CUMC History

New Routes

What follows is an account of the club since its foundation in 1905. There is some controversy regarding the exact nature of the club’s origin and reason for its foundation, and an attempt has been made to try and solve this mystery. This history concentrates mainly on the club as an institution. The stories about prominent, and dare I say famous, members are included in a separate hall of fame. There is also the beginnings of a CUMC new route list which is continually being researched. Have a look at it to see just how involved CUMC members have been in putting up new stuff. Also worth noting is that there were many famous mountaineers from before the turn of the century who studied at Cambridge before the C.U.M.C. existed. Indeed a large number of the founding members of the Alpine club were from Cambridge. The exploits of these great mountaineers can also be found in the hall of fame.

The foundation of the Cambridge University Mountaineering Club took place during the winter months of 1905-1906. Its founders were W. J. R. Calvert, who became the club’s first president, and Hugh Stewart, who became the club’s first Hon. Secretary. Both men were from Trinity. Other known members of the club from this time include H. B. Pilkington, E. F. Pilkington, C. R. Barran, H. C. Wilkinson (all Trinity), J. G. Drummond (Christ’s), A. H. Ramsay (Pembroke) and N. L. Cappell. Initially the club’s activities involved arranging lectures and talks about mountaineering, in particular Alpine climbing. At that time British rock climbing was still in its infancy, and would have held no attraction to members whose aspirations were firmly fixed on Alpine objectives and desires. The first lecture was given by Sir Martin Conway on 14th February, 1906, and the lecture was followed by dinner in A. H. Ramsay’s rooms. The second outside lecturer was W. Cecil Slingsby; and the third was Geoffrey Winthop Young. There had also been less informal meetings before the first lecture. It is thought that the first was probably held in December 1905, where the president read a paper on the Alps, where he had already gained some experience. The first Alpine dinner was on 19th May, 1906 and the second on 1st May, 1907. Menus from both these dinners were presented to the club in later years by one of the original members, E. F. Pilkington who was the son of the great Alpine pioneer Charles Pilkington. There whereabouts is currently unknown, and it seems unfortunate that they may have been since lost. What is known is that they ate salmon, whitebait, roast lamb, asparagus and chocolate souffle on both occasions. The second menu was apparently printed in French and the cover was graced with a colour photo of the Piz Rosegg, suggesting that the club had some money to burn in those early days! However whilst its beginnings may have been successful, the club had a difficult life until it died in 1914 with the onset of the Great War. There were no meets held to go climbing as we know, although the club met regularly for teas in Mr. Valentine-Richards’ room in Christ’s. Kenneth Tallerman, R.A.M.C., was the very last Hon. Secretary to be elected in August 1914, with the appointment to begin in October. However both he and the outgoing Hon. Secretary, C. G. Crawford left for the front and the minute books (or book) were never transferred, and disappeared, leaving the early history of the club shrouded in mist.

Since its reformation in 1920, the club has changed little. Operating on an evolving three year life cycle, the club has had its ups and downs, yet still the traditions of teas, meets and lectures continue. Certainly the greatest asset the club can provide, that of being a focal point for meeting other climbers and fostering an interest in beginners still remains.

A major point in the development of the club came at the very end of 1954 when the inaugural meet of the Magogs was held at Black Rock Cottage in Glencoe on 31st December 1954. This club was similar to the C.U.M.C., in that it was a climbing club, but open only to women, in contrast to the C.U.M.C. which at that time was open only to men. The Magogs are actually a small range of hills south of Cambridge. The club had a very difficult time surviving and it was not until 1962 that the club was finally amalgamated with the C.U.M.C. There is scant mention of this major point in the minutes, perhaps owing to the embarrassing controversy it undoubtedly generated.

The club is still one of the most active student clubs in the country, with just over 100 members. Although no-one is currently at the cutting edge, such as Al Rouse new routeing E5 before even coming up(!), there is still a spirit of exploration with recent new routeing expeditions to Greenland and Mongolia. Hopefully this progressive trend will continue into the future. Who knows what it may hold?