Year of publication 1960 - Fell and Rock Climbing Club

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J. F. Gunn Clark 3sunlight, and looked around. The weather was still settledand almost imperceptibly the Aiguilles were sinking below us.Above, a chimney led to an exposed traverse ending on theedge of the buttress. Two fixed pitons enabled us to abseil toa tiny platform from which we crossed an awkward slab toan icy bulge. Higher up, the angle eased and we found someledges to relax on, while the Poles continued.The Tour Grise rose above us and we examined the DallesNoires with interest. Although reputedly the crux of theclimb, in the afternoon sun the angle did not seem particularlysteep and we set off again optimistically. But the holds turnedout to be small and the route far from easy to find. Theresultant sense of frustration and tension was increased whena great block started to gather momentum on the slabs above.I was tied to a belay at the bottom of a slanting groove andwatched fascinated as the block engaged itself in the top of thegroove and approached like a homing missile. It landed onthe neat coils between my feet and bounded on. When wehad sorted out the bits we found that the effective length ofour double rope had been reduced from 150 feet to less than100!Darkness was coming on and still there was no sign of thetop of the tower. Robin led out two more long, steep pitcheswith great verve and at last an exultant shout announced thathe had found the bivouac site. The Poles were alreadyinstalled and, rather than crowd them, we climbed down to asmall ledge right on the nose of the buttress. Two pitonsrang home and we snuggled into our duvets, feet danglingover the Leschaux Glacier. Having satisfied our immediatehunger with cold meat and chocolate, we filled our brewcanwith chipped ice, coffee and sugar, and lit the stove. With agreat sense of well-being we dozed off beside it as the methsflame flickered in the darkness. I dreamt undramatically,continually meeting people and shaking them by the lefthand. This handshaking became more and more insistentuntil I woke to find that for increased warmth I had unconsciouslyleant over to the left against the meths burner: alarge hole had been burnt through my anorak and the arm ofthe duvet jacket underneath was alight. I eventually managedto put it out, spreading burning down everywhere in the darkness.By some miracle the brewcan had remained upright
4 NORTH FACE OF GRANDES JORASSESduring the excitement, but the precious coffee had becomelaced with charred feathers. Our mirth at the incongruity ofnearly being roasted on a freezing North face quickly disappearedas we began to suck the vile but vital liquid throughcracked lips.At 5 a.m. our alarm-clock jolted us awake to find anotherfine day already dawning. Memories of the previous day'sstone-falls prompted us to get in front and we passed thePoles just as they were putting on their rope. Two hundredfeet of steep rock separated us from the crest of the ridge.At one point a karabiner found abandoned on a peg finallyconvinced us that Whillans and Maclnnes had not passedthat way. Once on the crest, we were in the sun. We feltconsiderably fitter and less tired than on the day before andthe thousand feet of ridge leading up to the base of the finalRed Tower was a joy to climb.In our enthusiasm we continued past the traverse to theright leading to the chimney which splits the side of thetower, and by the time we had retraced our steps the Poleswere some way up this repulsive-looking rift. Robin set offduring a lull in Polish activity and by a powerful piece ofclimbing on very loose verglased rock arrived safely at a smallstance to the right of the chimney. I started at much the sametime as one of the Poles 