Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The phone rang one evening near the end of June, a few weeks before departure.
It was Malcolm Howells. 'I've got some news you aren't going to like. I'm going to
have to back out. My wife has taken ill and it's impossible for me to go.'
Malcolm was the most experienced member on our small team. He had been my
major support and help with planning. Departure was imminent and Polish visas
had been issued, not a simple matter in those days.
I immediately phoned Doug Holden, who I had worked with at the Eskdale Out-
ward Bound during the endless hot summer of 1976. He declined since he had a
trip back to Antarctica planned for the following autumn and it didn't fit his sched-
ule.
Next day, Alex's blue Ford van arrived in the yard. We had planned a couple of
days climbing. I cooked a huge spaghetti dinner and the following day Alex was
climbing as well as I had seen him and talked about his ideas for the Alps.
'I've got a plan with Nick Colton and the boys. We'll finish our big three - the
Desmaison
and the
Whymper
on the Grandes Jorasses, and the Harlin Direct on
the Eiger. Oh, and a few other things on the list.'
In the summer of 1975, Alex with Nick Colton, Terry King and Gordon Smith,
had drawn up a list of routes in the Alps that they intended to climb completely
free, applying the clean ethics and passion of young climbers of that era, especially
from the UK and America. There would be no so-called 'French free', pulling on
in
situ
pegs. They planned completely unaided ascents. One worry for them was that
this clean ethic was no longer just an Anglo-Saxon obsession. Many French and
European climbers like René Ghilini and Jean-Marc Boivin were drawing up simil-
ar lists and applying the new ethics. There was a race to be the first to do these
routes.
When we stopped at a pub on the way back from Esk Buttress, I decided to try to
persuade Alex to change his plans. We still needed that extra member and the Alps
would always be there and there would always be new lists.
'Are you sure you want to go back to the Alps this summer?'
Alex sat at the table, pint in hand, giving me a quizzical look from beneath his
curly mop of hair.
'What else would I do?'
'Fancy the Hindu Kush instead?'
His face became a picture puzzle as a range of emotions and thoughts went
through his head. There was a slight pause and then he said: 'When do we leave?'
'Good on ya - it's about time a Leeds team headed east. We've got three weeks.
You'd better go home and get some gear sorted.'
