My Story #19: Judith Ellis, Retired Charity Worker

WRITTEN by ANNE ENSOLL & JUDITH ELLIS

In this series we’re sharing the stories of outdoor instructors, mountain guides and enthusiasts who work and play in the mountains. Links to all the previous posts can be found at the bottom of this post.

Great Howe scramble in the Lake District, 2014

What Are Your Memories of Adventures in The Outdoors as A Child Or Teenager?

I was born to parents who, in their youth, had done a lot of walking and cycling, so my brother and I were introduced to walking at a very early age.  I don’t remember ever not liking it, unlike our daughter, Bex, and probably the majority of children at some stage.

I have not often got lost, as in not knowing where I was, but it happened on Ilkley Moor when I was about seven and my brother was four.  Our parents told us to find as many paths as we could.  The bracken was higher than us and we got very scared.  I don’t suppose we were very far away from our parents who probably wanted a few minutes of downtime without us, and Dad soon rescued us when we called out.

Walking became rock climbing in my teens.  Ilkley Quarry and Rocky Valley were perfect as an option in games lessons for pupils at Ilkley Grammar.  This was in the 1970s when Ron Fawcett and Pete Livesey were our local heroes. Sometimes we were taken to Almscliffe.  I’d regularly walk to school with a satchel of school books and a rucksack of climbing gear, and I’d probably have got higher A-level grades if I hadn’t spent so much time up in the quarry.

What Do You Remember About Your Outdoor Adventures When You Started Doing Them Independently?

I was the only girl in a close group of half a dozen of us who started climbing at school. Martin was one of them and we’ve been married for 42 years.  We – the group – had three spectacularly unsuccessful years in the Alps and one on Skye, then we all sort of drifted our separate ways.  Martin and I walked a bit but a life in farming was not conducive to mountaineering.  We didn’t climb much, largely due to time restrictions.  After I’d had two babies (Pete and Bex) I was surprised to find I’d lost my nerve.  I now know that it happens to quite a few women.

Looking very scared abbing off the In Pin on my 60th birthday, October 2014

What Has Your Path Been Since Then?

So I arrived at my 50th birthday and I still longed to stand on top of something white and pointy in the Alps.  But would my head let me?  To test this out I decided I needed to climb Jack’s Rake with a Guide.  This was my big birthday event organised by Bex, and before we knew anything about the world of mountain leaders and Guides.  She phoned the information centre in Patterdale where worked one ‘Long Tall Dave’ who, in answer to her question, suggested Chris Ensoll could do such a thing.  That was day one of my renaissance which it’s fair to say is being very long and very slow but I’m still happy to be making progress.  Peak one was the Allalinhorn with Chris the following year.  We toiled up the Hohlaubgrat in clag but it was worth it to arrive at the top through the cloud, and all the peaks of the Alps rising out of it.  Utterly magical.

My most favourite thing is a long day out in the Lakes, often in winter. Coming off the hill into the valley as darkness falls, when the wind drops, and it goes quiet is very special.  You can hear the birds settling for the night and the air gets that slightly chill, slightly damp smell.  Ours is the last car in the car park and there’s a huge sense of fulfilment and satisfaction.  This would be on ridges and grade two scrambles, the longer the better.  I can do those without a rope and it feels fantastic.  I need a rope for grade three.  I love the constant movement and each move being different, and the body’s mobility and articulation.  It’s pure escapism with just enough adrenalin for me to make it exciting.  I love being up above the manmade environment and focussing on what God created.  And it’s what keeps the black dog at bay.

We were once on Great Carrs Buttress and arrived at the top at the same time as a walker who’d come up Wetherlam.  She said there was a path up the way she’d come.  ‘Yes’ we replied, ‘that’s why we came this way’.

On the Gartnerwand, Lechtaler Alps, Austria, 2017

What is your biggest outdoor passion?

