Andy Cave
Encyclopedia
Andy Cave is a British mountaineer. He was nominated for the Piolet d'Or
for his ascent of the North Face of Changabang
.
.
; the Freney Pillar directissima, Mont Blanc
; Gervussutti Pillar, Mt Blanc du Tacul; Walker Spur, Grandes Jorrasses; Brenva Spur, Mt Blanc; Eiger north face, Droites north face.
On a subsequent visit, he climbed • Brandler/Hasse on the Cima Grande • Fish on the Marmolada • solo climbed Piz Badile north face • Harlins/Robins direct on the Dru • Divine Providence on Mt Blanc • New route on the East face of the Grandes Jorrasses.
(2005), joint winner; the Best Adventure Travel Book at the Banff Mountain Book Festival
(2005); the Premio Mazzotti prize (2006) and the Banca de Veneto Voce de Lettori in Italy in (2006). His second book, Thin White Line, has also received many accolades. His books have been translated into Italian and German. Reviews in major newspapers led to appearances on TV and radio, as well as invitations to lecture at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Andy has also made contributions to The Red Bulletin
(2009), The Travellers’ Handbook, (2009) and Water: The Essence of Life, Mark Niemeyer (2008), and was invited to write an introduction to James Salter’s novel, Solo faces.
TV appearances include: Coast
on BBC2, climbing the Old Man of Hoy; Griff Rhys Jones’ Mountain
, BBC2, helping Griff motivate teenagers from a tough inner city school by taking them climbing; ‘Wild Climbs’, BBC2, an expedition to the sandstone towers of Teplice, Czech Republic; ‘Eiger: Wall of Death’, BBC4; and ‘The Ogre’, ITV, his expedition to the north face of the Ogre in the Himalayas aged just 23yrs.
PhD Linguistics (2001), University of Sheffield http://www.shef.ac.uk/
Along with Chris Bonington, Andy is a patron for the Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust http://www.jcmt.org.uk/.
Piolet d'Or
The Piolet d'Or is an annual mountaineering award given by the French magazine Montagnes and The Groupe de Haute Montagne since 1991...
for his ascent of the North Face of Changabang
Changabang
Changabang is a mountain in the Garhwal Himalaya of Uttarakhand, India. It is part of a group of peaks that form the northeast wall of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. It is a particularly steep and rocky peak, and all routes on it are serious undertakings. It has been the site of many significant climbs...
.
Biography
Born in 1966, Andy Cave grew up in Royston, a small coal mining village in South Yorkshire. On leaving school with few qualifications at 16, he followed family tradition and began work as a miner. This period also saw him begin climbing on the local Peak District crags. The miners’ strike (1984-1985) gave Andy the opportunity to devote his time to climbing. In 1986, he left his job, returning to education and earned a degree in English (1993) and a PhD in Linguistics (2001). 1986 also saw him climb the North Face of the EigerEiger
The Eiger is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends across the Mönch to the Jungfrau at 4,158 m...
.
The Alps
On one of his first visits to the Alps, Andy did several climbs in just a few weeks. After soloing the north face of the Col du Plan, he climbed: the Bonatti Pillar, Aiguille du DruAiguille du Dru
The Aiguille du Dru is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps, lying to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley.The mountain has two summits:...
; the Freney Pillar directissima, Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
; Gervussutti Pillar, Mt Blanc du Tacul; Walker Spur, Grandes Jorrasses; Brenva Spur, Mt Blanc; Eiger north face, Droites north face.
On a subsequent visit, he climbed • Brandler/Hasse on the Cima Grande • Fish on the Marmolada • solo climbed Piz Badile north face • Harlins/Robins direct on the Dru • Divine Providence on Mt Blanc • New route on the East face of the Grandes Jorrasses.
Expeditions to Himalayas
• Laila Peak • Gashebrum IV, south ridge • Ogre north face • Tupopdan • Trango Tower • Hispar La Towers • Shishapangma • Konga Shan Massif • Changabang • Ama Dablam • Annapurna III.Writing
Andy has written two autobiographies and numerous articles for climbing magazines and books. His first book, Learning to Breathe, won the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain LiteratureBoardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
The Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature is an annual prize of £3000 awarded by the Boardman Tasker Charitable Trust to an author or authors for 'an original work which has made an outstanding contribution to mountain literature.' It was established in memory of Peter Boardman and Joe...
(2005), joint winner; the Best Adventure Travel Book at the Banff Mountain Book Festival
Banff Mountain Book Festival
The Banff Mountain Book Festival is an annual book festival held at the Banff Centre in Banff, Canada.The following prizes are awarded:*Grand Prize of Canada*Best Book — Mountain Literature*Best Book — Mountain Image*Best Book — Adventure Travel...
(2005); the Premio Mazzotti prize (2006) and the Banca de Veneto Voce de Lettori in Italy in (2006). His second book, Thin White Line, has also received many accolades. His books have been translated into Italian and German. Reviews in major newspapers led to appearances on TV and radio, as well as invitations to lecture at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Andy has also made contributions to The Red Bulletin
The Red Bulletin
The Red Bulletin started out as Formula One's daily magazine printed by Austrian beverage company Red Bull, and today it is one of the few global monthly magazines. It first appeared in Austria, Red Bull's home country, at the end of 2007...
(2009), The Travellers’ Handbook, (2009) and Water: The Essence of Life, Mark Niemeyer (2008), and was invited to write an introduction to James Salter’s novel, Solo faces.
TV and Radio
Andy has presented ‘Andy Cave’s Expedition Underground’, BBC Radio 4, exploring the history and significance of the Thirlmere Aqueduct. He has appeared on Dominic Arkwright’s ‘Leaving the Comfort Zone’, BBC Radio 4, and ‘Excess Baggage’ with Sandy Toksvig, BBC Radio 4.TV appearances include: Coast
Coast (TV series)
Coast is a BBC documentary series first broadcast on BBC Two television in 2005. A second series started on 26 October 2006, a third in early 2007 and a fourth in mid-2009...
on BBC2, climbing the Old Man of Hoy; Griff Rhys Jones’ Mountain
Mountain (TV series)
Mountain is a British television series written and presented by Griff Rhys Jones that was originally broadcast 29 July–26 August 2007 on BBC One....
, BBC2, helping Griff motivate teenagers from a tough inner city school by taking them climbing; ‘Wild Climbs’, BBC2, an expedition to the sandstone towers of Teplice, Czech Republic; ‘Eiger: Wall of Death’, BBC4; and ‘The Ogre’, ITV, his expedition to the north face of the Ogre in the Himalayas aged just 23yrs.
Academic qualifications
BA (Hons) English Language (1993), Sheffield Hallam University http://www.shu.ac.uk/PhD Linguistics (2001), University of Sheffield http://www.shef.ac.uk/
Charitable activity
Andy is a trustee of the charity Adventure Learning Schools http://adventurelearningschools.org/].Along with Chris Bonington, Andy is a patron for the Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust http://www.jcmt.org.uk/.