Spotted this thanks to Andy Perkin’s Twitter Feed http://twitter.com/andypmtnguide. An interesting obit on Chris Dale, Mountain Guide in the Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/sport-obituaries/8346303/Chris-Dale.html

Chris was one of the anarchic group of British climbers who inhabited Snell’s Field in Chamonix - a step down from the Sheffield Binmen’s appartment in luxury.

He subsequently trained as a Mountain Guide, but was slow to qualify in the early 1990s owing to his difficulty with skiing. Like many British guides whose backgrounds lay in rock climbing, mastering the sport was an unhappy experience. After he passed his exams the first thing he did was throw his skis away, vowing never to strap on a pair again.

davidof - 16 March 2011 09:28 AM

He subsequently trained as a Mountain Guide, but was slow to qualify in the early 1990s owing to his difficulty with skiing. Like many British guides whose backgrounds lay in rock climbing, mastering the sport was an unhappy experience. After he passed his exams the first thing he did was throw his skis away, vowing never to strap on a pair again.

Wat a character he sounded. Hadn’t heard of him before, buts great to have such people in any sport. RIP!

On a side note as a non climber and walker i am finding it hard to work towards my IML so i can guide mountain bikers. Like “Crystal” and his ski’s, i hope to throw my boots away.