The Cioch Club

The original climbing club of Stoney Middleton!

Outside Stoney Cafe

The Cioch Club are the stuff of legend around the limestone walls of Stoney Middleton.

A loose bunch of friends, they began to germinate as a climbing collective around 1960/61 and would regularly travel outside of their native Sheffield to bivvy out in the Peak District, often gravitating to the limestone dale at Stoney attracted by both the vast amounts of unclimbed limestone and the conveniently located "Lover's Leap Cafe" at its base.

Original Cioch Club member and Northern Limestone guidebook editor Chris Jackson maintains a web site dedicated to the club and its members. See it here

The log books and photographs of the club are reproduced here with thanks Geoff Birtles, Jack Street, John Atkinson and Chris Jackson

The Cioch Club Log Books and New Routes

Link to Log Book #1
Link to Log Book #2
Link to Log Book #3

Log Book #1
Minutes of Meeting held Thursday March 5th 1963
Minutes of Meeting held Thursday January 17th 1964
Minutes of Meeting held Thursday 21st March 1963
Minutes of Meeting held Thursday 9th October 1963 Minutes of Meeting held December 1963

Log Book #2
First ascent of 'The Helicon', FA: B. Dearman, G. Hawker
First ascent of 'Damocles', FA: First ascent of 'Circe', FA: First free ascent of 'Om', FFA:
First ascent of 'Axle', FA: Chris Jackson, Rob Roe First ascent of 'Kellogg', FA: Bob Dearman, Jim Ballard
First ascent of 'Acrophobia', FA: Cliff Smith, G. Langley, Dave Nichol First ascent of 'Jungle Groove', FA: G. Langsley, Dave Nichol
First ascent of 'Pastoral Corner', FA: G. Langley, Dave Nichol (alts) First ascent of 'Predator', FA: G. Langsley, Dave Nichol (alts) Cenotaph corner - Bob Dearman Pedestal Corner, Clogwyn D'ur Arddu - Bob Dearman
Curving Crack, Clogwyn D'ur Arddu - Bob Dearman First ascent of 'Inquisitor', FA: Dave Nichol, G. Langsley First ascent of 'Prolapse', FA: G. Langsley, Dave Nichol
First ascent of 'The Pendulum', FA: Peter Fieldson, Bryan Moore
Hut log. "all this while under very heavy pungent fire" 28/09/1963 - Nemesis, Water-cum-Jolly First ascent of 'Brasiere Strap', FA: G. Howter, Chris Jackson
Hut log. ... 'Brasiere Strap FA continued First ascent of 'Minestrobe Direct, FA: John Atkinson First ascent of 'Pology Wall' (Padme), FA: John Atkinson Om "Ackers wos ere"
How the Hell. "desperate route on stratified shit" First ascent of 'The Groper', FA: Dave Nowill, Chris Jackson White Knight Hut log: "Festering days are here again!"
29th September: Big Plum - Mike Pedlar, Bob Dearman 5th September: Pearly Gates - Bob Dearman Kingdom Come: John Gerard, Bob Dearman - "Quite a little epic" 12th September: Golden Gates - John Gerard, Bob Dearman Froth - Bob Dearman, John Gerard Compositae Groove - John Gerard, Bob Dearman
Chimney Crack ' "Neatly demolished by" Dave Nowill, Chris Jackson The Groveller (Bradwell Dale?) Dangledrop - Chris Jackson First ascent of 'Jasper', FA: Jack Street, Geoff Birtles First ascent of 'The Sword', FA: John Gerard
First ascent of 'The Sword' (contd), FA: John Gerard Hut log
Hut log The Golden Gates - Dave Nowill Minestrone - Dave Nowill The Pearly Gates - Dave Nowill Wallop - Dave Nowill Parachute - Dave Nowill After Effects - Dave Nowill Sin - Bob Dearman Au Gratin - Bob Dearman "This constitutes an outrage to all the rules and beliefs of the National Festering Society of Great Britain"
Hut log First ascent of 'The Little Plum', FA: Chris Jackson, Geoff Birtles. "in vino veritas"
First ascent of 'The Little Plum' (contd) The Glory Road - J. Harvey, G. Langsley Fingals Cave - J. Harvey, G. Langsley The White Knight - J. Harvey, G. Langsley Lost Horizon - Chris Jackson, Dave Nowill Asparagus - Chris Jackson, Dave Nowill Rosehip Wine ? "P.S. The one-armed bandit won again Hut log - 8/11/1963
Kingdome Come - Chris Jackson, Dave Newill - "straightforward pegging" Gabriel - Dave Newill, Chris Jackson Minestrone - Dave Newill, Chris Jackson Parachute - Dave Newill, Chris Jackson The Mecca (Raven Tor) "led as one pitch" Circe - Chris Jackson, Dave Newill - "Retreated after 50ft owing to a sudden attack of gravity"
Cartoon First free ascent of 'The Pendulum', FFA: Jack Street, Chris Jackson
Cartoon The Pendulum - Chris Jackson, Les Williams "4.5 hours" Cartoon: Rhinocropig
Hut log - Boxing Day 1963 Medusa - Geoff Birtles (see next page)
Medusa - Geoff Birtles - "congratulations on the best fall in 1964" Hut log - 11/1/1964
18/1/1964 - G. Birtles led Medusa Hut log - 19/1/1964 Hut log - 25/1/1964
Hut log - 26/1/1964 - "Pete from Stoney" Compositae Groove - Jack Street, Geoff Birtles Cartoon - "Pete in his Prime"
The Flakes - Chris Jackson, Brian Starkey Cartoon - "MacPiton"
The Downfall of the Cioch and its Followers	View PDF

