THE Fell and Rock Climbing Club OF THE ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT VOL. 9. 1933. No. 3 LIST OF OFFICERS. President: W. G. MILLIGAN Vice-Presidents: P. D. BOOTHROYD GRAHAM WILSON Honorary Editor of Journal: G. R. SPEAKER, Abbotsmead, Twickenham, Middlesex. Assistant Hon. Editor: GRAHAM WILSON, High Bield, Loose, Maidstone, Kent from whom copies of the Journal may be obtained Honorary Librarian: MRS. B. C. ALFEROFF, Lightbeck, Underbarrow, Kendal. Honorary Secretary: J. C. APPLEYARD, Greystones, Torver, Coniston, Lanes. Tel. Coniston 31. Assistant Hon. Secretary: L. H. POLLITT, Ivy Bank, Chorley Road, Swinton. Honorary Treasurer: A. B. HARGREAVES, Barrow County Club, Barrow-in-Furness. Trustees of Club Funds : A. P. ABRAHAM, F. L. COOK, and G. A. SOLLY. Members of Committee: Dr. M. M. BARKER Miss U. HEATON COOPER G. BASTERFIELD H. M. KELLY W. CLEGG J. A. MUSGRAVE Dr. C. F. HADFIELD W. G. PAPE B. S. HARLOW W. EDEN-SMITH Mrs. F. G. HEAP J. WRAY Auditors: R. F. MILLER & Co., Barrow-in-Furness Honorary Members: GEORGE D. ABRAHAM BRIG.-GEN. THE HON. C. G. BRUCE. BENTLEY BEETHAM J. NORMAN COLLIE W. P. HASKETT-SMITH GEOFFREY HASTINGS THE RT. HON. LORD LECONFIELD LT.-COL. E. F. NORTON N. E. ODELL E. H. P. SCANTLEBURY GODFREY A. SOLLY T. HOWARD SOMERVELL ARTHUR W. WAKEFIELD L. R. WILBERFORCE GEOFFREY WINTHROP YOUNG Photos h\ 7. L. Longland CAMP I (17,800 ft.). Showing SNOUT of EAST ROXGBUK GLACIER. ^\ RIDGE OF NORTH COL. TELEPHONE BOOTH ON CREST OF N. COL. Porters on their way to Camp V. Wyn Harris telephoning to Camp III. EVEREST (MAKALU on right.) 247 THEN—AND NOW By C. F. HOLLAND There is a saying, venerable in its antiquity," that the onlooker sees most of the game." This, of course, can be argued, but is probably true in the main. What has to be taken into consideration is the character of the onlooker, his freedom from bias, his knowledge of the game, and whether his experience is practical or merely theoretical. My excuses for writing about modern rock climbing from the point of view of an onlooker are that I am entirely free from bias, not a laudator temporis acti; have sufficient practical experience to understand how greatly the art of rock climbing has advanced of recent years, and a love for the game, the noblest game of all, that will, I trust, disarm criticism. With a child-like belief that these softening words will avail to turn aside the wrath of those who will disagree, now is the moment at which to tackle the question of the new guides, apparently a controversial matter. I cannot remember any mutterings of discontent or disapproval when the original guides were projected and eventually produced. There was, of course, criticism. One guide was too humorous, another not humorous enough; one too cold-blooded in its meticulous accuracy, another too vague in its details; one over-emphatic as to difficulty, another not emphatic enough, and so on ad nauseam. What those who planned the original guides probably did not take into consideration was the inevitable fate awaiting them, that of becoming out of date, and that once official guides had been produced their supercession by new ones would be a matter not merely of desirability, but of imperative necessity. There is a statement in one of these guides which runs as follows : " With regard to the future, the effect of the production of a guide, and incidentally the highest justification of its existence, seems to be the stimulus it gives to battalions of cumbers to try and make it out of date as soon as possible. This is an eminently desirable result." Speaking personally, I rejoice that the Club is putting out its utmost effort to bring out a new and up-to-date series, and as 248 THE FELL AND ROCK CLIMBING CLUB the compiler of one of the " Old Contemptibles," my only feeling is one of gratitude at having been given the privilege of helping to make a start, and at filling a space somewhere in the foundations of the temple. It is eminently a matter for congratulation on the part of all concerned that the present generation is making such a notable advance over the achievement of its predecessors. The reason for the advance recently made seems fairly obvious, namely, that the experts of today are tackling in exposed positions problems that the great men of the past attempted only when found on boulders where collapse was unlikely to have serious consequences. Many years ago, after watching Herford perform on what seemed some particularly hard boulders near Ogwen, I put the question as to whether such severities were met with on climbs, his answer being that no one would tackle such pitches in an exposed situation. There is no doubt that nowadays this is not so, and that exposure is