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 | Cumbria Times Weekend Edition |
3:43 PM 24th July 2021
lifestyle
Cumbria To Host Women's Rock-climbing Club Centenary
The Club boasts over 20 members based in Cumbria, including writer and climber Gwen Moffat, from Penrith, who in 1953 became the first British woman to qualify as a mountain guide. As the Club’s longest standing member (she joined in 1949) and the oldest at 97, Gwen will be officially opening the exhibition alongside the Club’s youngest member Milena von Muhlen (27).
The event also coincides with the 60th anniversary of the publication of Gwen’s autobiography, Space Below my Feet, and she will be signing copies of her book on the day. Profits from sales will go to the Eden Animal Rescue and the Pinnacle Club Centenary Sponsorship Fund, which supports women from under-represented groups to get into climbing.
Premiering at Sticklebarn on July 24 will be the film, Journey to Jagdula, which draws on archive footage of the 1962 Jagdula expedition, in which six Pinnacle Club members climbed Lha Shamma (6,412m) and six other unclimbed Himalayan peaks and mapped part of a remote and previously unexplored region. The film includes recent interviews with the two surviving members of the expedition, both still Club members: Denise Evans and Josephine Peacock (then Scarr).
Josephine’s account of the expedition, Four Miles High, has been republished by the Club as part of its centenary celebrations and will be officially launched at the event. She will be at Sticklebarn on July 24 to sign copies of her book and answer questions on the film.
Other Club members attending the event include Stella Adams and Alison Cairns from Kendal, who joined in 1979 and 1985 respectively and Mandy Glanvill and writer and fell-runner Julie Carter from Keswick, (joined 1986 and 1994). Mandy and Julie recently completed the Lakeland Classic Rock climbs, in a single unsupported journey on foot, the first all-female team to achieve this iconic rock-climbing challenge.
Gwen, Stella, Alison and Mandy are among 24 club members whose life stories have been recorded and preserved for posterity in the British Library Sound Archive in London, as part of their first dedicated oral collection on rock climbing.
The exhibition, film and oral recordings were made possible thanks to a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which has enabled the Club to bring to life and protect 100 years of its fascinating and inspiring history and make it accessible to all. A dedicated website (www.pc100.org) combines snippets of the recordings with club members, extracts from Club journals and archive photos to paint a picture of women’s climbing over the last 100 years.
Noelle Godfrey, a club member since 2014 who has worked with the National Trust and the Mountain Heritage Trust on the exhibition, said:
“The Lake District is an important place in rock-climbing history, so it’s fitting that the Pinnacle Club exhibition and the film premier is taking place here. We hope that all those who pass through Langdale over the next few months will enjoy finding out more about the club and find our story interesting and inspiring.”
The official opening and film premier, from 2.30-3.30pm on July 24 is invitation only, due to Covid restrictions limiting numbers. From 3.30-5.30pm, the public will be able to view the exhibition, which charts the Club’s history and highlights important aspects of women’s rock-climbing, hear from Club members, get their books signed and see another short film on the Club, based on the oral recordings and archive photos.
The exhibition will then be open free to the public during normal Sticklebarn opening hours until the 14th November.
Tom Rumsey, Programming Officer from the National Trust said:
"We are delighted that the Pinnacle Club have chosen the Sticklebarn as the location for their centenary exhibition. We look forward to welcoming members of the public to find out more and be inspired to go and enjoy the stunning hillwalking and rock-climbing in beautiful Great Langdale and beyond.”