Mountain saviourship
Photographer Nick Livesey reveals why he escaped to Snowdonia for a life in the mountains
W hen it comes to mountains, photographer Nick Livesey is an old romantic at heart. His stubbled, gruff exterior is a surprising contrast to the soul-searching, philosophical chap beneath, as he tells Trail about how the hills of Britain – and more specifically, North Wales – literally saved his life.
THE LOST YEARS
Before Nick found the mountains and photography, long hair, drink, drugs and rock and roll in the flatlands of Peterborough characterised his early years as he struggled to find his place in the world.
“My adult life before discovering the mountains was one of drudgery and darkness, punctuated by brief glimmers of light brought about by my work as a musician,” says Nick. “There were numerous occasions in my twenties where I got myself into such an appalling state through drugs and alcohol, that I was convinced I wouldn’t live past the age of 30. It was a miserable existence, which was endemic among many of my contemporaries. I knew I had to stop and desperately wanted to escape from a cycle of self-destruction.”
TO WALES
It wasn’t until the late 1990s that Nick discovered a book in his local library called Wales by W A Poucher. Not only did it spark long-lost memories and emotions of the wild hill country of the Peak District on journeys to and from his birth town of Manchester, it changed the course of his life.
“In that book, I discovered an innate predisposition and compulsion to explore and experience adventure beyond that which I was accustomed to, to escape a humdrum life. When I made my first steps into hillwalking I immediately knew that I’d found my escape – not from reality, but to it. Away from the spin, propaganda and societal expectations that I’d always struggled to meet I found an arena in which pretence was stripped away and simple truths were abundant and unambiguous.”
A NEW OBSESSION
Nick’s very first hillwalk, now 15 years ago, was Silver How in the Lake District. From that moment on, he was either talking about the mountains, reading about them, climbing them, writing about them, taking photographs of them or daydreaming about his next trip. He found that he was only truly happy when he was among them.
“In the mountains I found a sanctuary that quietened my internal dialogue and gave me some understanding of my transience and the need to live more in the moment. They helped me on the road to recovery and find a much more fulfilling, happier way of life. I think I’m a better person for the experiences I’ve had in the mountains and the lessons they’ve taught me.”
Mountain walking changed from being a hobby to a full-blown way of life for Nick when, some four-and-a-half years ago, he was walking in the Rhinogydd in Snowdonia and got a call from his then-fiancée. She’d decided she’d had enough of his mountains and photography obsession and told him to pack his bags when he got home. In that moment, with tears streaming down his face, he decided that the only way forward was to move to the mountains.
TOTAL IMMERSION
Nick found that the key to making the move was to be willing to take any job to get started and to just ignore any negative or ‘sensible’ thoughts. He felt he had nothing to lose and was drawn to Snowdonia, having spent the majority of his walking and climbing time with Peterborough Mountaineering Club, whose club cottage near Bethesda was his ‘second home’.
“As fond as I am of the Peak District, Lakeland and many parts of Scotland, I never felt a sense of belonging in quite the same way as I did in Wales. For many of us a particular place, above all others, gets under our skin and calls us back time and again. For me, that place is – and always has been – Snowdonia.”
So Nick found himself working in the Moel Siabod Café in Betws-y-Coed and living out of his car. “I took a considerable cut in my earnings. However, most of my disposable income was spent on visiting the hills so, on balance, it didn’t make that much difference in monetary terms,” says Nick. Fortunately, Nick is not materialistically driven, describing himself as a simple soul. He doesn’t own a television and would be completely useless in a pop culture quiz.
From the back of his car, he moved into a caravan, where he endured a freezing winter, then decamped to a lovely little flat where he can now walk straight out of his front door and onto Moel Siabod. With more access to the mountains, Nick found his potential for photography and “chasing the light” grew exponentially.
“It’s not unusual for me to get up at 3am and climb a mountain and wait until sundown before walking back down in the dark,” says Nick. “Waiting for good light at either end of the day can be a bit of a ‘sufferfest’, especially in winter when sitting still for prolonged periods means getting very cold, but it’s an essential part of capturing the mountains at their best, so I never feel I’m going to any great lengths in the course of my photography. It’s just the way it is!”
“LIFE IS PRETTY SWEET!”
With a flair for writing and photography, Nick went from being published in the small Peterborough Mountaineering Club magazine, to publishing his first book Photographing the Snowdonia Mountains (out this spring by fotoVUE). Nick now appears regularly
“I IMMEDIATELY KNEW THAT I HAD FOUND MY ESCAPE – NOT FROM REALITY, BUT TO IT.”
in Trail magazine, with his inspiring routes and amazing photography, and wears top-quality kit in his role as a brand ambassador for Mammut. He’s even squeezing in working towards his summer Mountain Leader award.
“I wondered whether the novelty of having the mountains on my doorstep would wear off and dim my passion,” says Nick, “but, four-and-a-half years on, I can honestly say that my relationship with these mountains has taken on an intimacy that can only be experienced by living with them and my love for them grows stronger day by day.
“Any expectations I may have had have been exceeded. The biggest sacrifice by far is that I don’t get to see my old friends or family as much as I would like, but we have a close-knit outdoor community here for which getting out as much as possible and making the most of living here is very much part of the culture.
“I have also inherited a surrogate family here at the Moel Siabod Café. To say we’re living the dream wouldn’t be too far off the mark!”
With almost 100 ascents up his beloved Moel Siabod alone, Nick is certainly making the most of his life now – and is excited by what the future holds for him in the mountains.
He is living proof that if you want something enough, many of the barriers are ones we place on ourselves and, freeing ourselves of these, our wildest dreams may actually be achievable.