Author: Andy Tomlinson

As this year moves on, we are now back to 1935. Whilst the writing style is very different from that of today, the articles cover the diverse activities undertaken by Club members in a very different era. There is a very poignant article entitled The White Mountain by Frith Burton looking back on his first sighting of Mont Blanc in 1919 when he ‘escaped’ his duties to a Prisoner of War Company near Calais and, instead of returning home, managed to get to Chamonix, which was strictly out of bounds for UK service personnel. Another article that caught my attention was entitled ‘Suilven’ written by the then Journal Editor, Robin Gray, in which he describes, amongst other things, soloing an unclimbed route on this iconic mountain. A quick search on Rockfax Digital shows it graded at V. Diff which did not surprise me after reading his somewhat understated description of the route! Ultimately, I have chosen an article entitled ‘A Tropical Traverse’ by Harold Wootton in which he describes the ascent of a 12,400ft [3780m] mountain called Cameroon Peak in Nigeria. Now you may think I have an African fixation, as the article I chose from the 1955 Journal was[…]

This month [well, it should have appeared at the end of July, my apologies for the slight delay!] we return to 1955 and a very different era. There are fewer articles in the Journal, which should make it easier however they were all interesting! The article I have chosen is entitled “A short visit to the Ruwenzori”, an area also known as the Mountains of the Moon. It gives real insight into the exploration of such areas and includes interesting references to Kilimanjaro [or ‘Kibo’] noting there were “enough climbing opportunities to occupy anyone for a long time, on untrodden ground unspoilt by a litter of guide books and their like”; how things change! There are some interesting editorial decisions too, with a photograph unrelated to the article positioned in the middle…and the cost!  I commend the article entitled “Climbing Memories” to anyone interested in the history of the development of climbing in the UK; it was written by the then President of the Club who had climbed with the pre-Second World War members who were at the forefront of developments at that time. The Thumbnail is a pen and ink sketch of Chamois was one of several excellent drawings[…]

This month we go back 50 years to 1975 with an article about the pleasures associated with the annual pilgrimage made by many to the Alps. It is close to my heart, as I made my first such journey in 1976 to Chamonix, with Rebuffat’s “The Mont Blanc Massif: The 100 Finest Routes” as our final arbiter on route choice! Michael Jamison starts by noting: “The Alps are crowded and commercialised yet the pilgrimage across Europe is made by many in search of mountaineering experiences that can still be savoured amongst their somewhat desecrated shrines.” He describes visiting the meterological office to peruse the map [essential in 1975] and a very crowded night before climbing the Frontier Ridge on Mt Maudit, plus three other routes. A good alpine season given the vagaries of the weather. Click here to read the full article and I hope you enjoy as much as I did. It is interesting to note how an unrelated photo is embedded within the article [a picture of the Sella Group] and a pen and ink sketch of High Moss at the end, showing how editing has changed over the years. As the Thumbnail, I have chosen a picture[…]

The 1995-96 Journal covered two years and is packed full of great articles making the choice of highlighting one very difficult. In the end I have chosen the article entitled “Alpamayo”, written by Ian Tattershall. ‘Tat’, as he was affectionately known, was a larger than life character who would light up a gathering as soon as he arrived. He became very good friends with Joe Simpson and they had several trips to the greater ranges. This article describes one such trip to the Andes, in Tat’s usual style and can be read by clicking here. Alpamayo (Peru), SW Face (the route climbed by Tattersall & Simpson leads up the centre). Photo: I. Tattersall Sadly Tat died prematurely in a paragliding accident in 1999 and his obituary can be found in the 2000-2001 Journal. Below is the Contents page for the 1995-96 Journal, which can be accessed in full here

A new year brings us to Journals of year’s ending in ‘5’ and this month we are looking at the fairly contemporary Journal of ten years ago, 2015. As always, there is a wide selection of articles covering many of the Club’s activities. I have gone for one of the shorter articles entitled ‘A quick way down’, written by Peter Benson. Pete was an indefatigable raconteur who had, in the late 50s and early 60s been at the cutting edge of rock climbing during which time he made early ascents of notable routes including Cenotaph Corner, Vector and White Slab, as well as the first ascent of Grey Arete on Glyder Fawr. He was also a prolific contributor to the Club Journal [just look up Benson in the definitive Journal Index!], with his articles often including some falling out that occurred on the hill somewhere and always with a good dose of humour! So, enjoy ‘A quick way down’ by clicking here. The 2015 Journal also includes a review of ‘Rucksacks at Dawn’, a collection of Pete’s tales many of which have appeared in the Journal over many years. Pete died in 2018 and his Obituary appeared in that year’s[…]