By Dave Miller
My friendship with Ian started after Vanessa and I joined The Ski Club of Manchester. He and Lindsay were among the many new friends we made in the club, and while skiing and other club activities provided the main focus of our acquaintance a wider friendship developed over time.
Just before I talk about my memories of Ian related to skiing and the great outdoors, I'd like to interject a personal note of thanks to Ian and Lindsay for their support when I had a change of career, providing me with work both at their Didsbury home and at The Larches.
It was while working with Ian at The Larches that I was impressed by his unflappable calm, when after a long and tiring day laying new floor boards I managed to run my power saw through a water pipe. Ian was very understanding and no drama ensued, just a mini crisis well managed.
My first memory of Ian from ski club holidays is as an enthusiastic skier who was always great company on a day out in the mountains, an environment he clearly loved, and we skied together many times.
In the evenings Ian was sociable and fun but also found time to ask around making sure that everyone was linked up with a group for the next day’s skiing and no one felt left out.
As well as being a good ski buddy on many club holidays, Ian also contributed greatly to the club behind the scenes during his long tenure as chairman. He was credited with modernising the club using the skill set he brought from his work at WEA , and he was always an innovative thinker seeking new ways to make the club and the sport of skiing more inclusive.
Ian also promoted the use of a member survey to feedback into the committee. This has been maintained and developed and provides the committee with a valuable insight into how the club can best serve its membership.
Always looking to improve the club's appeal it was Ian's initiative that fostered the club's links with the Chill Factore and this relationship has grown to provide a venue for club social events, and regular instructor led sessions which provide an excellent resource for members to improve their ski abilities. The profile of the club at the venue has also driven growth in membership as an additional benefit.
The club has always been interested in supporting activities that focus on maintaining fitness ready for the next ski season and one of these was Ian's group walk in his beloved Lake District.
This provided not only a fitness focus but also helped to maintain social contacts.
Ian's walks were always popular. He led us up onto many of the iconic Lake District tops, and not always by the main paths. Ian was never shy of taking the 'interesting route'.
One walk in particular sticks in my mind, which was an attempted ascent of Skiddaw from the north side. As we headed up towards Ullock Pike we found ourselves approaching a lightening storm. Discretion was exercised, we backtracked and Ian quickly found an alternative low level route for the day. We still got wet, but not fried.
A lesson from this is that part of being a good leader is knowing when to quit.
Of course it takes some people longer to learn it than others.
Always remember, the mountain will still be there tomorrow.
What started originally as a mountain day walk led by Ian grew organically into a well attended and much loved annual weekend event which of course Ian was keen to make more accessible, with the addition of easier walk options and social events, such as curry night in Keswick and the excellent afternoon teas hosted by Ian and Lindsay at The Larches.
There was even on occasion the option of an early morning trail run up onto the fells led by Ian and which tested the endurance of even the hardiest club members. Just one more example of Ian's exuberance.
On one occasion Ian was leading us on an ascent of Barrow from Braithwaite. We must have made the track up from Newlands look too easy as Ian suddenly veered of right and hared up the steep and very rough fellside, shouting something about a shortcut over his shoulder. I won't say Ian found it easy himself, but none of us overtook him.
I have always been a keen walker but can thank Ian for a better appreciation of The Lakes and it's geography. His love of the fells and mountains certainly rubbed off on me.
The constant thread throughout all these activities was not just Ian's own enthusiastic enjoyment of them, but also his determination that those activities should be made as accessible as possible for others to enjoy.
The legacy of Ian's involvement with the club and his various initiatives endures and continues to be a benefit for all club members to share.
For that and more I'd like to say, Thank you Ian.
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