Up Close with AC Vice-President Nick Kekus

Alpine Club Vice-President Nick Kekus has been at the heart of the British climbing scene for several decades. He’s climbed with a host of famous faces and attempted some of the most sought-after lines in high-altitude mountaineering. We caught up with Nick to talk about his ‘80s expeditions, his career as a mountain guide and his plans for his time as VP.

^{The North Face of Shivling - © Nick Kekus Collection}

Hi Nick. Thanks for sitting down with us. I’m always interested to ask this question of mountain guides: what did you do before you started guiding?

So I started out as a Civil Engineer working in construction and then got into guiding, but I’ve always kind of run the two in parallel. Sometimes I’ve done more guiding than my “proper job”. I always refer to myself as being “semi-retired from guiding” but the last two years I’ve probably done more guiding than I have for a long time.

And do you still find guiding rewarding?

I think if you’re doing an awful lot, it can be very physically demanding and quite stressful. But doing the bits that I do now makes a nice contrast to my other work. So yeah, I think I find it more rewarding now than when I was always looking for the next job.

When people ask you about it as a career, what do you tell them?

Many years ago I worked in Canada and the guy who ran the business, a Kiwi called Dave Begg, he always said: “When you get into guiding, you have to have a plan for how to get out”. Because it has a finite life. You’ve got to have a plan for the future.

^{© Nick Kekus Collection}

^{© Nick Kekus Collection}

In the 1980s, you went on a lot of expeditions to the Himalaya – the NE Ridge of Everest, the SE pillar of Annapurna III – were you consciously seeking out these routes that are often referred to as “last great problems”?

I probably was [seeking them out] but I don’t think it was that conscious. There was a great groundswell of enthusiasm at the time with what people like Boardman and Tasker and Alex Macintyre were doing. And I always had this idea of aspiring to take alpine climbing, in its purest sense, to the Himalaya.

The route on Shivling in 1982 with Richard Cox, which sadly ended tragically when Richard was killed, it was such an aesthetic peak and such an aesthetic line, that north face. I think for me it felt like a logical step from things I’d done in the Alps.

The previous year I’d been to the Nanda Devi sanctuary and 3 of us climbed Kalanka by the regular route. We climbed light. It wasn’t very technical. But it set my ambition to try harder things in the Himalaya in lightweight style.

I went to Ganesh II with Rick Allen in ‘84 and that was kind of the epitome of what I’d been trying to do. Just the two of us on this great face that had quite a lot of technical climbing. And we basically went with minimal gear; 2 ropes, a big rack and a bivvy tent.

You climbed quite a lot with Rick, who was tragically killed on K2 in 2021, do you have any particular memories of him you’d like to share?

Rick was a member of the Midland Association of Mountaineers, and they had a hut down in Coniston, and we always used to arrange quite a few pre-expedition meetings there. And on a few of these occasions Rick, coming down from Aberdeen, would bring this very talented young Aberdonian climber. But I don't think Rick wanted to climb with him because he was always wanting to do really hard routes. So Rick would always point at me and say: “you go climb with the brat”, and “the brat” would drag me up these horrendous routes on Scafell and Dow Crag.

There were lots of aspects to Rick's life. He was a committed Christian and he had lots of interests in charities and other organizations, not just in the UK, but around the world. He was certainly not a one-dimensional person by any means.

 ^{The team below south face Ganesh II in 1984, Rick Allen on the right, Nick on the left, with their Sidar, LO and Cook - © Nick Kekus Collection}

You’ve recently become one of the Alpine Club’s Vice-Presidents alongside Adéle Long. Is there anything in particular you’re hoping to achieve in your time in post?

I'm taking my steer from Simon [Richardson] and Simon's obviously very enthusiastic and really looking to take things forward. One of the areas where he's really keen to do something is in developing the future direction of the ACG. It’s not really as dynamic as it used to be and lots of people have talked about wanting to resurrect it or to develop another organisation that speaks to young alpinists. A group of young climbers, not necessarily people climbing at the cutting edge, but people who have just got a real passion and interest in alpinism. I think both Simon and myself are really keen to encourage and develop that.

I think I’m right in saying that you originally met Simon in the infamous Snell’s Field. Do you have any stories of our President from that time that you could share?

We always used to call Simon “Mr Mega” because whenever he talked about something it was always “mega”. He did some amazing things with all sorts of people, and he was really enthusiastic at recruiting people to his objectives and his ideas.

When Simon was working for Shell in Holland, myself Mark Miller and Sean Smith got the ferry over and Simon picked us up. The idea was to do the north face of the Eiger, which we didn’t do, but we did climb a super route on the Mönch – the Lauper Rib.

We drove into Grindelwald really late at night and parked the car in the railway yard. We had nowhere to sleep and there were these old railway carriages, like cattle trucks, in the sidings and someone noticed that they were open. So we all jumped in, got our bivvy bags out and slept in there, because this was the middle of winter.

And then, in the early hours of the morning, we felt this carriage start moving. And we all panicked, thinking the train was off to Interlaken. And we open the door and we’re all throwing our sleeping bags out and trying to get our shoes on. And we suddenly see that there’s no train attached to the carriage. It’s just this little old man pushing the carriage, getting everything marshalled in the yard as we’re trying to get out!

