Climbs and Ski Runs

Frank Smythe (1900–1949) was one of the leading mountaineers of the inter-war period. He was also a pioneer of making a living through writing and lecturing about his climbing. And yet he is far less well-known today than, say, Tilman (an almost exact contemporary) or Shipton, who was just a few years younger. Perhaps he faded from memory because he died young. It can hardly be because he's a poor writer; he isn't (though perhaps not as outstanding as Tilman).
Smythe's achievements include a couple of records that should be better-known. In 1930 he was part of a German-led team that made the first ascent of Jongsong Peak (7462m), then the highest summit yet reached; he describes this in The Kangchenjunga Adventure. The very next year he led the team which climbed Kamet (7756m), related in Kamet Conquered. The scale of this feats is underlined by the fact that the record was broken only twice more (Nanda Devi and Annapurna) before Hillary and Tenzing put it on the shelf for ever.
Climbs and Ski Runs, another welcome digital reissue from Vertebrate Publishing, gives welcome background to these achievements, from childhood adventures on the South Downs, through rock-climbing apprenticeship on crags like Almscliff, to more pioneering climbs. Anyone who's ever climbed on Cloggy (Clogwyn Du'r Arddu) – and if you haven't, what are you waiting for? – will be fascinated by the account of the first ascent of Longland's Climb, the first real foray onto the vast West Buttress. Smythe was never the leader on this, however, so the real stand-out ascents in this book are the two great routes on the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc, the Sentinelle Rouge and Route Major, which he pioneered with T. Graham Brown in 1927 and 1928. The latter, in particular, is still regarded as an Alpine classic; modern gear may make it significantly easier, but it's still a long and demanding climb.
All these, and many other climbs, are related in a style that's vivid and clear, albeit occasionally a little ornate by modern standards: "...yet slopes that had taken us nearly two hours to ascend were descended in a few minutes of joyous running. Like wraiths we flitted down our peak, first in the sun, with the parted snow flying up behind in a million scintillating points of light; then over an edge, plunging into a cold well of shadowed glacier, swinging now to the right, and now to the left, and then in one swift straight rush. Has the world a greater magic to offer than that which lies latent in the slender wooden runners? Theirs is the poetry of motion to command at will.”
I've picked a skiing quote rather than a climbing one as a way of redressing the balance; thus far I've said nothing about the 'Ski Runs' part of the title. It may be because my background is in climbing and I've done much less on skis, but the ski runs do seem almost incidental; only one of the 30 or so photographs features skiing. The meat of this book is undoubtedly the climbing and its appeal will be primarily to those who love mountaineering (or just reading about it!). For anyone in this category, it's a very worthy read.