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Dave Cowans
February 6, 1947 - September 10, 2020
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Memories
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2020-11-01 17:17:18 View / Comment (2)
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2020-09-25 22:57:01 View / Comment (0)
Barry Geden
I had the pleasure well I think it was a pleasure to work with Dave at the outset of my career. There are a lot of stories that I could share but I’ve picked four which reflect the Dave that I knew. First one relates to the Colwyn Challenge event which Rob has referred to. This particular year Dave was the Nalgo team manager but also team participant. One of the events that Dave took part in was a quad bike race where you raced against another competitor from another team Dave raced against a much younger and better looking student from Llandrillo Tech. Dave was in the lead but realised the other lad had crashed through a hedge but instead of racing on to win Dave jumped off his quad and ran to check the lad was ok. Dave was awarded the personality of the event for his sporting actions. In contrast playing golf with Dave saw him in a different light. Imagine your shot to the green involves clearing the water and landing the ball on the green. As your club face is just about to connect with the ball you hear the noise of “quack quack” coming out of Dave’s mouth! I worked closely with Dave in the aftermath of the Towyn floods at a time when emotions were running very high. I was in a meeting in a cafe with Dave and several others one of whom who wasn’t local decided to voice their opinion on how poor the Council response was in his view. I won’t say exactly what happened but Dave put him right in no uncertain way. DC was committed to improving local services for people and that stayed with him till the end. And my final story of Dave which still makes me laugh was at the time we were putting a new all weather pitch in at Eirias Park. Dave and I were meeting with Ceri O’Donnell from the hockey club to discuss the official opening. Dave announced to my surprise that we had managed to get a top class sportsperson to do the honours which was news to me. Ceri wanted to know who this was but Dave said he wasn’t at liberty to say. Ceri wasn’t having any of this and said the meeting couldn’t progress until she knew who it was. I’m sat next to Dave thinking well yes I’d like to know as well because I’m not aware we have anyone lined up. Dave’s next words will always stay with me as he said straight faced to Ceri we haven’t actually got anyone yet Ceri.....DC RIP
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2020-09-25 09:26:28 View / Comment (0)
Sarah Manfredi
Dave has been part of our family through Sarah for over 30 years. He was always such a character, funny and charming and full of stories. After Bal met him for the first time in the 90s, he said that Dave was the kind of person who was exactly the same when he was 20 as when he was 50, and he would be exactly the same when he was 70- and he was! Our memories of him are about having a cup of tea or a pint and a chat, having a great time at weddings and birthday parties, always surrounded by family and friends. He was very loved and he will be very missed.
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2020-09-24 23:15:41 View / Comment (0)
Eric Almquist
I met Dave in the late 1980s when climbing with Andy Tomlinson in North Wales. Dave was an irrepressible climber and spirit, with a flashing smile and sparkling wit. Dave was immediately welcoming and friendly, and I grew to respect his intellect and deep and raucous sense of humor. Dave often spoke so fast that this American sometimes had no idea what he was saying. When I was with Dave and Andy at the pub after a long day, Dave would refer to me as "our colonial friend". It was all great fun. Our friendship took us climbing first in North Wales (on Dinas Mot, Cloggy, Dinas Cromlech, Cyrn Las and other parts of Llanberis Pass). We climbed on at least six trips that Dave made to the US--to New Hampshire, Lumpy Ridge in Colorado, Yosemite and Tuolumne Meadows, and the Shawangunks in New York. It was always an adventure. He came to my 50th birthday party in Boston, and I attended his 50th birthday party in Colwyn Bay. I shall miss you greatly, Dave--you were a warm, kind, fun, and intelligent friend. My wife Nanny and sons Adam, Adrian, and Nick all loved you, too. I lift a glass of ale to you, old friend! See you on the other side!
