Sylvia Haynes 1941 - 2003
An Appreciation and Celebration of her Life
As already reported in a previous KMC newsletter, Sylvia Haynes died
this summer after fighting cancer for the last four years. She is
survived by husband Bob and their two sons, Hamish and Matthew.
Sylvia was a KMC member from 1968 until 1975 when she temporarily
retired from mountaineering duties to perform maternal ones.
She had met Bob in 1960 whilst descending Jacob's Ladder on Kinder.
Two weeks after that first encounter they met up again on hostelling
weekend, the YHA never being far from her life. It was the start of
many camping/hostelling trips they organised which attracted up to 40
people. Alan Barber remembers dancing with Sylvia at a hoe-down held
at Slaidburn village hall way back in 1961 when based at the local
hostel. In those days she worked for Scottish Brewers who provided
free beer for their employees. Not liking the beer to drink she used
her allocation for washing her hair.
In the meantime, one of their YHA friends had started taking Sylvia
and Bob climbing on the crags in the Peak District and both became
enthusiastic.
Alan tells me when they were all staying at the Ewden hostel the
weekend after JFK had been shot. On the Sunday Sylvia was soloing at
Wharnecliffe when she fell twelve feet. She was badly shaken but did
not want any fuss and was soon having another try on the route.
Hitch-hiking was another associated pursuit of Sylvia and Bob. Their
first effort around Scotland wearing moccasins subsequently ended
with feet well-blistered.
On another trip they caught the ferry to Bergen in Norway, on to Oslo
by train then hitched to Stockholm where the hostel was in a naval
dockyard with restricted access. They hitched down to Copenhagen in a
refrigerated lorry and for 12 krona they could have all the ice they
wanted but for the freezer motor being turned off. They also hitched
through France and Spain to Marrakech in Morocco where the
temperature of 140 degrees F. induced gyppy tummy and curtailed their
plans for the Atlas Mountains.
They signed up for a beginners' mountaineering course in the Stubai
Alps with the Austrian Alpine Club to learn how to climb the big
snowy hills. Next summer, they returned for the advanced course this
time in the Zillertal. One of the guides was Peter Habeler.
By this time Sylvia had changed jobs a couple of times and won
promotion to manager of the first YHA shop in Manchester on Queen's
Street. Now anyone who knew Sylvia would tell you that she was a good
looking woman. She was also a competent salesperson with a winning
smile, had a very pleasant disposition and had an expertise on
climbing gear. Ken Beetham tells me that all the lads in Manchester
started to buy their climbing gear at the YHA, to the disadvantage of
the other more established shops. Bob Brigham even made a visit down
to Queen's Street to see where his profits had disappeared. Alan
Barber says that in the early days when hitch-hiking was a preferred
mode of weekend travel, Sylvia had no problem stopping motorists who
did not know what had hit them when everyone piled in after and
filled their cars. On Sunday nights climbers and walkers returning to
Manchester would try to get to the pub at the back of Aytown Street
where Sylvia knew everyone on account of working at the YHA.
One of the first KMC meets that Sylvia and Bob attended was a Colne -
Rowsley which they completed but not wearing moccasins. A couple of
years later they went on the fateful Cornish meet at Easter. The
Scouts had invited KMC members to join them on the scouts' bus.
However, driven by Sam the Tram, it only made it as far as Bodmin
Moor when brake failure ended with a somersault into a field.
Amazingly no one was hurt except Sylvia who cut her head whilst
climbing out of a broken window of the upturned bus.
A taste for the Alps had been kindled in both of them. Zermatt became
a favourite destination for summer holidays where the Bahnhof Hotel
provided affordable lodgings. They returned for three or four seasons
during when they climbed serious routes on Monte Rosa and the
traverse of the Taschhorn and the Dom all sustained on 'Ritz'
crackers. Another year they went to Chamonix to do the ordinary route
up Mont Blanc.
Back with the KMC they were at the heart of the Club's activities for
many years, at one time hardly missing a meet for two years when 30
to 35 members regularly turned out. The Pringle Stone Incident
happened on the Christmas meet of 1968, Alan Barber's account is
below. (Sylvia was a Pringle before a Haynes.)
Sylvia served time on the Committee and became the Handbook editor
for three years. That winning smile meant that a healthy profit from
advertisers during those years.
When I joined the Club some thirty years or more ago, I was 'adopted'
for a time by Sylvia when I was delighted and almost overwhelmed by
the enthusiasm. Whenever describing a climbing route or a walk up a
mountain her eyes would widen and her face would shine with pleasure.
Driving down to Wales or other weekend destinations, she and Bob used
to point out bends or bridge parapets named after different KMC
members following incidents of steering wheel wrestling. She never
mentioned that she had a rock named after her on Arran!
Sylvia was a good all round mountaineer whether climbing on rock or
snow or navigating in tricky conditions in the hills when she could
remember the smallest detail of the terrain. It is thought that she
was the fifth woman to climb 'Dream of White Horses.' Her sense of
humour and infectious laugh meant it was always a pleasure to spend a
day on the hills with her.
Throughout these last four years Sylvia's rallies against her illness
always left further back than before and although we saw her on
walking meets from time to time there was no hint of the fitness of
those previous years. We did not guess that she was so ill as it was
her wish not to make it common knowledge. She was very ill during the
last few months when Bob was able to nurse her full time.
At her funeral in August, many KMC members and ex-members turned out
to pay their respects for a fine mountain companion and a wonderful
lady.
The Pringle Stone Incident, Boxing Day 1968
The KMC Christmas meet was at North Sannox Farm on the Isle of Arran
where eight or nine of us were crammed in very cosily.
Six of us plodded up Glen Sannox on this short, freezing, Scottish
winter's day. After ages we emerged into mellow, low-angled sunlight
under Cir Mhor. The light was already dimming as we climbed towards
the A'Chir Ridge. The rock was icy with a dusting of powder snow, so
we roped up. Eventually, however, after sliding and thrutching down
the last corner on to the narrow part of the ridge we were able to
unrope where the sun had melted the snow. We traversed the 'bad step'
and the narrow ridge quickly, wary of black ice forming. It was well
into twilight as we descended into the side of the valley above Glen
Rosa. The party was now well spread out and Sylvia was at the back as
someone shouted that we would regroup in the main glen.
Eventually, we all stopped at a large boulder and began to anticipate
our dinner waiting for us at the farm. Then, we started singing
carols loudly and tunelessly! After half an hour there was still no
Sylvia and our stomachs were rumbling too. Bob decided to go back up
the glen and I jogged down to the telephone box to ask Christine
Jones to bring the van round to pick us up.
Who do you think was there first? - Yes! Sylvia Pringle! Later Sylvia
insisted she had not heard or seen us as she came down the glen.
However, she said it with such a twinkle in her eye that we were all
left to make up our own minds about it!
It all ended happily as the farmer's wife had a massive dinner
waiting for us and then later a massive Scottish supper of scones and
cakes too.
Later on the meet, John Castick carved 'THE PRINGLE STONE' on the
boulder and to this day people refer to it when describing routes up
Glen Rosa. I am sure that I once had a map that showed it too!
Chris Thickett (with Bob Haynes and Alan Barber) November 2003
January Newsletter Index.
Copyright © 2003 Karabiner Mountaineering Club
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