UKC

I have just heard that the great 1940s pioneer Peter Harding passed away today after a longish illness. I am sure that many RT'ers will want to pass on their condolences to his wife and children.

NEWS:http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/older.html?month=10&year=2007#40880

ARTICLE:http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=596

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: condolences to his family.

will johnwright know of this? If not might be worth an email.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: That is very sad. He was and is one of the greats.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: I don't think I ever met him although I've climbed some of his routes. Another link with the past now gone

RIP

In reply to Doug: Sad indeed. He once gave me some of his tricounis and a knotted rope. I lost the tricounis but I'll treasure the knotted rope x

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

That's a great shame, a great contributer to the game. Condolences to the family.

It makes the point that living history doesn't live forever.

Best,

Steve

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Most Sincere Condolences and Best Wishes to family, friends, and all who knew him.

In reply to Glyn Jones:

Here is a picture of him at the Roaches in 1995:

http://www.gordonstainforth.co.uk/images/pharding1995.jpg

and here is is at the crux of his classic Valkyrie, 49 years after making the first ascent:

http://www.gordonstainforth.co.uk/images/pharding_valkyrie.jpg

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: absolutely cracking Gordon - nicely ironed shirt for a day of climbing.

A real climber forging climbs in a time of real climbing coming back to enjoy his legacy.

Thank you.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Sad news.

Only met Peter once, at the launch of the 1996 Chatsworth guidebook.

He has left quite a legacy - Suicide Wall, Phoenix, Promontory Traverse Demon Rib to name a few.

RIP


Chris

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: I certainly would like to offer my condolences, we have had our differences in the past but we have always talked about them good naturedly whenever we met up at club dinners, whatever a great gritstone and welsh pioneer.
Sad news indeed, I'm sure the club will make a suitable gesture, though he is already a honorary member, so I'm not sure what we can do.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: Sorry to hear about this, but bumped into Steve Dean last week and he told me that Peter Harding was not very well. I was at the Roaches yesterday, I'm not fit enough for Valkerie at the moment, but a couple of young lads were enjoying it. One of many fitting memorials to Peter Harding.

In reply to John Gresty:

Yes, John, what a memorial that route is (plus loads of others, like Phoenix, Promontory Traverse and Spectre). I've just told Steve about it.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Sad news. Some old b&w photos of Harding really inspired me way back when. Major contribution to our game.

Condolences to all in the family.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: Really sad news. I met him once at Cratcliffe, and chatted to him for ages about climbing in general. A really nice chap. I had managed Demon Rib at Black Rocks the week before, and he seemed genuinely pleased to hear about it. A gentleman.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Very sad news. I never met him but he came over very well in his writings. Nice photos - thanks.

jcm

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Never met him although he was a bit of a legend alright.

I expect the CC will give him a big spread in the Journal obits section. I wonder who will write it ?

In reply to Jonno:

Jim or Ken, most likely.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Sad news, too much of it this year it seems.

His routes seemed as hard and as important as any of the R+I ones, a legacy to be proud of overall. His bumper fun book for Llanberis was one I liked.

RIP

In reply to sutty:

That brings back a tale to mind - PH going back and soloing Spectre to check that his description was OK after someone (John Lawton?!) was hurt on it.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

He told me about that, and I think it was about 100% true.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

I was glad of the peg runner when we did it as there was sod all else really then as protection. Deciding whether to go left or right also caused problems, eventually we did the RH finish to the main pitch.

It was a good find for its time.

In reply to sutty:

I've only done it from halfway up when we did Spectrum. To be honest the so-called crux crack seemed much easier than some other top routes of the time - Phantom Rib, for example (also PJH's, I think).

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Phantom Rib was one of his very best, and very serious indeed for VS even in the late 60s, as I remember it.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Correction: I've just looked up Phantom Rib, and it was done by Geoff Pigott (son of). Great achievement.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

So it was, of course. I remember thinking Pigott had had a long career and this was a bit of an Indian summer for him. Never realised there was a son!

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Geoff Pigott was Arthur Birtwistle's main climbing partner for many years (late 40s-early50s). I was privileged to meet both of them.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: I never met Peter but my thoughts go out to his family and friends, it may be scant consolation, but many have enjoyed treading in his footsteps.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: thanks for those photos, I was thinking mostly of his Welsh routes, had all but forgotten his huge contribution to gritstone climbing

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Remember seeing him in a TV programme a few years ago when he climbed Goliath's Groove (with Chris Bonington I think?) about 50 years after his first ascent. I was amazed and inspired that a man of his age could still do something like that in such good style. That's talent for you.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

This is very sad news. Another legend gone.