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2020-09-24 19:43:02 View / Comment (0)
Bob burnell
Dave Cowans was one of my oldest and dearest friends. We grew up in Chorlton Cum Hardy Manchester. We used to hang around in Chorlton with a group of pals and went everywhere together . Dave as a young lad had a great talent for running cross country, all the rest of us no such luck !!, so we used to go events and cheer him on. when he was slacking the lads used to shout " come on , Sam pick up musket and run lad " hence Dave became Sam and everybody then called him Sammy not Dave. We went through the Mod era in Manchester at the clubs and all nighters especially at theTwisted Wheel. Dave was a great Pianist (well he said he was ) so wherever we went we would get him to play the hits , but he would only do it if we boned the piano, this got us thrown out of many a pub when the landlord came in and saw what Dave made us do. Dave had a lot of musical heroes but he wanted us to go to one special all nighter to see his hero Long John Baldry. Most of the lads were falling asleep by the time he came on the stage and true to form Dave (Sammy ) approached him and told him we had waited all night for him to come on stage and actually "you was CRAP", yet again another place we were thrown out from. As you all know Dave was a great Climber "BUT NOT WHEN HE WAS A LAD " when we were 16 all the lads and Sammy (dave) went to Newquay for a holiday , we travelled through the night getting trains and buses just to make it cheaper , we arrived at 10am , nowhere to stay so went on the beach. We had Tea and bacon butties and lay on the beach. After about an hour there was a commotion on the beach , people shouting "He is going to fall " there was Dave (Sammy) up the cliff retrieving a red ball ,BUT he was stuck !!. Lifeguards were called in force trying to get him down , eventually they managed calling a specialist climber to come and put him in a harness to lower him down. he never lived it down , especially when the local paper had him on the front page being lowered. Wherever we went visiting old relics he would always insist on signing the visitors book Giuseppe, when pushed about it his reply was "oh its the pope", he used to love climbing these old relics and hundred of year old trees just for the sheer hell of it, AGAIN getting us all in plenty of bother. We were all and still mad Manchester City fans , and went to all the home games together and a few away games. (they are another story ) . Dave would do anything for a laugh as a young man. These are my fondest memories of a great man and friend who went on to do great things in his life. Bob Burnell
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2020-09-23 09:07:38 View / Comment (0)
Robert Brookes
I'm an ex colleague and fellow outdoor nut and my fondest memories of Dave were during the Colwyn Challenge (an outdoor corporate team event we both participated in for a number of years). His commitment was incredible – I remember shouting at him to slow down because I thought he was going to keel over! On one occasion he tricked me into training harder for one of the gym events (press ups I think) because he told me someone from another team was doing a lot more than me – it was nonsense but it did the trick. On another occasion I was trying to prep the Team for an Orienteering event and asked if he'd brought his compass. Dave responded along the lines of "you're kidding - I left mine in a climbing hut on Ben Nevis 10 years ago". This was typical of Dave - you never knew if he was being serious or not (although in my experience the former was certainly likely). I’ve recently been walking a lot of the wild areas where we did these events and reminiscing some amusing stories involving Dave and it seems like only yesterday. I can still see him trying to master a mountain bike on the forest tracks - he was a great runner but biking certainly wasn't his thing so he'd often get off and run with it instead! I treasure these memories and they always make me smile. Dave was a real character with a genuine love for the outdoors and he'll be greatly missed. Its great that he put his name to numerous climbing routes which will now be permanent reminders of his achievements. My heartfelt condolences to his family and those close to him. Rest in peace Dave. Rob Brookes
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Andy Tomlinson
Andy Tomlinson
1977 and I had escaped to Chester after 6 years in London. It seemed a good place to work and was not too far from North Wales; all I needed was someone to climb with! Through a colleague at work I was introduced to Bob who had just started to climb with someone called Dave…and I should meet him. This turned out to be one of the defining moments of my life. Dave was a character and completely different from anyone this southern lad had ever met before. He was friendly, outgoing, talkative, hard drinking, competitive and blessed with an incredible sense of humour combined with a sharp wit, yet crucially, warm, welcoming and generous. He soon convinced me I could climb far better [and harder], than I thought possible! He took me under his wing and introduced me to his climbing friends in a ‘Club’ known as The Black and Tans. My life changed for ever! Looking back, these were formative years and, guided by Dave, I saw my climbing standard rise, but not to the level he was aiming at. I used the excuse of a young family and needing to work for exams! I moved on from Chester and, whilst we kept in touch, I didn’t climb again with Dave until after I had settled in The Potteries in 1985. By this time he had a phenomenal climbing CV. As ever he was kind, generous and encouraging. We started climbing together again in 1987 and, under his tutelage, I blossomed. He had a unique ability to instil confidence in me [“you’ll be fine kid, just take it steady” was a frequent mantra] which, along with his ability to remember crucial moves and holds, saw me leading climbs I had only previously dreamed of doing. This, combined with the fun to be had just being ‘out’ with him for a day was addictive, as they were always exciting and often unpredictable! Memories of driving up the A55 from Colwyn, with music blasting out flood back frequently; Queen, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac were the favourites. Sadly, Dave became increasingly ill. Too many long nights in ‘The Legion’ took their toll and, like many, I watched on as he underwent what I knew was serious and major surgery followed by a significant amount of time in intensive care. Importantly he came through all this remarkably quickly looking back and within 12-18 months had regained his enthusiasm and zest for life. Once again, we were out climbing together regularly. He appeared to gain great pleasure from watching me regain my enthusiasm and drive as we ticked off numerous Welsh classics he had already climbed. He was keen to repeat the Cullin Ridge in a day, something he had previously done with Don; this felt like a real privilege for me and we duly did it in 1993 and it remains one of the best mountain days I’ve ever had. The next year we went to Yosemite…after a long day flight to LA, we headed to a local motel to sleep, however from about 2 in the morning Dave was up, constantly brewing up on our stove in the bathroom, leaving teabags strewn across the floor! I still remember him stopping the car as we got our first view of El Cap…“there you go kid, take a look at that!” and then he traced out the Nose, telling me I had to do it! Trips with Dave were always an adventure! We shared a lot of interests together, which meant we kept in touch as the climbing faded. I would frequently call and see him on trips to North Wales. Dave was a one off…intelligent, witty, self-deprecating, generous and, to me, an extraordinarily good friend and mentor for over 40 years. I miss him very much.
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