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Sean Kelly
Trad climber
Devon, UK
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Hi Blakey
I met Jill Lawrence sometime later at a club dinner at which we were both 'Speakers'. It transpired that her ascent of Right Wall was with Gill Price, also present that evening. Word of mouth! She certainly said nothing about following Pete up the climb. Another friend of mine at that time (went by the name of 'Little Al') saw Ron Fawcett do an early repeat ascent, possibly the second. Undaunted, he followed to make the probable third ascent. again word of mouth evidence. I certainly can't explain what JL was saying in her article (about her following PL on RW), although she did follow him on Foil and possibly the first free ascent of Resurrection?
Sean
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Blakey
Trad climber
Sierra Vista
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Topic Author's Reply - May 6, 2014 - 05:45pm PT
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I met Jill in the Cochise Stronghold a couple of times in 2003....
She didn't follow Livesey - she never claimed to do that, as she recounts in her piece, she belayed him.
She estimates the second ascent (Tap) was two years later. Her ascent in 1984 was with Rosie Andrews.... I don't know how to square the circle of your recollections and Jill's writing.
But enough of me paraphrasing the contents, you should buy it.
Regards,
Steve
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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May 12, 2014 - 10:07am PT
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Got the book and heartily recommend it. It’s a collection of short pieces by Livesey and many others, and credit goes to the authors because the stories together give a vivid portrait of a multi-talented athlete, who led a very interesting life while performing at the highest levels of caving, climbing, and trail running.
The Brits have always been more candid than the Yanks regarding competition in rock climbing. American heroes like Royal Robbins were certainly driven in part by competition, but it rarely showed up in their writing. Reading some Americans, one would get the impression that American climbers were motivated only by the romance of the great walls and lyrical sunsets which brought to mind symphonic passages. Fast and Free is not embarrassed to focus on the competitive aspects of rock climbing, appropriately so because Livesey came to climbing from a background of organized competition in running.
There is much to enjoy here for the Yosemite climber. The 70s Yosemite scene is viewed through the lens of Livesey and his friends, engaging with the locals on the Yosemite stop of the unofficial World Climbing Tour. There are vignettes on Livesey’s ascents of some of the best free routes of the 70s: with Fawcett on early ascent of Astroman (“only the best route in the world”); with Fawcett again on the 2nd ascent of Space Babble (Calling down to taunt the locals who were watching, “Piece of piss this, when does it start to get hard?”); FA of Moratoriam (which Livesey describes as “the spiritual home of laybacks, whence came all the other little laybacks of the world”). There is also an unexpected, ribald appreciation by Livesey of the regular route on Fairview (“The tallest is Fairview Dome, an 1800 foot sweep of granite, perfectly circular, with curves that ensure its place as the most perfect and biggest breast in the world.”)
The battle royale between American and British climbers, then the best in the world, is one of the themes, observed with the usual British cheek (Livesey calling up to Hot Henry on the lead during his first visit to Britain, “I think you better get a move on kid, you’re supposed to be pretty good”).
If you read only this book you’d think the Brits triumphed over their American rivals at every turn. However, the fact is that the competition was pretty even. Bachar’s on sight solo of Moratorium (which nearly killed him) was the riposte to the insult of Livesey snatching the first ascent of this impressive line. In the story of Livesey and Fawcett’s ascent of Astroman, there is an account of the dehydrated Brits reaching the last hard face pitch at the top, originally led free by Long, and a close reader will note that Livesey records that Fawcett stepped on a piton.
And Mike Graham earns a proud footnote in the appendix. He eliminated a point of aid from the limestone test piece, Bastille, something Livesey couldn’t do on one of his home crags. Livesey is cited for his ascent of Bastille which eliminated the aid down to one piton, and Graham’s complete first free ascent is given second billing. Not quite cricket, that.
John Long’s story of making Livesey’s acquaintance on the FFA of the Chouinard Herbert has the honor being the first story in the book and it showcases Long as a mature writer at the height of his powers. Here is
John relating the approach to Sentinel:
The first complete sentence I said to Pete was slow the f*#k down. The guy hiked like an antelope. “Better throttle it back and save it for the route”, I said. He picked up the pace.
But John has the last laugh, as Livesey declines to follow the last hard pitch led by Long because of the specter of a long, swinging fall. A rational decision certainly, and one can fault the leader for failing to adequately protect the second; but nevertheless, you can tell that John relished the fact that Livesey wouldn’t risk following moves that John had made.
