THE © PinnaclePINNACLE Club and Author All Rights Reserved CLUB JOURNAL No. 6 1935 - 36 - 37 - 38 Edited by Dorothy Pilley (Mr*. I. Armstrong Richards) CONTENTS Page The Pinnacle Club Meet in the High Tatra Alt son M. Adam .. 7 The Substance and the Shadow Evelyn Worsley Lowe • 13 Idwal Daloni Cooper • 15 June Days in Glen Brittle Penelope Seth Hughes . 16 Ridges Nancy Ridyard • ^3 Torridon in April Nancy Forsyth • 3° Cold Helen C. Bryan • 3* ' Please Shut the Gate ' .. £. M. Clarke • 33 Winter Days Ruth E. Hargreaves • 34 On the Fells in the Dark Mabel Barker • 37 Composition on Grass Slopes .. E. M. Hall • 4* Climbs, 1937-1938 Brenda Ritchie • 44 First Impressions of an Alpine Hut Constanfe Lancaster • 47 Guideless in Switzerland S. R. Harper • 5i Thoughts on a First Lead M. Wood . 56 An Alpine Adventure .... /. M. &. Bell • 57 Tarentaise .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Molly Fit^Gibbon .. 61 Frontier Peaks .. .. .. .. .. .. Gladys Low . 66 Ski, Snow and Crocuses.. .. .. .. .. Helen C. Bryan • 7i The Ski Binding .. .. .. .. .. E. M. Clarke . 80 Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya .. .. .. Geraldint Sladen . 81 Atlas Journey .. .. .. .. .. .. Evelyn Pirie . 86 The Pinnacle Hut 93 The Lake District Ski Club 94 The Club 95 Reviews • 99 Copies may bt obtained from Mrs. I. Armstrong Richards, 37 Chesterton Road, Cambridge Mrs. Eden-Smith, Yewbarrow, Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire PUBLISHED BY THE PINNACLE CLUB © Pinnacle Club and Author All Rights Reserved THE PINNACLE CLUB JOURNAL 1935-38 © Pinnacle Club and Author All Rights Reserved E. II orsley Lon't MRS. EDEN-SMITH FRI-.SIDI-,XT 1936-39 © Pinnacle Club and Author All Rights Reserved The Pinnacle Club Journal 1935-38 EDITED BY DOROTHY PILLEY (Mrs. I. Armstrong Richards) MANCHESTER THE CLOISTER PRESS LTD. © Pinnacle Club and Author All Rights Reserved THE PINNACLE CLUB 1921-58 OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE 1935-36 President: Mrs. I. ARMSTRONG RICHARDS Vice-President: Dr. C. L. CORBBTT Hon. Secretary: Mrs. EDEN-SMITH Hon. Treasurer: Miss H. A. TURNER Hon. Librarian : Miss E. WORSLEY LOWE Hon. Editor: Mrs. I. ARMSTRONG RICHARDS Committee : Miss A. ADAM Mrs. H. C. BRYAN Miss E. M. CLARKE Miss M. HEYS JONES Miss D. SETH HUGHES Miss A. WILSON Hut Committee : Hon. Secretary and Treasurer: Miss E. WORSLEY LOWE Miss D. SETH HUGHES Miss P. SETH HUGHES Hon. Auditor: Miss B. HILTON 1936-37 President: Mrs. EDEN-SMITH Vice-President: Mrs. I. ARMSTRONG RICHARDS Hon. Secretary: Miss E. PIRIE Hon. Treasurer: Miss H. A. TURNER Hon. Librarian: Miss E. WORSLEY LOWE Hon. Editor: Mrs. I. ARMSTRONG RICHARDS Committee : Miss A. ADAM Miss R. HALE Miss S. R. HARPER Miss P. SETH HUGHES Miss E. WELLS Miss M. WOOD Hut Committee : Hon. Secretary and Treasurer: Miss E. WORSLEY LOWE Miss R. HALE Miss P. SETH HUGHES Hon. Auditor: Miss B. HILTON 1937-38 President: Mrs. EDEN-SMITH Vice-President: Mrs. I. ARMSTRONG RICHARDS Hon. Secretary: Miss E. PIRIE Hon. Treasurer: Miss H. A. TURNER Hon. Librarian: Miss E. WORSLEY LOWE Hon. Editor: Mrs. I. ARMSTRONG RICHARDS Committee : Miss R. HALE Miss S. R. HARPER Mrs. M. JEFFREY Miss P. SETH HUGHES Miss E. WELLS Miss M. WOOD Hut Committee : Hon. Secretary and Treasurer: Miss E. WORSLEY LOWE Miss R. HALE Miss P. SETH HUGHES Hon. Auditor: Miss A. WILSON 1938-39 President: Mrs. EDEN-SMITH Vice-President: Mrs. I. ARMSTRONG RICHARDS Hon. Secretary : Miss E. PIRIE Hon. Treasurer: Miss H. A. TURNER Hon. Librarian : Miss E. WORSLEY LOWE Hon. Editor: Mrs. I. ARMSTRONG RICHARDS Committee : Miss R. ALLAUN Miss S. R. HARPER Mrs. M. JEFFREY Miss P. SETH HUGHES Miss E. WELLS Miss M. WOOD Hut Committee : Hon. Secretary and Treasurer: Miss E. WORSLEY LOWE Miss D. M. DEED Miss P. SETH HUGHES Hon. Auditor: Miss A. WILSON © Pinnacle Club and Author All Rights Reserved THE PINNACLE CLUB MEET IN THE HIGH TATRA ALISON M. ADAM PEEP into a rail way carriage on the train between Krakow and Zakopane one hot August afternoon in 1935, would A have delighted the hearts of those who love to make uncomplimentary remarks about the Pinnacle Club. For the sight within of six tired, dusty, dishevelled women, sitting perfectly upright, but very sound asleep, would have provided them with much material for future sarcasm. This amusing spectacle was the result of our long journey from England and two energetic attempts at sightseeing, one in Berlin, the other in Krakow. That last stage of our journey proved most wearisome. Zakopane had been en fete during the previous week, and on this day crowds of people were