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"The Crux" -
150 years of British climbing in 25 images
An exhibition compiled by award-winning
photographer and author, Gordon Stainforth, ARPS
To mark the 25th anniversary of the
Kendal Mountain Film Festival it was decided to try to achieve the
near-impossible - to celebrate the whole history of British mountaineering
and rock climbing achievement in just 25 classic photographs from 1880
onwards - the concept of 'crux' meaning pictures that represent a step
forward in climbing history, not necessarily a crux photograph.
Very soon we realised that this was
concept was flawed because one of the most important chapters of British
mountaineering was the Golden Age of Alpinism that reached a climax
in the 1860s. Also, many of the photographs taken before the 1890s
are extremely dull - mostly landscape shots, or posed static pictures
because of the long exposures that were required with early photographic
emulsion. Accordingly, two of the pictures are a drawings.
25 pictures covering 15 decades from
1860 to the present day - that's only about one and half pictures per
decade! How was I to achieve such a compression of history? In practise,
I quickly deemed some decades to be more important than others, and
the final compilation breaks down as follows: one picture per decade
from the 1860s to the 1940s, then 2 for the 50s, 4 for the 60s, 3 for
the 70s, 3 for the 80s and 2 for the 90s. The whole gamut of the sport
had to be represented too, covering the whole of Britain as well as
the Alps, Himalaya and other ranges. 12 of the pictures are of mountaineering,
and 13 of rock climbing, in England (4), Wales (6), Scotland (4), the
Alps (4), Himalaya (5), other ranges (2).
The nature of the pictures is very varied
too: from superb photos of great artistic merit to technically imperfect
shots that capture a unique moment in climbing history: no fewer than
five of the rock climbing pictures are of such crux moments - and then
there's the classic reconstruction taken in 1915 by the incomparable
Abraham brothers, a year after the first ascent, of the Central Buttress
of Scafell. Quite a few of the pictures I've selected are such obvious
classics, but there are several others that I hope will be less familiar.
Amongst the better known photographers represented are Chris Bonington,
Tony Riley, John Cleare, Cubby Cuthbertson, Leo Dickinson, Doug Scott and Ken Wilson.
A huge number of other archivists and experts have also been consulted.
Many of the pictures have been extremely difficult to track down (and
high quality originals of at least two are still awaited ...)
Tony Riley has applied state-of-the-art
Digital Restoration techniques to a wide range of original material
to maintain the image integrity.
One thing's for sure: this unusual
and perhaps controversial exhibition will attract a good deal of
debate!
Gordon Stainforth, September
2005
The prints are produced to a fine art standard, which means they are printed on a cotton
rag art paper using archival pigmented inks. The size is a 12"x18" image with a half
inch border round, suitable for window mounting and framing in glass. They are supplied
in a cardboard tube.
The pictures were selected for their historic importance rather than photographic quality, and it has not always been possible to obtain original images for reproduction. Some of them are therefore grainier and softer than appears from the small website image. However they are all the same visual quality as in The Crux exhibition, and produced from the same files.
Click on an image to view a larger verison in a new
window
1850 - 1865: The Golden
Age |
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1. A cannonade on the Matterhorn,
July 1862
Edward Whymper/James Mahoney
Scrambles
amongst the Alps, 1900 edition/Freda Raphael Historical Archive
Not yet available for sale
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1865 - 1900 |
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2. On the Messer Grat
H G Willink, 1891
Bâton Wicks Archive
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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3. Napes Needle, Great Gable, Wasdale
Gordon Stainforth
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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4. Beatrice Tomasson and her guide,
Arcangelo Siorpaes, in the Cortina Dolomites, 1898
Bâton Wicks Archive
Not yet available for sale |
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1900 - 1950 |
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5. Tower Ridge , Ben Nevis
Tony Riley
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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6. Central Buttress , Scafell,
Easter 1915
George & Ashley Abraham Bâton Wicks Archive
Not yet available for sale |
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7a. Siegfried Herford and George
Mallory at Pen y Pass, December 1913
Geoffrey Winthrop Young Alpine Club Photo Library |
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7b. The last picture of Mallory
and Irvine, Camp IV, Everest, 6 June 1924
Noel Odell Mountain Camera Picture Library |
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8. Edward Norton at 28,100ft on
Everest, 4 June 1924
T Howard Somervell Somervell family |
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9. Fred Pigott on the crux of Crack
and Corner , The Roaches, c.1922
Eric Byrom Rucksack Club Archive
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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10. Joe Brown making the first ascent
of The Right Unconquerable, Stanage , April 1949
Ernest Phillips 1950
- 1965
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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11. Rusty Baillie starting up Cenotaph
Corner , Dinas Cromlech, Llanberis Pass
John Cleare
This and other prints available from:
http://www.mountaincamera.com/ |
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12. John Streetly on the first ascent
of Bloody Slab, Clogwyn d'ur Arddu, 10 June 1952
E A Wrangham Bâton Wicks Archive
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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13. Pete Crew repeating Great
Wall , Clogwyn d'ur Arddu, 1965
John Cleare 1965 - 1970
This and other prints available from:
http://www.mountaincamera.com/ |
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14. Layton Kor on the Central Pillar
of the Eiger Direct , 5pm, 19 March 1966
Chris Bonington
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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15. Rusty Baillie at the crux on
the first ascent of the Old Man of Hoy, 18 July 1966
Chris Bonington
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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16. Ed Drummond & Dave Pearce
pioneering A Dream of White Horses , Craig Gogarth,
Oct 1968
Leo Dickinson
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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17. Doug Scott on The Scoop ,
Sron Ulladale, June 1969
Ken Wilson
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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1970 - 1980 |
18. Ian Clough on the South Face
of Annapurna, May 1970
Chris Bonington
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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19. Dougal Haston arriving at the
summit of Everest, 6pm, 24 September 1975
Doug Scott
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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20. Alex MacIntyre below the summit
of Changabang, Garwhal Himalaya, 1978
John Porter
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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1980 - 2005 |
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21. Tasker, Boardman, and Renshaw
on the NNE Ridge of Everest, 5 May 1982
Chris Bonington
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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22. The Screaming Ab Dabs ,
Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides
Dave Cuthbertson
This and other prints available from:
www.cubbyimages.co.uk |
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23. Johnny Dawes making the first
ascent of The Indian Face , Cloggy, 4 October 1986
Paul Williams
Chris Williams archive
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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24. The Arwa Tower (6352m), Garwhal
Himalaya, April 1999
Mick Fowler
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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25. Leo Houlding on the crux of The
Passage to Freedom , El Capitan, October 1999
Andrew McGarry
For sale at £85 inc VAT and Postage
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