Ah well, I must admit that these ancient rivalries can still stir the blood even 40 years after. (Full disclosure: I may lack objectivity. I took a nice fall trying Livesey’s signature route in Wales, Right Wall, at Dinas Chromlech in 1977, and the Welsh guidebooks crowed about this in subsequent editions. Damn you Livesey!)
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Feb 12, 2015 - 10:36am PT
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Nice review, Rick A!
Diving in mostly at random, I've read about half the book. John Long's essay is great. Livesey's own contributions stand out, to this day. Which could be a criticism; surely there are climbing writers familiar with Livesey who could give a deep, thoughtful assessment of the man and his legacy, beyond the obvious "he was a great climber/caver/runner.....
It almost feels as if Pete was born in his early 20s, already a sophisticated, canny, thrifty, competitive caver and climber. What drove him? What would Jim Perrin say? Perhaps the lack of deeper analysis is in itself a statement of sorts. His partners and contemporaries still unsure what to make of what happened. As with the changes wrought by Maggie Thatcher, there was no going back.
Anyway, great to be reminded of just how revolutionary his "professional" approach was, even if sometimes it became a bit "too professional." And how easy he made it all look.
Drove his competitors nuts. Inspired generations of young nobodies to think they, too, could do amazing things. Some of us kinda missed the bit about having to be a naturally gifted athlete to begin with....
"American heroes like Royal Robbins were certainly driven in part by competition, but it rarely showed up in their writing"
You should re-acquaint yourself with his Half Dome Tis-a-Ack story. Perhaps the best thing Robbins ever wrote.
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Blakey
Trad climber
Sierra Vista
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 12, 2015 - 11:00am PT
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Somewhere (possibly in this book) I read a quote from Steve Bancroft who observed Pete at the Leeds Uni wall, and 'thought he was crap, he didn't have much talent - but what he did have was a plan'
Indeed he did!
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Feb 12, 2015 - 11:04am PT
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Why did Pete quit climbing?
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Feb 12, 2015 - 12:29pm PT
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Why did Pete quit climbing?
Good question, AP.
My take:
Perhaps he was a victim of his own success.
Several writers talk of one first ascent he did, The Golden Mile, as being his last route. His "swansong."
This was as hard as any he'd done. Yet this was 1980. He'd been at the top for a decade.
At first this must have been easy for a climber of his talent and skills and work ethic. In the late 1960s the top climbers in the UK were the previous generation, the likes of Joe Brown, Paul Ross, Whillans, Pete Crew, etc. No training, little or no midweek climbing. Talented amateurs. They were bold, able to succeed despite being physically unfit.
What Livesey realized, before anyone else, was that if he combined that same level of boldness (he already had this) with specific training for finger strength and stamina (he understood how this worked from brief forays into other competitive sports) he should be able to perform at a higher level.
He succeeded. And fast. But this success created questions, envy, scrutiny. Out of that came a new generation who followed his example, began training. Out of them, some were yet stronger. They in turn developed better ways to train.
For a few years he stayed one step ahead, but by 1980 this was becoming more of a struggle. There were emerging young kids who were about to surpass his best efforts, on both sides of the Atlantic. He must have been acutely aware of this. His The Golden Mile was no long cutting edge, it was just another hard climb, no big deal any more. But it was the best he could do.
So he stepped down. Perhaps he did not want to be a has-been, gradually declining in skills, frustrated, surrounded by young upstarts who made him look old and slow. He did not have the kind of deep connection with the culture of climbing, a la Ken Wilson or Chris Bonington (or Steve Roper, John Long, Pat Ament, Peter Haan, Rick A) to keep him engaged with the sport.
Or, how about this, more nuanced, more Livesey-like: at one time he had relished being the upstart maverick, out-climbing the entire climbing establishment, beating them at their own game. By 1980 he had become the establishment. A role he was not equipped to deal with.
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Blakey
Trad climber
Sierra Vista
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 12, 2015 - 12:55pm PT
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Crunch,
All of the things you said.... A slightly shorter view. Climbing was changing, bolt protected climbing was emerging, and the advent of 'sport climbing' removed the boldness (which he had in spades)from the game. He was very disparaging of this. He revelled in the mix of bold and hard.
When he 'quit' climbing he took up orienteering and fell running, with great success. He was still competing and getting podium places when he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in 97.
Steve
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