IT is with considerable diffidence that we put before the mountaineering world .html number of "Cambridge Mountaineering ". This is not solely on account of modesty, false or otherwise, with regard to its value as an addition to the already considerable bulk of the world’s printed literature; nor is it because we feel ill-equipped to meet those critics who have doubts as to whether there has been any Cambridge mountaineering worth writing about since our last number came out. The question is: is anyone outside the club going to find it worth reading about?
We cannot present the Journal as a sort of report of progress, a thrilling account of the last few years’ bag of new "very severes ", served up with a tasteful seasoning of articles. Indeed we have not even included a section on new climbs, not, as a matter of fact, because there are none, but because their originators have already described elsewhere such as there are, or else, with an altruistic desire not to spoil the routes for others, have refused to describe them at all. Instead, we present an article designed primarily for home consumption. It has been the tradition in the past that the Journal should be designed in the first place to interest those who write in it, and their friends; and after that we have hoped it might interest mountaineers outside the club, without being greatly put out if it did not. To this tradition it has been our intention to adhere. Further, as . the club exists largely for the encouragement and instruction of beginners in climbing, we hope that the Journal will play its part here also. If it will serve to assist and encourage those novices who form the overwhelming majority in the club at present, it will have justified itself. If it interests anyone outside the club to know what we have been doing recently, and what some of us feel about what we have done, we shall be greatly encouraged.
Our acknowledgments should be as many as the difficulties we have been enabled to overcome, but that would make this editorial, far too long already, altogether exceed the space allotted to it. First and foremost, of course, we are indebted to all our contributors, to an obvious extent; but we should add an additional note of thanks to those whose articles have had, either on account of overlapping of subject-matter, or of shortage of space, to be omitted. We are nevertheless grateful to them for their efforts, and gratified at the evidence of keenness in the club which is afforded by the number of articles the editor’s impassioned appeal produced. Then our thanks are certainly due to our printers, both for their kindness in under- taking to print a Journal at all under present circumstances, and for their patience and co-operation at all times. We are indebted to the "Alpine Journal " and to Mr. Sydney Spencer for the loan of a photograph. And, on the executive side, we have to thank R. W. Cahn very warmly for his exceedingly efficient and painstaking work as Journal Treasurer.
One request we have to make. If anyone reading the article on the club history can add anything to what is there recorded, we should be very glad to hear from him.
In conclusion, we must apologise profoundly for having been forced to raise the price of the Journal: it has been increased in exactly the same proportion as have the costs of production.