High drama

A horrific fall of over 800 feet could have ended very differently for mountaineer Richard Tiplady.

Like many of us, and despite having played sport at school, visited gyms as a young man, coached junior football and so on, Richard Tiplady had allowed himself to get ‘lardy.’ Fifteen years of a few too many glasses of wine, coffee and cakes, had seen him slowly get bigger. ‘I tried everything I could to lose weight, apart from eating less, drinking less or doing more exercise’ he says.

Guilt and uneasiness didn’t work as motivating factors, but what finally drove him to do something about his weight was a prolonged period of workplace stress, that in turn caused a chronic pain condition. Having been put on painkillers, he was coping, but he knew that, long term, they were also addictive, and would not provide the solution. But then he discovered that brisk walking was recommended, and that half an hour or an hour’s walk around his local nature reserve meant a pain free night. ‘The...