AOAC Newsletter
Well, there's light at the end of the tunnel....things are going to start happening very soon. Spring is a'springing, the clocks go forward next weekend, the days are getting longer.....and we can start getting out more. How exciting is that?!
But before we get on to that make way for the last Challenge....
April Challenge . . . A trip to the Himalayas!
April’s challenge is to virtually ascend the World’s 14 highest mountains or the ‘eight-thousanders’. The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation recognises the eight-thousanders as the 14 mountains that are more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) in height above sea level. All eight-thousanders are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia and all 14 have a combined height of 115,987 M above sea level (380,348 FT).
This is our last big challenge! Everyone can take part – walking, running, cycling, mountain biking, climbing or just stair climbing – you name it, everyone’s effort counts. Let’s see how many we can ascend in 30 days with our final goal the big one - Mount Everest, the World’s highest mountain!
The format is the same, post your elevation in a ‘comment’ on the Facebook thread which will be pinned to the top of the Club page from 1st April. Sue F will be collecting the stats and charting our collective progress – let’s tick off the mountains one by one, starting with Shish Pangma, the World’s 14th highest peak located in Tibet and rising to 8027 M/26,335 FT. It was first summited on 2nd May 1964 by a Tibeton and Chinese Team.
If you don’t use Strava – here are some free online tools to estimate your elevations:
https://fitfortrips.com/calculate-elevation-gain-for-hiking-stairs-workout/
https://www.sportdistancecalculator.com/#map
115,987 M of ascent . . . 30 days . . . The World’s 14 highest mountains . . . are you up for the challenge?
| Mountains | Height/m |
| Everest | 8,848 |
| K2 | 8,611 |
| Kangchenjunga | 8,586 |
| Lhotse | 8,516 |
| Makalu | 8,485 |
| Cho Oyu | 8,201 |
| Dhaulagiri | 8,167 |
| Manaslu | 8,163 |
| NangaParbat | 8,126 |
| Annapurna | 8,091 |
| Gasherbrum | 8,080 |
| Broad Peak | 8,051 |
| Gasherbrum ll | 8,035 |
| Shishapangma | 8,027 |
| 115,987 |
March Walking Challenge
And still, before we go on, let's talk about the March walking challenge..... we collectively walked from Land's End to John O'Groats and back, and then some. Well done to all who contributed and especially to Alan for adding up all those miles and elevations. What a fun, fabulous achievement.
Upcoming Events
Well, the kayakers have been particularly busy putting events on the calendar (see below) and weekend and evening walks are starting to appear. We have an outdoor climbing session arranged and I'm sure there will be many more. Cycle leaders, can we get some rides planned please?
Zoom Event - Kayaking the Colorado - 12 April 7.30pm
Join Janet and Rob for a talk about their fabulous kayaking trip.
https://aoac.co.uk/content/zoom-event-kayaking-colorado
Committee elections and resolution
Thanks to everyone who voted for the committee posts and resolution (48 voted in total) and everyone who agreed to stand. We can confirm that the committee from 1st April 2021 will be:
Chair: Katie Wiltshier
Secretary: Maria Hendricks
Treasurer: Alan Taylor
Activity Officer: Pete Ryecroft
Membership Officer: Kath James
Development Officer: Guy Thomas
Equipment Officer: Lee Jones
Communications Officer: Cathy Caola
Website Officer: Irene Baker
The following resolution was also voted for: An option to have a limited number of family events each year. Members will be able to bring their children to these specific events. Initially there would be no more than 4 of these a year.
76% voted for
12% against
12% abstained
We think this will be really positive for the club. To reassure those who were against it; these will be a limited number of specific events and won’t have an impact on the current dynamic of the club.
Extending membership
Membership payments have been suspended for 12 months now while activities have been limited or online only. At the March committee meeting we agreed to suspend membership payments again for a further 2 months (14 months in total) at which point the situation will be reviewed.
Voluntary membership fee contributions
Many of our members would like to do to make a voluntary contribution to the club in the absence of membership fees. While activities have been limited unfortunately our running costs have continued, for example insurance and website maintenance costs. It is a fantastic club that lots of us have benefited from over the years and are keen to support. We would be grateful for any contributions that members feel they can and would like to make towards the running costs of the club in the absence of membership fees.
