A(nother) Day Out With Bowden Black
By Jim Symon
The following article came about after chatting with Roger Dyke on my Chew Valley meet. I said I had really enjoyed his article on Bowden Black and mentioned I had had many a good day out with him myself. “Really Jim…..you should write one yourself.” A couple of weeks later he sent me a postcard reminding me - just in case I had forgotten. So as promised Roger, here it is.
It was August in 1987 and it was a typical summer’s day at Ty Powdwr, yes, it was pouring down. The rain and mist had set in for the day and people were festering in the hut probably deciding which cafes to go to. Bowden Black asked the room if anyone wanted to do Bryants Gulley in Llanberis Pass with him. There were no takers. I looked slightly interested and caught his eye – ‘you interested youth?’ (it was 1987!) and he became all enthusiastic, ‘It’s a good line and you’ll enjoy it!’ ‘Have you done it before?’ I asked. ‘No! But a young lad like you will have no problem’ (like I said, it was a long time ago!) ‘Does it go in the rain?’ ‘Only one way to find out lad’ and Bowden grinned.
That was it - we were off. We donned waterproofs at the bottom of Carreg Wastad and I looked up to see the gulley disappear into the mist and rain and had to look away as the rain was stinging my eyes. Bowden carried the rope and a few slings and nuts as we scrambled up the gulley, which was more like a waterfall. We got soaked immediately. Bowden must have been about 63 then and I was a mere 25. He moved up the wet rock quickly and confidently and I was hard pushed to keep up, I remember thinking ‘ bloody hell he’s fit for an old bugger!’ As we got higher the rock got looser and so we got the rope out and moved together. He was an interesting man to talk to and I listened like a little boy to his tales of climbing in the old days at the same crags as Brown, Whillans and Nat Allen etc.
The gulley closed in near the top and Bowden said ‘you lead and I’ll hold your ropes.’ I looked down to see that he’d put me on a waist belay. He saw my look and said ‘Don’t worry, I haven’t dropped anyone ….. yet!’ ‘Yeah’ I thought ‘probably too scared to fall’. He grinned confidently and his confidence exuded reliability. I thought, ‘OK, he’s got big arms, big hands and is heavier than me so I’ll be fine.’ The steep bit was a bit loose but soon we were out of the gulley and heading up to the crest of Esgair Felen and onto the summit of Glyder Fawr. We didn’t see a thing in the mist and rain and so headed back down grinning from ear to ear. That was my first day out with Bowden Black and only one of the fond memories I have of a man that I had the utmost respect for. The next day the rain was even worse and I ended up scrambling up the North ridge of Tryfan with him. Bowden’s enthusiasm for the hills was infectious and I’m glad to say I still suffer from it today.
