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Michael (Mike) Peters - Rock Climber
"And what remains of all I see and know if I let go?"
Sadly after a long brave fight against terminal illness, Mike finally "let
go" of life on Tuesday July 27th at the age of 52. He had been a
member of the KMC for 35 years.
He came along as a chubby, round-faced 17 year old with a mop of beatle style
black hair. The cherubic appearance belied a mischievous and lively attitude. A
Wythenshawe lad, like a number of us at that time, he lived just around the
corner from Stan Roach in Peel Hall, so it was quite natural for him to get a
lift to some of his early meets in Stan's van. One of these, it may even
have been his first, was to Birchens. I was 10 years older and treated him as a
novice but soon had to change my view, when after carefully leading Crows Nest I
found he had just soloed up behind as it was not worth putting the rope on! He
was obviously a natural, way out of my class and going to be a very good climber
indeed.
And so it proved. At a time when there was a strong contingent of rock climbers
in the club, Mike was to go on to be one of the best. His regular partner was
(the late) Danny Murphy and it was with Danny that he made the ascent described
in the KMC 50th year Journal. The Whillans route on Cloggy, Wonbits
Left Hand, had had only 2 ascents including the 1st eight years
earlier and had certain mysterious aura about it, but they decided to have a go.
They pronounced it "Not a very good route, but very very hard".
Another notable climb was the (second?) ascent, with Angus Morris of Red Wall on
South Stack. Angus says he can't remember much about it but John Castick was
an eye-witness. This rather loose wall had been selected as the venue for one of
the BBC TV rock climbing spectaculars featuring American star Royal Robins and
Britons Joe Brown, McNaught Davis and Tom Patey - there is an account of this in
Tom Patey's book. The televised first ascent was achieved with the help of a
number of pre-placed pitons but was brought down to the level of mere mortals by
Peters and Morris, soon afterwards. To give you some idea of Mike's climbing
standard, when I asked Peter Scholefield about routes they had done together:
Vector, Gandalf and Scratch Arête were the first three that sprang to
mind!
Mike was really an out and out rock climber and not into the KMC tradition of
long walks etc, but showing the traits of stubbornness and determination that
were to mark his later life, he did complete at least 2. The 40 mile Lyke Wake
with Danny Murphy and a Bowden Black creation, The Shap - Wasdale, ie just walk
east to west across the Lakes District Map. Bowden goaded Mike into this and as
Phil Ramsbottom puts it "Mike finished but only just, he was just about all
in".
Impressions of Mike at this time varied. One person's "bouncy and
irrepressible" was another's "brash and bumptious". One thing
for sure, things were never dull with Mike around.
Sadly and suddenly, all this was to change. Mike was stricken with a brain
tumour and for many people that would have been it, but serious surgery and
medical care, plus that dogged Peters determination were to pull him through.
Gone was his round moon-face and most of his hair (replaced by a beard) and
drastically thinner. Physically a much changed man but as loquacious as ever.
When he got a bit stronger we tried a couple of routes, one at the Roaches,
Maude's Garden, and one at Ravensdale, Ash Tree Crack. This was to be his
last climb. At the top he said he could no longer trust his sense of balance and
would not be climbing again, ever.
He had sorted out his education and was in a computing job that entailed
communicating with a young lady named Pat. They arranged to meet at Sheffield
Railway Station. As Pat puts it "An early example of computer dating".
After the good luck of finding Pat, Mike had the good sense to marry her a year
later and settle down to married life in Sheffield. Mike had a questioning mind
(argumentative if you like) and a strong social conscience which kept him busy:
actively supporting many good causes such as Shelter & Greenpeace and so on.