returning to Krakow. As it is a single line between the two places our train had to wait at every loop to let the other trains go by. We sought to refresh our­ selves with glasses of tea at a station, but unfortunately the train began to move and we had to leave our glasses, still full, on the platform. As two of us had also left large glasses of beer on Krakow station, we felt that fate was being unkind. We grew more weary and thirsty, as the hours passed. Bray demanded Bridge and we made superhuman efforts to please her, but gradually each of us made an excuse and slunk away down the carriage to find an empty compartment and peace. It felt heavenly to get out of that train at Zakopane. We had a delightful drive in droshkies along an avenue of pines ; there was a touch of frost in the air, the sound of a river close by, and overhead a glorious full moon. Hale had engaged two Polish students as guides, Witold Paryski, with whom she always climbed in the Tatra, and a friend of his, who became known to us as Taddy. There were five of us, Hale, Taylor, Arning, Wilson and myself. Bray and Corbett left us after a few days, to spend an energetic three weeks, walking all over the High Tatra, and, incidentally, I believe, dodging passport officials. © Pinnacle Club and Author All Rights Reserved 8 THE PINNACLE CLUB MEET IN THE HIGH TATRA The next day we left for the mountains, going first to Morskie Oko, or 'The Eye of the Sea/ a most beautiful lake at the foot of a circle of jagged rocky peaks. We walked along its shores, then climbed up to a second lake, the Black Lake. Beyond this we rested for a few minutes; there was a lovely view of the two lakes, lying so peacefully at our feet. Taylor, of course, used the time to greater advantage, by having a short nap. We were on our way up the Rysy, the second highest peak in the Tatra. Just above our view point we entered a boulder strewn basin, out of which we had a long, steep, and monotonous grind. It was very hot, our packs seemed abnormally heavy and even the bestowing of a few pounds of apples on our willing guides did not seem to make much difference. We comforted ourselves with the thought of a long bask on the summit with glorious views all round us. It was, therefore, most annoying when, as we reached the top, a mist descended rapidly, and a cold wind sprang up. We sat disconsolately, eating our lunch, and shivering. Around us was the most appalling mass of empty sardine tins, that one could imagine. I eyed Bray anxiously, for I remembered a day on Dow Crags, when the Pinnacle Club, at her command, skipped about like mountain goats, in more senses than one, trying to clear the scree and cave of all offending litter. However, on this day a few grunts of dissatisfaction were all we heard. That night there was a thunderstorm, and from the safe shelter of the Rysy Hut we watched the vivid flashes of lightning throw into relief the rugged peaks around us. This storm marked the beginning of the bad weather which we were to experience during the whole fortnight. Next day we climbed the ridge of a small peak, Kopa Popradzka, near to the hut. The ridge was called the Dragon's Ridge, and would have been a fine rock climb, if only the Dragon's back had been firm, but it wasn't, it was abominably loose, and we learnt what Hale had meant when she spoke to us about the rotten rock of the Tatra. A good deal of the rock of which these mountains is com­ posed, is rotten from a climbing point of view. Everything is loose; great boulders move as you touch them; apparently good handholds come away in your grasp, and to find a firm © Pinnacle Club and Author All Rights Reserved \\ \(,v Ht'T \xu KOPA Poi'R\nsK\ DR\C,O\ RIDGI: ox LI-IT A. \Vibon X'lFW N.K. FROM THE GlERI \( H RlDGE © Pinnacle Club and Author All Rights Reserved THE PINNACLE CLUB MEET IN THE HIGH TATRA 9 rock for a belay is well nigh impossible. Very sharp ridges form the summits, and the sides slope steeply to boulder-strewn valleys. There is little or no vegetation on these slopes, which are continually swept by avalanches of stones. Indeed, the ominous sound of falling stones seems to haunt these mountains. Witold told us at the time that almost all the accidents which occur are caused by loose or falling stones. His words have now a tragic significance for those of us who knew Ruth Hale. We went down to Popradzke Pleso, another beautiful lake, for the night. Bad weather prevented us carrying out our climbing plans at Popradzke, so we decided to go to the Sliezsky Dom Hut, at the foot of the Gierlach, the highest mountain in the range.