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THE JOURNAL OF THE FELL & ROCK CLIMBING CLUB OF THE ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT Edited by MURIEL FILES No. 51 VOLUME XVIII (No. I) Published by THE FELL AND ROCK CLIMBING CLUB OF THE ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT 1957 PRINTED FOR THE FELL AND ROCK CLIMBING CLUB BY CHARLES THURNAM & SONS LTD., ENGLISH STREET, CARLISLE CONTENTS PAGE Kangchenjunga, 1955 ... /. A. Jackson 1 Brackenclose ... I. A. Richards 8 Mixed Grill Dorothy Pilley Richards 9 Thirty Years On 23 Climbing on Penyghent A. H. Greenban\ 26 A Season in South Georgia ... Tom Price 31 The Julian Alps ... Donald , Nancy and Janet Murray 43 First Ascents for Fell Walkers ... James Ogilvie 48 Arctic Holiday Ruth M. Spilsbury 53 If You Know What I Mean ... Graham Sutton 60 Billiard Fives .. Bentley Beetham 65 Jubilee Year with the Club ... ...Harry Ironfield 67 The Scottish Meet, 1956 ... .. T. Howard Somervell 72 Climbs Old and New Peter Moffat 75 In Memoriam 84 T. R. Burnett C. I. W. Fox T. C. Ormiston-Chant Mrs. A. C. Ackerley G. F. Woodhouse Dr. A. Burton J. R. Whiting H. R. Carter H. C. Broadrick F. H. Duncan J. C. Coulton F. G. Heap R. B. Graham Dr. J. C. Kekwick W. S. Cain A. U. Sarpy A. P. Rossiter Mrs. W. Taylor Jubilee Dinner, 1956 A. H. Griffin 100 The Club John Hirst 104 The London Section 105 Editor's Notes 107 Club Notes and Comments ... 109 The Library .. 110 Reviews 111 LIST OF PLATES Jubilee Dinner, 27th October, 1956, Presidents, Past and Present ... Frontispiece FACING PAGE Kangchenjunga ...Indian Air Force 1 Headman's House, Ghunza /. A. Jackson 4 Kangchenjunga, the Route S. R. ]ac\son 5 Olympus from the Katafugion Dorothy Pilley Richards 8 Olympus Gree\ Alpine Club 9 Penyghent from Alum Pot W. A. Voucher 26 Pagan's Purgatory ... Aida Roper 27 Northwards from ' Cake ' Tom Price 34 Westwards from ' Cake ' Tom Price 35 King Penguins and Chicks Tom Price 42 Triglav Rado Kocevar 43 Dodes Vand D. J. Allan 48 Moskenso Ridges ... H. P. Spilsbury 49 Entrance to Troldfjord, Lofoten ... H. P. Spilsbury 52 Ostvaago Peaks from Raftsund, Lofoten H. P. Spilsbury 53 Pike's Crag and Scafell W. A. Poucher 64 Scafell Pike from Border End W. A. Poucher 65 Pillar f. R. Files 68 Looking Stead R. Coo\ 69 T.R.Burnett G. H. Webb 86 T. C. Ormiston-Chant 87 BETWEEN PAGES Map of South Georgia 34&35 KANGCHENJUNGA, 1955 /. A. Jac\son The entire expedition was together at Rungneet tea estate outside Darjeeling by the 12th or March and made welcome by Jack and Jill Henderson. I had just arrived. ' Come and see the Sherpas, Jacko,' said Neil,* and immediately led me to their cook-house. There was the usual haze of eye- searing smoke, a smell of spiced cooking, the close packing of squatting figures and the smiling faces of some dozen Sherpas. One of them stirred a pot of tsampa, his long black hair glisten ing in the light of the cooking fire. His face was familiar. It was Lobsang, the Namche trader. I'd last seen him twelve months before, crossing the Nangpa La on his way to Tingri Tzong in Tibet. So this is the moment once again, I thought—the return to the Himalaya and back to old friends. Charles, George, Norman and Tom had similar reunions with Dawa, Changup, Big Illia and many others. It is always the same and the start of a great adventure, as we now all of us know. We had two more days of sorting and packing; then we began the ten day journey to the Yalung Valley and the south-west face of Kangchenjunga. It is a short trek to a big mountain but, like all mountain days, it was full of interest. There were days of sunshine and hail on the Singalila Ridge with glimpses of bright mauve primula cushions catching slanting light, and at Khah- pokri swigs of warming rakshi in deserted bamboo huts while long curtains of rain swept across the deep-cut valleys below. Before Phalut we walked through clinging mist and by lines of stark dead trees draped with moss and lichen; Tondu's hot tea mixed with tsampa warmed us all that evening—a cheerful party huddled in tents as the lightning flashed near and thunder cracks overhead quickly rolled away into the distant mountains. From the Singalila we descended 6,000 feet into the deep-cut tributary valleys of the Tamur River finishing with a cool re freshing bathe watched by our first white-capped redstart. Its cheery chirping rivals the memory of John's flute at Chyangthapu. Stiffened leg muscles soon began to loosen on the steep ups and downs of terraced slopes and at the pass above Mehele there was a lesson in fire lighting from the