You can donate as much or as little as you like (and every little helps). The Treasurer will only see the date and amount in the PayPal order list so it is fully anonymous.
To contribute please follow these steps....
Click on the link: https://aoac.co.uk/donations
Log in if you aren't already logged in
Click straight on add to cart (ignore the drop down box).
Select your cart
Select the quantity (1 = £1). Select go to checkout
Then continue with the steps for payment
There is also a menu item at the top of the members' menu which is now live - 'Donate to AOAC' 
Update on activities
We cannot wait to be able to start activities again in person from the 29th March! We only have vague details on what these are likely to look like at the moment. When more information is released to us next week we will send another update to members. The below will at least help members to start planning activities from 29th March although it is all subject to change depending on the more detailed guidance!
29th March onwards
- Maximum group sizes of 6
- Staying as local as possible (if this isn’t defined, we’re going with locations within 30 minutes drive of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and BANES)
- No overnight stays
- No shuttles
- Activities will resume in England to start with due to current restrictions in Wales, unfortunately those based in Wales won’t be able to join us for the time being.
- Equipment can be hired
12th April onwards
For those who are looking to plan even further ahead the below should help. This will be regularly reviewed and updated as restrictions ease.
- No new financial commitments (camping can be arranged with participants booking directly with the campsite and at their own risk)
- Continue to have all activities as bookable events through the website, for the purpose of track and trace.
- Limit group sizes to 6. We can easily increase this as restrictions change but it’s more difficult to reduce numbers once people have booked on (the exception to this is trips where a financial commitment has already been made)
- Camping trips, trips abroad and indoor climbing centre sessions can be put on the calendar from 17th May onwards following the above principles and with it being clear that they are subject to cancellation.
- Shared indoor accommodation, trips involving shuttles and car shares can be put on the calendar from 21st June onwards following the above principles and with it being clear that they are subject to cancellation.
So, let's get cracking and get as much as we can on the calendar following the above guidance.
Walking Coordinator
Stuart Bardsley is stepping down from the role of walking Coordinator. Andy Smith has volunteered to take over the role but if anyone else has a strong desire to do it as well then please contact the chair to register your interest..
The committee would like to thank Stu for all his hard work over the years and will welcome the new coordinator with open arms. Let's get a great variety of walks on the calendar.
Good news
One of the greatest strengths of the club is in having so many members who are willing to give back to the club! I wanted to do a shout out in this newsletter to Andy Smith and Rhi Manley for getting the club a refund of £4700 for the cancelled Easter 2019 trip. With a lot of club money currently held in deposits this will be a big help to the club finances. The Scotland trip was the most significant amount of money held, but since March many of our members have given their time to get us refunds for various trips that we have needed to cancel or have organised to have trips rearranged. Thanks to everyone for their continued efforts on this!
Sarah, AOAC Chair
If you have any interesting news/funny stories/free videos/tales of your favourite trips/tips that may help club members, in fact, anything that might be of interest/entertaining, to brighten up the next newsletter, please let me know at [email protected] . Thank you.
See you sometime soon.
