‘No
Easy Way’ (The
Challenging Life of the climbing taxman)
Mick Fowler. 244 Pages, Perfect bound
paperback: Published by Vertebrate £14.95.
‘A
sight to make an old man young’ Tennyson
Recently
I was invited to attend at the Leeds Central Library, for there on
the third floor was a large double door safe, which had not been
opened for three or four decades and the keys lost in the mists of
time. Professional safe crackers had been brought in and finally the
doors opened. Inside was a huge amount of historical climbing
material, lantern slides of Slingsby and Frankland, some of the
latter leading Whisky Crack, Central Climb and the Green Crack at
Almscliff routes which he had originally pioneered; there were old
Journals, and a stack of black/white photographs mostly by the
Abraham brothers etc. One item that I found more than interesting was
a copy of the ‘Times’ supplement celebrating the first ascent of
Mount Everest in 1953.
This illustrated how different Himalayan
exploration was at that date compared to the ascents now being made
by such as Fowler and his contemporaries. These climbs rely on the
fact that there are hundreds of lesser altitude unclimbed Himalayan
objectives around the 6000/7000 metre mark, many of which provide
challenging, multi-day technical ascents; possible for two well
drilled unsupported climbers to attempt, and importantly without
recourse to using bottled oxygen to climb or as an aid for sleeping
and physical recovery.
‘No
Easy Way’ was a must read for me, as many of the Himalayan regions
featured in the book I have also been fortunate to visit, albeit not
to attempt the kind of technical climbs achieved by Fowler and a
partner. The book begins with an illuminating chapter on how since
joining the Inland Revenue in 1977 the author has managed to deal
with the competing priorities of his life. Somehow he has managed a
work life balance that most climbers will envy; marrying, raising a
family and moving up the Civil Service grades whilst continuing to
climb at a high standard, particularly in achieving greater-range
ascents, with such a trip planned almost every year.
In this first
Chapter he mentions the climb he and Paul Ramsden made in 2002 of an
impressive ice streak on Mount Siguniang in China’s Sichuan
Province. I think it was this climb which was to be the basis of his
approach to similar challenges from thereon; noting that the ideal
objective should boast a striking line leading directly to a summit,
be unclimbed, be visible from afar, be technically challenging, be
objectively safe, be on an eye-catching mountain, be in a remote
interesting area, somewhere he had not previously been to, and have
an aesthetically pleasing-and different descent route. Phew! I have
been to Mount Siguniang and the ice couloir that he and Ramsden
climbed meets all of those criteria, and over the years the author
has gathered a huge file of many such potential objectives throughout
the Himalaya.
'The Stone Bell Tower' : Southern Altai Mountains of Xinjang; DG
Also noteworthy is how in his later life when he moved
to work in the tax office at Nottingham, he settled with his family
to live in the Peak District, and where to keep his body trim and
increase his stamina and general fitness for climbing he took up fell
running. However he was already trim before this, being just above
medium height, rangy and bony.
Somehow
by an ability to manoeuvre his work commitments, right up until his
recent retirement in 2017 he managed to save up a sufficient holiday
entitlement each year to around 30 days. Enough time for the author
and a companion to attempt a major Himalayan ascent. And what is most
impressive for me is the same tight circle of climbing friends he has
been able to draw on to take part in his different climbing
activities; chalk climbing on the White Cliffs of Dover, shale
climbing in the South West, rock climbing in Orkney, ice climbing on
Ben Nevis, ascents in the Andes of Peru, and of course the Himalaya.
This was borne on me the first time I attended in the 1970’s at the
Pindar of Wakefield pub in Kings Cross where the North London
Mountaineering Club used to meet and this was where Fowler and or his
friends usually met up (later at the Sobell wall, and later still The
Palm Tree in Mile End).
