In reply to johncoxmysteriously:
> Sad to hear. Apart from his publishing achievements, did he not make the first onsight of Downhill Racer, or an I making that up?
I believe he did. The tale I heard was that he did the crux (he was highly technically proficient) and was wondering whether to reverse back down. Entirely understandable, if so. There's only one iffy move above but he wasn't to know that.
Apparently Steve Bancroft muttered, "If you back off now Bernard, you'll never forgive yourself." (While well meaning, Steve could do tough love. He got me up Pebble Wall, in similar vein.) Anyway Bernard carried on - a really gutsy thing to do, pushing farther into the unknown.
I remember him at Almscliff with John Syrett, in their prime. So charismatic, both of them. As others have said, such a sad loss.
Mick