Tony, tamer of the mighty Troll
Reporter: HELEN KORN
Date published: 25 May 2011
WHO in their right mind would attempt to scale Europe’s tallest rockface without modern equipment?
The formidable north face of Trollryggen in Norway is a sheer vertical drop of 4,000ft and only the brave have tried to conquer it.
But one of those was fresh-faced Tony Howard, who turns 71 this week.
He, along with a team of Saddleworth climbers, took part in that adventure back in 1965 and is now telling his incredible story for the first time in his new book Troll Wall.
Scribbling down notes immediately after his trip, he was 25 at the time.
Left at the back of a shelf, the gripping tale was rediscovered this year when Tony — who usually writes climbing guidebooks, was asked for information on Norwegian climbing history.
That was when he decided to bring the book to life, to complete an awe-inspiring 180-page read.
He tells all about his objectives, the preparations for the expedition, the journey there, the first attempt, and finally the successful ascent.
Before the use of American climbing gear such as pulleys and steel pegs, the team had to carry 240 soft metal pegs and homemade harnesses.
He said: “We climbed for five days on the first attempt but we had to go back down because the weather was atrocious. We nearly died of hypothermia as we spent nearly two days in sub-zero conditions. We spent two days waiting for the weather to clear and then we were climbing again for six days — but we didn’t all go up.
“When three of us finally got to the top we waved one of the bivy bags to see if we could attract attention of anyone down below — they lit a fire at the bottom, it was great — like smoke signals.”
At the same time the British team was going up, so were a Norwegian team — although it was just a coincidence, but the media of the time enjoyed making out it was a race.
The book’s forward is by Doug Scott, one of the first Britons to reach the summit of Everest, who started climbing at the same time as Tony.
Tony Howard and his partner, Di Taylor, who have explored desert mountains in the Middle East and written a guidebook on treks around Bethlehem, are keeping their future climbing adventures under wraps.
Troll Wall is available to buy now from local outdoor shops around Oldham, as well as on Amazon and in most good bookshops.
