Rock-climbing in the English Lake District: Third EditionJones, Owen Glynne
General
Rock-climbing in the English Lake District: Third Edition
Jones, Owen Glynne
Lake District (England) -- Description and travel; Mountaineering; Rock climbing -- England -- Lake District
I have said little of Jones’s British climbs, for the simple reason
that the fullest and best record of his work in Lakeland is contained
in the book to which this brief memoir is prefixed, and his work in
Wales (which he also intended to describe in a volume) is not so easily
accessible or so fully recorded in any published documents as is his
work in the Alps. Apparently there does not exist among his papers any
list of his Welsh climbs, though he kept voluminous shorthand notes of
almost everything he did in the climbing world; but it is not possible,
in the short space and time at my disposal, to attempt to give from
them any complete picture of the work he did in Wales. The Messrs.
Abraham, however, have kindly placed in my hands the following brief
notes of some of the most remarkable experiences they have had in
company with Jones, both in Wales and in the Lake District:
‘Two climbs with Mr. Jones are most strongly impressed on our memories,
and these two would probably rank as the two finest rock climbs made in
our district.
‘These are Scawfell Pinnacle from the second pitch in Deep Ghyll in
1896, and the conquest of the well-known Walker’s Gully on the Pillar
Rock in January, 1899.
‘Both of these were generally considered impossible, and it is probably
no exaggeration to say that no leader excepting Mr. Jones would have
had confidence to advance beyond the ledge where the last _arête_
commenced on the Scawfell Pinnacle climb.
‘The same thing might be still more emphatically said of the last
pitch in Walker’s Gully, and to those who know the place it is almost
incredible that the climb could even be commenced under such conditions
as prevailed during the first ascent.
‘We visited North Wales with Mr. Jones in 1897, and explored the climbs
in the Cader Idris district. The finest climb in this district is the
Great Gully above Llyn-y-Cae on Mynydd Pencoed, and Mr. Jones was the
first explorer and climber of this and most of the Cader Idris climbs.
Some time was also spent at Penygwryd during this visit, but unsuitable
weather prevented any climbs of importance being done.
‘Shortly after Easter, 1899, Mr. Jones paid his next visit to North
Wales, and on this occasion much new and first-class climbing was done
from Ogwen Cottage as centre.
‘The second ascent of Twll Du was made by a party led by Mr. Jones, and
shortly afterwards the two great gullies to the right of Twll Du were
first ascended under Mr. Jones’ leadership. Amongst several minor first
ascents the gully in the Eastern Buttress of Glyder Fach and the first
direct ascent of the Northern Buttress on Tryfaen from Cwm-y-Tryfaen
are most worthy of note.
‘The following Whitsuntide again saw Mr. Jones at Ogwen Cottage,
but the weather conditions were such as to prevent any very notable
climbing being recorded.
‘Of course it is impossible to give in the space at my disposal any
idea of the large amount of climbing done in these various districts by
Mr. Jones.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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