Number in series 70; Year of publication 1986 - Fell and Rock ...

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26 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIMBING - PART Iopening up of the southern end of Pikes Crag by Kelly and Holland in 1924.Yet another noteworthy feature of this period was the rapid growth in the artof descent. Herford's famous article, 'The Doctrine of Descent' in the 1914Journal, coupled with the increasing influence of gritstone-trained climbers towhom the descent of severe courses was all in the day's work, produced amarked effect and classic routes like Savage Gully and Botterill's Slab were nowdescended for the first time. Nowadays few first ascents of importance go forvery long before a first descent is also made.Toward the end of the first decade of post-war climbing a kind of lassitude setin. It seemed as if the great wave of exploration started by Herford and sobrilliantly ridden by his immediate followers had spent its force at last.But it surged up again in 1928 when the temporary association ofH.G.Knight and H.M.Kelly produced new climbs on Pillar, the Napes, andKern Knotts—the Kern Knotts Chain, another girdle traverse, being a climb ofquite exceptional severity. After that it seemed for a time to be almost in dangerof subsiding altogether; and it must be confessed that about this period thecentre of gravity of British climbing had shifted to another part of our island.The history of Welsh climbing is, of course, beyond the purview of thisarticle. The restriction is the less regrettable since developments in Snowdoniahave followed courses roughly parallel to those in our own district, a fact whichis not so remarkable when we consider that, apart from a few conspicuousexceptions, the same leading figures have been responsible for exploration inboth regions. The post-war renaissance in North Wales lagged a little behindthat in the Lakes; it was just about reaching its full force as the great wavefurther north was beginning to die down, and it obtained especial impetus fromthe ascent by A.S.Pigott in 1927 of the East Buttress of Clogwyn du'r Arddu.The particular importance of this climb lay in the fact that it opened up thepossibilities of a crag of major proportions, which had hitherto been regarded asinvulnerable. It therefore set men thinking along new lines, much as the ascentof Central Buttress and the great 1919 campaign on Pillar had done. A year laterthe companion West Buttress fell, this time to J.L.Longland, with the originalconqueror Pigott in the party. Thenceforward the exploration of the cragproceeded apace, chiefly through the enterprise of C.F.Kirkus, one of a band ofbrilliant young members of the Climbers' Club, who were specially active inWales about this time.The two years 1929-30 were comparatively barren in the Lake District, butthe next year saw the making of two first-class routes in which the Clogwyn du'rArddu influence was plainly discernible. There was no virgin crag in Lakelandto compare with this mighty cliff, but the nearest appraoch to it wasundoubtedly the East Buttress of Scafell. Though not on so large a scale asClogwyn, its steepness, severity, and reputed inaccessibility were quitecomparable; whilst in some respects, such as the relative absence of vegetation,it might claim a slight superiority. In 1931 Kirkus tried it at its northern end (anMarco Pallis on the firstascent of Mickledore Grooves, 1931. Ivan Waller i%
28 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIMBING - PART Iattempt on this out of Mickledore Chimney had been started but abandoned byKelly some years earlier) and made the first ascent by the Mickledore Grooves.The other great climb of this year was due to the inspiration of an equallybrilliant young cragsman, Maurice Linnell, whose untimely loss in 1934 was adisaster to British climbing only to be compared with the death of Herford.Linnell had climbed a great deal with Kirkus and was himself responsible forone of the hardest of all the hard Clogwyn du'r Arddu climbs. And now inconjunction with A.B. Hargreaves and A.W. Bridge (who must be reckonedjoint leader) he made the first Girdle Traverse of Pillar Rock. At this point wemay summarise the intervening and subsequent history of the famous Stone,which was last mentioned in connection with the great campaign of 1919. In1920 and 1923 Kelly made further climbs on the West Wall of Low Man, and in1928, in company with H.G. Knight, yet another route, this time on the westwall of Walker's Gully. The Girdle Traverse opened the eyes of climbers to thepossibilities of the last inviolate section of Pillar—the formidable stretchbetween the North and North-West climbs, and A.T. Hargreaves made two newroutes here in 1932 and 1933, the Nor'-Nor'-West Climb and Hadrian's Wall,which are among the hardest of the Pillar climbs.Meanwhile, Linnell had turned his attention to the East Buttress of Scafelland in the summers of 1932 and 1933 (the last summer, alas! in which he was toclimb) launched a series of great attacks with the result that this supremelyformidable face, which three years before had been unclimbed, now possessedseveral magnificent routes. Two of these, it must be mentioned, were led byA.W. Bridge and A.T. Hargreaves respectively, but Linnell was in at both andwas himself responsible for the remainder.SummaryWith this series of splendid leads our tale of first ascents may fitly close. If ithas been too much a tale of first ascents, we can only plead that these, likespecific advances or battles in military history are the obvious, convenient pegson which to hang the skein. But we have tried to indicate throughout the broadbackground of general development that lies behind these glittering fires ofindividual performance; and the present is a convenient stage at which to reviewa few of the more general aspects which have received too scant attention.We have seen how British climbing, originally—like Alpinism—a pursuit ofsummits, and for long regarded even on its technical side as a humble handmaidof Alpinism, gradually established itself as an independent sport, in which theroute is followed for its own sake. We have seen, too, how the early climbers,ever prone to seek the deeper recesses of the crags for their big routes, weregradually driven into the narrower fissures, and finally forced out on to theridges and open faces.198
