{{Short description|British mountaineer and author}} {{EngvarB|date=September 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}} {{Infobox climber | name = Andy Cave | image = | full_name = Andy Cave | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1966}} | birth_place = Royston, South Yorkshire, England | nationality = British | majorascents = North Face of Changabang (1997) | spouse = | children = }} '''Andy Cave''' (born 1966) is a British mountaineer, mountain guide, and motivational speaker. He was nominated for the Piolet d'Or for his first ascent of the North Face of Changabang in 1997, and won the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature in 2005.

==Biography== Born in 1966, Andy Cave grew up in the small coal mining village of Royston, South Yorkshire. On leaving school with few qualifications at 16, he followed family tradition and began work as a coal miner. This period also saw him begin rock climbing in the Peak District, on his local crags. The UK miners' strike of 1984–85 gave Cave the opportunity to devote his time to climbing.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fletcher |first1=Terry |title=Mountaineer Andy Cave - From miner to major success |url=https://www.yorkshirelife.co.uk/people/mountaineer-andy-cave-from-miner-to-major-success-1-1635637 |access-date=8 July 2020 |agency=Yorkshire Life |publisher=Archant Community Media Ltd |date=13 January 2010}}</ref> In 1986, he left his job at Grimethorpe colliery, South Yorkshire, returning to education to gain a degree in English (1993) and a PhD in Linguistics (2001).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Tim |title=I could do it at altitude - I had the gene |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/may/08/biography.features |access-date=8 July 2020 |agency=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |date=8 May 2005}}</ref> His academic work included research into the dialect of Yorkshire pit villages.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cave |first1=Andy |title=Language variety and communicative style as local and subcultural identity in a South Yorkshire coalmining community |date=October 2001 |publisher=National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, University of Sheffield |location=Sheffield |url=http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/ |access-date=4 July 2020}}</ref> Cave is an UIAGM (IFMGA) International Mountain and Ski Guide.

===The European Alps=== In 1986, on one of his first visits to the Alps, Cave did several climbs in just a few weeks, including: the north face of the Col du Plan (solo climbed); the Bonatti Pillar, Aiguille du Dru; the Freney Pillar directissima, Mont Blanc; Gervussutti Pillar, Mont Blanc du Tacul; Walker Spur, Grandes Jorasses; Brenva Spur, Mont Blanc; the north face of the Eiger; and the north face of Les Droites. On a subsequent visit, he climbed the Brandler/Hasse route on the Cima Grande di Lavaredo, the Fish on the Marmolada, the Piz Badile north face (solo climbed), the Harlins/Robins direct on the Dru, Divine Providence on Mont Blanc, and a new route on the east face of the Grandes Jorrasses.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cave |first1=Andy |title=Learning to Breathe |date=2005 |publisher=Hutchinson Random House |location=London |isbn=978-0091800345|edition=1st}}</ref> Other ascents in the Mont Blanc massif have included: the Jori Bardill directissima, the Dru couloir, the Peuterey Ridge, the Hyper Coulouir (Brouillard Face), and the Cechinel-Nominee route on the Grand Pillar d'Angle.<ref name="Berry">{{cite web |last1=Berry |first1=Natalie |title=Desert Island Climbs #3: Andy Cave |url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/desert_island_climbs_3_andy_cave-7348 |website=UKClimbing |publisher=UKClimbing Limited |access-date=21 July 2020}}</ref>

===Expeditions to Himalayas=== * 1987 Laila Peak (Hushe Valley), west face (first ascent) <ref>{{cite web |last1=Griffen |first1=Lindsay |title=Karakoram winter: Laila climbed |url=https://www.thebmc.co.uk/karakoram-winter-update--laila-climbed |website=British Mountainering Council |publisher=BMC |access-date=16 July 2020}}</ref> * 1987 Tupopdan, Hunza Valley, first ascent<ref>{{cite book |last1=Simpson |first1=Joe |title=This Game of Ghosts |date=1994 |publisher=Vintage |isbn=9780099380115 |page=261 |edition=New Ed edition (25 Aug. 1994)}}</ref> * 1987 Ama Dablam, south ridge<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Perkins |first1=Andrew |title=Asia, Nepal, Ama Dablam South Ridge Attempt |journal=American Alpine Journal |date=1988 |url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198819801/Asia-Nepal-Ama-Dablam-South-Ridge-Attempt |access-date=4 August 2020}}</ref> * 1988 Tapadan Sar (near Karun Koh)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nunn |first1=Paul |title=Karakoram 1988 |journal=The Alpine Journal |date=1989 |page=259}}</ref> * 1988 Annapurna III<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boyer |first1=Steve |title=The American Alpine Journal |date=1989 |publisher=American Alpine Club |location=New York |isbn=0930410394 |page=216 }}</ref> * 1989 Baintha Brakk north face<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nunn |first1=Paul |last2=Perkins |first2=Andy |title=Karakoram 1989: Baintha Brakk (The Ogre, 7285m) |journal=The Alpine Journal |date=1990 |pages=240–241 }}</ref> * 1994 Gasherbrum IV, south ridge<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Macnae |first1=Andy |title=Asia, Pakistan, Gasherbrum IV Attempt |journal=The American Alpine Club Journal |date=1994 |url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199425203/Asia-Pakistan-Gasherbrum-IV-Attempt |access-date=16 July 2020}}</ref> * 1995 Trango Towers<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ruthven |first1=Bill |title=Mount Everest Foundation Expedition Reports 1995:Karakoram - Pakistan |journal=The Alpine Journal |date=1996 |pages=289}}</ref> * Hispar La Towers * Shishapangma * Konga Shan massif * 1997 Changabang<ref name="Fowler1998">{{cite journal | last = Fowler | first = Mick | title = A Touch Too Much? | journal = American Alpine Journal | volume = 40 | issue = 72 | pages = 53–68 | publisher = American Alpine Club | location = Golden, Colorado, US | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-930410-78-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Simon |title=Unjustifiable Risk?: The Story of British Climbing |date=2010 |publisher=Cicerone Press |isbn=978-1852846275 |page=321 |edition=1st}}</ref>