In reply to sutty: You may not have noticed it but there is a brilliant thread on Phantom Rib, it is hard to see and even harder to thread, but its bomber.
When we did not have much gear Rod Haslam used to carry a long industrial wire sling around with him, which we used to make fun of, until this thread on Phantom Rib which it was almost as if it had been designed for.
It's tight and you cant get your fingers through it, and its big, goes from one side of the rib to the other, easy to miss, I'm not sure if you could thread it with an ordinary flexible sling, not even with a coat hanger.

In reply to Jimmy D:

He seconded me up both Birch Tree Wall Direct at Black Rocks, and Tower Face at Laddow about 10 years ago:

http://www.gordonstainforth.co.uk/images/GSandPH_Laddow.jpg

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

How sad - I didn't know he had been ill.

That portrait taken at the Roaches is a lovely shot, Gordon.

Neil

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:very sad... what a great contribution to the sport... and what a fine legacy for those to come.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Valkyrie. Quite simply one of the best and most famous routes on grit, if not the country, and a wonderful legacy to leave. I always smile when I hear the story of Peter meeting 2 climbers who had just done Valkyrie. When he told them that he had done the first ascent one of them said "you must be Joe Brown, but I thought you had arms like and ape and teeth like tombstones," and Peter said that instead of correcting them he did his best to look ape-like and show a toothy grin.

I finally led Valkyrie last year after years of it being on my tick list and it is magnificent. Today is a sad day for climbing, but we can than Peter for Valkyrie and many of his other wonderful routes.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:
Thanks very much for posting these pictures, just great.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: I have just seen your post about Peter Harding, May I offer my condolences to his wife and family, he was a great man, he was very kind, he was great to work for during my time at Mintex.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: lovely pictures. Still to do Valkyrie and Prom Traverse was lots of fun- a great legacy.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

There is also an obituary by Colin Wells in the Independent, to Colin's usual high standard

Peter Harding
Pioneer of extreme climbing who perfected the modern 'hand-jam' technique

Published: 30 October 2007
Peter Reginald James Harding, rock climber and engineer: born Blackpool, Lancashire 30 December 1924; married (one son, three daughters); died Dewsbury, Yorkshire 24 October 2007.

In the half-decade following the end of the Second World War, two contrasting men vied for the unofficial title of "Best British Rock Climber". In the Lake District, the undisputed star was Arthur Dolphin, who was tall and thin, almost to the point of emaciation, while among Welsh crags and northern English gritstone, it was the Derby engineer Peter Harding, who was thickset and solidly built, with very long arms.

Both men were intent on pioneering a new brand of "extreme climbing". But it was Harding who, as editor of the Llanberis climbers' guidebook of 1950, would define the new climbing, using the term "extremely severe" for the first time to describe the grade of these desperate new routes.

Like so many influential British rock climbers, Harding honed his skills on the gritstone of the Peak District, not far from his home in Derby. There, according to climbing myth, he "invented" the modern "hand-jam" – the art of using a clenched fist, or a bunch of fingers, in a crack, and flexing muscles to jam the hand against the sides and form a secure hold. In fact, Harding had more likely rediscovered a technique used by late 19th-century gritstone climbing pioneers. However, like most ideas of genius, the hand-jam, which seems so intuitively obvious to climbers today, was a concept of such simple sophistication that it took the type of analytical mind that Harding possessed to perfect it.

This was demonstrated by the time it took for many of his peers to catch on. Even after being shown the technique, many persisted with exhausting layback manoeuvres or, even worse, followed textbook suggestions of the day which advocated climbing vertical cracks by forcing fingers and palms onto opposing walls of the fissure as though trying to part heavy sliding doors. In the end, Harding resorted to stunts to prove the efficacy of his technique, holding a lit cigarette between his fingers while he jammed smoothly up fearsomely steep gritstone cracks.

Thus armed with his "secret weapon", plus the newly available ex-War Department karabiners and slings made from new-fangled nylon, Harding started testing the limits of their tolerance. He announced his arrival with his ascent of "Promontory Traverse" at Black Rocks near Cromford in 1945; at the time of his ascent it was one of the hardest routes led on gritstone.

Emboldened by his success at Black Rocks, Harding, with his fellow Derby climbing partner Tony Moulam, went on a route-bagging spree in North Wales, repeating most of the test-pieces of the era in nailed boots or, when it was raining, in socks. The young men were running considerable risks. Protection equipment was rudimentary to the point of insignificance. A fall could easily mean death and in 1946 Harding had a hair's-breadth escape while attempting to make the first repeat of what was then arguably the hardest climb in Britain, "Suicide Wall" in the Ogwen Valley."Some fair way up I made a silly mistake", he recalled.

continued at: http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article3109914.ece

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

Oh dear!!!!!

