Brede Arkless
Brede Arkless (née Boyle) (10 August 1939 – 18 March 2006) was a British female rock climber and mountaineer, and was actively involved in the all-women's climbing movement.
Life and family
She was born in Manchester, England, of Dublin parents, and was brought up in Ireland, to which her parents had returned quickly after the outbreak of war only three weeks after her birth.[1]
Climbing
From an early age she showed a passion for the outdoors. As a teenager, having left school at 14, she was happiest wandering around the Wicklow Mountains, where she first saw rock climbers in action on the cliffs at Glendalough; she started climbing herself at Dalkey Quarry. By the early 1960s, and in her early twenties, Brede Boyle was working in North Wales as a climbing instructor for the Mountaineering Association.
In 1964 she married fellow mountaineer
In 1998, an expedition party of five, including a 59-year-old Arkless, succeeded in crossing the
Arkless died of pancreatic cancer, aged 66. After being diagnosed, Arkless rode her bicycle more than 150 miles over high mountain passes from her home in Twizel to a hospital in Christchurch for exploratory surgery, which revealed that her illness was inoperable.[5]
Brede Arkless is commemorated in the naming of an outdoor activities centre in East London. Run as a social enterprise by Newham-based charity Community Links, "The Brede Arkless Outdoors in the City Centre" recognises "...the inspirational way in which Brede introduced disadvantaged and often disaffected children and young people safely into the challenges and joy of the mountains".[6]
References
- ^ "Brede Arkless". The Times. 22 April 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ The Independent: "Brede Arkless. Eyebrow-raising mountain guide" by Stephen Goodwin, 10 April 2006; last accessed 29 December 2009.
- ^ The Glasgow Herald, "Moran leads a Himalayan epic", by Tom Prentice, June 20, 1998.
- ^ The Christchurch Press, "Mountain of cash", by John Henzell and Brede Arkless, February 24, 2001.
- ^ "Brede Arkless". www.telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. 15 April 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ Jenkins, Kevin. "About Brede Arkless". Community Links. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.