Page 1 and 2: 100 YEARS OFROCK CLIMBINGIN THELAKE
Page 6: EDITOR'S NOTESGeoff CramIn June 188
Page 9 and 10: 4 THE FIRST ASCENT OF NAPES NEEDLET
Page 11 and 12: 6 THE FIRST ASCENT OF NAPES NEEDLEb
Page 13 and 14: 10 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIM
Page 23: 24 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIM
Page 29 and 30: H.M.Kelly and J.H.Doughty 33for the
Page 31 and 32: H.M.Kelly and J.H.Doughty1892 Moss
Page 33 and 34: H.M.Kelly and J.H. Doughty1923 Toph
Page 35: 40 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIM
Page 40 and 41: John Wilkinson 47men: Birkett, Peas
Page 44 and 45: John Wilkinson 53are now Hard Very
Page 46 and 47: John Wilkinson 57have radically tra
Page 51 and 52: John Wilkinson 6 5being made by the
Page 53 and 54: John Wilkinson6SWith the opening up
Page 59 and 60: Pete Whillance 73good routes on Low
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Page 69 and 70: A SHORT HISTORYOF LAKELAND CLIMBING
Page 71 and 72: Ron Kenyon and AlMurray 89climbed b
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94 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLIM
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Ron Kenyon and Al Murray 97In the E
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102 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLI
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106 A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND CLI
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110 THE NORTH-EAST SPUR OF THE DROI
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112 THE NORTH-EAST SPUR OF THE DROI
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ROCK CLIMBING IN NORTHERN ITALYAl C
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AI Churcher 119Sergent and Caporal,
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13 MILES FROM THE EQUATORRay Cassid
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Ray Cassidy 123and I suddenly found
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W. Heaton Cooper 127One element see
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June Parker 131show a new route bei
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136 THE ABRAHAM COLLECTIONwas a for
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140 THE WASDALE CLIMBING BOOKClimbi
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SCAFELL CENTRAL BUTTRESSG.S.SansomR
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G.S.Sansom 145bulge, above-mentione
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MORE OF C.B.Bill BirkettWhen the ed
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150 MOREOFC.B.ground, rather overha
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152 CLIMBING IN THE MIDDLE AGEStemp
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THE MAN WHO BROKE THE NEEDLEGraham
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G. Sutton 157tooth....'Ron's voice
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G. Sutton 159view; they must have b
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Ed Grindley 161A couple of hours la
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164 THE MODERN ICARUS!This was now
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166 THE MODERN ICARUS!Aware that I'
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Angela Soper 169whispered happily,
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172 THE WELL-OILED MACHINE - TWELVE
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174 THE WELL-OILED MACHINE - TWELVE
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A. Harry Griffin 111the same mould
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A. Harry Griffin 179merged together
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182 WAY OUT WESTone of them picked
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184 WAY OUT WESTseverity it was of
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186 WAY OUT WESTwho made me a pair
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SCOTLANDThe Fell and Rock members c
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Jim Sutcliffe 193June Parker report
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NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESAlan Murray & P
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198 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESIvor the Bo
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200 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESBLEAK HOW C
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202 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESJoker Man.
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204 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESPrivate Eye
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206 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTES6a. Climb t
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208 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESBURNT CRAG
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210 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESYEW CRAGAut
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212 NEW CLIMBS AND NOTESSilverstone
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214 IN MEMORIAMGladys died peaceful
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CLUB OFFICERS AND MEETS 225Libraria
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