UKC

Not sure if this has been reported already, but I have just been made aware of the death of Pete Crew. Pete was  a climbing legend, leaving an impact on climbing history in The Peak, North Wales and beyond. He gave up climbing for archaeology and both literally and figuratively never looked back.

He absolutely would not want a fuss about his death (I've spoken to his family before posting here).

Condolences to his family. 

In reply to Shani:

Arrow climber. Wall without end.

In reply to Shani:

Sad news. I can remember my Mum being so disapproving when he dropped out of Oxford (?) ('What must his mother be thinking?') Many years later she attended an archeology lecture at Plas Newydd, and came back enthusing about the 'brilliant, lovely man' who had given it. I never did point out that it was the same person she had been so disapproving of, years before.

And, if there are any more climbing photos more terrifying than those of Crew on Erosion Groove Direct, or Pellagra, I'll eat my hat.

In reply to Shani:

Very sad news.   

Collection of photos of Pete and some of his climbing history in this 2020 UKC article:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/the_vector_generation-12796 

In reply to Darkinbad:

This.  Condolences

In reply to Shani:

Sad news indeed; such an intriguing climbing figure.

jcm

In reply to Shani:

Sad news.  I would be interested to read of his archaeological works if there is a link? Thanks 

In reply to Shani:

I only discovered about his archaeology a few years ago, (I work in heritage) I’d referred to a paper about iron smelting authored by a Peter Crew and assumed the name was a coincidence. I mentioned this in a FB chat to Jim Perrin and he confirmed it was the same person. I did some googling and found a photo from an archaeology conference with him in it, looking exactly the same but older, blonde bowl cut, big glasses and looking like he was probably as ripped as Bruce Lee. 

If I get time I’ll try to find one of his papers and post a link but a google should throw up something.

Climbing wise he was well before my time and not of my locale but he was clearly very special and everything I heard about him was good. RIP.

In reply to kevin stephens:

Here’s a good place to start:

https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/personDetails.xhtml?per...

In reply to 65:

Thanks for that

In reply to 65:

probably much the same list of publications 

https://independent.academia.edu/PeterCrew 

In reply to Shani:

Oh thats sad news. Loved seeing the pics of him in the Black Cliff, The photo of him and Al Harris after completing the 1st Ascent of Zukator is one of my all time favourite non climbing climbing photos.
Glad he had a full life after climbing.  

In reply to Kipper-Phil Smith:

Very sad news. Of course, his Black Cliff, co-written with Wilson and Soper, was a total classic, and his guidebooks (with Collomb) to the Mont Blanc Range and Bregaglia were important.

In reply to kevin stephens:

Out of curiosity I had a search for the paper I'd referenced years ago, here it is, with a couple of pics of the man himself at the forge.

https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/6069/PlasTanyBwlchS...

In reply to Darkinbad:

One of the very select group of  childhood heros. Only saw him in the Padarn never plucked up courage to talk.

I think it was Ken Wilson who described his climbing style as  a war of attrition, certainly effective.

A mate who lived in Nant Peris was proud to have him as a milkman.

In reply to Shani:

I worked with Peter for over thirty years on various archaeological projects in Eryri and found him a fascinating, meticulous, driven and, at times, obstinate colleague. The Cwm Ciprwth Mine, Cefn Coch Goldmine Mill and the Ynysypandy Slate Mill restorations are testament to his work within the park. But his delight - obsession even, was his work in historical iron working where he truly was, a world leader. A good friend, I'll miss him.

In reply to Shani:

Very sad news. I worked with Pete and co-edited and published a huge academic paper with him. He was meticulous, methodical and very thorough. I wouldn't have been able to complete the paper without his knowledge. Pete was also my childhood climbing hero, a subject which he seldom referred to. He once told me he would "tell all" over a bottle of wine, but sadly, we never got around to it. RIP, my friend. https://www.academia.edu/42049360/John_Kelsall_Diaries_and_Journal_1699_174... 

In reply to Myfyr Tomos:

Hi Myfyr, now Pete is gone, I am worried about the upkeep of his beloved Dolgyn Furnace near Dolgellau. I don't know if you were involved with the dig and subsequent consolidation? Every year, Pete would go to the site to ensure its upkeep and clear the weeds so passersby could enjoy this piece of history. He also installed an interpretation board on the site. I would take up the task, but living in Stockport, it would be too much of a chore. Would you know of any local history societies that would be willing to take over the care of the site? P.

In reply to Shani:

Pete was the E-type Jaguar of 1960's rock climbing. I treasure the great lunchtime pub sessions with Crewie and Tim Lewis when we were all at Bangor University: pint, cheese'n'onion bap and game of "arrows" in the Glanrafon.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

You obviously mean this piccy Rob from "Rock-climbers in Action in Snowdonia" .....

