Peter Crew

A making of the live broadcast of the ascent of the Old Man of Hoy. In July of 1967, 15 million people watched one of the most audacious BBC outside broadcasts ever undertaken - the climbing of the 'Old Man of Hoy'. This is an account of how the BBC-1 television programme was organised, together with recordings made during the broadcast, and interviews with those who helped to make it possible as well as those who did the actual climb.

Portrait of British mountaineer Joe Brown, who demonstrates his climbing technique and discusses his philosophy of climbing. The film was shot in and around Llanberis, where he lives, and on the cliffs of South Stack Lighthouse in Anglesey. Brown is regarded as the outstanding pioneering English rock climber of the 1950s and early 1960s. He established an unprecedented number of classic new routes in Snowdonia and the Peak District that were at the leading edge of the hardest grades. He made the first ascent of Kangchenjunga in 1955 and and other big achievements in the Alps and Himalayas.

In August 1970 a spectacular rock climb was televised live on BBC in color. Seven climbers attempted three different routes on the cliffs of Anglesey. The event, presented by Christopher Brasher was transmitted live through 4 connections over the course of 31st of august. The routes climbed were: Spider's Web, by Joe Brown and Ian McNaught-Davis; Wen Slab, by Peter Crew and Don Whillans; and Tyrannosaurus Rex, by Laurie and Les Holliwell, and Janet Rogers. This was the first color live climbing program on BBC, following on from the success of earlier programs such as the ascent of the Old Man of Hoy in 1967.

In September 1963, the BBC broadcast a live program showing four climbers, Ian McNaught-Davis, Peter Crew, Barry Ingle, Paul Nunn attempting the ascent of Britain's most formidable overhang Kilnsey Crag, Grassington 'where the tigers sharpen their claws'. The event, commented by Ian McNaught-Davis on the face and Jeremy James at the foot of the climb, was transmitted live through 3 connections over the course of 28th of September. The transmission was part of the BBC program Time Out.

In 1971, a year after Maestri's ascent to Cerro Torre, filmmaker Leo Dickinson climbed and filmed an attempt on the Compressor Route. Dickinson left only a few pieces of clean protection at his highpoint (the headwall ice towers) and no additional fixed gear. While he and the rest of the team did not reach the summit, his reaction to the bolts on the Compressor Route compelled him to travel to Italy to interview Maestri. The result was this documentary.

Commemorative program for the 25th anniversary of the live broadcast of the ascent of the Old Man of Hoy. In July of 1967, 15 million people watched one of the most audacious BBC outside broadcasts ever undertaken - the climbing of the 'Old Man of Hoy'. Chris Bonnington and Tom Patey, took the East Face; Joe Brown and Ian McNaught-Davis, the South Face; Peter Crew and Douglas Haston took the South-East Arête. A further crew of four climbers- Hamish MacInnes, John Cleare, Rusty Baillie and Ian Clough carried cameras and transmitters. 25 years later, BBC gathers the protagonists to recover the footage and to look back on the achievement.

In July of 1967, 15 million people watched one of the most audacious BBC outside broadcasts ever undertaken - the climbing of the Old Man of Hoy. Chris Bonnington and Tom Patey, took the East Face; Joe Brown and Ian McNaught-Davis, the South Face; Peter Crew and Douglas Haston took the South-East Arête. A further crew of four climbers- Hamish MacInnes, John Cleare, Rusty Baillie and Ian Clough carried cameras and transmitters. The live broadcast consisted of 6 connections between 7th and 9th of july whose titles were: The Old Man and The Climbers, Six Men, The Bivouac, Six Men-One Challenge, The first man to the summit, The Challenge and the Conquest. One week later BBC broadcasted a 30-minute program with the highlights of the live coverage.