Present were Ben Wintringham and his wife
Marian, Slippery Vic Saunders, Chris Watts, Mike Morrison, Steve
Sustad etc all of whom apart from Ben (who died in an abseiling
accident in Morocco) appear in ‘No Easy Way’. I grew to marvel at
their planning to take off on a Friday night after work to drive to
destinations like Ben Nevis, Kintail or Cornwall, climbing through
Saturday and Sunday to arrive back at work on Monday morning. The
author claims they never missed that deadline which if true would be
an impressive tribute to their driving skills.
There
are in the early chapters of the book two impressive climbs on
mountains in Eastern Tibet, Kajaqiao 6447mtrs and Manamcho 6264mtrs,
the reader may be wondering how Fowler knew about such objectives?
The internet has changed such research, and a key figure in
identifying suitable objectives is the Japanese Tom Nakamura. A
retired business man he spends a large slab of time each year
trekking with companions like him of an advanced age, through
different unexplored (for climbing) Himalayan regions, and
subsequently publishing photographs and maps of the surrounding
peaks he has noted on his travels. It is from such that many
impressive objectives have been garnered by those keen on Himalayan
ascents in Alpine style. However gaining permits to climb in these
areas is fraught with bureaucracy and needs patience, contacts and
good luck to achieve a successful outcome.
There
are some light hearted chapters away from the multi-day high mountain
ascents; a sea cliff extravaganza with Steve Sustad to South Orkney,
a short lecture tour and climbing jaunt in Ireland , and two chapters
about participating in the Paps of Jura fell race. The first
detailing his failure to successfully complete the race being timed
out, the second a year later when after some more applied training he
was successful in completing this gruelling 28kms race, and the
thousands of feet of ascent and descent within the time schedule. I
have not so far noted Fowler’s ability at writing with a wry
humour, and it shines through in these diversionary chapters away
from the high mountains, including secretly climbing the walls of
Nottingham castle with Paul Ramsden who like Fowler worked in that
city.
On the second occasion they were apprehended after completing
their climb early one morning by a security guard, who sent for the
police. This ended amicably when the police decided they really could
not charge the two miscreants for they had caused no damage but
suggested that in future they obtained a permit to climb from
Nottingham Council!
Another
engrossing chapter away from the remote-ranges is the one about the
bizarre events that led the author to become President of the Alpine
Club. When first approached to stand for election he was undecided
about accepting aware that it would mean a lot of extra work, but
eventually he agreed. A few weeks later he was stunned to learn that
an older, more senior member, Col Henry Day had decided to stand
against him and it was suggested because of decorum he should stand
down, for it would be the first contested election in the 150 years
history of the Club. But bolstered by his proposer Paul ‘Tut’
Braithwaite and his second Joe Brown he decided to take this on. I
attended the AGM meeting having been lobbied to be there or else dire
consequence might befall, for only those attending could vote and our
man Fowler was appointed. This meeting was typical of the theatre
which occurs about once a decade at the Alpine Club. Passionate
speeches, one by a senior judge, another by a lawyer, and yet another
by a young tiger made for a truly memorable event, leaving the author
with the task of mending fences and getting on with the reforms he
had promised in a Hustings speech.
Back
to the greater ranges and in 2010 a trip to the Chinese Tien Shan
mountains in Xinjiang, which the author confesses he knew little
about before his visit which had been difficult to organise due to
the riots of 2009 in Urumqi, when the internet and international
phone connections had been closed down in that City the capital of
the Province. I was there during the riots when 200 people were
killed and a 1000 injured, mainly Han Chinese. I am afraid for once
Fowler has some detail about the history of the Province wrong,
particularly viz a viz the Uighurs and the Han the two biggest ethnic
groups (there are 12 others). The Uighurs do not make up only
thirteen per cent of the population as he states, they are the
largest grouping and make up almost 50%.
It is outside the scope of
this review to explain more, except to inform that I have travelled
throughout Xinjiang, been there 10 times and undertaken two research
projects in this the biggest Province in China. It is the most
impressive place I have ever been to with five mountain ranges and
the two big deserts of the Taklamakan and the Gobi. My ‘discovery’
of Keketuohai situated in the southern Altai on the border with
Mongolia in the autumn of 2009, has led on to visits there by Tommy
Caldwell of Dawn Wall fame, Jeremy Collins and Mark Jenkins reporting
for National Geographic who declared the valley ‘awesome’. Mike
Dobie an ex-pat climber has also become a visitor and the valley is
now referred to as the Yosemite of China with its impressive granite
walls, domes and towers?
