Any Climbers Out There?

In 70's I led expeditions to NE Greenland, some limited climbing, and climbed in the Alps (Ortler region). Would love to have sailed (in someone else's boat) up to the NE Greenland. Sounds selfish but would not want to risk mine through the pack ice! Illness now would, in the short term, preclude both climbing and remote sailing - UK sailing is just fine.

I was fortunate to spend an evening with Tilman a couple of years before he was lost at sea. An incredible man, although I am not sure I would have wanted to sail with him!
 
Thanks Pete (and Rob fae Stornaway!) .

Sron Ulladale is some thing of a legend to climbers. Lots of people have looked longingly ... but most have walked away! These two, (Tim and Dave) are amongst the best in the country so it should be interesting...

Jon
 
AliM said:
"Plenty of untrodden sea cliffs in Shetland though... "

It depends what you mean by "untrodden". One of the main sources of protein in the more remote Shetland islands was young birds or eggs from the many nesting species on the sea cliffs. The islanders were extraordinarily good free (or nearly free) climbers. I doubt you'll find much that hasn't been climbed! The sea cliffs are spectacular, though, and so are the birds.

No, I'm not a climber.
Click to expand...

Absolutely - just watch The Edge of The World, 1937 film about St Kilda (made on Foula, Shetland!)

However there are plenty of places such climbers wouldn't have bothered with and plenty of harder stuff in Shetland that has no known ascents.

Just don't tell anyone! ;)
 
pwc51 said:
In 70's I led expeditions to NE Greenland, some limited climbing, and climbed in the Alps (Ortler region). Would love to have sailed (in someone else's boat) up to the NE Greenland. Sounds selfish but would not want to risk mine through the pack ice! Illness now would, in the short term, preclude both climbing and remote sailing - UK sailing is just fine.

I was fortunate to spend an evening with Tilman a couple of years before he was lost at sea. An incredible man, although I am not sure I would have wanted to sail with him!
Click to expand...

I climbed mid 60's to 1981 mountains in Alps, Patagonia, Alaska and NE Greenland (Ingolfsjeld which strangely seems to have disappeared from maps and records-perhaps renamed or reverted to an older Inuit (sp) name) as well as rock climbing throughout the UK. Lived in Sheffield during that time and brilliant to be on Stanage within 15 mins of leaving work.
Knew Ron Fawcett when he was a young lad and a protege of a friend (Al Evans) and it was immediately apparent that he was going to be very,very good and a nice guy too.
On our trip north from Angmagsalik by a small local boat (about 40ft wooden fishing boat) there was a lot of bashing in pack ice and stops whilst the crew shot and chased after seals. At that time I had never sailed in a small boat and I would now be very worried at the crashing of ice on the wooden hull. After our stay there the pack ice was so bad six weeks later that the boat could not collect us and fortunately they asked the crew of a US Navy ship to conduct an exercise to our position and collect us, which after setting up fuel dumps as we were beyond helicopter range they did with some difficulty.
I had a tentative conversation with Tilman once about joining one of his trips (greenland I think) as he wanted some climbers but I did not go ahead with that as I suffered very badly with seasickness even on cross channel ferries to France. A lad I knew (Dave Morgan) went and told me he was so terrified of Tilman that he jumped ship at the first opportunity. He was clearly too hard a man for most people to cope with and did not see extreme deprivation of food, temperature, wet clothing, big seas and leaky old boats as anything to be concerned about.
Lots of parallels between climbing and boating and I am always surprised that I come across very few ex-climbers and I have never met anyone I used to know from climbing widely over a 15 year period, albeit a long time ago.
I am 70 next year and I might just see what it feels like to be on rock again. Seems like a good age to start again!
 
For the nostalgic - there is to be a Stoney Middleton Reunion over the weekend 11/12 September centered at Stoney with camping sanctioned by the landowner but with barbeques, pub and and other events. I would love to have gone to this one off event and met up with some old faces but I am already committed to a family holiday. More info from the uk Climbing site.
 
catalac08 said:
For the nostalgic - there is to be a Stoney Middleton Reunion over the weekend 11/12 September centered at Stoney with camping sanctioned by the landowner but with barbeques, pub and and other events. I would love to have gone to this one off event and met up with some old faces but I am already committed to a family holiday. More info from the uk Climbing site.
Click to expand...


Although you'd have enjoyed meeting old friends, Stoney has been so over climbed since the 1980's it's hardly worth going these days. Mind you, seeing your reflection in the highly polished rock is an unusual experience. Gritstone always was better anyway!
 
Cold mountains Big seas

It seems like it is quite a regular thing for climbers or x-climbers to move into sailing. I know quite a few that have done it - myself included.
Rock climbing , ice climbing and alpinism were my games: Scotland, Wales, England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Sardinia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sardinia, Jordan, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Peru, Ecuador were my playgrounds and also in a manner of speaking my office, as I used to guide and teach.

Just need a suitable boat now to venture farther afield....!
 
Many have posted on age and days of climbing past. I have seen plenty of proof that the two are not entirely contradictory as if almost to prove that life can indeed be sweet to those who maintain the spirit. At the very least, I would think it a worthwhile goal to want to get out on a route again.

There are a lot of parallels between sailing and climbing, but little compares to the still moments during a climb when there is nothing else in the world that matters more than your next move as you piece it together through to the end.
 
One of my mates is 60 and still leading E3, reckons if he could find the time to do some training he'd be cranking E4.. which coincidentally is as hard as he's ever done..
 
Apparently good old Chris Bonnington is still going well at E2. Surprising what experience and low cunning can get you up. But there's stacks of classic routes to go at under HVS. I'm a mere boy at 28 but I hope to keep going for a while yet!

PS just to buck the trend: I was a sailor (aged 10) before I was a climber (aged 13)
 
Little Rascal said:
For the Tilmanites:
Just wondered if there are any other climbers or mountaineers out there?

If so what do you climb and where?
Rock? Scottish Winter? Alps?
Click to expand...

Never done anything remotely serious, but grew up hearing tales of bothies and the Creag Dubh - I like the zen observation that "gravity is your enemy, the hill is your friend that helps you defeat gravity" - same applies to sailing and the wind.

A while back we noted the passing of
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1556193/Professor-Malcolm-Slesser.html
and the MCA report where his wife moved the boat to call in a Mayday...
 
ign said:
snip...... the two are not entirely contradictory as if almost to prove that life can indeed be sweet to those who maintain the spirit.

...snip...but little compares to the still moments during a climb when there is nothing else in the world that matters more than your next move as you piece it together through to the end.
Click to expand...

Oh, how true. Those exquisite moments where all the world and you are focussed just right there... Peak experiences indeed.
 
Tilman/Climbing User Group

There's now a user group for people who enjoy Bill Tilmans books, those who climb (or used to) and for anyone interested in high lattitude sailing.

www.ybw.com/forums/group.php?groupid=50

Please pop along!
It would be great too if people want to post climbing or high lat pics there also...

(I've had reports that some were having technical problems joining but hopefully its ok now!)

Jon
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

R
My boat trip hopefully in May Around Scotland
2 3 4
Replies
65
Views
2K
RobBradley
R
W
Beta injector fuel leak
Replies
9
Views
310
PetiteFleur
P

Share this page

Top