UKC

Sad news about Pete Minks posted on Supertopo:7

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1714804/Passing-Of-a-Great-Legend

In reply to NYork:
Another light goes out. Bummer.

In reply to NYork:

Very sad news indeed. That magnificent photo of him on The Skull...

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

This one Mick: http://www.supertopo.com/inc/photo_zoom.php?dpid=MjM8Pjs2ISgr

In reply to NYork: That photo of him on the Skull is a real classic. He looks so mean much like the climb!

In reply to NYork:
Very sad to hear about Pete, he was one of the great band of rock stars of the 70's, a brilliant rock climber and one of the best party animals ever.
I remember him turning up at my house in Liverpool dressed as Laurence of Arabia complete with huge sword hanging from his belt, "Fancy dress youth, grab a sheet you can come as my comrade" .
We were climbing on the Wenallt in Nant Gwynant, at the belay he was desperate for a fag but had no lighter, "Wait here youth" he promptly abed off got his fag lit and soloed back up to the belay,"right youth I'm ready when you are"
Such a great loss, as Pete Neame said Another light goes out

In reply to NYork: Looks like a real legend. Does anyone have any more info. about this man ? I'd love to read more about him.

In reply to AndyP:

I never met him. (Well, never knowingly met him, as the late 60s/70s now seems like a blur of wild parties and 'interesting' experiences.) Scouser, or near-scouser, I believe. A big mate of Al Rouse's. Belayer on the legendary Positron, led by Al(RIP). Member of 'the Vags', i.e. the Vagabond climbing club, with a hut somewhere near the Pass. (Once made it to the hut but passed out!) I think the Vags are more respectable now. Dr Fran, of this parish, seems to be their corporate face. But, back then, my Irish mates reckoned they were wild. Happy days.

I think the Minx did a load in the States. Judging from Supertopo, they seemed to like him.

One of those wild characters you'll always wish you'd met.

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

I "met" him a few of times, once or twice at parties at Harris's, another climbing on the Grochan with Cliff Phillips - the whole place seemed to light up when he appeared. (That was the phrase that occurred to me thinking back to the occasion; sad now how it's echoed by pneame.)

Condolences to those who were his mates and knew him well.

In reply to Solaris:

It was like that.... he had time for everyone. Mrs pneame (girlfriend then, wife now) got a chance to meet him in Liverpool around the end of 1980, as I recall, and immediately took a great liking to him. He was a regular in Ellis Brigham as the shop was a bit wild in the 70s and a standard rendezvous point for climbers.

He introduced me to that unique combination "the peanut butter and jelly sandwich" (crackers, actually, in this case) that he'd discovered in Yosemite. To our look of disgust, his response was to make 2 more and "Here. Eat this" You didn't say no to Pete. "Mmmm. That's good". His response, was just what you might expect from your grandmother - "Don't criticize something until you've tried it".

Magic.

In reply to pneame:

I first met him in Brighams in Bold Street in 1972. I went in to buy a rucksack which became a very surreal and extremely funny experience as Minksy quickly recognised fresh meat and took over as "salesman". His scouse humour and quick wit had me and the shop staff in stitches.

Sometime later there was the LUMC dinner in Llanberis' Victoria Hotel, where high jinks (and gross abuse of an upright piano) orchestrated by Minks, Rouse, Geddes (and Neame of this parish), enthusiastically aided and abetted by LUMC members, resulted in each and everyone present receiving a lifetime ban from said establishment ....

Indeed.

R.I.P.

Dave

In reply to NYork:

What a shame, I was talking to Al Burgess last year and he said he'd bumped into Pete at the ski resort he was working at. Don't think Al had seen him for a while. He was telling me how he was known for being 'a little punchy' in his youth !

In reply to NYork: .
I was 14 years old and had just lobbed off the 1st pitch of Thin Wall Special at Bosigran. Pete offered to retrieve my gear and continued up with my mate following. The top pitch moves out under a large roof and my mate struggled like f*ck,finally graunching onto the top in desperation-to find Pete (with large doobie in mouth) holding the rope with one hand and the other up his girlfriend's t-shirt.
Very sad to hear this.
Sherlock.

In reply to Dave Williams:

That was a tiring weekend - there had been a Cambridge UMC dinner the previous evening, where Minks used his charm and finesse to make sure we didn't get chucked out at the soup course - most of which seemed to be ending up on the walls. I distinctly remember him throwing a roll at Rouse in an effort to get him to behave.... the drive from Derbyshire to Llanberis was a bit challenging...

In reply to NYork:
A great loss.I found the Mountain front cover pic on Skull truly inspirational and aspirational to a teenager just breaking into harder extremes. Later I got to know him. More fun in the pub or at a party than on the crag and one of a diminishing band of true hard climbing hard partying wild men
Sadly missed
Phil Burke