Graham West
Graham West (main picture) leading on Bastion Wall High Tor. West records an amusing tale to this route which demonstrates claims and counter-claims are nothing new. It reads:
Bastion Wall was also climbed during 1957, this again being the subject of an unfortunate controversy, which happened as follows. J. Hadfield, R. Hughes and myself climbed the first two pitches of the route then retired with intentions of finishing it the following week. Unfortunately we returned three weeks later only to find that the route had been finished. Subsequently we found out that the people responsible were T.Peck and P.Biven, who thought that the route had been abandoned. In the description of the climb, written by Biven, he mentions that the first
pitch needed four to five pitons, but that he found the astronomical number of twenty-six in position. However, if this was so, it would mean that the pitons could have been only fourteen inches apart, because the length of the first pitch is only thirty feet. Actually, I myself led this first pitch and used only three pitons. [Readers may like to read Biven’s comments in the book Peak Rock.]
The guidebook, Rock Climbs on the Mountain Limestone of Derbyshire by Graham West and published by the Manchester Gritstone Climbing Club in 1961 was probably the first guidebook to limestone climbing in Britain and its influence on the development of climbing throughout the UK is not to be underestimated .
West was from the east side of the Pennines in Lancashire. His reputation was already established having been the leading light of this Lancastrian group pioneering numerous new routes in particular in Water-cum-Jolly (aka Millers Dale) and Chee Dale, where West was known for the relatively new art of artificial climbing with such routes as Mecca on Raven Tor and Big Plum in Chee Dale. Indeed, this group were pre-eminent in the exploration of limestone in Britain running against the long standing attitudes towards its unfriendly loose nature. Derbyshire limestone was indeed loose, dirty and unfriendly but all it needed was some tender loving care which the Manchester Grit boys gave it. Their activities and the publication of the West guidebook are not to be underestimated in the development of climbing throughout the UK. Tragically, Graham West was killed in an avalanche in the Pennines. It was reported in a newspaper that: ‘The bodies of Graham West, 29, of Stalybridge, and Michael Roberts, 27, from Dukinfield, were found under 20-feet of snow at the foot of the gully at Chew Brook, four miles from Greenfield on Sunday January 20th1963.’ Mike Roberts is not to be confused with Barry Roberts who made first ascents with West.
I never understood why the Manchester Grit lads were more taken by the other limestone dales rather than Stoney. Maybe that was to do with the prevailing interest of aid climbing so closely related to limestone at that time and the impressive Raven Tor, Plum Buttress and the like would have been tempting targets for pegging and bolting. Maybe that was the case but Malc Baxter has just explained to me: ‘We didn’t do much at Stoney because there was an implicit understanding that the SUMC were exploring that patch and we (following Graham as senior leader) were exploring our patch.’
A lost climb in the
Rock Climbs on the Mountain Limestone of Derbyshire
There were several confusing route descriptions in the West guide all of which could be indentified apart from this one described thus:
Handy Groove 70ft Severe
From the bottom of the Concave Face scramble up the right-hand side of the buttress. A ledge leading out to the right gives the start of the route.
Climb the obvious groove to the top of the crag.
Nobody has ever come up with a definite identification of this climb as every idea has a contradiction. I can only think of one concave face with ledges at the bottom from which you could traverse rightwards and that would essentially be the first pitch of Aurora but that is not a groove. It might be that the scrambling described is up to the foot of the second pitch of Aurora. I suspect this was written from memory after some years and not quite accurate.
Any ideas welcome.
© Geoff Birtles 2014
Hi Geoff. I found your article really interesting. I’m Graham’s grandson and if you have any more information about him I would really appreciate it! I’ve recently started climbing myself and I’ve always been curious about his interest in climbing. I’ve just purchased his guide to climbing limestone in Derbyshire and I’m excited to read it. I understand that this article was written 5 years ago so I don’t expect a great deal of new information. But thanks for writing this article, it was nice to read some anecdotes and see some photos of him I’ve never seen before.
I remember Graham with great affection as I was a member of the Manchester Gritstone Club that used to meet at the Sugar Loaf on Shrude Hill in Manchester and was also out in the same area of Stalybridge on the day of his death and the weather was terrible.
Also by coincidence his sister Marjory Rowe was a teacher at my school in the early 60’s and her Husband Stan was also a member of the Manchester Gritstone Club.
Hi Samuel, Geoff and Alan. I knew Graham, not only as my metalwork teacher at Cardinal Langley Grammar/Technical School on the borders of Middleton and Hopwood, but as the person who would have got me climbing were it not for his terrible accident.
He had asked if any of the boys (boys-only school) wanted to take up rock climbing, and I was one of the few (three or four of us, I think) to attend his meeting at which he told us he was going to get us climbing. Sadly, that was the last time I saw him as his accident was just a few days later. The fact of his death meant my mother was rather determined that I couldn’t go rock climbing. It was a shock to the whole school as he was a popular teacher, being one of the few who were kind to the pupils. I still have my brass paper knife, made in his class.
I remember the TV coverage of them bringing the bodies down Chew Valley, which was very upsetting to see.
I recently (Sept 2022) moved away from Marsden where I had met John Hadfield, mentioned above, who gave me a very early photo of Graham and John during the gritstone days. I don’t think I can post it on here, unless someone else can do so and I send it, say, to Geoff, when I dig it out if that would be of interest. On top of which, I discovered that my Marsden neighbour, Paul Seddon OBE, was one of the volunteer rescuers who dug Graham out, though too late, very sadly. Paul was himself a notable climber and noted safety harness expert, He died very recently, November 2022.