Chris Plant Mountaineering Ltd

26/01/2025

The biennial Huts Seminar will return on Saturday 1st February 2025

26/01/2025

16/01/2025

With Search Dog Tali – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

08/01/2025

We just wanted to say a big thank you to all the volunteers who have helped, and continue to help during this stretch of bad weather.

Thanks to the farmer contractors who we had out ploughing rural roads on Sunday.

Thanks to Peak 4x4 and Derbyshire 4x4 who have both been helping stranded motorists and have provided lifts for key workers to get to vulnerable clients in rural areas.

And our thanks to mountain rescue volunteers from across Derbyshire have also been supporting the emergency services with water rescues.

We also had our Derbyshire emergency volunteers standing by in case we had to have any emergency evacuations, which thankfully didn't happen.

All these wonderful people volunteer to help others in our communities and we wanted to recognise them all.

08/01/2025

Don’t Trust the Snow, it’s Trying to Kill You!

It’s that time of year when those delightful, fluffy, white flakes of snow can float to the ground muffling the ambient outdoors noises, softening the hard angles of buildings and fences and driving the children to throes of excitement. It’s beautiful, and it centres us fully in the season, it makes us feel cosy and it cheers these grey, winter days…but don’t trust it, you outdoors folk, it’s trying to kill you!

• Slips and trips are the biggest cause of mishaps on snowy hills. Carry crampons and an ice axe (plus make sure you know how to use them!) if you are going up high or anywhere near steeply sloping ground. Even if the snow is soft and fluffy in the car park it may be hard, icy and scarily slippery higher up the hill.

• If you’re going to be out in the cold all day, make sure you take lots of spare layers of clothing and more food than you would normally take plus extra for emergencies. A hot drink is always welcome in the cold and well worth the extra weight of a vacuum flask. To make sure you’re able to access all the goodies in your rucksack, take some spare gloves too – if you’re hands become numb, it’s possible you won’t even be able to open your bag!

• When you think of avalanches in the UK, you probably think of Scotland, the Lakes or Snowdonia. Many people don’t realise that it’s possible for snow to avalanche anywhere where there’s a 25° - 60° angle of slope. To put that into context, the steepest section of road up Winnat’s Pass has a slope angle of 28°. Avalanches are not impossible in the Peak District and there have been fatalities. The study of (and how to avoid) avalanches has a whole field of study of its own but a good place to start is Mountaineering Scotland’s excellent website.

• If the wind picks up, there’s a good chance that loose ice crystals will be whipped off the snow and into your eyes. It’s painful, frustrating and, if you can’t see, really dangerous. A pair of ski goggles is a very good idea if you’re walking on windy days but be wary if they’re tinted – as the light fades dark lenses become a worse idea.
I hope I haven’t put you off venturing into the snowy hills. Anyone who has been lucky enough to experience a snowy hilltop in benign conditions knows how special they can be and writing this has brought back some magical memories. Having decades of experience and carrying all the right kit doesn’t guarantee that you’re not going to come unstuck on a snowy hill and lessons are there to be learned by everyone - just try to learn the big ones before you leave the house. Paul BMRT

07/01/2025

Following last year's sell out event, Derby Mountain Rescue Team are once again hosting a Fundraising Ceilidh, with Schuggies Ceilidhs.

07/01/2025

All looking good for the Chris Plant Mountaineering Winter Mountaineering Weeks. Get in touch to secure you’re winter experience

07/01/2025

Snow overnight is affecting many roads in the Peak District this morning, particularly in the Chapel area. Ice also an issue on higher ground.

We have had crews out overnight ploughing and gritting and doing all we can to keep roads open. As well as the roads below, which remain closed, there are issues with snow on the A515 between Newhaven and Fenny Bentley and on the A612 Clodall Lane at Owler Bar.

* A57 Snake Pass
* Cat and Fiddle, A537
* A53 Axe Edge
* A6024 Holme Moss
* Goyts Lane, off A5004 near Buxton

Our crews will remain out this morning and will concentrate on the main roads. We will endeavour to then look at the roads above that are closed to see if we can get them open later today.

We still have these roads closed due to flooding. We will be checking them all later this morning to see if we can get these open safely or not.

* A617 Chesterfield (although the Hornsbridge roundabout is now open)
* Birches Lane, South Wingfield
* Dale Hill, A615, Oakerthorpe
* Leathersley Lane, Scropton
* Watery Lane, Scropton
* A619 Baslow, Golden Gates Roundabout to Caver roundabout
* Chatsworth Road, Rowsley
* Inkersall Green Road, Inkersall
* Birkin Lane, Grassmoor
* Main Street, Rosliston
* Frizams Lane, near Findern
* Buckford Lane, between Findern and A5132
* Derby Road, B5010 Risley
* Heage Lane, Etwall
* Asher Lane, Ripley
* A515 Lichfield Road, Sudbury from junction with A50 to County Boundary

Take care if you are travelling on the roads and remember never to drive into flood water or through road closure signs which are there for your safety.

06/01/2025

❄️More snow overnight in the north of the county is making driving conditions very difficult this morning (Monday 6 January). Although we were able to reopen some roads yesterday evening, we’ve now had to close the following roads:

⛔ A54/A537 Cat and Fiddle
⛔ A53 Axe Edge
⛔ A57 Snake Pass

Closures remain in place on:

⛔ A6024 Holme Moss
⛔ A5004, Long Hill Road, between Buxton and Whaley Bridge
⛔ Chesterfield Road between the A6 at Rowsley and Beeley Lane

Our crews have been out gritting and ploughing during the night and are still working to clear as many routes as possible.

You can find out if your road is on a gritting route and when we last gritted here 👉 https://ow.ly/1enL50UA7JU

⚠️ Elsewhere, the melting snow and heavy rain has caused surface water flooding, including at the A617 in Chesterfield.

Take care if you are travelling on the roads this morning and remember never to drive into flood water or through road closure signs which are there for your safety.

You can check conditions before you travel on the network of traffic cameras across Derbyshire here 👉 https://ow.ly/umR250UA7JT

We'll continue to monitor the weather conditions and we'll do our very best to keep Derbyshire moving.

Latest update here 👉 https://ow.ly/LC6L50UA7JS

03/01/2025

❄️ Widespread ice and snow is forecast over the weekend and we’ll be out gritting across the county this afternoon and again in the early hours of the morning.
Please take care if you’re out and about.
Find out where we grit and if your road is on a gritting route 👉🏽 https://ow.ly/L8WM50UzfT0

23/12/2024

Fantastic collaboration with during what can be a gloomy time of year it was a please and privilege to deliver the rock class module of GCSE PE to young people from John Flamsteed school. Fantastic progression and real development from all. Have a great Christmas everyone

22/12/2024

20/12/2024

I think I’ll be planning a trip……

🟠🟡Only a few months separate us from the . We can't wait! 🤩

More info coming soon🤞

Vedran Rafael Janić

28/11/2024

Amazing few days with great friends🌙✨🌎👊🙏🏻