The Lure of the Mountains: climbers serious and dilettante....
Loch etive, from Ben Cruachan, August 1863. One of a set of delicate drawings by William Waterhouse.
From Ben Nevis, August 1863. By William Waterhouse.
Climbing Ben Nevis. A photograph by George Washington Wilson, c1890.
"The Maid of the Mist - Top of Ben Nevis." From Molly Findlay's 1936 photo album. Alas, such climbers often found it was misty at the top of Ben Nevis.
Arete - Ben Nevis. Boy Scouts(?) facing the ridge of Ben Nevis with no apparent problem. A card posted in 1945.
"Ben Nevis, The Precipice". ATuck's artist card, showing a viewing platform overhanging the Precipice. I do not know when this was constructed, nor when it was removed.
Ascent of Ben Nevis, from the Illustrated London News, 1881. Such magazines delighted in accounts such as this.
Detail from the Ascent of Ben Nevis, 1881. The top!
Other magazine accounts include this from the Graphic, 1874 "Mountaineering: Up and Down Ben Lomond."
The Graphic, 1885. "A Picnic in Scotland." In such accounts it always rained, some people fell asleep and/or drank too much....
.....and as in this one, the beautiful Miss Grace found her pony needed 'looking after', while the plain Miss Doleful was left to her own devices.
The Graphic 1883. "An Ascent of Ben Macdhui."
Even Heath Robinson depicted a perilous ascent: "Snaring Eagles in the Highlands," from The Sketch, 1906.
Some climbs were a good deal more serious, though. "North Witch Rock, Portpatrick." J.M. Brownlee, photographer.
Such climbing demanded serious equipment. These two are Alpine climbers, one French (or Swiss?), the other, on the right, German.
A Scottish hillwalker, at Pitlochry.
Not just the men, though. A female climber, with ropes at the ready, on Skye.
And to prove it, here is Mrs Burton tackling the Harrow Buttress (in the Lake District).
On Sgurr nan Gillean, Skye. Not for the faint-hearted. A photograph by G.P. Abraham.
The Cioch, Sron na Ciche. Looks easy? I think not. Another photo by Abraham.
The Innaccessible Pinnacle on Sgurr Dearg, this postcard by Valentine, 1932, proving it was accessible after all.
Another attempt on the Pinnacle.
This, a later attempt - 1960s?
The Window, also on Sgurr Dearg. A Taylor postcard posted in 1935.
The Needle Rock of the Quiraing, Skye. Note the two climbers at the very bottom left of the Needle. Photographer unknown, from the 'Scotland Topic' series.
Another shot of the Needle Rock, from a different angle, but with a similarly tiny figure at the bottom. This by Abraham.
On the edge...."Quiraing - The Neddle, Isle of Skye." A photo by GWW, taken from a stereoview.
Gully from Corrie-na Creiche Mhadaidh. A climber is inching his way up. Another superb early mountaineering photo by Abraham.
Sgurr Alasdair & Sgurr Tearlach. Abraham.
A group of Worthies, c1870. The gentleman on the right is Sheriff Alexander Nicolson, the first to climb Sgurr Alasdair. It is named after him.
Bidein Druim nan Ramh, the South West Peak. Abraham.
Sgurr a Mhadaidh, Skye. Possibly a Howie photograph.
On Suilven. Photographer unknown.
The summit achieved: Schiehallion. Photographer Howie?
I think he is trying to make this look difficult.....
....She is much more relaxed! From a pair of glass negatives, photographer unknown.
Snow on the top of Lochnagar in June. I am not sure that all these folk are dressed for the conditions! A set of photos taken in 1932.
Another summit: The Cobbler. A Valentine photograph.
More climbers on the way up. A 1937 Valentine postcard.
Three figures can just be made out on the previous photo: one on the way up the chimney at the bottom, and two further up, one waving.
View south east from Bidian nan Bian. photographer unknown.
Someone enjoying the view of Loch Diabeg and Loch Torridon, c 1930.
A magnificent photograph taken by A.E.R. May in 1905 of one of the finest ridges in Scotland: An Teallach, with Toll an Lochan in the foreground.
This is probably a local guide, almost certainly at Glencoe taken from the top of the valley on the side of Anoach Eagach. A large glass negative by an unknown photographer.
"Summit of Ben Lui, Looking North. (Ben Nevis Range in Distance). " A lone climber surveys the view to the north in this 1932 Valentine card.
A World War II image, abseiling practice at Glencoe.
Mountaineering in comfort! "Ascending Ben Lomond." A postcard published by R. Gilchrist & Sons. Sent in 1907.
"Ben Nevis View down Loch Linnhe." An early postcard by W. Norman Nelmes of Glasgow.
"The Summit of Ben Nevis." A Valentine card dated 1932.
"Snow Cornice, Ben Nevis." Photographer unknown.
"Glencoe". A postcard sent in 1939.
