Category: Mike’s Group 2011

Tryfan Terror

Posted on | By LRigney399 | 1 Comment

Hello this is Lauren and Alice here to tell you about our day climbing Tryfan. Lauren was not going to climb Tryfan because her ankle had been hurting all week and she didn’t think she could do it, but she was determined to and went anyway.

After the 20 minute mini bus journey we started the accent up Tryfan. Our ears hurt from having the radio full blast to block out Lauren and Poppy’s amazing singing and Alice and Lara’s great backing singing. We managed to sing louder than the radio and I’m sure everyone enjoyed our singing…

At first it was a slippery grass slope, but we could see the rocks ahead. With many slips and falls we had a stop for lunch and a drink then started the steepest part of the climb.

After this slope we started to scramble up the big slippery rocks, the rain wasn’t helping, but the rainbow was really pretty. For every 10 steps everyone took Robert would take one and did not help Poppy with the constant reminder that If she took one wrong step she would plummet to her death and go SPLAT!

We finally made it to the top and had a picture taken next to the Adam and Eve rocks. Lauren was pulling an interesting face. Also on the top we saw Boderick the eyeball eating seagull. Here is the story of how ‘Boderick’ started…

Halfway up Snowdon Lauren decided to feed the seagull her dried fruit to look good. Keith came up to her and said that if you feed the seagulls then when you get to the top they will peck your eyes out. She stopped feeding them immediately and another Welsh couple started feeding them so she warned them not to or they will have their eyes pecked out. They gave her a strange look and so she thought it was because they spoke Welsh. When Lauren and Poppy eventually got to the top ‘Boderick the seagull’ squawked at them and they ran the last 100 metres. When at the top they asked to kick him off the edge and Keith said no in case he falls on someone’s head and everytime we saw a seagull from that point we were in HYSTERICS! We all teased Poppy for her seagull-in-distress-like-laugh. THAT’S THE STORY OF BODERICK!

By this time we were all soaked and there were many slips on the way down. We were told that if a rock fell we had to shout ‘BELOW’ to warn people but Alice pointed and shouted ‘DHISFHDSODSUFBF’ and Lauren screamed ‘AVALANCHE!’ because we both forgot the word. Luckily no one got injured. Tom and Jack threw themselves down the hill on their bums.

BEST TRIP SLIPS: Alice falling into a stream, Lauren falling 17 times walking down one hill, Lara falling many times down the stone stairs, Robert falling into a waterfall trying to get water, Jack falling a massive hill along with Tom and of course when Lauren was dying for the loo and Poppy was wearing a new tracksuit and fell on a slope of mud and slid the whole way down.

We’ve had a great week and a great ending with a quiz and photos shown on the screen including one of Lauren with 14 starburst in her mouth and many more mugshots. We’ve made great new friends and we’ll always remember our memories together. THANK YOU KEITH AND MIKE WE’VE HAD A GREAT TIME AND IT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN THE SAME WITHOUT HAVING YOU AS LEADERS. No Mr White, you are not the best leader, ours were and we also had the best team!

Mike’s team went to Tryfan…..

Posted on | By Mr Taylor | No comments

Today Mike’s team went to Tryfan, a really good day out was had by all. This is a mountain measuring 915 m and it requires ‘scrambling skills’ and its fair to say, alot of courage. Poppy and Lauren saw Broderick again at the top – it’s a long story, and we established that Tom has a soft spot for the actress Emma Watkins. We saw Prince William again flying his helicopter but thankfully all made it back down safely again without needing his assistance.

Thanks from me to all of the group I have worked with during the day activities and all of those who have been present on the trip. A big thanks to Mr Alderson for arranging such a great week away where Dane Court Students have yet again shown that they are a positive group of young people.

Keith

Our GORGEus day

Posted on | By CMay800 | 1 Comment

Today we went to the gorge. It took about a 45 minute drive in the minibus. What we had to do was walk and climb up a gorge without falling in, unlike Robert who spent most of the day in the water up to his waist…

What we had to wear while we were there was; wellington boots and waterproof trousers and jacket which Robert didn’t have so he had to wear a black bin bag (Which didn’t keep him dry at all).

The whole day was really fun although about a third of the way up Mike our instructor got kind of angry with us so we had to go and sit in a circle and think about what we had done! After that we apologized and promised to listen to what h had to say. Afterwards we climbed further and did some really fun activities. Like Falling backwards into the water, sliding down the rocks like a water slide and the press up challenge – which is where you hang over the water and move along trying not to fall in.
But the one thing they all had in common was that the water was cold.
Very cold.