100 feet directly above, and so wasbombarded by almost everything he pulled off. For speed Iresorted to climbing one strand of our double rope whileRobin heaved on the other. While doing this, a large stonehit me on the back of the head, drawing some blood and allthe French abuse I could muster in the dizzy moments ofcoming to! Once united on the ledge, we decided to let thePoles finish the chimney before going on ourselves. Weremained perched awkwardly in deep shadow on the side ofthe tower for an hour and a half before it was safe to continue.Above the chimney a sensational traverse 50 feet below theproper route took us to the start of the final 500 feet of thespur. It was 4 p.m.; white clouds suddenly boiled up aroundus, making the summit ridge seem thousands of feet away.We were getting tired and our double rope was beginning toirritate us more and more; we took it off and climbed uptogether, relying on the incredible position to safeguard usagainst carelessness. The last 50 feet were very loose, so we
Page 1 and 2: ft'H. P. SMLSBURY (President, 19.5K
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTSPAGEThe North Face of the G
Page 5: 2 NORTH FACE OF GRANDES JORASSESpai
Page 9 and 10: EXTREMES AND EXCESSESHarold DrasdoT
Page 11 and 12: 8 EXTREMES AND EXCESSESget attached
Page 13 and 14: 1(1 EXTREMES AND EXCESSESLater it w
Page 15 and 16: 12 THE EVENING ALPSnice bed here, o
Page 17 and 18: 14 THE EVENING ALPSindeed awaiting
Page 21 and 22: 18 THE EVENING ALPSmaxim: nature ab
Page 23 and 24: 20 THE EVENING ALPSa party of four
Page 25 and 26: 2.2 THE EVENING ALPSCanadian proble
Page 27 and 28: THE MOUNTAINS OF MOURNEPeter Grindl
Page 29 and 30: 26 THE MOUNTAINS OF MOURNEthe Spelg
Page 31 and 32: Peter Grindley 27the line in a very
Page 33 and 34: Peter Grindley 29But this is a digr
Page 35 and 36: G. Oliver 31to the next pitch which
Page 37 and 38: G. Oliver 33Phil Gordon was leading
Page 39 and 40: G. Oliver 35The second pitch, which
Page 41 and 42: SOME SCOTTISH SCRAMBLESTerry Sulliv
Page 43 and 44: Terry Sullivan 39here things went u
Page 45 and 46: A BRAKING HITCHJohn C. LythThis hit
Page 47 and 48: John C. Lyth 43
Page 49 and 50: John C. Lyth 45The rope is laid as
Page 51 and 52: CLIMBS OLD AND NEWEAGLE CRAGTRAPEZE
Page 53 and 54: Peter Moffat 49(2) 65 feet. Continu
Page 55 and 56: Peter Moffat 51right, round a rib,
Page 57 and 58:
Peter Moffat 53(2) 100 feet. The be
Page 59 and 60:
Peter Moffat 55stance with good fla
Page 61 and 62:
Peter Moffat 57(2) 70 feet. Travers
Page 63 and 64:
Peter Moffat 59(3) 60 feet. Climb u
Page 65 and 66:
Peter Moffat 61LANGDALEGIMMER CRAGK
Page 67 and 68:
Peter Moffat 63above almost to a ju
Page 69 and 70:
Peter Moffat 65(4) 80 feet. This pi
Page 71 and 72:
Peter Moffat 67the final overhangin
Page 73 and 74:
IN MEMORIAMHENRY BRAITHWAITE, 1906-
Page 75 and 76:
IN MEMORIAM 71of an observant and i
Page 77 and 78:
IN MEMORIAM 73years all school holi
Page 79 and 80:
IN MEMORIAM 75number of years a Lib
Page 81 and 82:
IN MEMORIAM 77assert that, protecte
Page 83 and 84:
CLIMBS AND EXPEDITIONS 79He carried
Page 85 and 86:
CLIMBS AND EXPEDITIONS 81Terry Sull
Page 87 and 88:
THE YEAR WITH THE CLUBHarry Ironfie
Page 89 and 90:
ANNUAL DINNER, 1959F. H. F. Simpson
Page 91 and 92:
ANNUAL DINNER 87John Hirst did anot
Page 93 and 94:
JEKYLL AND HYDE 89While hateful Hyd
Page 95 and 96:
SCOTTISH MEETS 91energetic to scram
Page 97 and 98:
LONDON SECTION, 1959During this yea
Page 99 and 100:
RlSSlANS WITH SOME OK THEIR HOSTS I
Page 101 and 102:
96 EDITOR'S NOTESGimmer where Paul
Page 103:
CLIMBING BOOK 1893-1906A note by J.
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Year of publication 1960 - Fell and Rock Climbing Club

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