This interview originally appeared in the Summer 2023 issue of the Alpine Club Newsletter. Previous issues of the newsletter are available to read here.

Up Close with Guidebook Author Lina Arthur

Up Close with Guidebook Author Lina Arthur

Lina Arthur is a guidebook author and editor based in the Lake District. In this interview, conducted in December 2022, we dig into Lina’s experience of writing a selective guide of British winter climbs and discuss some of the current challenges facing the publishing industry.

^{Lina Out and About for Work - Photo: Steve Broadbent}

How did you start climbing?

I've always loved walking and scrambling in the hills, but for some reason it never occurred to me to try climbing, despite a long-since-forgotten climbing session at Cheddar as a child. When I started my DPhil, a friend suggested joining the Oxford University Mountaineering Club and, undeterred by initial trips to the Peak District in November, I've been climbing ever since.

Can you tell us a little about your job?

I write and edit climbing guidebooks and mountain literature, primarily for the Oxford Alpine Club. This means that some of my job involves heading out into the mountains with a camera, checking routes and walk-ins, taking topo photos and so on. This can be brilliant if the weather is nice, but in fact, the majority of my job is computer-based, transforming all the information and images I and others have gathered into written book form.

^{In the Office - Photo: Dave Arthur}

^{On Tower Ridge in Winter - Photo: Steve Broadbent}

Your own guidebook 'Snow & Ice' came out in 2021. What were you hoping this guide could offer that other winter climbing guides don't?

When I first started winter climbing, I found that many guidebooks omitted “easy” routes entirely or offered limited detail, particularly about things like descents. In Snow & Ice, I wanted to highlight the brilliant range of lower grade routes that the UK has to offer and to inspire people to climb them, but I particularly wanted to make winter climbing as accessible as possible. I wanted to create a guide which provided all the information needed to get to a route, climb it, and descend on one page, and which was as helpful as possible to the climber.

Are there particular challenges to writing a selective guide? 

Narrowing down what goes in it! That was very tricky, and continued to change right up to the last minute. I wanted to include popular routes, but also to include lesser-known ones that are just as good. Inevitably I couldn’t include all my favourites, let alone anyone else’s, but I hope there is something for everyone.

Another challenge was that where a definitive guide focuses on one area in detail, my selection had me crisscrossing the country, chasing conditions. With limited space, it was a challenge to do justice to so many different areas. 

^{'Snow & Ice'}

<sup>Making the First Ascent of 'Don Turquoise' (HVS, 4c), Akaltine Edge, Tafraout 
- Photo: Steve Broadbent</sup>

What are you working on at the moment?

One of the nice things about my job is that it's so varied. Since the publication of Snow & Ice, I've worked on the second edition of The Alps, A Natural Companion (by Jim Langley and Paul Gannon, which was published in June) and I'm currently nearing completion of a guide to UK dry tooling, which should be available early in 2023.

It feels like publishers are currently going through quite a tough time with the price of paper, inflation, postal strikes...etc. Do you think this difficult period will pass or does it herald wider changes for the industry? Is there anything customers can be doing to help?

These are certainly tricky times. The guidebook industry suffered massively during the COVID travel restrictions, and paper prices have been rocketing ever since. I think that things will stabilise; while postal strikes are hugely detrimental to sales, particularly as this is the busiest time of year for bookselling, they are a temporary issue. More generally, publishers will have to adapt. That will mean that some great books are simply not financially viable to publish so there may be less variety, but I believe that there will always be demand for high-quality books.

The most helpful thing customers can do is to buy guidebooks! And, if possible, buy them directly from the publisher so that as much of your money as possible is directly helping to pay the costs of producing the book, thus ensuring that more books will be published in the future. Pre-orders and reviews are also very helpful and are always appreciated.

^{Lake District Days - Local Ice Climbing - Photo: Aileen Robertson}

^{Lake District Days - Climbing 'Free Falling' (E4, 6s) on Steel Knotts Crag - Photo: Steve Broadbent}

You're based in the Lake District. How important is it to you to live in one of the UK's mountain regions?

It's incredibly important, both for my spare time and for my work life. One of the main reasons I moved to the Lake District is that I was spending a lot of time driving to and from the mountains, and I wanted to reduce that. Being based here makes it much easier to get out into the mountains and I feel very lucky to be able to do so. The Lake District is relatively central; not only is there climbing practically on my doorstep, but North Wales and Scotland are also very accessible. It would have been impossible to write Snow & Ice while I was living in Southern England, but from the Lakes I was able to snatch good weather days whenever they occurred, and the odd day-trip to Scotland made a big difference in completing the book.

You're a fairly active Twitter user (going as far as live-tweeting a route earlier this year). Is social media something you enjoy using to share your climbing or is it more of an obligation as a writer?