local Nepalese. This was great •The expedition members referred to by their first names are as follows:— Charles Evans, Norman Hardie, George Band, Joe Brown, John Clegg, Tom McKinnon, Neil Mather and Tony Streather. , 2 KANGCHEN JUNG A , 1955 fun as in turn we struck the quartz with a short \u\ri knife and showered sparks over the kindling. Joe and George managed with some measure of success—or so we thought until a Nepali completed what had taken twenty minutes in fewer seconds. Khebang gave us a fine reception and the children from the village school sang songs, loud and shrill, but proudly, for us strangers on the way to Kangchenjunga. We had breakfast in the centre of the village with an interested population looking on; and John busily administered to the sick. From Yamphodin our last days took us across a high ridge to the Simbua Khola — a crossing memorable for the red blaze of rhododendron, views of distant snow-covered Jannu and a speedy descent through Himalayan conifers smelling sweetly of resin. As we sat round a huge log fire at the river camp, knowing that the next day would be the last before Acclimatisation Camp, there was a feeling of satisfaction for everyone; all except one for over by a rock a tired coolie chanted this complaint to the world:— The Sahibs are feeding like Rajahs over there, Here am I cold and hungry, And alas ! there is no baksheesh. During die acclimatisation period, which lasted for over three weeks, different parties reconnoitred the routes over the Yalung Glacier. Moraine, Crack and Corner Camps were established and supplies ferried to them. April weather was never good, temperatures were frequently very low and fierce snow storms were numerous. Much cold powder snow covered the ground and as a result of blizzards some of the tents were ripped and torn. Several peaks were climbed; one by Charles and Neil south of Boktoh; and around the far side of Koktang two peaks of approximately 20,000 feet were ascended by Norman, Joe and I. Tom and Neil went to 21,000 feet on Talung. Because more food supplies were needed for our Sherpas later in the expedition, three of us were fortunate enough to visit the Bhotia people of Ghunza. This was a pleasing revisit for me and yet another fascinating evening spent in the soot-blackened home of Lhakpa Tsering, the headman. We returned via the Lapsong La after a brief exploratory visit to the Yamatari Glacier where we had fine views of the great south face of Jannu. This is the toughest looking peak I have yet seen. Base Camp was occupied by the 12th of April. From it Norman /. A. ]ac\son 3 and George placed Camp I at the top of the Rock Buttress, using the route worked out by my brother and Gilmour Lewis and described in the 1955 Journal. They then began to work their way through the intricate icefall, while ferries continued to Base. By die third day it was clear that the icefall was not going to be an easy passage and Charles and I enjoyed a fine rock ascent to join the others at Camp I. No sooner had we met them than George set us back a pace by saying that tlie icefall made the Khumbu seem like a children's playground. The reason was clear die following day as the four of us climbed out of the bergschrund and gingerly made our way across rickety masses of honeycombed ice. Steep and overhanging walls followed by heavily crevassed areas led us to a perpendicular fifty foot ice wall on which George and Norman had already cut a diagonal traverse for some thirty feet. This was very difficult ice climbing indeed and, while George ascended the final fifteen feet by some precarious artificial climbing, Charles and I returned to camp for a rope ladder. Later in the day this was hung down from the top of the wall ready for our return. The following morning the two of us still found the wall exciting despite the use of the ladder. We now had hopes of advancing quickly through to the horizontal shelf at the foot of the Upper Icefall, but these were soon dispelled as we moved over criss-crossed crevassing and found more steep walls to be climbed. Once the sun got to work on the unstable ice this would not be a justifiable way for Sherpas. Charles abandoned the route. There still seemed to be one ray of hope, for we had gone far enough to see a white tongue of ice descending the steep Western Rock Buttress. Could we switch the site of our Base Camp to a rock knoll and ascend the slopes above Pache's Grave, descend the ice tongue and reach the shelf? We would see, for it seemed to be the only way left open to us and we returned to Base Camp that same evening.