After that we climbed further until we reached a waterfall. It was really funny as Mike tricked all the boys into believing that they had to either throw the smallest person over the top so they could throw tie a rope and we could climb up or that somebody had to swim through an underwater passage and climb up to tie a rope so everybody could follow them up. And yes they believed him.
We also had to sit underneath the waterfall and talk to the Goddess of the Gorge and say “Hello Goddess of the Gorge, my name is (Charlotte), Thank you for keeping me safe”.  But don’t worry there was a path that lead up around the waterfall to the top.
At the top there was a small pool of water that we could jump into which was really fun!

Overall the whole day was probably the best out of all of them, which we all agreed on. When we were walking back Mike made us all stand in a circle – shoulder to shoulder then rate the day out of ten. In teamwork, overall fun and how good we felt and all of them had an overall high rating.

Today was probably the best activity as it involved a lot more different and challenging things also they were a bit more dangerous that made it more fun to do!  It was more challenging as the was really strong in some parts so you had to hold on tighter or would end up falling in, which a lot of people did! So we all had a really good day and wish we could do it again, although we can’t  🙁

By Charlotte May and Robert Dew

Washed up!!

Posted on | By JFarley133 | 1 Comment

Today, we traveled in the minibus to the Island Of Anglesey which took a 45 minute drive from the KMC. Our activity was sea level traversing, which involves climbing horizontally along the bottom of the cliff face. But the sea was really rough and we got wet as the waves came smashing against us. We were given certain pieces of equipment which involved; A helmet, Water proof trousers and jacket, a harness, a cows tail (which is a piece of rope with two clips either end) and life jackets.

Our instructors were Mike and Keith, Mike was like a ninja moving along the rocks! What we had to do was climb along the rocks with no help apart from the rope. It was really fun especially when the waves splashed other people. Some people were really fast but others were really slow… Poppy 😉

There were two paths we had to take, which involved moving from one bit of rock to the other without falling in. Luckily no one did, but we would’ve been allowed to all jump in at the end but because of the weather the sea was really rough and also it was high tide so you couldn’t see all the rocks underneath. So if you jumped in it was quite possible you could be killed;D

The second path was moving along a vertical wall which had hardly any places to put your hands or feet. It was quite hard as the first few people didn’t know where to put your hands or feet, but the last few had seen others do and knew where to put their hands and feet although when it was their turn the tide was even higher covering a few of the foot holds making them get even wetter! After the awkward climb across we sat up on top of the rock and listened to Poppy’s hilarious laugh which is a mix of a scream and the sound a seagull makes.

While we did this Mike being a ninja went back around and attached a rope going down. So it was a tyrolean traverse across the water in between the rocks, Which was really fun to go down. You were hanging above the water. Although you had to time it right otherwise you got really wet, Like Jack.

After the activity we sat down and ate our snacks that we saved from our lunch. I had a mars bar and some fruit… pastilles. Then we went back to the mini-bus and got changed… behind a bush. And as the girls were finishing getting changed a group of old men walked past with their dogs!!!… personal favourite moment of the day. Also the WORST moment of the day!!!!

Jack Farley and Charlotte May:D

Another day on Snowdon

Posted on | By LSrivalsanJones104 | 1 Comment

Hello, this is Lara Srivalsan Jones and Alice Rawson, here to tell you about our day on the highest mountain in England and Wales, Snowdon. The day began with another daily meeting with our leaders Mike and Keith, and our group us, Poppy, Lauren, Charlotte, Jack, Sam, Robert and Tom. We planned the route up Snowdon, and got our stuff together. We then set off in the mini bus. We arrived at our destination after about a 15 minute drive. After a quick briefing about equipment safety measures we started the long trek up, at first a simple flat walk around the lake, where we took it in turns to lead the group with a map, in little groups, all with group names. Our group consisted of us and tom and according to Tom our name was and still is Alpha Tom. Little did we know what was coming up ahead. The mountains surrounding us were so stunning that we had many stops, one by some old ruins, where we stopped for a snack and a hot drink. From this spot we got our first clear view of the enormous task ahead of us.

We then started the steep incline up Snowdon, which soon turned into a scramble up the rocks. Every now and again we got a glimpse of the other groups on their ascent of the mountain. After another hour or so scrambling up the rocks, quick breaks and walking up giant steps we eventually reached the top of the mountain (1083 feet above sea level) where we all congratulated or achievement together.