Climbing / walking / mountaineering is the biggest binding factor in our family: there’s always two or more of us wanting to do something together in the hills and it’s meant that we’ve seldom had a holiday without either Pete or Bex or both with us.  It’s what we do on holiday and I wouldn’t know what else to do.

We had a couple of extended family snow holidays.  I loved the clothes, the coffee, the food, sunshine and snow.  I decided I need to join the skiing in 2012.  Bex and Pete bought ski boots for my 60th birthday.

I also cycle and am more likely to cycle alone than go on a big hill day. Martin recently had hip replacement surgery and is pretty much grounded so I’m working on my navigation skills to build confidence for solo trips. I’ve always walked with other people and members of my family are my favourite walking companions.  The very first hill day on my own was as recently as 2011!  Martin and Bex went up the Ben on the North East Buttress and I walked up the tourist path!  We had planned to walk down together but that didn’t work out, and they didn’t get off until 11 pm!

On the Weissmies with Bex and Pete, 2013

What is your biggest outdoor irritation?

I used to get irritated by litter on the hills but the situation is so much improved since the 1970s.  Other people’s banana and orange skins are a bit annoying and I usually move them out of sight.  I do pick up litter except paper hankies, which I think people don’t notice dropping out of their pockets.  I once saw a half set of dentures on the way up Helvellyn but I didn’t pick them up.  I don’t like to see or hear 4 x 4 drivers destroying tracks for recreation and I’m disappointed with the stance the Lake District National Park is taking on this issue.  It doesn’t accord with ‘quiet enjoyment’ or ‘leaving no trace’.

What are your goals/hopes for the future?

I’m 66 now and aim to keep going to the mountains for another 20 years or so.  I do a fitness class twice a week to help me keep hill fit, and on two or three other days each week I make sure I get a walk or bike ride locally. I’ve got pelvic floor issues that currently cause me to grind to a halt after about five hours walking or three hours on a bike but I’m working with physios and a pilates teacher to remedy this. I continue to get braver by very small increments  by repeating things that are at or near my limit of bravery.  But I find there’s only a small window of opportunity between extending the bravery and getting adventured out.

An employer once wrote a reference for me that said ‘Judith is always up for a challenge’.  In the outdoors the challenge is to overcome my fear.  My challenges are very small and would barely rate as a challenge at all for most people.  But overcoming them keeps me going.  The joy of the outdoors is the elation of achievement  - overcoming a fear, a glorious long day and a safe return.  I don’t conquer mountains; as Chris says, no-one conquers mountains.  I conquer my fear and feel all the better for it.

Read the rest of the series

My Story #1: Chris Ensoll, International Mountain Guide
My Story #2: John Kettle, Climbing & Mountain Biking Coach
My Story #3: Kelvyn James, International Mountain Leader
My Story #4: Anne Ensoll, Business Manager And Ex-Outdoor Instructor
My Story #5: Michael Curry, All-Round Outdoor Instructor and Business Owner
My Story #6: Esther Foster, Freelance Outdoor Instructor
My Story #7: Rob Pugh, Mountaineering Instructor and Stay-at-Home Dad
My Story #8: Colin Reilly, Outdoor Instructor & Church Pastor
My Story #9: Rhiannon Pritchard, Arctic Nature Guide and Academic
My Story #10: Alan Kimber, Mountain Guide and Accommodation Provider
My Story #11: Claire Hendrickse, Freelance Outdoor Instructor
My Story #12: Alice Kerr, Outdoor Instructor & Long Distance Runner
My Story #13: Ben Roe, Outdoor Education Graduate and Climbing Wall Route Setter
My Story #14: Susan Byrne, Mountain Leader and Outdoor Youth Worker
My Story #15: Jon Chamberlain, Mountaineering & Climbing Instructor and Business Owner
My story #16: Sandra Schmidt, Mountain Leader and Tour Guide
My Story #17: Simon Sampson, School Teacher & Mountain Leader
My Story #18: Nick Ashley, Outdoor Instructor and Business Manager