UKC

Anyone know much about Ian Clough?

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
 petestack 08 Nov 2008
To me he's always been one of the great, but relatively unsung, heroes of British climbing. Something of a bit player in other climbers' histories rather than the star of his own. But his achievements were significant, from the Alps and beyond to my own Lochaber patch, where he was responsible for everything from the notorious siege of Point Five Gully, through the still contentious aided ascent of Titan's Wall (they called him 'Dangle' for a reason!), to a pivotal role in the development of Polldubh Crags. And there's really not that much information about him readily available online beyond Wikipedia, some snippets related to his birthplace of Baildon and other pieces of similar brevity...

So has anyone got any good stuff to share? Or fancy writing his biography? (I'll buy it and read it if you write it. Or possibly even consider researching and writing it myself one day!)
 sutty 08 Nov 2008
In reply to petestack:

I did some routes with him, but Cath Sullivan's father, Terry did a lot more while they were with MRT. One person near you who knew him well was Hamish Mcinnes, he may be your best bet for tales.

Alan may be able to put you in touch with his father and Geoff Grandison if anyone has located him;
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=306
In reply to petestack:

He was one of my instructors on a Macinnes snow and ice course in 1969. Going out now, so no time to reminisce, but suffice it to say that he was an exceptionally nice guy and a very good instructor.
OP petestack 08 Nov 2008
In reply to sutty:

Thanks for that, sutty.

Terry Sullivan makes an impressively comfortable lead of Storm (aged 69) on the Polldubh video, and perhaps I really should follow up the MacInnes connection sometime because I'm sure there are great stories to be told.
 sutty 08 Nov 2008
In reply to petestack:

I didn't think Storm was too hard for an averagely fit bloke so he must have kept up his fitness well. Wish I could have done.
OP petestack 08 Nov 2008
In reply to sutty:
> I didn't think Storm was too hard for an averagely fit bloke

I seconded it in July 1990 and found the top pitch quite exciting after a horrible stance wedged behind the big tree and *facing out* (not the normal way, I'm sure!). But I've yet to lead it, although I have a 50th anniversary ascent in mind for the spring.

@Gordon, thanks for your response, and looking forward to some reminiscences if you've time to share.
 alan edmonds 08 Nov 2008
In reply to Gordon Stainforth:
> He was one of my instructors on a Macinnes snow and ice course in 1969. Going out now, so no time to reminisce, but suffice it to say that he was an exceptionally nice guy and a very good instructor.

I was on the 1970 course and experienced the same consideration and competence. David Lambert was also there and both he and Ian were shortly to go to the South Face of Annapurna.David was the medical resource on the expedition.It was was particularly poignant to hear of his death on Annapurna on the radio only a couple of months later.

 Al Evans 09 Nov 2008
In reply to petestack: He did of course do the first British ascent of the NF of E with Bonington. Met him a few times but never climbed with him, a thoroughly nice guy.
OP petestack 09 Nov 2008
In reply to Al Evans:
> (In reply to petestack) He did of course do the first British ascent of the NF of E with Bonington.

Yes, I know. And Whillans wasn't very pleased...

> Met him a few times but never climbed with him, a thoroughly nice guy.

So everyone seems to be saying. Which is nice to hear.

In reply to sutty:
> Alan may be able to put you in touch with his father and Geoff Grandison if anyone has located him;
> http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=306

Can't help you much I'm afraid. My dad's memory of Ian wasn't much more extensive than I have put in that article. I also found the web info you mentioned when researching that article and it is, indeed, very limited.

Cheers

Alan
 sutty 09 Nov 2008
In reply to Alan James - UKC:

Did you locate Geoff Grandison though, or does anyone know him to contact him.

In the days when you could drive up to the top car park at cloggy he had a full car of passengers, and someone stood on the running boards of his car for a lift;
http://www.pedigree-automobiles.co.uk/fs_54_light15.htm
OP petestack 09 Nov 2008
In reply to sutty:
> Alan may be able to put you in touch with his father and Geoff Grandison if anyone has located him;
> http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=306

Just read this carefully and it's certainly interesting. (Also, to depart momentarily from the subject of Ian Clough, that Cassin route looks like the sort of thing I might enjoy sometime, so thanks for coincidentally pointing me towards Malcolm Phelps's account!)

