Author,
Dan Richards in the words of the publisher’s blurb, ‘is on the
trail of his great,great aunt, Dorothy Pilley, a prominent and
pioneering mountaineer of the early twentieth century’. For reasons
I’m not quite clear about, Dan recycles the
original book title used
by his subject. Is this an attempt at
creating familial and literary synchronicity....not sure?
However,‘Climbing
Days’ -version two- it
is, and most would argue that if an author
spends years of his time,effort and funds
researching and writing a fairly
substantial book, then they can title it as they please!
Dorothy
Pilley’s contribution to mountaineering obviously warrants a fresh
take on her life and times and if its a family member who undertakes
the role then at least they will probably be able to open doors which
might have remained shut to an outsider.
For
those perhaps unfamiliar with the subject-and outside of a dwindling
number of traditional climbing anoraks that must represent probably
the majority of climbers under 30 or even
40-then its fair to say, her contribition
to and impact on what was an overwhelmingly male dominated sport was
pretty unique for its time.
It would probably be easier to just borrow the Mountain Heritage
Trust’s potted biography at this point....
Pilley
was one of the scarce band of female all-round climbers operating
during the 20s and 30s, ranging throughout the Alps as well as the
crags of Britain. But even more prescient, she actually sought the
company of other women to climb with in preference to men, and was
one of the leading lights in instigating the formation of the World’s
first all-women climbing clubs, The Pinnacle Club. As well as these
robust feminist credentials (or ‘feminine’ as she quaintly
preferred to characterise her philosophy), Pilley is widely known for
her famous semi-autobiographical book, Climbing Days, in which she
recounts her splendid adventures in Wales and the Lakes, through to
Scotland to the Alps. It all sounded like one long glorious summer of
climbing fun, all washed down with lashings and lashings of ginger
beer.
Further
reading: Climbing Days, Dorothey Pilley. Secker & Warburg, (1935)
Pilley,
despite her close links to the all female Pinnacle Club and
frequently sharing a rope with fellow female climbers, created her
most memorable routes with her husband and lifetime partner Ivor (IA)
Richards. A respected and renowned English Educator, literary
critic,rhetorician and all round Clever Clogs! With Richards she
recorded what is probably her most significent and well regarded
first ascent, that of the north ridge of the Dent Blanche,in the Alps
with Joseph Georges and Antoine Georges. However,
UK activists will more more familiar with Idwal Slabs perennial
favourite 'The Ordinary Route'.
But
that enough about her place within the mountaineering firmament, what
about her Great Great Nephew’s account of her life and times and
his personal pilgrimage across Europe to retrace her clinkered steps?
Well, there is no doubt that Richards is a fine writer who has
meticulously investigated every element of Dorothy Pilley’s life
and laid it out on the page in fine detail. After saying that, I
would have to say from the start that at nearly 400 pages long it
would have certainly benefitted by some rigorous
editing to cut out the padding and
whittle it down to a more coherent and hence more readable 200+
pages.
As
something of a hybrid-part biography,part travelogue, part personal
musings-coming at the book from a climbers’ perspective, I found-
as others will I’m sure- the rather
wandering structure of the book, hard to follow at times.
The author’s early steps literally learning the ropes in Wales and
at Glenmore Lodge; commenting on the architecture in Barcelona;
describing a meal in an Alpine hut. You might think that it’s the
tiny details that add to the narrative and help build
the bigger picture but in this instance,for me at least,
it becomes a wee
bit ‘off piste’ for my liking and
somewhat undermines what the author is trying to achieve.Given the significance within climbing of the subject and wide palette to draw from,
a little less superfluous detail and a greater degree of concentrated
focus would have created a more rounded and definitive work I feel..
I
will freely admit though, that perhaps I
suffered from a form of inverted snobbery, for I found
it hard to warm to the subject herself. There is no getting away from
the fact that Pilley and Richards were products of their age and
class. Despite being portrayed as some sort of proto feminist,
daringly changing from long skirts into knickerbockers at the crag
and encouraging 'sisters to do it for
themselves', Pilley was very much someone
from that privileged class. Those
fortunate enough to be able to indulge
their passions without having to worry about trifling things like
having to work. I certainly didn’t pick it up from the book any
mention of her ever having held a job or pursued a career? Swanning
around Europe and climbing mountains with guides while staying at
comfortable hotels, does somewhat undermine any attempt to present her as some sort of enlightened mountaineering revolutionary.
Despite
my reservations, there is still enough material in Climbing Days to
enjoy and which will further enlighten our knowledge and
understanding of an interesting figure in 20th century British
climbing. Not a book which will draw in a
wide number of readers from outside the climbing/mountaineering
fraternity-unless they are drawn in by IA Richards role in Pilley's
story
-
but certainly a book which will
appeal to students of mountaineering
history .
John Appleby:2016
