forward to our Memorial Hike on 20th April in Graham's Memory.
The Committee x
25 February 2013
Happy Monday Hikers,
I hope everyone had a good weekend, those who came to Fort William certainly did, doing some brilliant routes in brilliant weather. I have never heard the word 'Alpine' bounced around so often on a trip and on the mountains in Scotland! We had a bit of everything; classics like the Ring of Steall, the Aonach Eagach, routes up Buachaille Etive Mor, Stob Ban, the CMD on Ben Nevis and lots of other great routes, including a heavily subscribed spiritual walk on Sunday...the beers in the pub might have had something to do with that. Skillz were taught on Thursday and Friday, particular thanks to Eliot for all of his input there, and well done to our newbies on the trip. Equally nice to see some old faces again! Massive thank you to everyone for making this a great weekend...drivers, we couldn't have done it without you, leaders thanks for some cracking days out, everyone who helped cook, chop, clean, greatly appreciated, food was once again spot on and everyone who helped clear everything away so smoothly and quickly on Sunday afternoon, great stuff. I think there'll be a lot of tired legs today but a lot of great memories - if you've got any pictures (surely you do?!) upload them to our website to make us look like the epically cool bunch we are - http://www.luuhc.com/photos
Moving on...
LASER QUEST - HIKERS VS CLIMBERS (mountaineers)
Booked and sorted! We have drivers and petrol costs will be included in the cost(£11 per person to laserzone + £3 to the club for petrol and some snacks/soft drinks) which is an AMAZING deal when it usually costs upwards of £5 for one 30min session.
Check out the event on Facebook for all of the details! https://www.facebook.com/events/119700691541352/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBlip92UHdw
HACKFALL SUNDAY HIKE - 3/3/2013
Join us for an explore as we go to Hackfall, another b-e-a-u-tiful place in Yorkshire. Sign up for this will be on Wednesday 27/2 in Room 3 upstairs in the union, 1.30-2.30pm.
CAVING COLLABORATION - 10/3/2013
For the first time in the club's history (*this may not be factually accurate, but for the first time for a while anyway) LUUHC and Leeds Uni Caving will be joining forces to have a day of fun! They like getting down into dark, damp places, we normally walk all over them, but on Sunday 10/3/2013 we will do both. Sign up for this will be on Wednesday 27/2 in Room 3 upstairs in the union, 1.30-2.30pm.
See you all soon :)