The
objective for Fowler and Co in the far west Xuelian mountains of the
Tien Shan was a mountain called Sulamar 5380 metres and partnered
once again by Paul Ramsden, the author had an almost near death
experience whilst crossing a snow covered glacier and falling into a
deep crevasse. Despite being roped up the fight to get out of this
predicament nearly cost him his life. Post this trip Fowler and his
friends found it ever more difficult to obtain climbing permits to
Tibet or the Tien Shan and their expeditions were from thereon in
West Nepal and the Indian Himalaya. At the first of these
destinations they headed for a mountain Mugu Chuli 6310 on the Nepal/
Tibet border, and once again just as in Nick Bullock’s book ‘Tides’
appearing in yet another cameo role is one ‘Streaky’, Graham
Desroy.
I suspect if I was persuaded to watch ‘Love Island’
(unlikely) there on the beach would be a character wearing a bandana
on his head and sporting a flower shirt and white painter’s
trousers. He does rove far and wide and last night I received a mail
from him on a climbing visit to Madagascar. Post this ascent there
are impressive further climbs detailed in the Indian Himalaya, on
Hagshu 6515 mtrs, the Prow of Shiva 6142 mtrs and in the north-west
of Nepal to Gave Ding in 2015.
For
me the most amusing, finest writing in the book is the final ‘big’
climb, Sersank 6050mtrs in the Indian Himalaya when Fowler teamed up
again with ‘Slippery’ Vic Saunders, their first climb together
since the Golden Pillar of Spantik, Pakistan in 1987; a climber of
equal merit and achievement as the author. Their getting back
together starts with their reliving a boxing match between them to
settle a dispute in a seedy east London pub, but at which they were
jeered at during their fight for a lack of aggression by the
audience, which led to them being replaced by a stripper!
In
2016 Fowler was coming up for retirement aged 60 and Saunders was 66
years old. They were like a couple of escapees from Dad’s Army, and
they certainly could have moonlighted as the ‘odd couple’. But
they completed a difficult climb of the 1100metre north buttress of
the mountain in eight days in a round trip from Base Camp. To report
that the pictures of the route are gnarly is a half truth and the
author’s advice that you are ‘Never too old’ seems to hold
good.
'The Royal Arches'.. Xinijang; DG
The
book is replete with colour pictures and is well designed and
produced, meeting the standards we have come to expect from
Vertebrate. But it concludes with an Epilogue on a truly sombre note
as the author is diagnosed with anal cancer, and needs to undertake
both chemo and radiotherapy to combat this, torpedoing his plans for
a trip to Sikkim, again with Slippery Vic. Post treatment after two
clear scans, a further monitoring visit reveals the cancer is back,
and an operation may now be necessary. However he remains as ever
positive, and his dream of visiting Sikkim is still being planned as
he decides, ‘anything is possible’
This
historically important work is a book to savour, and one to recommend
any tyro reading as they start out wishing to also emulate such an
adventurous life style. I applaud Fowler’s attitude to bolts, he
eschews them in the high mountains and explains why, and although he
has been awarded three Piolet D’Or, the so called Oscars of the
mountaineering world he appreciates the limitation of such awards,
and likewise as when he was awarded the soubriquet of ‘The
Mountaineer’s Mountaineer’ in a poll conducted by the Observer.
Mick Fowler: Image BMC
Times change and he was lucky to be active when world travel made
such ascents possible in a short holiday time span. Whatever, as long
as the sport of mountaineering continues to be keenly followed
worldwide Mick Fowler will be a name to give tribute to, the more so
for the adventurous way and the spirit in which his climbs were
achieved.
Dennis Gray : 2018
