Lost the original colour photo but have recently found a b&w version I made. Gear may interest people too

Very Ron James with a W.A. Poucher backdrop
Thanks

Ah John, I remember that photo (was it in his guidebook?) but had no idea who had taken it. Excellent.

Brilliant, historic photo, redolent of a sadly now vanished era. The edge of all things? Absolutely!

Great photo John - with that style definitely Ron. The lower rope looks to be attached with a bowline and two full hitches, which was how Ron and I climbed in those days.
I was just thinking that the Historical section of photos on UKC was not too well subscribed to these days and I think it is a pity.
Come on guys, there's lots of great historical pics out there - let's have some more. I will certainly try to find some.

Great photo John - with that style definitely Ron. The lower rope looks to be attached with a bowline and two full hitches, which was how Ron and I climbed in those days.
I was just thinking that the Historical section of photos on UKC was not too well subscribed to these days and I think it is a pity.
Come on guys, there's lots of great historical pics out there - let's have some more. I will certainly try to find some.

This morning, I feel even more strongly about this photo. Even though it's so strongly evocative of an era, there's also a sense of timelessness about it. It's definitely a front cover photo. It's why we climb. Wonderful! (And I echo boje's frustration about the current lack of historical photos; wish I had some to contribute, as other peoples' have given me so much pleasure.)

Thanks Mick and others. But if it is a cover shot, why so few votes? See my reply in the forum arising explaining why I put it up. UKC tried to reclassify it as Historical, I put it back where it belonged, under Trad climbing. The date is immaterial.

Whatever the era, I think its a wonderful shot - probably taken around the time I was bumbling up Amphitheatre Buttress on my very first rock climb, bricking myself and wanting to be that man in the sunshine
Thanks again

A lovely photo. I wondered where I'd seen it before? Lo, I still have my copy of his guidebook, not looked at for ages. The cover came off, pages are loose, by there it is. A cropped version. The original is so much better with great composition. Thanks for putting it up.

Apologies John - I picked this one up from the Latest Photos section and assumed it was headed for the Historical section - hence my comment.

To boje, perhaps it belongs to both.

It's such an evocative image that captures the feel for adventure for that era, these images are what inspires me to climb these historical routes. I'm also surprised that it has not received more votes especially from the 'older' climbers on this forum, a lot of the younger climbers these days don't read the historical part of guidebooks and I was surprised when I asked a youth in the climbing wall who Joe Brown was that he didn't know...I'll stop rambling now and give you a big fat 5 :)

John, I don't know why others haven't voted; maybe many of those who love this photo feel as I do that voting is rather vulgar. I've never voted... but can I nominate this for a six? If I had a list of the 10 best climbing photos I'd seen in the last 50 years, this would definitely be in it. It 'works' on so many levels - of its era yet timeless (like Shakespeare!), reminiscent of 'Rock Climbers in Action in Snowdonia', superb composition, best of all, as Greenbanks said, at the time so many of us yearned to be that man in the sunshine, climbing such a brilliant wall, with so much space beneath his feet. The comments that people have made above leave no possible doubt of the impact this photograph has made on us. Thank you again for putting it up. It's given - and will continue to give - so much pleasure.

Congratulations! This photo was chosen as Photo of the Week, based on votes by registered users over the past 7 days.

trad trad

Great historical shot. Yes, gear was fairly basic, but total commitment.

Hi Guys, I was lucky to have Ron as my tutor at IM Marsh College during the very early '80's. He taught me a load of "tricks of the trade" which were never in the instruction manuals, and never have been, but I still use many of them to this day, some 30+ years later....could be a bit of a buffty at times but IMHO a much underrated pioneering mountaineer.

I am somewhat blurry eyed at the responses to this photo. I would like it to be a tribute to Ron under whom I served my apprenticeship, not just in Britain but also in the Dolomites, the Buhlweg, the Comici on the Grande, the Pilastro, Il Salame and so many others. Thanks Ron, you taught me not just how to climb, but also the basic mental and physical approach to mountaineering.

Aye, '66 was a very good year in lots of ways. That wall on Craig y Ysfa is a wonderful piece of rock, especially when the morning sun is up. But I always found it much steeper than it looks here!

Lovely photo John - congratulations on pic of the week!

Thanks Alex, didn't know you looked!

Great photo, much better for being b/w, reminds me of the frighteningly little gear we used to climb with (hemp waistline, anyone?)! Going to rummage through my '60s photos tonight.

A really fine photograph. Certainly one of the finest on the site. Real ambiance. Redolent of the period: beautifully captured.