Tony Shaw, Kate Harris, Katie Ives, Roger Hubank
I was very sad last week to learn of the death of Roger Hubank, who was an ardent supporter of the Boardman Tasker Charitable Trust for many years.
Roger grew up in Derby and studied English at Cambridge University. He worked for many years as a Senior Academic at Loughborough University. In his youth Roger was a keen climber and maintained a keen interest in the mountains throughout his life.
Roger was known as a highly regarded novelist and wrote six books predominantly based in mountain settings. He first came to prominence in 1977, with the austere and bleak “North Wall”, a book that soon became regarded as a classic. Roger’s second novel ‘Hazard’s Way’ was the 2001 winner of the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature. The book also won the Grand Prix at the Banff Mountain Literature Festival and was given a special commendation from the Royal Society of Literature.
To quote Jim Perrin: “Hazard’s Way is quite simply a masterpiece, the finest piece of fictional writing about the subject of mountaineering ever to have been published in this country.”
Roger wrote a total of six novels, the last one “Way of the Cuillin” was published in 2021. All of Roger’s books are highly recommended.
Roger was a Boardman Tasker Judge in 2018 and was Chair of Judges in 2019. At the 30th Anniversary of the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature Roger gave a stirring speech in support of the notion of mountain literature and received hug applause.
Roger was delightful company and retained a great interest in mountaineering throughout his life. He was also to me personally, a wonderful friend.