===Expeditions to Alaska=== * 2000 Mount Kennedy north spur, first Alpine-style ascent.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fowler |first1=Mick |title=Mount Kennedy - North Buttress |journal=The Alpine Journal |date=2001 |publisher=The Alpine Club |location=London |pages=3–11}}</ref>

===Expeditions to Patagonia=== * Fitz Roy * Mascara, Torres del Paine * Rio Turbio * Guillamet<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cave |first1=Andy |title=Thin White Line |date=2008 |publisher=Random House |location=London |isbn=9780091795726 |edition=1st}}</ref>

In 2013, Cave was part of an expedition to the Cordillera Darwin Range of mountains in Tierra del Fuego (Chile), accompanied by Simon Yates (mountaineer) and funded by the Nick Estcourt Award.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ruthven |first1=Bill |title=Mount Everest Foundation Expedition Reports |journal=The Alpine Journal |date=2014 |page=313 |url=https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/ |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref>

===Other Ascents=== * first free ascent of the Shield on Kjerag, Lysefjord in Norway, with Leo Houlding. * the Diamond Coulouir and the Scott-Braithwaite route (free), on Mount Kenya.<ref name="Berry"/>

==Writing== Andy Cave has written two autobiographies and numerous articles for climbing magazines, books and national newspapers, including for ''The Guardian'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cave |first1=Andy |title=The dangers of an overcrowded Everest |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/23/overcrowded-everest-dangers |access-date=21 July 2020 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |date=23 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cave |first1=Andy |title=The top 10 books on Alpinism |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/top10s/top10/0,,2276931,00.html |access-date=21 July 2020 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |date=2011}}</ref> ''The Times'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cave |first1=Andy |title=Without oxygen it's a breathtaking feat |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/without-oxygen-its-a-breathtaking-feat-72jm5fqmvdd |access-date=4 August 2020 |work=The Times |publisher=Times Newspapers Limited |date=28 August 2011}}</ref> and ''Newsweek''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cave |first1=Andy |title=The Dawn Wall: The Inside Story |url=https://www.newsweek.com/2015/01/30/truth-about-dawn-face-300719.html |access-date=21 July 2020 |work=Newsweek Magazine |publisher=Newsweek |date=15 January 2015}}</ref> His debut memoir, ''Learning to Breathe'', was published in 2005. It describes Cave's transition from working as a teenage coal miner to high level alpinism, culminating in the tragic first ascent of the north face of Changabang, in the Garhwal Himalaya, with Brendan Murphy, Mick Fowler and Steve Sustad.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=David |title=Learning to Breathe |url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200649200/Learning-to-Breathe |website=American Alpine Club Journal |publisher=American Alpine Club |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="Fowler1998"/> It won the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature in 2005<ref>{{cite web |title=Boardman Tasker Award Winners |url=http://www.boardmantasker.com/boardman-tasker-award-winners |website=Boardman Taker |publisher=Boardman Tasker Charitable Trust |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> (joint winner); the Best Adventure Travel Book at the Banff Mountain Book Festival (2005); the Premio Mazzotti prize (2006); and, the Veneto Banca – Voce dei Lettori in Italy (2006). Cave wrote a further account of the ascent of Changabang for the Alpine Journal, as a tribute to Murphy, who died in an avalanche after reaching the summit.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cave |first1=Andy |title=A World Apart |journal=Alpine Journal |date=1998 | pages = 3–12 | publisher = The Alpine Club }}</ref> His second memoir, ''Thin White Line'', was published in 2008. It is a sequel to events in 1997, and describes alpine ascents in Patagonia, Norway and Alaska.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ives |first1=Katie |title=Thin White Line |url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200936700/Thin-White-Line |website=American Alpine Club Journal |publisher=American Alpine Club |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref> 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 International Book Festival. Cave has also made contributions to ''The Red Bulletin'' (2009), ''The Traveler's Handbook'' (2009), and ''Water: The Essence of Life'' by Mark Niemeyer (2008), and was invited to write an introduction to James Salter's novel ''Solo Faces''.

