The Rucksack Club
Encyclopedia
The Rucksack Club was founded in Manchester
in 1902 and has a current membership of well over 400 men and women. According to the Rules, "The objects of the Club are to facilitate walking tours, cave explorations and mountaineering
in the British Isles
and elsewhere, and bring into fellowship men and women who are interested in these pursuits, and to do whatever shall be deemed by the Committee from time to time to be conducive to the foregoing objects."
The Club has long been active in Mountain Rescue
with Eustace Thomas designing the Thomas Stretcher which was in use by Mountain Rescue teams for many years. Members Fred Pigott and Noel Kirkman received OBEs
for services to mountain rescue.
, High Moss in the Duddon Valley
at the foot of the Walna Scar
track over to Coniston, and Craigallan looking out over Loch Linnhe
within easy reach of Glencoe
.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1902 and has a current membership of well over 400 men and women. According to the Rules, "The objects of the Club are to facilitate walking tours, cave explorations and mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
and elsewhere, and bring into fellowship men and women who are interested in these pursuits, and to do whatever shall be deemed by the Committee from time to time to be conducive to the foregoing objects."
History
The Rucksack Club was formed in Manchester in 1902 by a group of men who responded to a letter written to a newspaper by two young men. They were invited to a meeting and resolved there and then to form a club with the object "To facilitate walking tours and mountaineering expeditions, both in the British Isles and elsewhere, and to particularly to initiate members into the science of rock climbing and snowcraft".The Club has long been active in Mountain Rescue
Mountain rescue
Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. The difficult and remote nature of the terrain in which mountain rescue often occurs has resulted...
with Eustace Thomas designing the Thomas Stretcher which was in use by Mountain Rescue teams for many years. Members Fred Pigott and Noel Kirkman received OBEs
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to mountain rescue.
Huts
The Club owns three huts: Beudy Mawr at the heart of the Llanberis PassLlanberis Pass
The Llanberis Pass in Snowdonia carries the main road from the SE to Llanberis, over Pen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of the Glyderau and the Snowdon massif. At the bottom of the pass is the small village of Nant Peris, clustered round the ancient church of Saint Peris...
, High Moss in the Duddon Valley
Duddon Valley
The Duddon Valley is a valley in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Duddon flows through the valley, rising in the mountains between Eskdale and Langdale, before flowing into the Irish Sea near Broughton in Furness...
at the foot of the Walna Scar
Walna Scar
Walna Scar is a hill in the English Lake District, lying just south of a pass of the same name in the Coniston Hills. Its summit is only slightly higher than the pass, but few reach it, preferring instead to head north from the top of the pass to Dow Crag and the other Coniston Fells...
track over to Coniston, and Craigallan looking out over Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland....
within easy reach of Glencoe
Glen Coe
Glen Coe is a glen in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the southern part of the Lochaber committee area of Highland Council, and was formerly part of the county of Argyll. It is often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland, and is a part of the designated...
.
Notable members
- Chris BrasherChris BrasherChristopher William "Chris" Brasher CBE was a British athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.-History:...
- Dennis DavisDennis Davis (climber)Dennis Davis is a British mountaineer, who along with Sherpa Tashi completed the first ascent of Nuptse on 16 May 1961.-See also:http://www.climbers-club.co.uk/journal/original/1962%20Journal-p306-312.pdf...
- J. Rooke CorbettJohn Rooke CorbettJohn Rooke Corbett , better known as J. Rooke Corbett was one of the founder-members of The Rucksack Club and their Convener of Rambles. In the 1920s Corbett compiled a list of hills between 2500 and 3000 feet with a prominence of at least 500 feet...
- John Sumner
Notable "Firsts" by Members
- First Briton to climb all alpine 4000m peaks - Eustace Thomas
- First Ascent of NuptseNuptseNuptse is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Mahalangur Himal, in the Nepalese Himalayas. It lies two kilometres WSW of Mount Everest. Nuptse is Tibetan for "west peak", as it is the western segment of the Lhotse-Nuptse massif....
1961 - Dennis Davis
See also
Other UK Mountaineering 'Senior Clubs':- The Alpine ClubAlpine Club (UK)The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first mountaineering club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'.-History:...
- Climbers' ClubClimbers' ClubThe Climbers' Club is the senior rock-climbing club in Wales and England . It was founded in 1898 and publishes guidebooks in the main climbing areas in Wales and Southern England...
- Fell and Rock Climbing Club
- Scottish Mountaineering ClubScottish Mountaineering ClubThe Scottish Mountaineering Club is Scotland's second oldest mountaineering club. Founded in 1889, in Glasgow, the private club, with about 400 members, publishes guidebooks and runs a list of Munroists.-History:At the time of the club's founding there were a number of experienced Alpinists...
- The Wayfarers' ClubThe Wayfarers' ClubThe Wayfarers' Club is a senior mountaineering club founded in the United Kingdom over a hundred years ago. Rule number 1 in the club's handbook stated that the object of the club's existence was to:...