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NEWS: Well Known British Climber Dave Pegg Has Died

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 UKC News 10 Nov 2014
Dave Pegg on 1st ascent of the Bottom Line - Brimham Rocks, 2 kbReported on Rock and Ice Magazine is the sad news that climber Dave Pegg has passed away. Dave was 47 years old. The circumstances of his death are currently unknown to us at UKC.

Pegg was an influential rock climber in the UK prior to his move to the USA in 1996.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=69293

 Climber_Bill 10 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

Very sad news. Dave was at the forefront of British climbing, will lots of bold new trad routes, and reports of his new routes were always an inspiration.

Thoughts are with his family and friends.
In reply to UKC News:

This is really sad news. I only knew Dave a little during his Sheffield days but got to know him much better through his guidebook writing work. Initially he worked on the Rockfax guide Bite the Bullet to Rifle with Mick Ryan. Such was his enthusiasm for Rifle that he went on to produce his own book a few years later which led on to him starting his own Wolverine publishing company with his wife Fiona. He approached this with the same dedication and passion he showed in his climbing and went on to produce many more books including Bishop Bouldering and the Red River Gorge and was one of the first guidebook writer/publishers to go into Apps. We worked together over the last few years when he started distributing Rockfax books and exchanged pleasant emails every quarter, discussing our publishing projects.

It is a real shock that he has gone and my condolences go to Fiona and the rest of his friends and family.

Alan
 Bob 10 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:
Sad news. I never knowingly met him but was impressed by his climbs in the Lakes such as "First and Last and Always" and "Flattery"

Condolences to friends and family
Post edited at 09:04
 Graeme Hammond 10 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

Sad news, never met they guy but the photos of him on Three Blind mice were inspirational. R.I.P.
Andrew Poland 10 Nov 2014
In reply to Graeme Hammond:
Truly shocked. He regularly crashed on our floor in Oakworth with others in Sheffield scene in the 90's enroute to Kilnsey. His ease on grit was awe inspiring.
Post edited at 11:24
 robert mirfin 10 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

Dave invited me on a trip to Buoux with him and a few other climbing heros back in the early 90's when I was a youth. I've always hoped I'd bump into Dave again at some point, sad to hear he has gone.
slinky wizard 10 Nov 2014
In reply to Andrew Poland:
Had the honour of meeting Dave in Hueco in the 90's a truly kind hearted and exceptional person. RIP
 Jon Read 10 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:
Shocking, sad news. I don't think I ever met Dave, but I was very lucky to interview him remotely for Peak Rock.

His ascents were inspirational and futuristic. Who else would have thought of contemplating The Bottom Line at Brimham, much less get up the thing? Or the pure audacity and insanity of MaDMAn.

Here's a brief extract:
"There are lots of things I still miss about the UK. Old friends (not the route) first and foremost, and the great climbing/social scene in Sheffield. It was a very fun place to live in the early 1990s. I’m sure it still is. I remember a lot of fun and crazy times. Way too many great people to mention individually, although I’d love to give a shout out to my Sheffield housemates Gavin Ellis, Jason Myers, and Nic Sellers, as well as Airlie Anderson and Dave Thomas. I also miss The Foundry (I’d kill for a good training facility), The Broadfield, The Leadmill, curry, partying all night and seeing the sun come up, having an abundance of free time, and of course, the gritstone."
 Tom Valentine 10 Nov 2014
In reply to slinky wizard:
I walked up to Wimberry with Dave and Simon Jones to photograph him working on (and possibly making the first ascent of) MaDMan.
It was the most intense piece of climbing I had ever seen in real life but at the end of the day I was very relieved when he said he wasn't ready to "lead" it at that stage.
Post edited at 16:30
Shamsy 10 Nov 2014
This is awful news. I knew Dave at Lancaster University as an undergrad when he was doing a PHD. We were not friends for life but we were good climbing pals, and for a couple of years he would drive me and a couple of mates all over Lancs./Yorkshire in his red Skoda. Usually we'd go to Ingleton wall where we would fail to get off the ground on his training circuits. Dave was a seriously good climber and in my experience, given the terrifying nature of some of his routes, humble, ballsy and visonary. Since I met Dave twenty five years ago, I bumped into him once or twice, and kept an eye on what he was up to as I always felt he was someone with whom I could pick up from where we left off. I always appreciated his humour, his craziness, his intelligence and his great taste in music. I shall miss you being on earth Dave: Keep on rockin' in the free world.
 Iain Thow 11 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