==TV, radio, and film== Cave has presented ''Andy Cave’s Expedition Underground'', a series on BBC Radio 4 exploring the history and significance of the Thirlmere Aqueduct. He has appeared on other BBC Radio 4 programmes including Dominic Arkwright's ''Leaving the Comfort Zone'' and ''Excess Baggage'' with Sandi Toksvig. In 2012, he appeared on the BBC Radio 4 program ''A Good Read''.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Good Read |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n65q4 |website=BBC Radio 4 |publisher=BBC |access-date=4 July 2020}}</ref>

TV appearances include ''Coast'' (BBC Two), climbing the Old Man of Hoy; Griff Rhys Jones' ''Mountain'' on (BBC One), helping Rhys Jones motivate teenagers from a tough inner-city school by taking them climbing; ''Wild Climbs'' (BBC Two), an expedition to the sandstone towers of Teplice, Czech Republic; ''Eiger: Wall of Death'' (BBC Four); and ''The Ogre'' (ITV) about his expedition to the north face of Baintha Brakk (The Ogre) in the Himalayas at the age of 23. He was the subject of a film about Scottish winter climbing, ''Distilled'', released in 2013 by Hot Aches Productions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Diffey |first1=Paul |title=Distilled: Scottish Winter Climbing |url=https://www.hotaches.com/climbing-films/distilled |website=Hot Aches Productions |publisher=Hot Aches Productions |access-date=4 July 2020}}</ref> The film has won a number of awards, including Best Film and People's Choice, both at the Kendal Mountain Festival.

==Academic qualifications== * BA (Hons) English Language (1993), Sheffield Hallam University<ref name=sheffuniversity>{{cite web |title=Honours and Awards |url=https://youruniversity.group.shef.ac.uk/2015-2016/alumni-notes-and-news/honours-and-awards/index.html |website=Your University Alumni Magazine 2015/2016 |publisher=The University of Sheffield |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> * PhD English Cultural Tradition with Sociolinguistics (2002), University of Sheffield<ref name=sheffuniversity/> * D.Litt.h.c., University of Sheffield (2015)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pullan |first1=Amy |title=BBC newsreader awarded honorary degree |url=https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/bbc-news-reader-gets-honorary-grad-1.481764 |website=The University of Sheffield |access-date=4 July 2020}}</ref><ref name=sheffuniversity/>

==Charitable activity== Andy Cave is a trustee of the charity Adventure Learning Schools.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Along with Chris Bonington, Cave is a patron for the Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust.<ref>{{cite web |last1=JCMT |title=Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust |url=https://www.jcmt.org.uk/about/#patrons |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref> <!-- '''Andy Cave''' was born into a mining family near Sheffield. At age 16 he followed his father into a job in the mines.<ref>{{cite web | title = 'I was put on this planet to climb' | newspaper = Yorkshire Post | url = http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/39I-was-put-on-this.1027341.jp | access-date = 23 August 2008}}</ref> Through friends he developed a taste for climbing and during the year long miners strike of 1984 he spent much of his time climbing. He decided to leave the mines in 1986, and embarked on several climbing trips. Notable routes that he climbed include "Divine Providence" arguably the most difficult Alpine route at the time. He made expeditions to Fitzroy, Torres del Paine, Mount Kennedy and Changabang. He is a high-performing rock and Ice Climber, his autobiographical book ''Learning to Breathe'' recounting some of his experiences was published in 2006.<ref>{{cite book | last = Andy | first = Cave | title = Learning to Breathe | publisher = Arrow | year = 2006 | pages = 384 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hBjRAAAACAAJ&dq=Learning+to+Breathe | isbn = 0-09-947266-X}}</ref> The sequel – "Thin White Line" was published in early 2008 and contains more climbing memoirs.<ref>{{cite web | title = Thin White Line | publisher = Random House | url = http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/catalog/book.htm?command=Search&db=main.txt&eqisbndata=0091795729 }}</ref>

==Notable ascents==

* 1997 ''North Face'' of Changabang in the Garhwal Himalaya of India, First Ascent with Brendan Murphy (summit) and Mick Fowler and Steve Sustad (to summit ridge). A 1,600 m (5,250&nbsp;ft) route which involved steep, sustained ice, mixed, and rock climbing. Unfortunately Murphy was hit by an avalanche and swept off the face to his death on the descent.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Fowler | first = Mick | title = A Touch Too Much? | journal = American Alpine Journal |year=1998 | volume = 40 | issue = 72 | pages = 53–68 | publisher = American Alpine Club | location = Golden, CO, USA | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-930410-78-5 }}</ref> -->

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.andycave.co.uk/ Andy Cave's Website] * [http://www.thebmc.co.uk/Feature.aspx?id=1624 British Mountaineering Council profile.] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cave, Andy}} Category:Living people Category:1966 births Category:Boardman Tasker Prize winners Category:English mountain climbers Category:English male non-fiction writers Category:20th-century English male writers Category:English non-fiction outdoors writers Category:Sportspeople from South Yorkshire Category:British motivational speakers Category:Climbing and mountaineering writers