I think the mountains have meant more to me than people.

December 13, 2020 7:54 AM

Given recent tragic news, perhaps a small celebration of one of the UK's other famous authors and climbers is in order: Gwen Moffat (Wikipedia). Deserting the military after World War II, she lived a life of adventure, becoming Britain's first female certified mountain guide, and supporting herself with whatever came to hand. This included writing 1961's bestseller Space Below My Feet (Google preview), and, ultimately, some 34 other books. You can see excerpts from an interview with the author herself in Jen Randall and Claire Carter's absolutely delightful 2015 short film Operation Moffat (skip to 2:15 to avoid the ridiculous RedBull intro) (acrophobia warning: the film itself contains cliff climbing. Nothing bad happens!). Bonus text interview.
posted by SunSnork (5 comments total)

It's enough, knowing the mountains are there.
posted by mule98J at 8:53 AM on December 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

What a great film and a great life. Thanks for posting!
posted by bondcliff at 10:06 AM on December 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

Definitely need to watch this, and I just bought a collection of her mysteries on Amazon for $6.
posted by suelac at 11:11 AM on December 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

The short film is excellent enough to deserve a post of its own (really, I can't overstate how much it speaks to me). But, I didn't want to minimize Ms. Moffat's role.
posted by SunSnork at 11:28 AM on December 14, 2020

If climbing means most to you, don’t have children. If you need babies, give up climbing for some of your most active years.

She's direct but practical.
posted by oneboiledfrog at 2:56 PM on December 17, 2020 [1 favorite]