Darren Campbell
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 04/00) - Malcolm Farrow doesn't do anything half-way. Whether it be mountain climbing, dog mushing, triathlon or teaching, the 57-year-old Yellowknifer goes all out in everything he does.
Maybe that's because he feels there is no sense doing something any other way.
"I think the more you put into it, the more you get out of it," he said.
 Malcolm Farrow |
"I drifted into more serious stuff from the hiking into the mountains into serious, serious climbing," says Farrow.
He spent three summer seasons in the mid-1960's climbing in the French Alps, working long enough to make money for his trips.
The highest peak Farrow climbed was 15,000-foot Mount Blanc.
"It certainly wasn't the time when it was the cool thing to do. People thought we were crazy," says Farrow. "But we were just doing it because we really liked to do it."
The thrill was heightened by the fact that a mistake could be your last.
That almost happened to him during a climb on the North face of the Augille Charmoz in Chamonix, France in 1966. Farrow was hit by falling rock on the climb and fell 100 metres before hitting a glacier.
The fall did not kill him. It did kill his climbing career and he hasn't climbed seriously since.
"Most of my friends who were the serious climbers are dead now," says Farrow matter-of-factly. "You don't get many second chances."
Luckily, Farrow did get a second chance and decided to become a teacher.
He met his future wife, Judy, in the mountains of North Wales when both were on a climb.
They were married in 1968 and then emigrated to Canada and came to Montreal. There, Farrow attended McGill University and got his bachelor of education degree.
Both he and Judy would teach and go to school while living in Montreal before applying for teaching jobs in Iqaluit, then known as Frobisher Bay.
"The plan was not necessarily to stay for a long time," says Farrow. "The plan was to teach across Canada but we sort of got sidetracked by the North for 30 years."
Iqaluit bound
Farrow and Judy moved to Iqaluit in 1971 where they would teach in the newly opened Gordon Robertson Education Centre, now Inukshuk high school.
It was an exciting time for the couple, as they were teaching at the first high school in the Baffin Island. Before the school opened, students wanting to go to high school had to move to Churchill, Manitoba or Ottawa.
"The kids were really interested in learning and they weren't young, they were older kids," says Farrow. "We tried to create programs that met the needs of the students. Programs that were interesting and useful for them."
Malcolm and Judy didn't expect to stay in Iqaluit forever but they liked it. By 1977, Farrow was principal of the school and they had built their own house -- one of the first privately-owned ones in town.
But with mountain climbing out of his life, Farrow needed a new interest and he found it in raising and training dog teams.
Snowmobiles had long replaced dog teams as the Inuit people's mode of transportation when travelling on the land. When Farrow decided to keep dogs in 1975, there was no dog teams in Iqaluit.
Farrow knew nothing about breeding or training them but he got a couple of dogs from a friend in Iglulik and bought some more in Iqaluit. But he had much to learn about dogs.
"What I didn't realize is no one gives you their best dogs. I ended up with a dog team and six or seven dogs that weren't really good," says Farrow. "So, I started over building a good dog team. That takes a long time to do."
In fact, Farrow says it takes four or five years. So, after starting over in 1978, Farrow was just developing a good team in his last few years in Iqaluit.
Why did training a dog team appeal to Farrow? Again, it was a challenge. Training and breeding dogs and turning them into a solid, dependable team isn't easy.
But it was work Farrow enjoyed. He was training the dogs not for racing but for travel, so he could go on weekend trips on the land or to places like Kimmirut.
He says going on those journeys, often with Judy, appealed to him in the same way mountain climbing did. If you mess up on a mountain it could cost you your life. The same held true for travelling with dogs on the Baffin tundra.
"It's the idea that you don't really get too many second chances. You've got to be knowledgeable, competent and safe," says Farrow.
As much as Farrow enjoyed Iqaluit and his dogs, by 1986 he felt it was time to move on. When the job as principal at Sir John Franklin high school in Yellowknife came up, Farrow took it. He and Judy and daughter Justine, born in 1983, left Iqaluit and the dogs behind.
Farrow stayed on there for one year before moving to the department of education, culture and employment. He now works as a special advisor for the department. Back in 1986, Farrow was in a new place and with a new job. He was also ready for a new challenge. It ended up being the sport of triathlon.
Farrow says he "drifted" into the sport upon moving to Yellowknife. It wasn't long before he had drifted into the most challenging form of triathlon - - The Ironman.
For those unfamiliar with The Ironman, it is a race that includes a 3.9-kilometre swim, a 180-kilometre cycle and a 42.2-kilometre run. Farrow was good enough at this sport to qualify and compete in two World Ironman Championships in Hawaii in 1993 and 1996. Once again, no half efforts for Farrow when it came to this sport.
What motivates and interests Farrow to put in the time and effort needed to compete in an Ironman is the same as it was for mountain climbing or dog training.
"The feeling of accomplishing something is what it's really all about," says Farrow. "The buzz I get at the starting line is similar to stepping off a cliff. You just don't know how it's going to turn out. But what you get out of it lasts a long time."
Concerning time, It's been a while since the Farrow's made a move. At 57 and with daughter Justine away at the University of Northern B.C., Farrow says he and Judy will stay in Yellowknife for another year before packing up and leaving the North for Vancouver Island.
Farrow says he plans to spend the near future turning his part-time business, called "Vigourous Lifestyles", into a full-time career.
Farrow currently provides personal fitness and lifestyle consulting services. He says he wants to work with the aging baby boomers and improve their fitness and quality of life.
He also thinks he is ready to take up a new athletic challenge.
"I'm looking forward to getting into mountain biking or sea kayaking," says Farrow. "They tell me the golfing is good (in Vancouver Island) but I can take up golfing when I'm about 90."
