Stephen Goodwin's report to AC the committee on the UIAA general assembly held in Bressanone (Brixen) Italy, October 2016
The report can be viewed here
To see some pictures of Messner receiving his award read on.
Our warmest congratulations go to our long standing member Mike Kosterlitz who has been awarded a share of the 2016 Nobel Prize for physics.
Glyn Hughes shares some personal memories of Mike as a mountaineer.:
“After graduating from University in 1963 I spent six weeks in the Dolomites and the Alps before starting work. My main climbing partner on this trip was Mike Kosterlitz, who has just become joint winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics. This was probably the high point of my climbing career, but just the beginning for Mike. He followed this by becoming one of the leading British climbers in the UK and the Alps at that time, and one of the first to tackle hard routes in Yosemite. Perhaps best known for the Kosterlitz/Isherwood route on Piz Badile (known locally as the ‘via degli Inglesi’, although Mike is of course Scottish), climbed in 1968 when they went off-route on the Corti-Battaglia, and now a classic route of that area.* In 1969 Mike took up a research post at the University of Torino, and during this period pioneered routes in the Orco valley, including the ‘Fessura Kosterlitz’, a notorious test piece for crack climbers. Shortly after this, illness forced him to give up climbing at a very early age, otherwise what more might he have achieved? I met him at a reunion dinner in Cambridge in 2006, and asked him what he was doing now. He started explaining his research work to me, but unfortunately I couldn’t understand a word of it. Presumably the Nobel prize jury did!”
* See Dick Isherwood's account of the climb in AJ 1969.
This Guardian article gives more information about the Nobel prize for physics winners.
Mike Kosterlitz & Oliver Spence on the Yellow Edge on the Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Photo Glyn Hughes)
Since 2016 the Alpine Club has had a partnership with the Association of British Members of the Swiss Alpine Club (ABMSAC) to lease and manage the George Starkey Hut in Patterdale, in the Lake District. We held a consultation of the AC membership before taking this on, and there was strong support, so we're pleased to say that the hut is now available for members to use.
It's a fantastic new AC membership benefit, with its excellent location in the eastern Lake District by Ullswater, with easy access to the M6 from Penrith. There is direct walking accesss to some of the best winter climbing in England and great multi-pitch climbing and scrambling in the area. Rock climbing in Langdale and Borrowdale can be accessed in 45 minutes driving. It is also a great location for mountain-biking, fell-running, and canoeing on Ullswater Lake.
8 beds are reserved for members and guests of the AC and ABMSAC on a first-booked, first-in basis. Given the combined numbers in our clubs it is essential to confirm availability each time before travelling. Regular users can apply for their own key. The remaining 20 beds may be booked by our clubs, or by other clubs or groups, and the availability for club booking is shown on the online calendar. In addition to the members area, individual AC members can book half the hut (10 beds), if available, via the Group booking system. Of course weekends get booked up but weekdays are often available.
There is an online booking system where members can see what is available, when, and book places to secure them. If you have any questions or problems, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Charges as of 1st October 2020:- Members pay £9.00 and guests £16.00 per night.
From April 2022, the club will be offering a 95% discount on bookings by club members (including up to two non-members per member booking) to encourage use of the hut. To find out how to take advantage of this discount, please log in to the website and select the 'GS Hut Discount' option from the 'Member Login' drop-down menu.
The Pen y Gwryd Hotel: Tales from the Smoke Room is a new book celebrating the PyG.