Christopher Cooper

A photographic exploration into the nature of climbing within the Peak District, UK.

Lose Yourself

When I climb I forget where I am in the world, and all the fears and concerns I have seem to disappear. If I am stressed or scared I go climbing, look at my surroundings and it helps me find a way to escape. Climbing to me is about the present, and the task in hand. This book explores the nature of climbing within the Peak District. The joy of bouldering is that it is portable, and this very much allows climbers to follow any journey that the path and environment takes them on. This book aims to inspire and motivate climbers to explore and experience the tranquility and beauty of this incredible area. Take time to lose yourself there, and it will help you find yourself again.

The Peak District is one of the most diverse and developed climbing areas in the world. The beauty of this incredible area makes it one of the most reknowned places within the climbing community. There are hundreds of guides available highlighting exactly where to climb and how to get there. It is easy to become so ingrossed by these guides that one often forgets that climbing outside is not only about finding and completing specific, famous routes, but there is a deeper connection with the landscape. The comfort of indoor alternatives seems to contradict the essence of climbing, and the connection one has with the landscape and nature itself. This photographic exploration is not to be used as a practical guide, but instead should take you on a visual journey into the nature of climbing within the Peak District, and the beauty of what can be seen and felt along the way.

How could one ever be bored with so many good things to see and feel?

- Yvon Chouinard

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When in the city there is never a time when I am as relaxed as when I climb here. The tactile nature of climbing outdoors, in which all my senses are somewhat heightened and stimulated, is something that I often long for when sitting on a bus, or waiting in line in busy traffic. The Peak District is only moments away from some of the major cities of Northern England; yet it seems that somehow the silence of the area is able to transport you into a completely different world. Take time to look at the tangled trees and dormant boulders and wonder how little the world up here changes. The slow pace and modesty of this landscape is something that perhaps should be reflected in all of our lives.

There are many boulders that are hidden deep within woodland. Often part of the challenge is navigating through tangled forest and uneven terrain. Rather than seeing this as a hiderence, I urge climbers to embrace the ability to escape the public footpath, and follow the trails made only by a select few. Take comfort in the fact that if a rock is difficult to find, it means that your presence is all the more significant. These boulders have been sitting patiently, watching the seasons drift by. Once the rock is found, take time to enjoy the silence, and the significance of your personal connection with the landscape.

Much of the rocks and cliff edges are hidden by dense woodland. The twisted, almost sculptural shapes formed by the trees present a definite presence within the area. The trees seem to give the landscape a voice that twists and sways as the seasons slowly change. I often wonder how many years these areas have watched drift by, the genereations that have passed. There is an underlining perception in society that we are seperate from nature, an alien in a foreign land. This serperation is perhaps futile, we shouldn’t see ourselves as outsiders, but instead a vital part of the landscape and world around us.

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.

- Robert Louis Stephenson

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Your journey may atke you to an area that you that is entirely new to you.

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When I am in the city there is never a time when I am as relaxed as when I climb here. The tactile nature of climbing outdoors, in which all my senses are somewhat heightened and stimulated, is something that I often long for when sitting on a bus, or waiting in line in busy traffic. The Peak District is only moments away from some of the major cities of Northern England; yet it seems that somehow the silence of the area is able to transport you into a completely different world. Take time to look at the tangled trees and dormant boulders and wonder how little the world up here changes. The slow pace and modesty of this landscape is something that perhaps should be reflected in all of our lives.

When I climb I forget where I am in the world, and all the fears and concerns I have seem to disappear. If I am stressed or scared I go climbing, look at my surroundings and it helps me find a way to escape. Climbing to me is about the present, and the task in hand. This book explores the beauty of the Peak District, and aims to inspire and motivate climbers to get out and experience the tranquility and beauty of this incredible area. Take time to lose yourself there, and it will help you find yourself again.

The Peak District is split into two areas: White Peak and the Dark Peak. The variety of climbing and natural features is due to the national park lying on the border between northern highlands and the lowlands of southern counties. It is perhaps this factor that gives the Peaks District such breadth and variation, and makes it such an interesting place to explore. Take time to observe the variation in rock formation, whether it is the sharp edges of jagged limestone, or the heavy friction of grit stone edges.

So let me now grandly spell out what I think climbing is all about. This beautiful physical ballet in space, and the beauty of nature. First and foremost of the rock itself – this beautiful substance which, hopefully, we may appreciate nearly as well as Stone Age man may have done around his caves. It is also of the beauty of the whole landscape, which adds so much to the great climbs. A respect not just for the rock; but an awareness that the rock; indeed our whole world, is linked to the stars and to the whole natural world in between.

- Gordon Stainforth

The boulder fields that are scattered around the Peak District show the true power of nature, and its ability to carve and shape the earth around us. When standing in these fields, it is easy to become overpowered by the scale of the landscape, and just how powerful the forces of nature are. One must remember however, that it is this same force that shows another side to the earth, a gentle detail that should not be overlooked. Climbing has the ability to help one focus on the individual elements that make up the landscape; whether it is the minute imperfections in the rock, or how the vegetation seems to shape around these sleeping giants.