Some reminiscences of his time in the US here.
http://www.dpmclimbing.com/articles/view/dave-pegg-prominent-climber-and-gu...
Sounds like a nice guy. Shame.

Iain
 Mick Ward 11 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

Being a long way away from most things these days, it was only very recently that I discovered Emmett Goulding died some months ago. I'm guessing his name will be recognised by few, if any, on here but that's just the unfairness of history. Emmett was a kind of an Irish version of Joe Brown, marvellously talented. Certainly, back in the 1960s, he was the only Irish climber of international significance. He was my very first climbing hero and, through his example, I received my first lesson that how we conduct ourselves in life matters far more than what we achieve at the crag.

My guess is that Emmett had a pretty hard life. Certainly he had a hard death, through cancer. But at least he reached his late seventies. So many of my generation died in the 1970s and early 1980s, typically through super-alpinism and soloing. Their images are frozen in time, forever young. But when people such as Ian Vincent and Dave Pegg, from the next generation, die then the lesson is stark. Our time on this planet is startlingly ephemeral, a mere heartbeat of the universe.

When he was young, Dave was like a pixie. Even among the 1980s Sheffield hard-core (not many pies consumed), his body was almost wraith-like. A pixie's body. His face was a pixie's face. And his grin was unmistakably a pixie's grin. As with Al Rouse, you sensed that he was ridiculously brainy. Not that either Al or Dave gave out the faintest whiff of superiority; conversely both seemed delightfully dippy.

As with Al, there was a time when Dave seemed invincible on the crags, first ascents of E7 and E8 cropping up all over the place when these were cutting-edge grades. The iconic photo of him on the first ascent of MaDMAn at Wimberry, sport climbing without bolts, will probably never be bettered as a paean to the boldness of youth.

The US brought more success, an editorship with 'Climbing' magazine (I think they reckoned he was the first editor to climb 5.14/F8b+), lots and lots of hard climbing, the setting up of his own publishing firm, Wolverine. In his relatively short life, Dave accomplished a great deal. But of course it's how you feel about your accomplishments and - far more importantly - how you feel about your life which matters most. Sometimes life can seem infinitely precious; and sometimes it can seem downright unbearable.

You rearrange treasured memories, shuffle them into a mosaic. There's a memory of Dave that I keep coming back to again and again. One afternoon some dude was filming him bouldering in a cave at The Foundry. Typically Dave erupted from the back of the cave and exploded across the roof in an utterly convincing display of precision and power. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the footage was deemed to be not quite right – which, I guess, is par for the course with filming. So Dave got to do it again... and again... and again... and again. Strong though he undoubtedly was, that problem looked bloody hard and running all those laps on it was taking it out of him. Yet he persevered. Me, I'd have snuck in a few extra holds, along the way - but he was made of better stuff.

Finally he staggered out of the cave, totally wasted. And you just knew the cameraman was going to say, “Could we do it one more time...” Across the room our eyes met. I gave a helpless little shrug of commiseration. And suddenly Dave's face creased into his utterly enchanting pixie grin, a total, “What the hell!!!” Without even being asked, he got straight back on.

Dave, you will always be cherished by those who knew you.