reckoned as of comparatively slight moment. It is equally certain that the higher standard of difficulty thus attained has made all the old guides out of date. As Walt Whitman said : " It is provided in the essence of things that from any fruition of success, no matter what, shall come forth something to make a greater struggle necessary." His is " The Song of the Open Road," and our tigers of today have opened a new road stretching out into hitherto unknown country the limits of which cannot yet be discerned. A few years ago our English climbing grounds were supposedly worked out, and had lost much of their mystery and glamour, and now this has come back to them, and romance has once again draped her veil over the crags and their undiscovered sanctuaries. The much-discussed Keswick guides, to throw another stone into the waters of controversy, are also doing a most useful work in attracting to the rocks large numbers who would otherwise remain in the valleys, and if they left them would adhere rigidly to well-beaten tracks. A certain percentage of these is sure to be bitten with desire for further knowledge of the crags and prove a source from which will come an influx of competent climbers. Is the Club going to take up some such attitude as would be adopted by a synod of bishops towards a body of THEN—AND NOW 249 dissenters, or are we going to extend to them the right hand of friendship and help them in every way we can ? Some years ago a proposal was put before the committee that a band of official leaders should be organised to help young persons who wished to climb; the idea was that there should be two or three to each climbing ground to take on the training of novices and ensure their development on right lines. There were at the time a number of youths who were starting on their own, and who obviously were in grave need of instruction on technical matters, particularly with regard to rope management. Some of these lads were extremely good on the rocks, but their methods, when in a party, were fraught with danger, not only to themselves, but also to disinterested persons anywhere near them. This proposal was turned down, almost without discussion, on the ground that if any accident occurred the Club would be blamed. Is it possible that there is a danger of our coming to regard the rocks as our private possession, and people who approach them in unorthodox fashion as trespassers ? A perusal of the statement of Club ideals as originally drafted will convince that this idea was most emphatically not in the minds of those who founded it; we are a brotherhood of catholic sympathy, and our doors should be open to all who wish to enter, the only qualification, love for the fells and a desire for the peace that is among the lonely hills. A club like ours that is so essentially a brotherhood is above jealousy ; in our ranks there is room for every shade of opinion, and all who love the hills, in what way soever, are our brothers and with us in spirit. And what of the future ? Past generations have in their time believed that the limit of achievement has been reached, and that nothing further has been left for those who come after. The present generation has certainly gone ahead of its precursors, and the fact that it has done so points to the probability that its efforts will be surpassed in the future; this will not mean that the climbers of the future will be any greater than those of the present, any more than our experts of today are intrinsically any better than the famous men of our yesterdays. There must have been a considerable improvement of technique in many directions, but the spirit that is the driving force is the same 250 THE FELL AND ROCK CLIMBING CLUB today as yesterday and as tomorrow, and it is this spirit that matters. This is not confined to the courage and determination that has animated and inspired so many and that is certainly no greater today than it was in the early days. But while this spirit is driving climbers on to ever higher achievements, building up on the work accomplished by earlier generations, is it not possible that there may be other directions in which expansion may take place ? Is all progress to be confined to the efforts of the young and brilliant of each generation as it comes, while those who have had their day slip back into the comfortable ease of middle age and unadventurous life, growing ever more flabby and feeble in nerve and sinew, and disinclined for exertion, the memories of the wild romance of youth becoming ever dimmer and more remote, until they become as a tale that is told and forgotten ? If this is so, climbing takes its place among the other games that can only be indulged in by the young with any success.