The Free Climber
I have been in love with the outdoors ever since I was a lad and I walked and rode my bike miles beyond the boundaries set by my parents( yes they found out). It was always ‘What is round the next corner or over the next brow of the hill? In my teens, I had the opportunity to try my hand at rock climbing as I was involved in the youth services groups in my local area. I had the pleasure to work with a chap called Lewis in the Intermediate Treatment group of our Council. Lewis took the kids and the leaders out on local rock faces on the Cleveland hills to test themselves and have fun. I had no major skills in climbing, but the achievement of getting to the top was a major draw for me and I enjoyed the experiences. Sadly Lewis died in a climbing accident on Mont Blanc doing an activity he loved. I remember a great weekend in the lakes with Lewis climbing around rock faces near Derwent Water and Borrowdale and swimming in waterfall-fed pools at the top of our climb. I have recently tried bouldering with my son and I will admit that, although it brought back good memories… age, excess weight, and a lack of strength has caught up with me. Plus the fact the modern shoes killed my feet, it was big sturdy boots in my day.
After trying out bouldering I remembered a french lady free climber (Apologies, but I forget her name), who I used to watch on video in the ’80s. She amazed me at how she would scale the rock and hang from sheer drops and overhangs by her fingers without a rope to fix her to the wall. She was a real-life spider woman. This spurred me on to try and carve my memories of her and as a thought to Lewis. The meeting of the goat at the top relates to a story told to us by Lewis retelling a long climb in the alps and being surprised by this goat peering over the edge as he neared the top. The shock of seeing the goat nearly caused an accident then.
I have tried to fuse the carving with stained glass work and create a piece that gives the depth of colour and distance of the scenery against the daring acts of the climber. I think it needs more work! The climber and rock is carved out of a waney piece of lime wood and sealed with a sanding sealer