Mick
 Nigel Thomson 11 Nov 2014
In reply to Mick Ward:

I knew Dave very well from the 90's Sheffield scene. One of my most endearing memories was hearing a knock on my first floor bedroom window and seeing Dave's smiling face. The ecstasy culture of that period had exploded and we embraced the times with open arms so it was off to that shady club on Abbeydale road. The name escapes me now. I didn't have a bean but Dave kept me stocked with beer and the Heather Mills. An outstanding man and no a bad wee climber too. MaDMAn is aptly named for the times.
I noticed on my UKC profile I say I'm the only person to 'outsubstance' Dave Pegg. This is not true but I gave him a reet run for his money. Rest in peace my friend, you're one of the good guys. Make sure St Peter's got the tunes banging for you.
 julesmckim 11 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

Used to go out on the grit with Dave and others from Sheffield back in the mid 80's. It's an over-used term, but he really did seem to be ego-less. An outstanding climber of course - such precision, strength and cool, and, most importantly a good guy, friendly and ready to chat with you regardless of your ability. He didn't wear his talent as a badge, he just used it to climb well. On one occasion he saved me from a broken leg at best by calmly repeating "stay left", "stay left" as I wobbled up a solo at the limit. Always encouraging and supportive. An inspiration and ahead of his time. Rest in peace.
 adi bryant 12 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

I was lucky enough to witness the most committing climbing I'll ever hope to see on one windy Wimberry day. Dave climbed MaDMAn and all I could do was just stand and gawp, completely unable to say a word to my friends who were on their first ever crag day and who let out small incredulous gasps every so often. Completely awe inspiring sight and one which still helps me when it gets a bit tasty on a solo. Thanks Dave.
Clauso 12 Nov 2014
In reply to Mick Ward:

Lovely Mick.
 Nigel Thomson 12 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

http://www.climbing.com/news/remembering-dave-pegg/
Lovely piece from Climbing magazine.
 jon 12 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

I didn't know Dave, just met him a few times in the Peak. Very sad. Far too young.
Out of interest, what's the significance of the way MaDMAn is written?
 Andy Hardy 12 Nov 2014
In reply to jon:

MDMA is the active ingredient in ecstasy
 FactorXXX 12 Nov 2014
In reply to jon:

Out of interest, what's the significance of the way MaDMAn is written?

This might be an indicator: -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDMA
 Graham Booth 12 Nov 2014
In reply to jon:
MDMA chief
 ChrisJD 19 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

Chris Weidner: A lost goodbye to Colorado climber Dave Pegg:

http://www.dailycamera.com/get-out/ci_26963412/chris-weidner-lost-goodbye-c...
 Nigel Thomson 23 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:

As the sad news filters through that Dave took his own life it would be nice if UKC could do a wee feature on him. Life can bite back sometimes and when it does it can be bloody sore. Not unlike this wonderful thing we call climbing.
Removed User 23 Nov 2014
In reply to Nigel Thomson:

Agreed. I didn't know him but I remember his good humoured articles from 15/20 or so years ago and the audacious routes he was doing. I also remember one of the very first articles he wrote in one of the US mags which was simply titled "You Suck!", a dig at the merkins during a period when their hardest routes and problems were being cruised by visiting brits, DP among them. He was big news back then, there must be a lot of people on here who had a connection to him but haven't seen this thread. It is unspeakably sad when someone's world becomes so dark that they can't see any other way back to the light.
 Nigel Thomson 24 Nov 2014
In reply to Removed User:

Yeah, I remember those articles too. Far bigger news on Supertaco than UKC I'm afraid but I suppose that's what happens when people move away. Haven't spoken to the guy in fifteen years but it still feels sore, and I know it will be sorer for others from the 90's Sheffield community.
 Andy Farnell 24 Nov 2014
In reply to UKC News:
Very sad to hear this. I bumped into Dave a few times in the Lancs quarries in the mid 90's and he seemed a really honest bloke. The pictures of his route 'The Yorkshire Ripper' at Kilnsey don't do the route justice. One of the best routes I've ever tried, one of the very best sport routes in the country.

Andy F

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