Category: Classic Journal Articles

Welcome to this month’s dip into the journals, the 1914 edition and the last of the n4 decades.  The club has been established for a dozen years and members have ranged far and wide in 1913: * the Dauphinée and Écrins; * the Pryénées; * the Southern Tyrol, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; * the Engadine; * Hardanger; * the Oberland (twice). Nearer home J Rooke Corbett encouraged members to enjoy Christmas in the hills.  There’s a report on climbs on Stanage High Neb written as a new crag for Manchester Climbers, along with thoughts on how to write a climbing guide that is easy to follow, applied to Laddow, long a club favourite. Plus a walk along the Northern Pennines ‘the route (54 miles) may be covered by strong walkers in two days by sleeping out’, with some ideas on extending it South – a proto Pennine Way. However, my pick is an article on a two week trip to Skye – with plenty of walking and scrambling, much attention to travel times and train fares, and a meeting with Harold Raeburn, an air of an encounter with Obi-Wan Kenobi about this.  Use this link to read the[…]

We look back at the 1924 Journal this month, which was heralded as the Club’s ‘Coming of Age Journal’. Choosing one article from it proves difficult, as it is packed full of articles written by legendary ‘greats’ of the Club including Eustace Thomas on an incredible 5 weeks of alpinism and peak bagging with the famous guide Joseph Knubel, Rooke Corbett on 10 days walking ‘In Unknown Lochaber’, an amusing article by Morley Wood entitled ‘Lesser Climbing’ and the article I have chosen by AS Pigott describing the first ‘amateur ascent’(ie guideless) of the Grepon from the Mer de Glace. At the start of the article are the following two sentences: “The Grepon has a fascinating history. Surely few climbers have read Mummery without registering a vow to climb its rocks, and the account of the first ascent of the Mer de Glace face (Alpine Journal, vol. xxvi., 1912) is an epic of Alpine endeavour so hauntingly disturbing as to excuse our attempt to recapture a little of the glory the pioneers must have felt.“  Appetite whetted,  read the full article here. In addition to those already mentioned there is a long article by EW Steeple on a First Visit[…]

  This month’s dip into the club journals goes back 90 years to pre-war Europe, members travelled widely.  One, Basil Goodfellow ‘had the exceedingly good fortune to be in New Zealand with a fortnight to spare’, his is an excellent travelogue of a region beginning to open up. However, I’ve gone for some understated mountaineering in the Ortler area of the Eastern Alps, which had become Italian around 15 years before, previously the Ortler was the highest point of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  You can read the article here. Locally the journal records obituaries for Morley Wood, who with A S Pigott pioneered on gritstone and beyond, ‘Once we found the Upper Tier, at the Roches, untouched except for Jeffcoat’s Chimney’. And Maurice Linnell, who had died in an accident on Ben Nevis with Colin Kirkus.  The journal includes his report of new climbs on Scafell East buttress and A S Pigott’s account of their first ascent of Narrow Slab on Cloggy. The complete journal is available in the Archive under the About tab on the Home page, and here.  

This month we return to the 1943-44 Journal, which was visited last year when the 3’s were reviewed. It is a rather ‘thin’ Journal, but there was a World War raging. The Editor at the time felt the need to apologise ‘to those who are away from home for the fact that this Journal, slim though it is, has to do for two years.’ It is the extensive Editor’s Notes that I have chosen to highlight on this occasion, as they given a clear insight into the many difficulties faced producing the Journal. These included few meets, low numbers attending and, for those posted abroad, the ‘efficiency of the censorial pencils’. There is also a plea to write about simple trips, something the current Editor may approve of! In the Notes, the Editor then muses about accidents, as well as how beginners should be introduced to the hills. I hope you find it as insightful as I have. The article can be found by clicking here. There are also some excellent pen and ink sketches in its pages such as the one of Three Shire Head below.   To read the full 1943-44 Journal, please click this link.

