Mick Fowler - On Thin Ice: Alpine Climbs in the Americas, Asia and the Himalaya

In his second set of climbing memoirs Mick Fowler writes about a series of alpine and rock adventures that would be the envy of any ambitious mountaineer. The appellation The Mountaineers Mountaineer, which he was given after a poll in The Observer in 1989, reflected climber approval of his highly original approach to his sport explorations on chalk sea cliffs, alpine north faces, Scottish crags in winter and summer and his first major expeditions to greater ranges which resulted in superb climbs on Cerro Kishtwar, Taulliraju and Spantik. All of this was recorded in his first book, Vertical Pleasure.

Here was a totally modern mountaineer, rejecting the necessary, but by that time outdated, styles of my era (sieging, fixed ropes and camps, large parties) and the capsule compromises of the big wall era. Instead he embraced the complete commitment involved in a full alpine-style approach to major mountain problems. All sports evolve, and mountaineering is no exception. Better training, greatly improved equipment and cheaper travel have made much of this possible, but the perceptions of what might be possible have risen too, and Mick has been at the forefront of this new approach. His identification as the Mountaineers Mountaineer was, like the election of a new politician, a vote of confidence for the future.

Well the electorate (which included me) must now be well pleased. If ever one person has confirmed his early reputation it must be Mick Fowler. During the last fifteen years he has pulled off a further series of wonderful climbs and has established a world-wide reputation. Short holidays and family commitments have restricted his activities to accessible peaks up to the 7000-metre level no 8000-metre-peak-bagging here but these have been amply balanced by the sheer sporting challenge of his chosen climbs: on Changabang the steep remorseless ice slopes, the sustained mixed climbing on Taweche, the tenuous route-finding on Arwa Tower, the spindrift battles on Mount Kennedy and the relentlessly steep technical ice work on Siguniang. This latter climb, which he made with the equally tenacious Paul Ramsden, was internationally admired as the epitome of the challenging alpine climb in the greater ranges. Not surprisingly it attracted awards from their peers in both the United States and Europe.

The reader should not underestimate the commitment of these climbs. Climbing is, at this level, an extreme activity. Yet this factor, as it has always done, concentrates the mind and brings out the finest skills and judgements from those who venture forth. The lure of the great line on the savage peak is as real now as when Balmat and Paccard first climbed Mont Blanc in 1786. Like the sailors who pit their skills against the great oceans of the world, the top mountaineers bring (usually with suitable humility and caution) their fitness, judgement, strength and skill to the great mountains. Mick Fowler and his friends are part of a New Golden Age of climbing that is now fully under way on the worlds greatest peaks, an even more exciting saga than the one played out in the Alps in the nineteenth century.

Most leading climbers commit themselves fully to the sport, deriving a living either from guiding or from lectures, books and various sponsorships. Mick does not fit this mould and has retained a normal nine-to-five job with the Inland Revenue since he left school. He now heads one of the teams that is responsible for assessing the share value of unquoted companies, a seemingly arcane field, but one that is of vital interest to Britain in retaining its national wealth and preventing it from being spirited away to distant tax havens. Just as in climbing he warms to the task of unravelling the problems of a great peak, so too, in his professional life he is envigorated by the endless chess game with corporate lawyers and accountants.

I have climbed with Mick for just one week of rock climbing on the island of Mingulay in the Outer Hebrides. He was not the athletic super star I had expected and indeed, even though far younger than me, I was delighted to find that his rock skills seemed reassuringly mainstream and we both shared a simple enjoyment of climbing. Yet here is one of our greatest mountaineers. Those who have partnered him on his big climbs speak respectfully of his all-round skills, stamina and coolness under pressure. It is also clear that his guile and judgement count for a lot. When these qualities are combined with a patient tenacity the most daunting mountain situations can be overcome. Readers will be able to assess this in his entertaining and exciting book which will surely take its place as one of the most important accounts of contemporary high-standard climbing.

Chris Bonington
Caldbeck, Cumbria, 2005