The Club is saddened to learn of the death on 4 February of Honorary member Bill Ruthven. Bill was elected a member of the club in 1981 and became Honorary Secretary of the Mount Everest Foundation in 1985. In 2004 he was awarded Honorary membership of the Alpine Club.
You can read Bill's reflections on his work as MEF Honorary Secretary in this 2017 article from the Alpine Journal.
We are saddened to report the death of Richard Gowing on 7 January 2025. He had been a member since 1963.
Richard’s funeral thanksgiving is on Monday 3rd February at 3.00 pm at Wellspring Methodist Church, Congleton – CW12 3AP
We have recently learned of the death on 14 December of Jon Mellor. He was a member for more that 50 years.
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Rod Smith following a fell walking accident in the Lake District.
Rod served as Alpine Journal Obituaries Editor until last year and the Club is deeply indebted to him for his long and diligent service.
Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time.
Ales Cesen and AC member Tom Livingstone have made the first ascent of the west ridge of Gasherbrum III (7952m).
The pair had previously attempted the route in 2022, when strong winds had forced them to abandon their attempt on the ridge. Having relocating to the northern side of the peak, a second attempt came to a halt when they ran into a large tower at around 7,800m.
Announcing their successful 2024 ascent, Livingstone stated that the climb took them a total of 7 days, including the descent via the fixed lines on Gasherbrum II's normal route. He described the route, which the pair have dubbed Edge of Entropy, as 'one of the more difficult that I’ve ever climbed' and revealed that the duo undertook an open bivi at 7,800m.
The ridge had been attempted once before in 1985 by a Scottish team made up of Geoff Cohen, Paul Nunn, Clive Rowland and Des Rubens. The mountain itself had only seen two prior ascents before Livingstone and Česen's climb.
We are saddened to learn of the death on 1 August of Kevin Doran. He was elected in 1982.
The Club was saddened to learn of the death of Ronald 'Ronnie' Faux at the age of 88. Ronnie had been a member of the Club since 1991.
We have been informed by his family of the death on 5 June of Paul Herbert who had been a member since 1961.
We are saddened to learn of the death on 6 July of Jeremy Talbot, a longstanding member who joined in 1964.
The Club was sad to learn of the death on Sunday 30 June of Tony Riley, a member since 2008.
The Club has recenlty been informed of the death of John Ashcroft. John had been a member of the Club for more than 50 years and the committee would like to express our sincere condolences to John's friends and family at this difficult time.
A funeral will be held on 11 June.
We are saddened to announce the death on 14 May of John Wilkinson. John lived in Todmorden and had been a member for over 50 years.
The Club has recently been informed of the death of Ian Clarke, who passed away on 24 March 2024. Ian was a long-standing member of the Alpine Club, having joined in 1975 as an Aspirant Member and graduated to Full membership in 1982.
Our thoughts are with Ian's friends and family at this time.
Associate AC member Fi Bunn has had her work, 'The Matterhorn Fire', commended as a finalist in the John Muir Trust's Creative Freedom Exhibition. The exhibition, which runs from 18 March - 25 May 2024 at the Trust's Pitlochry Wild Space Visitor Centre, features works in a range of media, including paintings, comic books, photography, movement art, and VR. The included works were selected from over 600 entrants related to the Trust’s belief that society thrives when wild places are given the freedom to repair themselves.
'The Matterhorn Fire' by Fi Bunn
Writing on her website, Fi commented: "In the winter, the Matterhorn presents the well known image of snow and ice on a stunning, iconic peak popular with skiers. In summer, the mountains are now scored with grey as the ice retreats. The glacial tracks are disappearing at 25 metres per year. This is almost unnoticed in a single year, but over the past 2 years Swiss glaciers have reduced by 10%."
For those who can't make the exhibition in person, The Trust have provided a digital gallery of the selected works.
AC member and Mount Everest Foundation Chair Rebecca Stephens, the first British woman to summit Mount Everest, presents a new five-part series for BBC Radio 4 which examines how the mountain is managed a decade on from the 2014 earthquake disaster which claimed the lives of sixteen Sherpa workers.
Speaking with commercial operators, mountaineers, including Sir Chris Bonington, and a number of Nepalis who work on or study the mountain, Rebecca deftly investigates what has and hasn't changed since that tragic day in 2014 and looks forward to how the continuing demand for guided summits looks set to shape the future of Everest and of Nepal.
'The Everest Obsession' premiered on BBC Radio 4 in April 2024 and is available to listen to on-demand via the BBC Sounds App.
AC member Polly Townsend has been awarded second prize in The 2024 Derwent Art Prize for her work 'Ice, Antarctica'. Her work, composed in charcoal, ink and watercolour, was among five awarded pieces selected from over 6,000 entries.
Townsend's Prize-Winning Work - 'Ice, Antarctica'
The work was inspired by Polly's residency in Antarctica in January 2023 and was commended by the selectors both for its "technical perfection and mastery" and "its silent yet commanding presence [which] prompts reflection on the fragile beauty of the Antarctic landscape juxtaposed against the stark reality of its melting ice cap."
The Derwent Art Prize, established in 2012 by art materials manufacturer Derwent, offers prize money and exposure to "the very best artworks made in pencil". In 2024, the five awardees received a total of £13,000 in prize money and art supplies.
An exhibition showcasing the 68 shortlisted works, including Polly's, is free to visit at gallery@oxo from 11AM-6PM from 4-13 April and from 11AM-2PM on the closing day, Sunday 14 April 2024.
We have received the sad news that John Colton died on 27 March. An accomplished artist and mountaineer, John had been a member since 2013 and last year mounted an exhibition at Charlotte Road, playfully titled ‘Over the Hill’, of scenes sketched during his most active years in the Alps and recreated in watercolour during 2022.
During the UK COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, John was one of the speakers at our ClubCast on Artists of the Alpine Club. You can watch a recording of the event below.
John’s funeral will be on Friday 19 April at 09:45 at Park Wood Crematorium (Elland) and a celebration of his life at Old Rishworthiens RUFC (Copley).
The UIAA (The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation) has launched a new podcast for 2024. 'Mountain Voices', produced and presented by AC member Tarquin Cooper, provides a platform for experts from the UIAA and renowned figures from the world of mountaineering to discuss important contemporary topics.
In the third episode of the current series, Tarquin is joined by Korean climber and anthropologist Young Hoon Oh and AC members Ed Douglas and Victor Saunders to discuss the development of Everest over the past 100 years and the current challenges facing the management of the mountain.
You can listen to the episode here or by subscribing to Mountain Voices via your podcast app of choice.
The club has learned of the death on 26 February of Christopher Marshall. He joined the club in his sixties and was a member for thirty years.
