THANKS FOR THE MOUNTAIN MEMORIES, DAD

There are many reasons we climb. Sometimes it’s the challenge of being the first to a summit, in other cases it is simply the pleasure gained from the incredible views from the top. However, we can also climb to remember. In my case, an annual tradition has been a way of remembering the person who instilled in me a love for the mountains.

My father David Given grew up in Nelson and gained a love for the hills in his teenage years. Memories of trips into the wilderness areas surrounding Nelson were ones he shared with me when we began to venture out together. He talked fondly of the Arthur Range, the Cobb Valley and the Richmond Range. Dad majored in botany at Canterbury University and, in the late 1960s, he spent months in the mountains completing fieldwork for his PhD, focussed on New Zealand’s mountain daisies.