We are indeed privileged to begin the season with a talk by John Porter, current President of the Alpine Club.

The ascent of the SW of Everest in 1975 occurred at the end of one era in British mountaineering – that of large, extravagant, national expeditions.  In many ways these were an extension of the Great Game, and it was a national triumph.  It proved that just about any expedition with enough money, oxygen, Sherpas and skilled manpower could succeed.  In the same year, the East Ridge of Dunagiri was climbed by Joe Tasker and Dick Renshaw. The ingredients for that remarkable 2 man unsupported 11 day up and down ascent were primarily determination and luck.  While the national press revelled in the Everest ascent and the fact that we had once again beaten a load of other nations to the prize, the inheritors of the legacy of Tillman and Shipton went ‘wow’ on the Tasker Renshaw climb.  It fired up a generation that nearly climbed itself into extinction.

A Brief Gold Light is the story of that generation covering the years from 1976-1986 from the Boardman-Tasker ascent of the West Face of Changabang to the disastrous evets on K2 when 13 climbers lost their lives including Alan Rouse and Julie Tullis.   John Porter was both an observer and a participant in this story.  His biography of Alex MacIntyre who dies on Annapurna in 1982 is part of this wider story.

This lecture is held in conjunction with the SMC and JMCS   07:30pm start



The venue is the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria St, Edinburgh EH1 2JL..



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