In reply to Frank Cannings:

You make the Glan sound almost respectable.

In reply to Shani:

I would like to add my condolences to family and friends of Pete.

I never knew him but think he came climbing past me and my brother on Pant Ifan in the early 70's (must have been him with his mop of blonde hair and sunglasses).

Also the pictures of him in Rock Climbers in Action In Snowdonia inspired us (and to Sean Kelly and many of our generation) to go climbing repeating many in the book that are in the Pass, Tremadog and Cloggy - all memorable. In fact I loaned this book from my library time and time again and was fortunate to buy the actual library copy some years later. It is precious to me to this day. 

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Tom, that's not fair, it was surely very respectable; different times back in 1967/68 perhaps. I see Google Maps Street View shows the old Glanrafon pub boarded up, signed as Yr Hen Glan, but the carpark opposite is still called Glanrafon. But don't let this detract from good memories of, and respect for, the most significant British rock-climber of those days?

In reply to Frank Cannings:

I was half joking. It was  actually one of the more welcoming pubs .

In reply to Shani:

I'm Pete's son by his second marriage. There is an obit of sorts on my FB page. UK Climbing will put up their own obituary in due course. His cremation takes place today. If John Alcock or Jim Perrin are still around would like to hear from them, could they ping me a message via the UKC forums or via FB? On behalf of the Crew family, thank you for the messages of condolence.

In reply to Philip Gibson:

Interesting to note Phil all his routes detailed in the new Wired guide to North Wales. That's his true legacy. His Great Wall (p.104) on Cloggy, one of the few climbs in the book to be accredited 4 stars!

In reply to Shani:

Mick Ward alerted me to the sad news today and I've messaged Felix back. Pete was my climbing mentor as a boy and I spent a number of happy summer holidays living at his home in Deiniolen climbing with Pete and anyone else who'd take me out. I have only just got in from climbing (!) tonight and will post some memories as soon as I've had time to digest the news. Suffice it to say that Pete was a profound influence on my young life and I'll always be grateful to him. RIP. 

In reply to Shani: John thanks for your the message, it was a closed cremation at his request, we’re looking at a memorial at a date and time to be confirmed. In the meantime see my Facebook page best Patrick Crew 

In reply to Patrick Crew:

The obit on my fb page: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FGC2W817j/?mibextid=wwXIfr

There is a more formal climbing related one due. I am sure if John Cleare were still with us, he would have written it.

In reply to Patrick Crew:

"I like leading. It means I can fall further."

"I have to climb fast. I haven't the strength to hang around."

"Burn it off."

"He's got a neck as long as a giraffe" (Hugh Banner)

Some quotes from and about the legendary Pete Crew.

The news of Pete's death was emotional for me. He and his friends had a profound influence on my young life, while getting to know my Dad had a profound influence on him.

My Mum and Dad had been keen climbers in the 40s and 50s, but had given up climbing when my sister and I were born. When we started to show an interest in the late 60s/early 70s, my Dad booked a week's guiding with Pete to learn about modern equipment such as nylon ropes, hemp waist lines and chockstone runners, though of course we were still using waist belays, had no harnesses, no nuts and the accepted rule was that "the leader must not fall." They got on from the start: both driven, self-made, working class men who'd won scholarships to Oxford. 

My Dad (Professor Leslie Alcock) was one of the country's leading archaeologists and Pete became fascinated by the subject. His focus switched with remarkable speed from climbing to archaeology. With the same passionate, ruthless, single-mindedness that he'd brought to new-routing, he rebuilt his life around archaeology. My Dad helped guide him on his new path.

For me, however, their friendship had very different consequences. Pete kindly allowed me to spend large parts of my summers living in his home in Deiniolen grabbing every opportunity to climb that I could. I believe that I earned my keep by sometimes baby-sitting his children Patrick and Angharad. Unqualified of course, but perhaps I was more responsible than many adults on the North Wales climbing scene at that time.

It was quite an eye-opener for a church-going, scouting, goody two shoes from suburban Cardiff who hadn't yet reached his teens. Pete lived a relatively "normal" life, but the Byronesque Jim Perrin spent time there apparently hiding from the police and angry women.. He emerged to take me up Cloggy and play "let's go continental" with the wild Al Harris. If we saw a car we thought was being driven by Al approaching on the narrow twisting road to Llanberis, Jim would immediately switch to the wrong side of the track to see who would blink first. Somehow we survived. For the first time I was exposed to a rebellious, swearing, irreligious, womanising, drink and drug-taking disorganised gang of individuals- many of whom were brilliant, bold climbers. I never looked back.