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Once a suitable rock is found there is an almost theraputic routine that climbers often find themselves in. A lot of the process is about preperation. The rock has to be cleaned and any dead foilage or damage to the rock has to be removed. Brushing up the holds, and beginning to feel the rock’s texture seems to establish a personal connection, and this in a sense is where climbers often find themselves transfixed by a few square feet of the landscape. Any thoughts of money or work seem to disappear, and it is this focus that really draws your concentration and allows you to in a sense truly escape.

Climbing requires intense concentration. I know of no other activity in which I can so easily lose all the hours of an afternoon without a trace. Or a regret. I have had storms creep up on me as if I had been asleep, yet I knew the whole time I was in the grip of an intense concentration, focused first on a few square feet of rock, and then on a few feet more. I have gone off across camp to boulder and returned to find the stew burned. Sometimes in the lowlands when it is hard to work I am jealous of how easily concentration comes in climbing. This concentration may be intense, but it is not the same as the intensity of the visionary periods; it is a prerequisite intensity.”

- Doug Robinson

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Many say that rock climbing is very much about conquering something that was never intended to be climbed. When climbing in an indoor centre you are left with an underlining feeling that the climbs you complete have been undertaken hundreds, if not thousands of times. The connection that climbers have with outdoor routes is impossible to replicate in any climbing wall or training gym. When climbing outdoors you know that by completing a route, you have in a sense conquered an area of nature that was never intended for that purpose.

In a curious way, maybe the climber stops living when he begins to climb. He steps out of the living world of anxiety into a world where there is no room, no time, for such distractions. All that concerns him is surviving the present. Any thoughts of gas bills and mortgages, loved ones and enemies, evaporate under the absolute necessity for concentration on the task at hand.

- Joe Simpson

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“ Climbing may take the form of the need to live heroically, or to rebel against restraint and limitation: an escape from the restricting circle of daily life, a protest against being submerged in universal drabness, an affirmation of the freedom of the spirit in dangerous and splendid adventure. Or it may well be the pleasure of physical fitness and moral energy, elegance of style and calculated daring; ordeals gaily faced with friends themselves as firm as rock, the hard life of the high huts, the happy relaxation on remote pastures as one smokes a pipe or sings mountain songs. It may be the search for an intense aesthetic experience, for exquisite sensations, or for man’s never satisfied desire for unknown country to explore, new paths to make. Best of all, it should be all these things together.

- Giusto Gervasutti

The reason that we climb will vary from person to person, but it we must remember the importance of the landscape in which we explore. Together we must protect it, and do our best to maintain its survival. Climbing comes with an underlining repect for the outdoors, and it seems there is an almost primal connection with the landscape. Rarely are we able to replicate this feeling in our day to day lives; it is something that should be treasured.

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The range and depth of colour is something that always strikes me when I am in this landscape. Whether it is through the natural vegetation, or the tints that are cast over the landscape by the changing sky.

Being visionary means in the very simplest sense: keeping a childlike sense of wonder, the spirit that plays naively, with a completely uncynical freshness, and has an openness to the whole natural world as it is given to us.

- Gordon Stainforth

As the day draws to close, and your journey begins to end, take time to reflect what you have seen throughout the day, and the connection you have been able to make by exploring and observing this incredible landscape. This area comes without the limitations and judgements of our everyday life. There is a freedom here that is somewhat comforting; a freedom that is written into the fundamentals of rock climbing. This is a freedom that is often forgotten in our adult lives. As your journey begins to end, be sure to remember how you feel, an hope it is not long before you experience it again.

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“ For me, climbing is a form of exploration that inspires me to confront my own inner nature within nature. It’s a means of experiencing a state of consciousness where there are no distractions or expectations. This intuitive state of being is what allows me to experience moments of true freedom and harmony.

- Lynn Hill”

It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it is still there. So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this:

You will outlive the bastards.

- Edward Abbey

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The Peak District is just one of many areas in the United Kingdom that has such a rich and diverse landscape. The pace of our modern lifestyle means it is easy to forget the connection we have with the outdoors. Climbing gives us the opportunity to explore its beauty, both on a large scale, and in the minute detail. The connection we have stimulates all of our senses, and gives us the opportunity to observe the landscape as a whole. Take time to lose yourself from the rigid regulations of our everyday lives, and establish a deep connection with the landscape. Climbing to me is about slowing down and escaping the pace of life, giving us time to enjoy and connect with the earth that surrounds us.

Quotes:

Abbey, E. (1976) as quoted in Noss, R. Saving Nature’s Legacy : Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity (1994) Island Press, Washington.

Chouinard, Y. (1966) American Alpine Club Journal. New York, USA.

Gervasutti, G. (1947) Scalate nelle Alpi (translated to English, 2005.) cda & vivalda, Italy

Hill, L. (2002), Climbing Free: My Life in the Vertical World. Norton Paperback, USA

Louis-Stevenson, R (1905) Essays on Travel. Chatto and Windus, London.

Robinson, D (1969) The Climber as a Visionary. Appearing in Ascent Magazine

Simpson, J. (1995), The Game of Ghosts. Mountaineers Books, USA

Stainforth, G. (1970) The Climber as a Visionary: Lecture to the Alpine Club, UK.