From the top we were completely surrounded by clouds, so could not see the bottom, and got very wet! We then stopped for lunch and a drink (not many people can say they’ve had lunch on the highest mountain in England and Wales!). It was freezing, but the views (or of what we could see) made up for the temperature and mist.

After lunch, and pictures, we then started the long descent down the mountain. Thankfully we didn’t go down the steep and difficult route we came up on. Instead we took a long, wet and winding path which followed the railway down the mountain. The path was also wet and slippery there so, there was lots of slips and wet and muddy bums! The views were spectacular from so high up. The group stayed together except for a few wanderers and stragglers that we had to keep waiting for! Exhausted and aching everywhere we all finally arrived at the minibus and headed back to the centre where we were very glad of a warm shower and rest! In total the walk took us about 5 hours and was an amazing day out! It was such an amazing, if a bit tiring day and it was such an incredible achievement for us all and it’s definitely a day we will all never forget!!

One step from death….

Posted on | By PGreenstreet509 | No comments

Hello It’s Poppy Greenstreet & Lauren Rigney, 😀

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Today was our first day in Wales and also the day we nearly died!:O

Once out of the minibus we walked through a muddy field and saw the grave of Bedwellin & learnt the story of his brutal stabbing, leading to his death.(He was a dog not a dude) We then saw his statue made out of bronze. He was the size of a horse and we were told he was actually that size!

Next we walked through the grass & came across a train track. We didn’t know if it was a live rail or not, so we got Robert to test it out(sorry!!;)) Luckily, he didn’t die, meaning it was safe to cross:D Then our leader gave our a map (Poppy,Lauren&Charlotte). Silly idea if u ask us, but we made it through the ledge next to what we called the ‘Death Water’! We were told that if we fell we probably wouldn’t survive, as it was a strong current for grade 5 canooers that if they took one turn probably would drown!!!!!

Next we stopped for lunch, and told stories about Halloween and zombies, but soon after that we climbed a steep slope. We moaned the whole way up about how steep it was and how much our legs hurt, but once we got to the top we realised it was almost flat. We kept asking if we could drink the water but the leader told us you can only drink it at the top. This was our inspiration for getting to the top, we wanted to taste victory like Bear Grills!:D

The way up, was like torture! ‘Only 2/3 of the journey to go’ said ‘mister Sir Man’(As we call him ;D) at this point Me&Lauren were in tears& wanted to give up, but we thought of the water to put our minds off things. Our leader showed us an old gold mine, and in the rocks we could discover fools gold, which is fake but people used to trade it for money. Only Sam found a little, but it was worthless (Typical!) This is when Lauren let go of the map and the wind took it resulting in it flying to bottom of the mountain, slapping someone round the face, we were in hysterics!!!! 😀

When we stopped for the second time we got a perfect view of the Irish sea. There was a waterfall right next to us but we couldn’t drink from it because we were told there was sheep poo. in it- eww! Next we got told a story about the two dragons and our leader’s sound effects made me and poppy laugh so much that we felt a 6-pack coming on. I choked on my roll and thought I might die. The sound was something like this (ee-wee-wooo-ee-wooo-wee) LOL!

After, we finally reached the top through hard work and team effort! Our leader read us a story about the mountain opposite where the king built his palace. We were told we wouldn’t be able to drink water from the mountain today and felt heartbroken.

When we got halfway down we finally found water we could drink and were SO HAPPY! We ran to the water and filled up our bottles, we tasted the victory in the ice cold valley water. Robert ran to get his water and tripped over, spilling his coffee all in the valley water. We asked him if he was okay and got the reply ‘I’m fine, just casually sitting here chilling. OH NO MY COFFEE!’. He was okay.

When we got to the bottom, although our feet were aching and numb we felt proud of ourselves. Today was definitely better than going trick or treating. We don’t want to climb another mountain, but we’ve just been told it is one of the smallest mountains and tomorrow we have to climb Mount Snowdon… Wish us luck!

2011 Activity reports

Posted on | By Mr Alderson | No comments
Intense blogging in the lecture room at KMC
Intense blogging in the lecture room at KMC

Our aim is to publish at least one daily report for each activity group (written by the group members) along with photos of their adventures.
Typically, posts will appear during the evening but I am sure you will understand if things take a little longer.