Cliff-side service for an unconventional man

WITH his long tresses and his habit of wearing jeans and the Cork O2 GAA jersey when performing his magic, Michael Reardon didn’t fit the conventional image of a rock climber. How he presented himself was more in keeping with our notion of a rock musician.

He was once in a glam rock band — his longtime friend Mark Niles said yesterday that when he first met him he wore more make-up than his wife, Marci.

Mr Reardon was one of the world’s elite free-soloists, meaning he climbed by himself with no ropes or protection of any kind.