In 1991 I heard a recording of a Tuvan nomad singing to calm a birthing camel. Ever since I have been "Trying to get to Tuva" to visit its throat-singing nomads and to climb its highest mountain Mongun-Tayga. This is the story of my as yet unfulfilled quest, although I did once get within sight of Tuva from remote peaks on the Mongolan/Russian/Chinese border. Expect camels, marmots, fermented horse milk and a total eclipse of the sun.

6.15 showing at the Rich Mix cinema in Bethnal Green (walkable from Liverpool St or Old St tubes), followed by drinks in the Cinema Snack Bar on the first floor. Buy your own ticket and meet us there!

https://richmix.org.uk/

Pete will explain what's involved in alpine ski touring and show a compendium of slides from various trips over the last few years.

Introduction to alpine ski touring: how, where and why
Equipment and safety
Techniques
Spectacular photos and short videos taken on hut-to-hut tours in the Alps and Pyrenees.

"Canyoning is a fun river sport that combines a variety of outdoor skills. Essentially it's descending a river system using a combination of down-climbing, abseiling, jumping, sliding, swimming and plain old walking." So says Craig. Come and join him to find out what it is and how it's done, and hear about a couple of his trips in New Zealand and Europe.

Join Giles, Rockhoppers’s reclusive membership secretary, for a brief canter through his 2018 alpine excursions. He’ll recount the alarming, chossy and slopey ascent of the Frundenhorn; the exhausting 2km vertical approach to, and terrifying gully of, the Tschingelhorn; a glacial odyssey through the Jungfrau-Aletsch area, the alarming ascent of the Jungfrau, an exhilarating descent of the Finsteraarhorn; jolly expensive trains; overcrowded bivvy huts; rond memories of Rostis and queasy memories of cheese soup; high altitude yoga, electrical storms and the Ogre of the Monch hut. Oh, and he’ll do a plug for more fell running in the Rockhoppers.

Jack Cornish, Project Manager for the Ramblers' "Don't Lose Your Way" program will speak about claiming historic rights of way and give us a brief history of the Ramblers and countryside access. Hear how potentially more than 10,000 miles of historic footpaths and rights of way still lie unrecorded: many exist in law, and many exist on the ground and are even in use. However on 1 January 2026 the process by which they can be recorded will end. Those that slip through the net will be lost forever and our access to the countryside permanently reduced.

Find out more about the project here: https://www.ramblers.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/dont-lose-your-way-2026.aspx

We're 65 years old! We will be celebrating, but definitely not retiring.

Our actual birthday falls on a Sunday when we will be in Grasmere, so we are already planning something up in the Lakes for that weekend.

The following Wednesday 26 June is a pub social so let's have a party - a chance to catch up with old friends and new and celebrate our illustrious past. There will be a rolling slide show "65 @ 65" - one image for every year of our history, and by request we will also show the short film we made for the 60th anniversary - apparently lots of you have never seen it.

Rockhoppers was founded on 23 June 1954 following a meeting at The Royal Oak Hotel in New Malden. Apparently the landlord let them have the upstairs room for 10 shillings as long as they didn’t make too much noise and bought plenty of drinks.

To celebrate, we'll have a social walk along the Thames to New Malden to have a pint or two in the Royal Oak Hotel itself and toast our founders. If the weather is nice we will have a picnic in Richmond Park.

A return for our ever popular evening of short talks by members and we have a conservation theme this time.

Sam Hughes: Roads, Runoff and Restoring Rivers: working on the Beverley Brook
We followed the Beverley Brook on our 65th birthday ramble. Beverley means the place where the beavers live.

Mat Mitchell: Cambrian Wildwood: Reintroducing the Beaver to Wales
A brief introduction to the Cambrian Wildwood project and their proposal to reintroduce the beaver to Wales. The project was a recipient of one of our donations in 2017.

Rob Carruthers: Climbing in Kalymnos
The Greek Island of Kalymnos lies just off the coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea. It was described by UKClimbing as "Possibly the best sport climbing destination ever".

Emiel Tijhuis: on a subject to be confirmed

From 7pm, show kicks off at about 7.30pm

In June Chris Adye sent an email to members stating that "I am planning a hut to hut walking trip with a slight difference. I will be visiting the relatively quiet Ticino canton of southern Switzerland. The difference is that the route involves scrambling. As far as I can gather the scrambling is not technically hard, but the drops are impressive. I'm visualising something like Crib Goch. Accommodation is in small mountain cabins, and the area will not be crowded.So if you are an experienced scrambler with a good head for heights get in touch and I will mail you some details."

This slide show gives details of his adventures (including being attacked by a mob of hungry goats) and explains why you were wise not to respond!!

We had a simple dream and we wondered what it would be like to travel the world by bicycle. Yet many times we have said to ourselves that it is too big and not for us. But then one day something changed. Rockhoppers club has played a very important part in this!
In 2017 April we departed from our home town by the Baltic sea. Our aim was to experience the world at first hand, learn about the earth we live in, meet people, make friends, at any cost avoid any kind of stress and do all that while cycling.
We have travelled halfway around the world and cycled 16000km. This trip has finished, but it is still adding to many lessons that we have learned. This journey was not easy, but we tell a happy story of two years traveling from Europe far into SE Asia

The AGM is where we review the club's activities over the past year, discuss the meets list for next year, and elect a new committee. It's your voice into how the Club is run, so all members are asked to please come along. It's usually also a lot of fun.

From 7.30. Some of us will be there from 6pm to make the most of the pub's "Happy Hour" before proceedings begin.

With a winter season of trips to Scotland, Snowdonia and the Lake District upon us, here's an opportunity to come and ask us what to expect: if you are new to winter walking, climbing and mountaineering, or just want to freshen up on your knowledge, then here's your chance. We will look at gear, weather, navigation and route planning, avalanche awareness: in fact everything you need to know for when the snow and ice comes (we can always hope!!!) and things get a bit gnarly. The evening will be particularly tailored around what to expect on a Rockhopper winter trip, so please do bring along your questions. Help us to cut through the morning faff, be prepared, and manage your expectations.

We're teaming up with Mike's Table for the Rockhoppers Christmas dinner. Tickets are £30 each for a 3-course meal, and your ticket pays for the same experience for someone in need of a night out. We'll be mingling with other guests so prepare to be sociable!

More info: https://www.mikes-table.org/

Book here: https://www.rockhoppers.org.uk/meets/6089