Roly Smith John Cleare , photographer
Guild Vice-President Roly Smith remembers the life and photography of long-standing Guild member John Cleare .
I first met John Cleare when he gave a lecture at Losehill Hall in the Peak District , sometime in the late 1980s . I ’ d long been an admirer of his work – Guild president Walt Unsworth had described him as “ the outstanding British mountain photographer of the post-war era ” – and in our chat afterwards , he turned out to be the kindest , most polite and generous gentleman I ’ d ever had the pleasure to meet .
So when I was signed up to write Walking the Great Views ( David & Charles , 1991 ), and was asked whom I wanted to illustrate it , only one name came to mind . I knew that John had expanded his range into British landscape photography , and was delighted when he accepted my invitation . So with fellow friend and Guild stalwart Mark Richards providing the maps , John and I followed up with On Foot in the Pennines ( 1994 ) and On Foot in the Yorkshire Dales ( 1996 ).
It was the beginning of a 40-year friendship . John and I were opposites in almost every respect – in our education , upbringing , politics and love of sports . John once told me that when he became dictator , he would ban all ball games ! Yet he was the most loyal friend , and never slow in offering help and advice to younger photographers and writers setting out in the job .
He was also a hard-working member of the Guild ’ s committee for 10 years , during which we saw membership rise to over 400 . As president , I was honoured to present him with our Golden Eagle award for his services to the outdoors at the AGM in 2002 .
I was privileged to undertake a number of epic trips with him , including ones organised by retiring Guild chairman Stan Abbot to Arctic Norway , Svarlbard and the Faroe Islands . But the one I remember most fondly was to my home mountain , Kinder Scout . The globetrotting explorer had never been to the high point of the Peak , so I led him on a snowy , winter ’ s day up Crowden Clough to the magical Woolpacks . “ Wow ,” he exclaimed , “ I ’ ve never seen anything like this before .”
Born in London , John was educated at Wycliffe College , where he was encouraged by mountain-loving housemaster A A ‘ Bertie ’ Robertson . Almost every school holiday was spent in Wales , the Lakes or Scotland . “ I was completely hooked ,” explained John .
When National Service loomed , John volunteered for the Royal Artillery where he gained a commission . It was around this time that he became “ enthralled ” with photography , and when he left the Army , he studied at the Guildford School of Photography . Here he was headhunted by a glossy fashion magazine . “ Fleet Street was fascinating , and I learnt to work under pressure and against deadlines .” Now a full-time freelance , he was engaged in commissions for corporate clients and glossy magazines and supplements for many years .
Also by this time John was climbing some of the harder routes in Britain , notably on sea cliffs , as well as in the Alps . Climbing partners included Guild president Chris Bonington , Tom Patey , Joe Brown and Don Whillans .
John Cleare
1936 – 2024
His pictures were getting recognised when in 1966 his classic book with Tony Smythe , Rock Climbers in Action in Snowdonia was published by Secker & Warburg ( republished in 2016 ). It quickly became a cult book and led to John being co-opted into the BBC TV “ Climbing Circus ” as climbing cameraman and consultant . He was involved in the major live TV broadcasts from the Old Man of Hoy ; Gogarth at Holyhead ; Coronation Street at Cheddar Gorge ; and the Matterhorn climb to mark the centenary of the 1865 first ascent .
In 1971 , John joined an international attempt on the unclimbed South West Face of Everest as climbing cameraman . The attempt ended in failure and tragedy after a 10-day storm and the death of Indian climber Harsh Bahuguna . Subsequently John was recruited by Clint Eastwood as one of his two climbing cameramen for his 1975 epic spy movie ‘ The Eiger Sanction ’. John even had a cameo role in the film – being somewhat typecast as a posh English gentleman !
John ’ s photo library – Mountain Camera – enabled him to sell his pictures worldwide , and over the next 20 years he did lecture tours to North America , Australia and New Zealand , while he continued to provide pictures for many magazines and books .
There were also frequent opportunities for serious mountaineering . John led three expeditions to major Himalayan peaks , including the 1978 British attempt on Himalchuli ( 7,893m ) in Nepal and the extraordinary Mount Kinabalu ( 4,695m ) in Borneo .
John wrote a dozen books of his own and several more in partnership with other authors . “ Holding in my hands a book that I ’ ve written , illustrated and perhaps designed myself , knowing it will outlast me , is almost as satisfying as climbing a virgin peak ,” he confessed .
When John was approaching 50 he discovered ski-mountaineering . He ski-toured winter mountains in the Alps and led ski expeditions up Kedar Dome ( 6,832m ) in India and Muztagh Ata ( 7,546m ) in Chinese Xinjiang .
More recently , John admitted : “ Alas , like analogue photography , all that is now in the past ; computers and digital cameras have opened exciting new possibilities and made life easy , while I must make do with pedalling my mountain bike over the downs of Wessex . But I have thousands of pictures to whet my memory , so I can hardly complain .”
John died peacefully aged 88 on October 6th , after a short period of ill health . His loss will be sadly felt by his second wife Joey , daughter Jos and grandchildren Grace and Jack , and his many friends in the outdoor and climbing world . A public memorial is to be arranged at the Alpine Club , where he was a member for over 60 years and served as a vice-president . His eagerly awaited autobiography Cleare Perspectives will be published by the Scottish Mountaineering Press next year .
Winter 2024 – 25 OUTDOOR FOCUS 25