UKC

Inspired me from his writings and deeds since I was a teenager. Sad news.

In reply to David Alcock:
A major figure in our game
Sad news indeed

In reply to David Alcock:

Sad news.

In reply to Goucho:

That is sad news, indeed. Never met him, although I would have liked to, but I liked his writing a lot.

jcm

In reply to David Alcock:

Very sad.

In reply to Iain Peters:

Still, dying from a fall while leaving the pub at the age of 85? Chapeau.

jcm

In reply to David Alcock: RIP Harold. I shall dig out "The View from Plato's Cave" as soon as I am home. Lovely writer.

b

In reply to David Alcock:

Dying at 85 isn't really sad news. It just makes me thoughtful. Dying before your time would be sad.

I remember his name, but not much more.

In reply to David Alcock:

Very sad. I was fortunate enough to get to know him well at various mountain literature festivals at Bretton Hall in the 1980s and 90s; and also, once, in the 80s we had to judge a writing competition together for High Magazine (there were over 60 entries and it was a very difficult task to choose a winner.) He was an unusually deep and thoughtful climbing writer.

In reply to Phil1919:



This seems a bit mean-spirited. Maybe you should read some of his stuff?

In reply to Greenbanks:

I just disagree with the sentiment of sadness for someone I don't know, who has led a good life and been blessed with living until he is 85. I would feel more like celebrating his life rather than feeling sad, in a thoughtful and reflective way. But its by the by really. I'll leave people with their own thoughts.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Agree with both your postings, a sad loss. I don't think that I ever met him, though I did have a friendly exchange of letters with him in 1993 when I wrote to tell him that his 1972 Lliwedd guide had at last sold out!

I particularly remember his thought-provoking article in Mountain in which he suggested that first ascents in the high mountains shouldn't count if any member of the expedition had been killed.

Bob

In reply to Phil1919:

Yes, I'd be happy with that

In reply to David Alcock:
His book, 'The Ordinary Route' is a vastly underestimated classic of climbing literature. I was thinking about it, sitting under the picture he describes so evocatively in the ODG only this afternoon.

He was the subject of a particularly vitriolic attack by Jim Perrin in the early '70s, I wonder how much that coloured judgement of his writing in later years?

Anyway, one of the true 50s heroes. Communist- oops, anarchist apparently - , educationalist, and one of the 'Bradford Lads' who climbed new climbs in the yet to be invented e grades with a length of old hawser and a waist tie. Respect.

In reply to David Alcock:

His essays on the Rhinogs and the Mignient in the Big and Classic Walks informed my views on everything outdoors, and are still personal favourites.

In reply to David Alcock:

I met him a couple of times and had correspondence with him in the course of guidebook work. He was unfailingly helpful and generous with his acquired store of knowledge. Behind his writings it is clear there was a powerful intellect at work. One of life's gentlemen.

In reply to David Alcock:

Sad news indeed, although I would say that Mr Drasdo did lead a full and eventful life. I read The Ordinary Route many times in my early twenties and would say that 'On Falling Off' and 'On Unplanned Bivouacs' should be essential reading! Much more than a climbing book Drasdo's character and sharp intellect shines throughout each chapter.

James

In reply to james mann:

Sad news, a beautiful writer. Not sure if word reached him about the new routes been climbed in Poison Glen but if it did I'm sure he would of been delighted.

In reply to David Alcock:

Does anyone have a link to an obituary? I remember meeting him when I went to "The Towers" - he was chief instructor at the time.

In reply to Mark Kemball:

I think John Appleby's doing an obituary on the tohatchacrow blogspot, the offshoot of footless crow.

The link below is an attempted appreciation of Harold/The Ordinary Route.

http://footlesscrow.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/no-ordinary-man.html

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

Thanks for that Mick.

In reply to David Alcock:

A good writer and a good man. Another one gone.

Andy

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

Without wishing to hijack this thread, which bereft b*stard found something in my post to dislike? And what - I'd really like to know.

This anonymous 'dislike' button is just a waste of electrons.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:


It's well known that Jim Perrin lurks on UKC (when he's not on Twitter).

In reply to David Alcock:

John Appleby, a long-standing friend of Harold's, has written an obituary:

http://footlesscrow.blogspot.co.uk/

'...for within a sport which boasts a disproportionate number of cerebral participants, Harold was a true intellectual, refined scholar and a first rate mind.'

Absolutely.

Mick

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I'll second your opinion of 'The Ordinary Route'. Not an 'ordinary' book.

One by one, the generation that inspired me are leaving.

In reply to David Alcock:

Funeral is Monday. I can find out the details if necessary.

In reply to David Alcock:
His essay on Education and The outdoor Centres (1972) was on a reading list for my Outdoor Ed PGCE. He seemed to make a lot more sense than other stuff around. Having followed North Crag Eliminate" (E1 5b) on Castle Rock of Triermain and Deer Bield Buttress (Now collapsed) on the crag of the same name - he wrote it up for Hard Rock - I can testify that he definitely put his money where his mouth was.

In reply to David Alcock:

He was a fine man, and an excellent writer. His book 'Ordinary Route' should have won the Boardman-Tasker and other awards. His essay in the AJ – 'Margins of Safety' – was ground-breaking work, not just in the context of climbing, but in the general field of risk-taking.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

. . . . North Crag Eliminate" (E1 5b) on Castle Rock of Triermain and Deer Bield Buttress (Now collapsed) . . . .

Oddly enough North Crag Eliminate is about to collapse as well . . . .

In reply to roneca:

Absolutely - I'd even suggest that 'Margins of Safety' and Lito Tejada-Flores' 'Games Climbers Play' should be reprinted together in a slim booklet to be issued to every new member of the BMC or MCofS, as an introduction to the idiosyncratic ethics of the climbing game and the flexible concept of risk. And maybe as a corrective when we take it all too seriously ...

I find that 'The Ordinary Route' is always worth re-reading, but so too is 'Education and the Mountain Centres', which has much wider resonance than the title suggests. For me Harold Drasdo's writing is consistently thought-provoking as well as elegant.