Top
mountaineer Andy Cave was the subject of a full-page interview in
yesterday's Observer review section and it's interesting reading.
Before he became a top climber, Cave was a miner at Grimethorpe
Colliery in Yorkshire and ironically, has a lot ot thank the miners'
strike and the subsequent dismantling of the British coal industry
for.
"During the strike,' he tells interviewer Tim Adams. 'When I was
not on picket duty, I had no repsonsibillities. I just slept rough in
the Peak District and went climbing every day ... It was like being
used to playing football on a Sunday afternoon and suddenly being
taken into a full-time academy. During the strike, my standard just
went on this incredible curve. It was addictive.'
The strike triggered huge changes in Cave's life - he went to
university, discovered literature and combined all that with a large
number of high-level expeditions. His book, 'Learning To Breathe',
which triggered the interview feature, is out now.
Anyway, the Observer article's well worth a furtive
lunchtime read if you haven't seen it already...
