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BBC Radio 4 - 92 to 94 FM and 198 Long Wave

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OPEN COUNTRY

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	PROGRAMME INFO

	Saturday 6.10-6.35am Repeated Thursday 1.30-2.00pm


	From Shetland to the Scilly Isles, Open Country travels the UK in search of the stories, the people and the wildlife that make our countryside such a vibrant place. Each week we visit a new area to hear how local people are growing the crops, protecting the environment, maintaining the traditions and cooking the food that makes their corner of rural Britain unique. Email: [email protected] Postal address: Open Country, BBC Radio 4, Birmingham, B5 7QQ.


	LISTEN AGAIN


	Listen to Open Country for 7 May 2005


	PRESENTERS

	HELEN MARK and RICHARD URIDGE



	More about Helen Mark




	More about Richard Uridge


	PROGRAMME DETAILS

	Saturday 7 May 2005
Andy Cave was born to climb. He is, in his own words "a good all rounder." Equally at home on the ice and snow of the Himalayas as on the rocks and boulders of the Peak District, Andy began climbing as a teenager - finding it an antidote to the claustrophobia of the classroom. In his book Learning to Breathe Andy tells the story of his life. He followed his father down the pit, becoming a coalminer at Grimethorpe Colliery. But the strike that began a year after he started work changed his life forever. He took off to the Peak District at every opportunity and climbing became a liberation, a way of surviving the hardships of the strike and an emotional release from the pressures of his home village. After the strike he decided to cash in his miner's pension and climb full time. He sought out new routes on the harshest mountains of the Himalayas, forging a new path. It was a way of life that was exciting but risky and it nearly ended his life. He tells Helen Mark of his ascent of Changabang, one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas, and a demanding and dangerous challenge to any climber. Andy and his friend Brendan Murphy set off to climb alpine style, which means no support and climbing in pairs. The atrocious weather meant a hard long climb, their food became depleted, they were exhausted and mistakes began to happen. It all caught up with them and an avalanche swept Brendan over a cliff, killing him. It was a cruel and tragic reminder of how dangerous mountaineering can be. Cyberspace Avalanche Center reports Helen also meets Conan Harrod, who survived an accident 28,000 feet up Mt Everest, when he was catapulted off a narrow ledge on the north face and broke his leg. No one had survived an accident at that height before and Conan thought he was facing certain death. In fact he was so sure he would die that he considered throwing himself down the mountain - at least it would be quick and preferable to freezing to death. But, with help from his climbing partners and days of superhuman effor, he crawled back to high camp and made it home. He is not finished with Everest, however and plans to return next year in a new attempt on the summit. Manchester News story Learning to Breathe by Andy Cave is published by Hutchinson, ISBN: 009180034X. Email Open Country: [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for external web sites

	RELATED LINKS BBC Holiday Category BBC Country file