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ARTICLE: The Captain and his Shipmate - Remembering Routes with Captain Solo

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 UKC Articles 17 Aug 2021

Mark Bannan remembers some climbs with his friend Ewan Lyons, AKA Captain Solo on UKC, who died in a fall on Beinn Dearg in 2020.

I will always remember the last day we climbed. Bucking the trend, my standard briefly flickered upwards a few years ago and we had an exciting but enjoyable ascent of the immaculate bold slab of "A Likely Story" on Eagle's Rock, in the middle of the summer of 2015. Ewan always loved bold slabs and it was great that I was able to enjoy my lead without "shedding my load"! Our last day together in the mountains is a fitting memory to a great mate, true gentleman and gifted climber who was cruelly taken away from us many decades before his time.

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 Gawyllie 17 Aug 2021
In reply to UKC Articles:

Nice piece Mark.

 Heike 17 Aug 2021
In reply to UKC Articles:

Great story, Mark. He really was a true gentleman and nice bloke. We went climbing with him many times and I have such good memories of him. He was ever so nice to our wee man when we brought him along. Never understood how he could lead climb and  solo pretty much the same grade.  Very sadly missed. 

 alan moore 17 Aug 2021
In reply to UKC Articles:

Nice one, Mark.

 baldie 17 Aug 2021
In reply to UKC Articles:

Nice one Mark. He was a real nice guy.

 mike barnard 17 Aug 2021
In reply to UKC Articles:

Lovely article Mark. Some great memories.

 d conacher 18 Aug 2021
In reply to UKC Articles:

Yea, really nice guy,did the long reach and big top with him.

 King James 21 Aug 2021
In reply to UKC Articles:

I remember vividly climbing Salamander with Ewan - I took the photo (Although misspelt; it's Maybee). It was, as the photo suggests, a glorious day. I led pitch 1, reasonably good ice over the slabs although rarely deep enough for a full ice screw and failed miserably to spot the obvious belay on the left. I ended up constructing a less than confidence inspiring one to the right, hence the angle in the photo of Ewan on pitch 2, which was actually far better photo-wise. Ewan led the crux pitch well; there was enough good ice but the snow was soft. It was great fun; climbing with Ewan always was.

We descended to the foot of Hells Lum and Ewan decided, as was his won't, to solo another route Kiwi Gully (4/IV). Blanching at that(!) I decided to walk over to Sneachda and do Red Gulley and we met up and walked out together.

We climbed quite a lot in the mid- to late-2000s and early 2010s but that (I think) was my last climb with Ewan as I stepped back for a few years due to work and family commitments. In the  years prior to his death I'd bump into him occasionally at the Inverness wall and once, totally out of the blue, in October 2017 when I was heading up Sgurr Choinnich and he was walking out from staying at a bothy.

I still think about him a lot. A lovely man. The only vinyl record I now own is a Special Limited Edition 45 of a single by Television. He knew they were one of my favourite bands and gave it to me. It's a record I treasure; I will always keep it even though I no longer have a record player to play it on. 

 mike barnard 21 Aug 2021
In reply to King James:

That's interesting. Reading about his solo FA of Devil's Alternative on Hell's Lum, a summer E1, was a bit of a 'wow!' moment for me. OK it was iced up, but you've still got to commit...  

 Mark Bannan 22 Aug 2021
In reply to King James:

Hi James,

Cheers for getting back to me and thanks for your comments! Glad you didn't mind that I put this photo in - illustrates the point about Ewan's standard accelerating past my limited abilities!

I can't say I'm surprised he soloed another challenging route afterwards! Happened with me on numerous occasions - he soloed a Severe after we did Vertigo,

cheers! M

 Mark Bannan 22 Aug 2021
In reply to UKC Articles:

Thanks very much, everyone for the kind feedback about Ewan!


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