Log Book #3
Front Cover
Frontispiece
Cioch Climbing Club - Member List
Cioch Climbing Club - Hut Rules "THESE RULES MUST BE ADHERED TO"
Log Entries: 31/10/1964 - 14/11/1964
First ascent of 'Gesemeni' Log Entries : 15/11/1964 - 27/11/1964
Log Entries: 28/11/1964 - 06/12/1964
Hut log 08/01/1965 & 09/01/1965 (wrestling match - "dissolved when Big John joined in") Log Entry: 10/01/1965
Hut Log: 15/01/1965 - 17/01/1965
Log Entry: 17/01/1965 (John Atkinson)
Hut Log: 22/01/1965 - 29/01/1965
Hut Log: 30/01/1965 - 13/02/1965
Log Entry: 30/01/1965
Log Entry 06/02/1965
Log Entries: 13/02/1965 - 28/02/1965
Log Entries: 06/03/1965
Log Entries: 20/03/1965 - 26/03/1965
First ascent of 'The Hex'; FA: Jack Street, Dave Nicol First ascent of 'Dead Banana Crack'; FA: Geoff Birtles, Bryan Starkey Log Entries: 17&18/07/1965
First ascent of 'Orrid'; FA: Bryan Moore, Dave Nowill Log Entries: 01/05/1965 & 26/06/1965
First ascent of 'The Spider' (Chee Dale): P. Fieldsend, Bryan Moore
Log Entry: 26/07/1965 First ascent of 'The Thorn'; FA: Bryan Moore, R. Fletcher Initial guide to Strawberry Rocks
Log Entries: 05/08/1965 - 21/08/1965
Hut Log: 28/08/1965 First ascent of 'Gripple', FA: Bryan Moore, John Loy
The Saga of Starkey the Fang I ain't going to climb with Chris Jackson no more....	View PDF
The Saga of Scoopio Walletti, that famous Italian hardman	View PDF
Log Entry: 26/08/1965 - 12/09/1965. Holiday in Wales
2 short ditties!
The Sexual Life of Jackson
Rear Endpiece