Cathy x
Events:
| --- | Title | Location | Date | Activity Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
--- |
Flat Water Canoeing Trip - Saturday, 27th March (Postponed) | TBC | Sat, 27/03/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
WW Kayaking Day Trip | tbc | Fri, 02/04/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Sea kayaking Bristol channel day trip FULL | Clevedon | Fri, 02/04/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Sea kayaking (intermediate) from Clevedon | Clevedon | Sat, 03/04/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
WW Kayaking Day Trip | tbc | Sat, 03/04/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
WW Kayaking Day Trip | tbc | Sun, 04/04/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
FULL - Introduction to Outdoor Rock Climbing on Top Rope | TBD | Sat, 10/04/2021 | Climbing |
|
New |
Zoom Event - Kayaking the Colorado | Zoom Event | Mon, 12/04/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 10/05/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 10/05/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Lords Wood, Hunstrete Plantation and Common Wood | Pensford | Tue, 11/05/2021 | Walking |
|
New |
Stanton Prior and Priston Mill Circular walk | Stanton prior | Thu, 13/05/2021 | Walking |
|
New |
Introduction to Sea Kayaking | TBC | Sat, 15/05/2021 to Sun, 16/05/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
AOAC Paddlesport Taster Day | River Avon | Sat, 15/05/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 17/05/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 17/05/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Hawksbury Upton Circular Walk | Hawksbury Upton | Tue, 18/05/2021 | Walking |
|
--- |
Course 1: British Canoeing Paddle Discover Award - Kayak | Avon Valley/Saltford | Wed, 19/05/2021 to Sun, 23/05/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Burrington Combe Circular Evening walk | Burrington West Mendip | Thu, 20/05/2021 | Walking |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 24/05/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 24/05/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Cotswold Evening Walk | South Gloucestershire | Tue, 25/05/2021 | Walking |
|
New |
Intermediate Sea kayaking late May bank holiday | Pembrokeshire | Fri, 28/05/2021 to Mon, 31/05/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Brecon Beacons Challenge Stage 2 and 3 | Brecon Beacons | Sat, 29/05/2021 | Walking |
|
--- |
Brecon Beacons Challenge Stage 2 and 3 | Brecon Beacons | Sun, 30/05/2021 | Walking |
|
--- |
Trip Full: River Wye Open Canoe and Touring Kayak Trip | River Wye | Fri, 04/06/2021 to Sun, 06/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 07/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 07/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
River Severn Evening walk | South Gloucestershire | Tue, 08/06/2021 | Walking |
|
--- |
Course 2: British Canoeing Paddle Discover Award - Kayak | Avon Valley/Saltford | Wed, 09/06/2021 to Sun, 13/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Advanced 3 day sea kayaking weekend | Cornwall | Thu, 10/06/2021 to Sun, 13/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 14/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 14/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Chew Magna Circular Walk | Chew Valley | Thu, 17/06/2021 | Walking |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 21/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 21/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Bavarian Alps Multi-Activity trip - Save the date | Bavaria - Austria/German border | Mon, 21/06/2021 to Sun, 04/07/2021 | Multi-activity |
|
--- |
New Members Weekend | Exmoor | Fri, 25/06/2021 to Sun, 27/06/2021 | Walking |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 28/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 28/06/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
AOAC Paddlesport Taster Day | River Avon | Sat, 03/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 05/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 05/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Course 3: British Canoeing Paddle Discover Award - Kayak | Avon Valley/Saltford | Wed, 07/07/2021 to Sun, 11/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 12/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 12/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Course 1: British Canoeing Paddle Explore Award - Kayak | Various | Wed, 14/07/2021 to Sun, 18/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 19/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 19/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 26/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 26/07/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Intermediate and Advanced Sea Kayaking | Anglesey | Sat, 31/07/2021 to Sun, 01/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 02/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 02/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Cotswold Evening walk | Swineford | Tue, 03/08/2021 | Walking |
|
New |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 09/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 09/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Course 2: British Canoeing Paddle Explore Award - Kayak | Various | Wed, 11/08/2021 to Sun, 15/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Intermediate Sea Kayaking Weekend | St David's, Pembrokeshire | Fri, 13/08/2021 to Sun, 15/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Monday Evening Coached Weir Sessions | Saltford | Mon, 16/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
New |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 16/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Course: British Canoeing Paddle Explore Award - Canoe | River Avon tbc | Sat, 21/08/2021 to Sun, 22/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Monday Night Coached Kayaking and Canoeing Sessions | TBC | Mon, 23/08/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
Sailing the Stunning Turquoise Coast - Turkey! | Turkey | Sat, 04/09/2021 to Sat, 11/09/2021 | Sailing |
|
--- |
Sardinia sea kayak adventure | Sardinia, Italy | Sat, 18/09/2021 to Sat, 25/09/2021 | Kayaking & Canoeing |
|
--- |
New Members Weekend | Brecon | Fri, 24/09/2021 to Sun, 26/09/2021 | Walking |
|
--- |
Saundersfoot (Pembrokeshire) October Weekend | Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire | Fri, 08/10/2021 to Mon, 11/10/2021 | Multi-activity |
|
--- |
North Devon Coastal Walking Weekend | Boscastle | Fri, 05/11/2021 to Sun, 07/11/2021 | Walking |
|
--- |
New Year 5 Day Multi-activity Trip and Party 2021-2022 | Slapton Ley, South Devon | Tue, 28/12/2021 to Sun, 02/01/2022 | Multi-activity |