On The Hills, 1957, 1958, 1959

1957

Richard Gowing was in the Dauphiné with the Oxford Uni­versity Mountaineering Club. A snowstorm near the top of the North East Pillar on Les Bans and a thunderstorm on the summit ridge made the party late and they had to bivouac in a snow-rock hole. He climbed several peaks in the Zermatt district but fresh snow on the final rock ridge denied him the summit of the Pointe de Zinal.

F. D. Smith had poor weather at Chamonix but was able to climb Mont Blanc Brevent and two smaller aiguilles.

Slingsby was walking in Sardinia and Corsica in the autumn and found much of archaeological and historical interest.

Linford was with a French speleogical expedition to Monte Marguaries in Northern Italy.

1958

D. C. Haslam and F. D. Smith found snow and ice conditions difficult at Chamonix; they made the ascent of the Aiguille Moine, the Brenva was impossible but they had a wonderful ridge climb on the Mont Maudit, including an abseil of 300 metres. From Zermatt they made the first ascent of the year of the Zinal Rothorn in icy conditions.

Brook, driven away from Chamonix by bad weather, walked over the Col de Balme and Col de Forclaz to Martigny, thence to Zermatt where he did 3 peaks, some rock climbing on the Riffelhorn and a lot of walking.

Richard Gowing, from Saas, traversed the Fletschhom, the Weissmies by the North Ridge and later the Allahnhorn and the Rimpfischhorn, descending by the North Ridge and taking the gendarme direct. Moving to Chamonix he traversed the Grand Charmoz by the classic route but damaged his hands with the rope while checking his leader who slipped as he was traversing into the Mummery Crack.

Pat Stonehouse, T. H. Smith and Chapman in August travelled the High Level Route from Saas Fee to Chamonix by way of the Britannia Hut to Zermatt, the Schonbuhl Hut and Col de la Tete Blanche to Arolla, Vignettes Hut, Ottema Glacier, Chanrion Hut with its lovely flowers, Col du Sanadon, six hours of step cutting on the descent to the Valsorey Hut from the Plateau du Couloir and so to Champex. A few days’ rest then on to the Trient Hut, Aiguille de Tour and Chamonix. Perfect weather until the end, but storm foiled their attempt on Mont Blanc.

Godley and H. L. Stembridge in Austria climbed, on ski, Brunnenkogl, Wildspitz, Schuhaiber, Daunkogl and Zucker-hurtl.

Watts was in Montenegro and Serbia in June but almost continuous rain confined him to the car, monasteries and slibovitz.

Chapman and a friend, J. B. Rayner, spent four days crossing the Cairngorms in January from Aviemore to Blair Atholl. They spent a comfortless and windy night in the Sinclair Bothy and three nights in the Corrour Bothy from which they climbed Devil’s Point and Cairn Toul, walked over Ben Macdhui and Derry Cairngorm. On their last night they were awakened by bangs on the bothy door and scraping sounds on the roof. The complete absence of any explanatory tracks in the snow next morning spurred their steps down Glen Tilt with thoughts of the Great Grey Man of Ben Macdhui at their heels.

Aldridge and Hemingway tramped the Highlands, each carrying everything for the hohdays in 60-lb. packs and living on a diet of Pemmican, Porridge, Honey and Ryvita. Starting from Cluanie they made Glen Affric by way of A’Chralaig, then six days northwards over Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan, An Riab-hachan, Bidean an Eoin, Sgurr a Chaorachain to Achnasheen. Turning westwards into Achnashellach Forest they traversed Cam Breac, Beinn Liath Mhor, Fuar Toll, Sgorr Ruadh and Maol Chean-Dearg, finishing at Loch Carron.

1959

H. L. and D. W. Stembridge were in the Champex district and spent at intervals six nights in the Trient Hut (10,461 ft.), finding it comfortable and never crowded. As a training trip they crossed the Col de Chamois in deep snow, descending to Champex by the lovely Val d’Arpette; then from the Trient Hut they did the traverse of the Aiguilles Dorees from west to east, ten hours of good steep rock with two fine snow pitches and fourteen aiguilles, one of them, the Javelle, a hard severe. The Aiguille Purtscheller gave them pitch after pitch of steep exposed granite nearly as wearing to the finger tips as Skye Gabbro. They had their best snow and ice chmb on the Aiguille de Chardonnet, up by the Forbes Arete and down by the West Ridge. The bilberries and wild strawberries in Champex had to be eaten to be believed.

Tallon, Pat Stonehouse, T. H. Smith and Chapman started in the Bernina by the traverse of the Piz Palii from the Diavolezza Hut; the weather broke so they moved to the Oberland and climbed the Monch, Weissenallen and Finsteraarhorn; they joined up with Brook at Saas Fee for the Jubilee Dinner of the A.B.M.S.A.C., climbed the Weissmies and finished with the Fletschhorn/Lagginhorn traverse. Brook started from Grimsel and crossed the Eggishorn via the Oberaarhorn, Finsteraarhorn and Concordia Huts. From Saas Fee he crossed by the Weissmies Hut to Zermatt, where he met Wilson and Evans.

F. D. Smith and Haslam were again at Chamonix and Zermatt. A storm drove them off the Voie des Plaques on the Requin when 75 ft. from the top and they had to abseil on to the Plan Glacier. A beautiful day granted them a peak of the Grand Charmoz and the Forbes Arête of the Chardonnet. Later they climbed the Cervin by the Hörnli.

Richard Gowing and Baldwin climbed the Schreckhorn and did the traverse of the Eiger and the Monch, including a bivouac. Then from Chamonix they traversed the Chardonnet by the Forbes Ar6te and climbed the north west face of the Aiguille du Tour.

P. A. Bell, from Arolla, traversed Mont Collon, climbed Mont Blanc de Seilon and Aiguille de la Tsa and arrived at the Bertol Hut on the same day as the new, non-smoking stove. He had a perfect day on the Douves Blanches ridge, a good ice climb on Les Bouquetins and finished with the south west ridge of the Grand Cornier and the Zinal Rothorn from the Montet Hut.

Large was walking in the Pyrenees and Spenceley, carrying tent and provisions, walked through Northern Norway and Sweden from near Narvik to Kiruna.