Starting to bookmark the Ian Clough stuff, and also discussed the subject last night with a friend who's a published mountaineering author. No idea what the market would be for Ian Clough in limited print run (= costly!) hardbacks, but the possibility of a downloadable E book or similar also cropped up. So we're going to very casually float the idea with one or two folk, although it's still the merest notion as a possible (medium to long term) project that interests me and I'm absolutely not looking for a contract to finish it next year!
 streapadair 09 Nov 2008
In reply to petestack:

Anecdotes and photo in Hamish's 'Call-out', till you get hold of the Man himself.

Ideal team member in rescue work . . . competence on the mountains which would be hard to equal . . .his loss to our team is something none of likes to speak about
Bingers 09 Nov 2008
In reply to petestack:

You may have this snippet already, but the library/village hall in Baildon is named Ian Clough Hall. I parked outside it when going to the Baildon fireworks last night.
 Mick Ward 09 Nov 2008
In reply to Bingers:

He came from Baildon, didn't he, and was an early pioneer of Baildon Bank. Brave man! Did the second (or first?) ascent of Whillans Arete, I think.

Never met him but his reputation seems to have been that of a very caring person. Think that this made him a team player in the Himalayan arena, rather than a summit-chasing prima donna. (Obviously you need both characteristics.)

Mick
 sutty 09 Nov 2008
In reply to Mick Ward:

Quiet spoken yet driven. As Strepadair said;
. competence on the mountains which would be hard to equal .

When the chips were down he would never flap just get another brew going on a bivvi or encourage the rest of the party.
Never up his own arse either, met him in Glencoe in the off season roadsweeping, haven given up a job pushing barrows of shoddy round the local mill in Baildon so he could take advantage of the weather in Glencoe. Gave him a lift back home after our holiday to meet his GF for a couple of days.
potted shrimp 11 Nov 2008
In reply to petestack: perhaps one or two comments..I met Ian twice. As a person and for a climber of his ability he was outstandingly modest. I gather that he was very much a force in the Glencoe instructional thing he did with Hamish and I know his death upset Hamish a great deal. Despite being a progressive, he put other people's interests before his own and in this I think he stood out in the circles he was involved with - the reason he was such a good instructor.
 victorclimber 11 Nov 2008
In reply to petestack: he did a fair few routes in the Alps with his wife,,Jackie ? I think
 alan edmonds 11 Nov 2008
In reply to victorclimber:
> (In reply to petestack) he did a fair few routes in the Alps with his wife,,Jackie ? I think

She was called Niki.
OP petestack 12 Nov 2008
In reply to alan edmonds:

He's apparently also got a daughter living in Lancashire:
http://archive.thisisbradford.co.uk/2000/1/15/157724.html

Not too sure what to do next (the biography is still just something I'd like to see and *might* be interested in taking on myself), but there's no way I'd want to tread on anyone's toes and would certainly have to ask the appropriate people for their permission and help if it became a serious project.
 Al Evans 12 Nov 2008
In reply to alan edmonds: Nikki was a fine climber (and a looker
 Al Evans 12 Nov 2008
In reply to Al Evans:
"Winters in the Scottish mountains, summers in the Alps, were the norm. Her first Himalayan expedition - to the Padar Himalaya with Audrey Whillans and Nikki Clough, while the husbands of the latter two were engaged in the epoch-making ascent of the south face of Annapurna - was in 1970. Geoff was left at home to look after the children. The trip ended with Brede having to break to Nikki the news of Ian Clough's death in the final days of his expedition. "
 alan edmonds 12 Nov 2008
In reply to Al Evans:
> (In reply to alan edmonds) Nikki was a fine climber (and a looker

I seem to remember an iconic photo of her when she and Ian did the N.Face of the Matterhorn.

 bbrowne 12 Nov 2008
In reply to petestack: He ran instructional climbing and mountaineering courses for the army in Scotland many years ago and even taught my father to climb along with several other members of Postal and Courier reg.

My old man has fond memories of the chap.
New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...