I feel I should say that live-tweeting a route was a one-off way of appreciating the absurdity of a very tedious situation until I could escape onto an adjacent route! One of the things I love about climbing is that it lets me get away from a screen and focus on enjoying the moment, so I'd hate social media to be a distraction from that. That said, I love talking about climbing and sharing the wonderful places that it takes me and it's hugely rewarding to hear from people who are using and enjoying my books, so I definitely don't see it as an obligation. My job can be quite solitary, but Twitter has introduced me to many fellow outdoor writers and it's lovely to be part of an online community that shares my passions.

Up Close with Nick Colton

Nick Colton is an accomplished alpinist with numerous expeditions to some of the world’s most famous peaks under his belt. He’s also Lead Safeguarding Officer of The British Mountaineering Council and has been a key cog in the BMC machine for many decades. We caught up with him to discuss his famous first ascents, changes at the BMC and his future plans.

_{^{Nick on the SE Pillar of Annapurna III in 1981 by Tim Leach}}

How did you start climbing?

I started climbing with my dad in the mid-1960s. I was quite a lively child, forever climbing trees and smaller features on buildings. Our local park even had, still has, a mounted medium-sized erratic that I bouldered on from a very young age. I think he thought it would channel my energies positively.

When and why did you join the Alpine Club?

I first joined the Alpine Club in 1976 at an ACG event at a pub in Buxton. Alex MacIntyre was also there and I think he joined the ACG at that time. Tut Braithwaite said that a new route on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses merited joining the ACG. Sometime later I received a letter requesting payment of subs. Being out of work at the time I had no money. I wrote back to say that, and don’t recall whether I got a response back or not. However, I eventually did join the AC in the mid-2000s.

_{^{Nick and the late Alex MacIntyre by Bernard Newman}}

You mentioned your route on the Grandes Jorasses. You've given your name to two very famous alpine routes. How does it feel to have a route you climbed so early in your climbing career become a lodestar for climbers today, something that appears on ticklists and news reports? Do you still feel you have a relationship with a route like the Colton-MacIntyre or is it now just something you once did?

It’s pretty flattering, especially as the routes have become popular. In a way they were things I did a long time ago when I was young and clearly I’ve moved on. Although people do still ask me about the routes, as you have, and I get invited to give slide shows on the strength of the ascents. So, although it was a long time ago, it’s not quite as simple as saying it’s just something I once did. Because, in a variety of ways, people still associate me with the climbs and some people do see that as part of who I am. Which I’m comfortable with.

Could you tell us a little about your work for the BMC and any projects that you're currently excited to be working on there?

I was the Deputy CEO at [the] BMC for 16 or so years. I’ve done a number of things in that time. Most visibly, I suppose, I’ve been the BMC’s Lead Safeguarding Officer for much of that time and also secretary of the BMC’s International Committee for a number of years. I also helped set up GB Climbing and was their Lead Officer for the first year of operations. As retirement comes into view, I’m now downsizing my time commitments and currently work 3 days a week.

Some things that excite me are: the possibility of working with the AC and MEF on proposed expedition planning symposia – one specifically for women; and the coming appointment of a full-time Safeguarding Manager at the BMC funded by Sport England.  I’m also excited by the work the BMC does on environmental and climate issues. For the most part unsung, but no less important for all that.

^{_{Climbing in Alaska in 1981 by Tim Leach}}

^{_{The Annapurna III Team by Tim Leach}}

We're just entering another Olympic cycle. As someone who saw the process closer at hand than many of us, what did you take away from climbing's first Olympics last year in Tokyo?

I think the Olympics was an amazing spectacle that has done a number of things. Firstly, it was very exciting to watch. I mention this because some people I know in the climbing world have long said that competition climbing would never catch on because it’s so boring to watch. They said it was like watching paint dry. The Olympics proved that wrong.  For me it comes down to the belief that different people get different things from different facets of climbing. 

Secondly, the Olympics have inspired more people to accept climbing as something reasonable to do. It’s shown that climbing is amazing but it’s also shown that climbers are not all odd-balls doing some crazy, outlandish activity. Which, in turn has inspired more people, from all ages, backgrounds, etc to try it and have a go. Which will bring a fresh crop of people into these activities with all their enthusiasm and passion. In turn will eventually help with succession and refreshment in all parts of climbing and mountaineering and keep our passion healthy and vibrant for the future.

Thirdly, the Olympics really have cranked up standards, particularly in bouldering and rock climbing, both indoors and outdoors. It’s amazing to see what some of the kids and even some of the newer older starters can do within a relatively short space of time since starting these days.

What was the last big trip or expedition you went on? 

I’m not sure whether I’ve ever been on a big trip. However, if one could be described as “big” in some sense I guess that might be an attempt on the SE pillar of Annapurna III that I went on in 1981. A route which has only recently had its first ascent, by a Ukrainian team, alpine style and over 18 days!

Having said that I do still go to West Nepal exploring remote valleys where there’s no record of mountaineers having been and trying to climb unclimbed peaks. In fact, I’m going in September with Julian Freeman-Attwood, Ed Douglas and Jim Fotheringham for more of the same. However, I wouldn’t describe such trips as big. They’re purposely small and uncommercial with a leave no trace ethic and consideration for local people. 

Up Close with Jim Milledge