Although his focus was now elsewhere, Pete sometimes took me climbing in the Pass and on Cloggy. Evenings were often spent wandering the then deserted slate quarries beneath his house or bouldering at Fach Wen. Other climbing legends like Joe Brown and Martin Boysen sometimes joined Pete, Jim, Al and others. For all his ability to battle his way up audacious routes, Pete was a useless technician compared to climbers like Boysen and Harris.

I have vivid memories of Pete's wedding to Liz- me somewhat awestruck surrounded by my climbing inspirations. My Dad and I spent the morning drinking Bloody Marys. By early afternoon we were pretty pissed so decided to go for a walk up Snowdon to "clear the air".  To Pete's bemusement we asked if he had a rope we could take as we always carried a rope on the hills in Scotland.  He gave us an old tatty climbing rope he used as a car tow rope. We staggered off up the Miners Track and before long found ourselves using the rope to rescue a walker who'd fallen two hundred feet down one of the Trinity Gullies. Amazingly he only had two cracked ankles, so we lowered him to Glaslyn to await the trained and sober MRT. We then wobbled back to Pete's wedding party to resume our drinking.

Of course I hero-worshiped Pete and his friends. Pete gave me a tatty white chest harness he'd used on North Faces in the Dolomites, the battered shoes he used to climb the Boldest, the oiled wool sweater he wore in some of the iconic John Cleare photos in Rock Climbers  in Action in Snowdonia. I wish I still had them. For all his extreme competitiveness, sharp tongue and fierce intellect, Pete was always kind, supportive and generous to me. They were attributes shared by my Dad, so I guess I knew how to cope. 

In 1974/75, when I was 14 Pete and I teamed up to help my Dad excavate Castle Rock Dumbarton. We used our climbing skills to work on the steep slopes outside the castle walls. Evenings were spent occasionally doing routes on the cliffs below, but more often traversing Glasgow's famous Finnieston Walls.

After that I saw less of Pete though my Dad kept in close touch. What remained with me though was the inspiration of Pete's boldness, ambition and drive. Being a tiny, insignificant part of that vibrant North Wales scene for a short while helped fire the enthusiasm to climb which remains with me today.

In reply to John Alcock: Thank you John on behalf the family that was smashing to read. 

In reply to John Alcock:

What a terrific account. 

In reply to Babika:

Definitely, I really wanted to press the up arrow button but of course they're removed for RIP threads.

In reply to Shani:

  Sad news. I was brought up on the Old man of Hoy TV special, "Rock Climbers in action" and "The Black Cliff" so Pete Crew was a climbing hero of mine.

  I met a guy who had interviewed him years after his retirement from climbing. Amongst many interesting things he'd learnt was that Pete Crew and mates had been out to Calpe (I think it was Calpe) , presumably some time in the late 1960s, and put up a number of new routes in trad style. Crew produced some notes from his attic recording what they had done. Sadly these firsts have probably been lost to posterity.

In reply to Shani:

Quite a lot here of Pete Crew on a 1967 BBC documentary, preparing for the Old Man of Hoy outside broadcast.

youtube.com/watch?v=n0v-MQJR_kQ&

See: 18:15-20; 21:09-40; and 21:45-25:30 (with his commentary).

In reply to Shani:

Yet another sad passing of an early inspiration of ours on starting in the 1960s. Pete was notorious to we Lakeland climbers for his raids from Wales to steal e.g. "Central Pillar" and the appropriately named "Hiraeth" from under the noses of the Lakes gurus.

When I moved for a few years down to near Tunbridge Wells in 1969 I'd sometimes go up to N Wales with members of The Sandstone Climbing Club and we'd stay at a bunkhouse in Nant Peris run by a nice woman called Rosie who I was led to believe was Pete Crew's (possibly ex) wife. Does that sound right? I also seem to recall that we understood that Wendy's Cafe was at that time owned by Pete. Does THAT sound right?

The only time I came across him on the hill was in 1973, after he'd given climbing up for his career in archaeology. We were following a pair up The Crucible in Cwm Silyn and we realised that the second, who was having a hard time of it, was Pete, who told us he'd not been climbing much of late.

In reply to Martin Bennett:

Wendy's was certainly owned by Pete and Al Harris late 60s early 70s. I remember the huge beans saucepan that just seemed to get topped up. I always asked for beans off the top.

In reply to Rick51:

In the early 70s the cafe was run by Harris and Peall.  Peall seemed to do all the work!  You could buy black and white posters of Cenotaph Corner advertising climbing courses run by Harria and Peall.

In reply to nigel n:

Was Peall Keith Peall also known as Murgatroyd?

Memories of staying in a room above the cafe while on a course with Terry Taylor around 1970.

In reply to Martin Bennett:

From what I've read of him I don't think Crew was a seconding kind of guy. 🙂