We are saddened to learn of the death of Alan Lyall who died on Monday, 9th January, He had been a member for 25 years, joining as a full member in 1991. Alan is known for his book The First Descent of the Matterhorn: A Bibliographical Guide to the 1865 Accident and its Aftermath.
It is with sadness that we report of the death of Harry Sales
Harry’s funeral is on Wednesday 25th January 2017. In the morning there will be a private cremation and after that, everyone is welcome to attend a Service in Celebration of Harry’s Life, at 2.30 in Paul Church, near Penzance. This will be followed by Afternoon Tea in the Church Hall. Afternoon tea with friends was one of Harry’s favourite things!
John Atherton has been asked to handle any enquiries from Club friends, his phone number is 01736 731537 and email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Photos by John Atherton
The one that shows Harry climbing was taken in April 2000, when I took Harry aged 82, on his last climb - Allison's Rib at Bosigran.
Des was a well-known and very popular figure in the Scottish mountaineering world, as attested by the huge numbers that attended his funeral. He started climbing at Edinburgh University in 1970 and soon became President of the university mountaineering club, establishing friendships, including with his wife Jane, that were to endure throughout his life. Des was a bold and proficient ice climber, with a variety of new routes to his name, especially in the more remote corners of the Highlands. He was not only a great lover of the Scottish hills (he had just four Munros left to do), for walking, climbing and ski touring, but also a keen stravaiger of the wild coasts and islands, with a few sea canoeing trips to his credit. Abroad Des took part in over a dozen climbing expeditions, mainly to the Himalaya (starting with an early trip to Afghanistan in 1972) but also to the Caucasus, Andes and Canadian Rockies. He succeeded on many peaks over 6000m, but was rebuffed at about 7500m on Gasherbrum III and Nanga Parbat. In the Alps Des achieved many great classics of the 1930s (eg Walker Spur, Gervasutti Pillar, N Face of Dru) and more recently, in his sixties, had been ticking off the 4000m peaks, usually by routes more challenging than the voies normales.
Des was an extremely warm-hearted and affable person – it would be hard to find anyone he had crossed swords with. In his professional life he was a teacher of outdoor activities at Craigroyston High School in north Edinburgh. The outpouring of tributes from former pupils, colleagues and members of the Muirhouse community showed how deeply his commitment to taking disadvantaged kids to the outdoors had affected their lives.
Although Des had only recently joined the AC he was well known to many through his long mountaineering career. One of his more recent achievements was to revive the SMC ‘s Edinburgh lecture series, by bringing in Alpine Club and JMCS members. He devoted much thought and energy to this lecture programme and was a delightful and amusing presenter of the speakers, thus ensuring a growing attendance, drawing people from a considerable distance.
Though I will miss him terribly, I count myself incredibly fortunate to have had him as a close friend and climbing partner for over forty years. We formed a harmonious team with similar outlook on the mountains and both enjoyed our inexhaustible banter.
Des will be sorely missed by his many many friends, and my heart goes out to his family.
We are saddened to hear of the recent death of Ken Wilson, one of the most influential and controversial figures in the British mountaineering scene over the last half century.
Ken's training as a photographer, and his involvement with some of the leading British climbers of the day, led to him becoming one of the more recognised recorders of the climbing scene in the 1960s and 70s. He re-launched 'Mountain Craft' as 'Mountain', which became an important international journal covering contemporary mountain stories, ethics, and controversy in general, always illustrated with stunning photography.
His publishing career continued with Granada, Diadem, and finally his own business Baton Wicks, most notably with the hugely successful series of large format volumes covering rock climbs and walks, starting with Hard Rock in 1974.
His application for membership of the AC in 1972 generated a wealth of correspondence, with those members threatening to resign if he were elected neatly balanced by those who would resign if he were not elected.
Happily he was elected.
He continued to court controversy with strong opinions on club membership, climbing ethics, bolts, politics, etc, and with a particularly annoying habit of usually being right.
His last appearance at Charlotte Road was to cast his vote in the Presidential election in 2010.
Ken had been quite ill for some time, and died on 12th June 2016.
on Saturday 30th July, starting at 5.00pm (prompt) and finishing at about 6.30pm.
in the Pennine Lecture Theatre, City Campus, Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Building, Howard Street, S1 1WB, (about a five-minute walk from the railway station and about a half-hour drive from Stanage Edge).
Organised by the CC and the BMC, all are welcome. Please come and celebrate the life and achievements of one of the biggest characters of the modern climbing scene who revolutionised magazine and book publishing.
The Heartspace Atrium, which adjoins the Pennine will be open serving beer, wine, tea and coffee.
Ken Wilson: Photograph by John Cleare
It is with sadness that we report the death of Jim Curran on 5th April, following a long illness. Many will know Jim was a freelance mountain cameraman, writer and artist. He joined the Club in 1985 and exhibited some of his paintings at the AC London Clubhouse in 2004.
