Charlie Clarke and Dorothy Boardman in 2001
I still recall those events of over 40 years ago with sadness; and almost with a sense of disbelief. Was I really there, on Everest? Did we do those things, with such abandon?
In 1983, the year after Pete and Joe were lost, I wrote:
“….was it worth it? It would not have been if we had been able to peer even dimly into what was to happen. I can only look back on the spirit of our venture.
I believe that with the mysteries of our personalities, our curious drives and self-appointed goals, we could not have turned down this opportunity without denying ourselves a glimpse at the very meaning of existence. In time I expect we shall do the same again and be lured back, perhaps by another Goddess Mother of the World.”
Well, we were lured back, many times, but never to a challenge that was so fearsome. And we are the lucky ones, to have survived…and for most of us it has been indeed just luck…..
I think my sadness becomes worse as the years pass. When someone asks me about 1982, I’m uncomfortable. Like many soldiers after a war, I clam up. In part this is pain, and in part because I feel now that had I acted differently, the tragedy might never have happened. I appreciate that that was not quite how I wrote about it at the time.
Pete and Joe were great friends of Ruth (my late wife) and myself - the sort of friends who would always announce when they would be in London, and were always welcome to stay.
Pete was quiet and helpful – the sort of guy who would help wash up.
Joe was differentalways on fire… Naomi our daughter, aged 7 or so, was in love with him. “What about Maria?” I asked. “We’ll see about that, I want to marry him…” she replied.
Who started the BT? I think it was Dorothy, Pete’s Mum’s idea. We had a meeting at her house to discuss setting up something in Pete and Joe’s memory. “Something good must come out of this,” Dorothy had said.
I recall talking about Mallory & Irvine, lost on Everest in 1924, and the stained glass window in Chester cathedral that stands in their memory – for they were ‘men of Cheshire’. And how Mick Burke, a friend and film-maker who died on his solo summit bid on our 1975 SW Face of Everest expedition, is remembered by the BBC Mick Burke Award, for an adventure film.
Pete and Joe were fine writers as well as mountaineers. The idea of a literary award in their names took shape. I was all for the project, part of the initial organisation, helped gather funds and I was an active Chair for many years as the BT Award evolved.
The annual BT shortlist is full of endeavour, of hard work, well-researched and much of lasting merit. The award is an excellent way to remember Pete and Joe – it keeps them alive, some 40 years on: press on...
Charlie Clarke
October 2023