As a mountaineer, the name held other resonances for Dale. A keen rock hunter, he would often climb the north faces of the Aiguille du Grepon, Grand Charmoz and the Aiguille du Plan in the Alps, in search of precious crystals to sell. In recent years he was proud of his transvestism and Crystal became a familiar, memorable sight at parties. Friends joked they did not want to meet the woman he bought clothes from.

His appearance in drag at an annual mountain guides' dinner, however, proved a step too far. When an inebriated member groped under his skirt, the long reach that served Dale so well on rock was put to devastating effect. The ensuing disciplinary action was severe; many felt he was treated harshly.

''Big Chris'' Dale was born on January 14, 1962 in Penrith, England, and educated locally until he ran truant at 16. He turned up four days later, having soloed the Old Man of Stoer, a 60-metre sandstone sea stack off the west coast of Scotland. The achievement is all the more remarkable as he had no knowledge of the route or its grade and and carried no rope.

A few years later he travelled to Australia, where he made a bold first ascent up a 180-metre sandstone face in the Blue Mountains he named Big Glassy. The upper half was entirely overhanging on soft and crumbly rock; the feat took three days.

Dale was a keen adherent to informal rules that attached great importance to ascent style. Hammering in pitons or leaving gear behind was frowned on; using a drill to place bolts a sacrilege. He was less traditional when it came to naming trails he blazed. Mountaineers studying his guides have to contend with the routes ''Vive Les Unbathed Pinkos'', ''Dog Breath in the Year of the Plague'' and ''Brain Death and Bad Craziness''.