This month’s choice is very conventional – a contemporary essay on the 1953 Everest expedition by Basil Goodfellow, club president 1950/51.  Click on this LINK to read it.  He was involved first hand as joint Hon Sec of the Himalyan Committee so had an insight into the planning of the expedition and a 30 year perspective on the previous attempts on the mountain.  Interestingly he acknowledges the contribution of oxygen and hydration, something that seemed to be lost over the years in the more popular accounts, until Harriet Tuckey wrote a biography of her father, Griffith Pugh, the physiologist on the expedition. Well worth a read, some details in this link. I was tempted to choose Vin Dillon’s article of an attempt on the Dent d’Herens, a very creative piece of writing, maybe next year we can include his follow-up from the 1955 journal ‘The Return Fixture’. If you follow this LINK you can find the other articles in the journal: Geoff Piggot on climbing in the Mont Blanc area; J.A. Stewart caving in Cyprus; David Thomas on being benighted, and; Failure and success on the Skye Ridge. Here are some photos from the journal.      

It was a real pleasure to open the 1964 Journal, although choosing one article was a challenge!  I hope the contents list below will help explain this dilemma: The article I finally chose was A Journey in Peru by Alfred Gregory. He was the photographer on the successful 1953 Everest expedition, reaching 8500m in support of the successful assault and took many of the best known pictures from that expedition including one of Hillary and Tenzing as they left for the summit. He was also a Rucksack Club member. He describes a journey through Peru in a bygone era wonderfully and I cannot recommend it highly enough. He has certainly made me think I should try and get to the Andes at least once! Click here to read the article. Below are two photographs that accompany the article. There is much else in the Journal to read, including the first article entitled ‘Forget Giant Groundsel’ by Vin Dillon, someone I never met, but I know someone who knew him well (Andy Llewellyn). He has kindly provided some background to the article: Vin Dillon was one of the Clubs greatest storytellers. Whether he was talking, singing or writing you never really[…]

The June dip into the club journals this month reaches 1974.  Members’ articles covered: exploring the North Pennines; a trip to a remote munro; a run of the new Coast to Coast path, from East to West; early British ascents of routes in the Eastern and Western Alps; and a Himalyan Peak. I’ve chosen the latter, a trip to Himachal Pradesh and the second ascent of Phabrang, a peak of 6172m in the Lahul District, by a small team club team. Fifty years ago the walk in went through villages with a self-sufficient way of life, not the situation now. Read Jeff Mason’s article here.  And this month you can have a BOGOF as John Allen’s report of the trip is available in the Himalayan Journal archives here. For more information about the self sufficiency of Himalyan village life try Helena Norberg-Hodge’s book Ancient Futures, this describes Ladakh in the 70s and 80s and how the area changed with development, here’s a starting point. Other pictures from the 1974 journal are below, in black and white only, and here’s a link to the journal.

In May [sorry one day late as it’s June 1st!], we go back to 1984 and this Journal covers the two years 1984/5. I have chosen the article written by  John Richardson describing the traverse of the classic Haute Route on skis by members of the Club, which is still a greatly sought after route. John writes in his usual humorous and understated way as the team complete the classic traverse in five days [six being the usual allotted time], despite it not all going to plan! Extra days at the end allow for other adventures on skis, including peak bagging. Click here to read the article in full. Below are a few photos from the Journal giving a flavour of the breadth of content:

The Rum Cullin from Orval, photo M.S. Cudahy This month we’re back in 1994, and a difficult choice, this time it’s Paul O’Reilly’s account of an epic with Andy Stewart and a pal in the Wind River Range: A War of Attrition on the War Bonnet, read it here. Andy’s OTHW is available here too. And visit the 1994 journal for more reports including Mike Cudahy’s continuous Munro round, various Alpine Adventures and others from further afield, here are a few photos … Ama Dablam, from on the trail above Dengboche, photo P.Cockshott Below, Mike Cudahy on his continuous Munro round The Goldsmiths in South Africa  

This month we return to 2004 and on that occasion the Journal spanned the two years 2003/4. Although an article from this publication appeared last year [RC Expedition to East Greenland], this Journal packed full of interesting and well penned articles spanning the breadth of interest found in our Club, from Big Wall and exploratory new route climbing, through mountaineering, walking, sailing, kayaking and ice kiting! I could have chosen any but had to pick one so it is Mike Hartley’s ‘My Modest Plan’ which is an account of a solo kayak day trip along Loch Quoich and walk up a Munro in Knoydart that didn’t go quite to plan. To view the full Journal click here. To whet your appetite, here are some photos from that Journal [I love the mobile phone the Editor is shown using…how they have changed in the last 20 years!]. Happy reading!