He kept in touch with the KMC over the years, attending Annual Dinners,
Presidents Hot Pots, Len's Kettleshulme meets and so on; as bubbly as ever
but no longer a climber. I had started running the Marathon and Mike, not to be
outdone, with no real training ran a half Marathon, The Great North Run. He
finished it, in a somewhat slow time - that Peters determination factor at work
again. He decided to do some proper training, the object being for us to run
together in the Sheffield Half Marathon of 1998. This was not to be, I ran on my
own, supported by Pat and a rather poorly Mike. He had gone to the doctor's
thinking from his symptoms that he had had a minor stroke, but a scan revealed
the unthinkable; a fresh set of brain tumours, after 25 years, they were back.
Mike was very positive and upbeat, he had beaten it once, he could do it again.
And fight he did, for about eighteen months but it was a losing battle in the
end.
My final memory of Mike is from my last visit when I had taken along my copy of
"Hard Rock" and Mike went through it with Pat, recounting some of his
exploits from his glory years. A few weeks later he was dead.
It says a lot about Mike as a person that, after so many years away, amongst the
large crowd of mourners at his funeral, there were so many members of the
Karabiner Club.
Personally speaking, I can only say that Mike was one of the most unforgettable
characters I have ever met.
Peter Walker
PS This article is essentially just one person's view. I am sure other
members will have their own memories and stories and could share them with us
via the newsletter.
PPS Pat Peters is going to arrange a "wake" in celebration of
Mike's life, sometime in the near future. She will let us know the date and
hopes the KMC will come along.
MIKE PETERS
Mike as many of you know, recently lost a rather one-sided return fight with a
brain tumour that had given him such trauma over twenty years ago. As a mark of
respect to his memory I would like to record a few reminiscences of a nice guy
who deserved a better rub of the green.
The first time I met him was in the early sixties at Laddow as a trainer shod
youth soloing up Tower Face. Knees were frowned on in those days and the youth
seemed to use them more than his hands. Wittering all the time, he somehow made
progress upwards and repeated much of the same at Stoney the following weekend.
In conversation he appeared somewhat abrasive and soon became a close mate of
Danny Murphy another teenager who seemed to seek satisfaction out of the sharp
end of the pre aluminium era. They like many others, idolised Joe and Don and
were a bit peevish at the mention of the name of Pete Crewe. They went on to
become a real ginger group which included Julie Collins whose Tinker tent they
never got into and did the second ascent of Wonbits Left Hand amongst other
climbs of that era. Angus Morris from this group turned up at the funeral
service. Obviously anxious to get his four meets in for membership Mike arrived
in the early hours at the start of a Shap to Wasdale walk, to be led by the as
ever optimistic Bowden Black who announced that the shortest distance between
two points was a straight line and proceeded to test the valley side contours of
Longsleddale, Kentmere and all stations to Grasmere; from whence sanity was
slowly returning. I think from memory Scho and Astles took the classical high
level way and finally at nearly ten pm. an incoherent pale faced Peters
staggered down Brown Tongue and looked so knackered that I put him to bed in my
tent and got some food and brews into him. As my luxurious ventile Arctic
Guinea, bought on the never never was one of my prized possessions he was indeed
honoured. Having had some of Blacks epics on weekends past I really admired his
tenacity as he had never done a walk of any substance in his life and it was
obvious that he had lots of competitive backbone.
We became friends for ever after that and he jokingly always said that I saved
his life. From the looks of him I'm sure he was right!
His first illness made a shambles initially of his youthful life when he was
supported by Linda his caring girlfriend of that time. As he got better, for
some reason we never knew, they parted and Len did one of his many favours by
just letting him sit around his shop until he felt ready to resume his life
again. Being the type of man Mike was he never ceased to forget the darkest of
days so long ago. He met and married Pat and they must have been a bit left of
Tony Blair as they holidayed in places as far adrift as Russia and Cuba. I'm
sure in his youth the Newbury bye pass and second runway would probably occupied
his thoughts at least and I have a permanent memory of this on the surface
volatile yet so caring man who really didn't deserve to leave us so soon.
So dear Wonbits Left Hand I hope you and your good mate Danny can again team up
on the other side and know that Pat gave you a good send off.
Ken Beetham
October 1999 Newsletter Index.
Copyright © 1999 Karabiner Mountaineering Club
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