"Nineteen forty-nine proved to be the apogee of Harding's spectacular climbing career. In just two weeks in April he climbed 38 routes, eight of which were first ascents, including the celebrated "Brant Direct" on Clogwyn y Grochan which involves an unremittingly steep and sustained pitch of bridging and jamming. The latter showed just how good Harding was, and also put the kibosh on accusations that he was too fond of aid. The route had already been attempted by members of the Climbers' Club who had been trying to "peg" their way up it for three days. As Harding approached they taunted him, saying that when it was complete it would make all his routes look like a "Sunday school picnic". In response he simply free-climbed it there and then. (When his audience had recovered from their astonishment, they signalled their appreciation of his effort by urinating on him as he abseiled back down.)"

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com: thanks for the link, wasn't there when I looked at the indy earlier this morning so I'd probably have missed it

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

The funeral is tomorrow (31st) at Dewsbury Crematorium, West Yorkshire, at 2.30 (all who knew Dad would be very welcome though I realise this is very short notice)."

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: I am very upset at missing Peter's funeral, we have been having internet glitches for the last few days. It would have been nice to see him off and to meet up with old friends from Mintex. Peter was a great quy, he had time for everybody.
Rest in piece Peter.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Once while bouldering and soloing around at Woodhouse Scar I spotted and watched with admiration as an elderley gentleman used a shunt like device to protect himself while he climbed several farely stiff routes alone. He offered me a helping hand as I puzzzled over the top moves of one route (obviously looking sketchy without a rope and a long way off the deck). A little later I asked if I could tie a waist rope and follow him up a route I'd just watched him stylishly climb, with his intriguing device, and he was generous enough to allow me to do that. At the top we sat in the pleasant warmth of the West Yorkshire sun and chatted easily as he coiled his rope. He showed me the device, that he had crafted himself he told me. As we sat and relaxed, both happy that we had climbed enough for that day, the stories and anecdotes started to spill out and I realised that I was in the company of a significant figure in our world of rock climbing. I had to ask him who he was, if he didn't mind. "Peter Harding." he told me and started to explain his involvement in the pioneering of those great routes of the 1940's to which Gordon alludes. He didn't need to tell me as I was already aware of the greatness of the man and his place in history. What pleased me so much was that he was charming company. He was kind to me, a stranger but a fellow climber and his coversation was whitty, intelligent and constantly interesting. It was a chance meeting (and I have had a few with notable climbers around the world who usually turn out to be pretty good eggs!) and one that I have always been extremely glad to have had. I have moved away from the UK for now and was just casually catching up on news from home when I read this. It is a very sad day indeed. What a delightful fellow Peter was.

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com: Thanks to all who came from the climbing world to dad's funeral. I was simply blown away by the numbers of those who made the trip on such short notice from far afield. The event was a true celebration of his life and all he did and I am glad there were many to share that from the climbing world. Dad would have been so happy. Alison Harding, Dubai, UAE

In reply to kajsurfer: thanks for sharing that, and welcome back to UKC hope littlekaj is well

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: The thread does not mention that Peter's climbs were done in gym shoes and with little in the way of protection, although there is a relevant comment in Colin Wells's obituary. Other routes he did, not mentioned so far are: Qui Mal y Pense and his Superdirect to Robin Hood's Cave, and of course the cloggy West buttress girdle. (I also wonder if our girdle of Black Rocks has ever been repeated?). Peter also made the second ascent of Overlapping Wall solo, when someone reported it as harder than Spectre.
Other notable efforts were Eliminate C (Dow) in nails and torrential rain, Great Central in nails on an excrutiatingly cold day and Rubicon Wall in nails in 1950. I realise that climbing in nails is not very relevant nowadays, but it does indicate the exceptional ability Peter had.

In reply to ajjmoulam:

I think using nails at times was easier than doing the routes in rubbers in the rain, though GCR would not be one of them.

I did not attend the funeral as I did not know Peter but knew he would get a good send off, and gave a thought to him ten minutes before the funeral was due.

You must feel pleased to have been on the FA of so many routes with him and others, I always think of you as one of the leading lights of the time.

Thats was my first ever multi-pitch. 15 years on I still haven't climbed Demon Rib but I have always had the upmost respect for Peter Hardings first ascent in gym shoes! Truly amzazing and much ahead of its time. Maybe in another 15 years........

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

I never met him but many of his routes have been aspirations of mine. A great loss to the climbing world but a life well lived. My deepest sympathies to his family.

In reply to Mike Stacey: A belated obituary in the Times today, illustrated with Gordon's photograph. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2858922.ece

Pity about the 'direct start to Brant Direct'.

In reply to John2:

Who wrote that?? One would have expected standards of basic literacy at least to have been observed. 'Entrusted to', forsooth.

This smoking while hanging off a handjam seems to have been obligatory at the time. Joe was way ahead of his time in insisting on a photographic record of it on The Dangler - although I seem to recall thinking when I did the route that the break he was using is actually more of a jug than a jam.

jcm