Rock Climbing & Capitalism in the North of England

[chilango]

Something that occasionally crops up here and there is the idea of climbing as a w/c response to wage labour.

Here's an interesting little film looking at that.

Insightful with a little frisson of fear, LINES OF FLIGHT teases out a relationship between twentieth-century economic labour in Britain’s industrial north, the world of mass-consumption that people inhabit today, and solo rock climbing—ascending a rock face without using any ropes, harnesses or other protective equipment—on the outcrops and crags at the margins of what are now termed the metropolitan inner cities.

 

[LDC]

Ha, timing... I just dug out my dusty copy of More Power Now! the other day, a 'Marxist climbing magazine' (more of a little A5 zine really), published in Sheffield in the 90s by Communist Headache (I think). Nice bit of reading.

 

[chilango]

Ha, timing... I just dug out my dusty copy of More Power Now! the other day, a 'Marxist climbing magazine' (more of a little A5 zine really), published in Sheffield in the 90s by Communist Headache (I think). Nice bit of reading.

Oooh. Any chance of a scan?

 

[LDC]

You have a PM.

 

[chilango]

More Power Now!

I've put a rough scan online.

 

[kebabking]

Is there any work I can read on the Creagh Dhu club? it was formed in the shipyards on the Clyde and had a very pointedly working class and socialist ethos and membership and was, shall we say, something of the antithesis of some of the climbing clubs in Glasgow...

Norrie let me buy him a pint.

I was in the Orion - I never got the call for the Creagh Dhu as I'm fat, lazy and utterly shit...

 

[chilango]

Interesting, never heard of it. Must look into it. I've only heard of Red Rope.

 

[LDC]

You met Norrie!? Did you ever see his posts on UKC? He is a legend! Did he get banned do you know? Or bored of it?

The only book I've heard of on the Creagh Dhu was John Cunningham's book here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creagh-Dhu-Climber-Times-Cunningham/dp/0948153547

 

[LDC]

Actually come here to post this nice little video about Bob Shepton and one of his trips.



Not 'political' as such but I think it captures some of the same spirit of unconventional perspectives and adventure that can attract us to climbing and being in the mountains.

 

[kebabking]

You met Norrie!? Did you ever see his posts on UKC? He is a legend! Did he get banned do you know? Or bored of it?..

I met Norrie quite a few times - I'm proud to say that he was uncommonly rude to me every time!

I used to see his stuff on UKC - I noticed he didn't post much, but I assumed it was because he was bored, after all, who would have the bollocks to ban him?

 

[LDC]

 

[kebabking]

View attachment 116274

Well, he could be somewhat abrasive on occasion...

OTOH - while having no idea what he was banned for - is it more of the sanitisation of climbing..?

 

[LDC]

kebabking and chilango

In case you missed this ARTICLE: John Cullen: Creagh Dhu Climber

 

[chilango]

kebabking and chilango

In case you missed this ARTICLE: John Cullen: Creagh Dhu Climber

Thanks. Good little read that.

 

[chilango]

...and it also got me thinking about Red Rope, Plan C's "red gyms" (did you go to that LynnDoyleCooper ?) the IWCA's "running club" etc. Surely there's a role for this kinda thing?

 

[LDC]

Yeah, I went to the Red Gyms thing at the Plan C 'festival'. Wasn't that useful or interesting I think, seemed that the person running it wanted to move straight into some training session after a very quick introduction from some of the gyms/training groups there (Manchester and Brighton iirc). Was a shame I think there's a place for discussing the political role of this kind of thing which I think was more what Plan C had in mind.

Brighton and London people did organise an antifa/left wing combat sports tournament earlier on in the year, think there might be another next year.

In Brighton in the late '90s/early '00s there was a series of Sunday walks (Mass Trespass) that tried to draw some of this kind of outdoors/political/cultural thing together.

Never heard anything about the IWCA running club? Any more info on that?

 

[chilango]

Yeah, I went to the Red Gyms thing at the Plan C 'festival'. Wasn't that useful or interesting I think, seemed that the person running it wanted to move straight into some training session after a very quick introduction from some of the gyms/training groups there (Manchester and Brighton iirc). Was a shame I think there's a place for discussing the political role of this kind of thing which I think was more what Plan C had in mind.

Brighton and London people did organise an antifa/left wing combat sports tournament earlier on in the year, think there might be another next year.

In Brighton in the late '90s/early '00s there was a series of Sunday walks (Mass Trespass) that tried to draw some of this kind of outdoors/political/cultural thing together.

Never heard anything about the IWCA running club? Any more info on that?

As far the IWCA running club goes I just see occasional disparaging references to it on here...

 

[kebabking]

As far the IWCA running club goes I just see occasional disparaging references to it on here...

rightly so. running clubs ffs....