UKH

Hello.

Does anyone know where i can get a copy of the poem by Geoffrey Winthrop Young contining the following line:

"In this short span between my fingertips and the smooth edge and these tense feet cramped to a crystal ledge, I hold the life of a man."

It's lovely and i would like to share it buy i've lost my copy and I can't find one on the 'net. Thanks.

Peace
ml

In reply to Mountain Lass:
The Cragsman.


In this short span
between my fingertips on the smooth edge
and these tense feet cramped on the crystal ledge
I hold the life of man.
Consciously I embrace
arched from the mountain rock on which I stand
to the firm limit of my lifted hand the front of time and space: -
For what is there in all the world for me
but what I know and see?
And what remains of all I see and know
if I let go.

With this full breath
bracing my sinews as I upward move
boldly reliant to the rift above
I measure life from death.
With each strong thrust
I feel all motion and all vital force
borne on my strength and hazarding their course
in my self trust:-
There is no movement of what kind it be
but has its source in me:
And should these muscles falter to release
motion itself must cease.

In these two eyes
that search the splendour of earth, and seek
the sombre mysteries on plain and peak
all vision wakes and dies.
With these my ears
that listen to the sound of lakes asleep
and love the larger rumour from the deep
the eternal hears: -
For all of beauty that this life can give
lives only while I live;
And with the light my hurried vision lends
all beauty ends.

Geoffrey Winthrop Young
from “Freedom”.

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Thank you very much indeed - i really appreciate that.

Peace
ml

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Haven't seen you posting for a while. Good to see you're still around.

In reply to Mark Kemball:

Means an awful lot to me. The last verse was how I ended my first book (Eyes to the Hills). But it was semi by accident. We had a huge design problem. When everything seemed just OK, we suddenly seemed to be one page short. The art director said, well we'll start the appendixes on the RH page (recto). I said no way, that page must be black. I'll look for a quote. And Winthrop saved me; and the book was better for it, I'm sure.

In reply to Rob Naylor:

ditto

In reply to Rob Naylor:

Thanks, you're lovely as ever. It's good to hear from you too. I miss my friends here, but i've so busy studying and working i haven't had time to do much else. I've haven't even done a great deal of climbing recently. During the summer I only got out about once a week.

Hopefully if everyting pays of I'll be in a position to help some unhappy people soon though and it'll have been worthwhile.

Peace
ml

In reply to Removed User:

Awww c'mon guys (Blushes)

I've missed you too Simon. It's good to be back.
ml

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:
I think it's a real meaning ful poem to lots of people who see the soul of climbing. I can see why you included it in your book.

Peace
ml

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Just looked at the pages you're talking about, and I think you're right, the last page being black is very effective. Interesting to hear a bit of the story behind the book.

In reply to Mountain Lass: Hiya Gal,
When are you going to come and visit me in the CB, good to see you posting again.
A x

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: It's probably my favourite climbing poem. Have you read much of his stuff? I read his autobiography years ago and thought it was brilliant.

In reply to Mark Kemball:

Yes, I've got On High Hills. A really wonderful ancient classic, a lot of the writing very florid, but it somehow grabbed my imagination. Particularly the opening poem, that touched me, right at the very beginning of my climbing, at the age of 15:

There is much comfort in high hills,
and a great easing of the heart.
We look upon them, and our nature fills
with loftier images from their lives apart.
They set our feet on curves of freedom bent
to snap the circles of our discontent.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

correction: that should be 'life apart'

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: Interesting thread. I saw ML's request the other day and went to look up the said prose in a copy of 'the Mountaineer's Companion' ( ed. M Ward) which has a number of entries from GWY. Aside from the said poem which I think very emotional especially when you consider his circumstances when he wrote this verse, the article titled 'the Crux' is especially memorable as we have all been there, but the real achievment is to detail such experience with so much skill and litery craft. I know this was written more than 50 yrs ago but the use of language and grammar has lost much in recent times, and as with Murray, mountain literature is the poorer without it. Looking at the relevant pages in your book , you are right to say that the final page was kept black as it extends the picture of the Pass, a place with special reference to GWY. (We all know what happened to Ken Wilsons book on Cloggy when left to printers). Interestingly when I first started going to Wales climbing in the 60's , the YHA was still the Gorwysfa Hotel complete with battered sofa with a spring protruding. And the owner had a dog called Bishop who he claimed had been across Crib Goch over 200 times. I'm sure Mrs Owen was still living there. Alas Tempus Fugit

In reply to Sean Kelly:

Yes, I've got that too. Has some of GWY's best poems.

>Looking at the relevant pages in your book , you are right to say that the final page was kept black as it extends the picture of the Pass, a place with special reference to GWY.

That's exactly why I went to GWY as my first choice, because of the very strong PYP connection, and so was delighted when I found the verse that neatly wrapped up my 'eyes' theme.

>(We all know what happened to Ken Wilsons book on Cloggy when left to printers). Interestingly when I first started going to Wales climbing in the 60's , the YHA was still the Gorwysfa Hotel complete with battered sofa with a spring protruding. And the owner had a dog called Bishop who he claimed had been across Crib Goch over 200 times. I'm sure Mrs Owen was still living there. Alas Tempus Fugit

I actually went there at the age of 10 in 1960 for tea or something, en route to Ireland on a family holiday, when it was still the Gorphwysfa Hotel (I've stuck that ph in there purely from memory - I'm sure it was spelt more like that - can't find a reference to it at the moment) Have a vague, yet extremely strong memory of it. I think there was a stuffed bear in the entrance hall. Something to do with Everest as well (no, I'm not getting confused with the PYG) - maybe a yeti scalp??? I just can't remember quite. Very dark, with leather upholstered furniture, absolutely reeking with atmosphere. Even more than the wonderful PYG (worth staying the night there, BTW, the bedrooms and amazing old victorian bathroom upstairs are just amazing - unless they've now modernised it, which would be a great pity)

Have you got the book 'Snowdon Biography' by Geoffrey Winthrop Young, Geoffrey Sutton and Wilfred Noyce (Dent, 1957)? A real classic, particularly the first part by GWY, 'From Genesis to Numbers', which discusses the early climbing centred on PYP in Edwardian times in great detail. Try and get it at all costs if you haven't already got it.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth: No but I remember getting it out of the local library when I was a kid. They also had a copy of Herman Buhl's book . Bet it ain't there now!
I noticed in your book you called it the Pen y Pass Hotel! Obviously a problem with the spelling? Incidently carrying on the PyP thread, one of the guys who found Mallory's body on Everest (can't recall his name), came over a couple of years back and climbed with some friends in my climbing club (KMC)as he wanted to repeat all the Mallory climbs, and when they repeated his route on y Garn (opp Craig y Bera) it was reckoned the second ascent. Some gap!

In reply to Sean Kelly:

You mean Pen y Pass Hotel? rather than Inn. Yes, that was probably wrong, but not exactly a spelling mistake. The point is all the old climbers just called it Pen y Pass, and never Gorspwsf ... (whatever, late at night!)

Wasn't that route on Y Garn famously loose and dangerous? (And ... right off the top of my head, didn't one of the early guidebook writers - not JMAT, but of his period - die on it? ...Or rather .. off it)

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Not sure if a party of Rucksackers did that Y Garn route just before putting up Angels Pavement, Tom Waghorn would know.

Gorphwysfa was the correct spelling, try it in google.