It’s been more than 30 years since John Davies was nearly killed in a climbing accident in his hometown in South Africa.
The South Surrey businessman was 21 years old, tackling Cape Town’s Table Mountain with a friend, when he was struck in the head by a fragment of rock from a centuries-old slab that broke off above him.
The impact caused a brain hemorrhage – but Davies was lucky. A surgeon was able to stop the bleeding and he survived, returning to complete the climb two weeks later.
A close friend climbing about 150 feet above him that day, however, wasn’t so lucky.
“This whole, big, massive slab he was holding onto peeled away,” Davies said Tuesday, recalling the tragedy. “He was hanging on there when it decided to break loose.”
The tale is among many etched in Davies’ memory from years of climbing adventures that took him from Switzerland’s Matterhorn to Chile’s Paine Grande.
The latter, the longtime owner of Mountain Magic outdoor-equipment store noted, is rated “extremely dangerous.”
“It had been attempted twice before and on both occasions, both the climbers were killed. It hasn’t been climbed since.”
Davies tackled the climb with his brother Hilton Davies and friend Chris Lomax in 1984-85 – a feat later highlighted in the book, Mountaineering in Patagonia – after bad weather and rockfalls forced them to retreat from a month of attempts to climb the south face of the nearby Fortress.
Conquering the Paine Grande, they weathered eight days of howling winds and driving snow, avalanches, evening temperatures that dropped to -20ºC and a 52-metre fall by Lomax – who was saved only by Davies’ belay.
Even if they wanted to turn back, it wasn’t an option, Davies said.
“We got to a point where we could only continue.”
While such adrenaline rushes are a thing of the past for Davies, 57 – “I’m too old now,” he quipped – what motivated him to pursue them remains clear.
“It’s the love of the mountains… getting out there and challenging myself,” Davies said. “No one out there to blow the whistle if you make a mistake. (But) if you make a mistake, you sometimes pay pretty heavily.”
These days, Davies sticks to more moderate hikes and walks, and is working his way up a mountain of a different kind – closing his storefront business. After March – and 23½ years in business – Mountain Magic will only exist online.
Noting competition from larger camping stores that have opened in neighbouring municipalities and the escalating cost of operating a business, Davies – who became a grandfather eight months ago – said he decided to not renew his lease.
The decision marks the end of an era for Davies. He first started working in camping stores in 1980, in Cape Town.
Describing “so many awesome customers,” Davies said it is “unfortunate” the store is closing, but he has no regrets from his time at Mountain Magic.
“It’s really been a great 24 years,” he said.
And with his eye on a house-painting business, his climbing skills won’t go to waste.
“If I fall off (the ladder), I’m OK,” he said.
