Advertisement ::

Enlarge Cartoon

1953 was coronation year and the year Hillary and Tenzing made the first ascent of Everest. Yet, for many, the year is remembered because it was the year Arthur Dolphin died. He was a remarkable rock climber who had already made his name as the man who could master inaccessible routes at Almscliff, near his native Baildon in Yorkshire and in the English Lake District.

He had teamed up with a fourth year medical student from Belgium and was making the relatively easy descent of the Dent du Geant – that little spike that sticks up at the end of the Mont Blanc range, when he unaccountably slipped and fell to his death.

Arthur’s skill is legendary in the climbing world and his life has been remembered in Memories of Dolphin, compiled and edited by Tom Greenwood, published by the Green Woods Press in 2009.

The book is particularly welcome as any profit that may result from the sale of the book will be donated to the ‘Jack Bloor Fund’. This fund was created to help those who lack the means to pursue their dreams in the outdoors by allocating grants. www.jackbloor.co.uk The book comes with a free DVD that shows Arthur in Action on the climbs in the Lake District.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.