The key role of the Mountain Heritage Trust (MHT) is to ensure that Britain's unique and fascinating heritage, artefacts, history, traditions and records of the people connected with its mountainous areas are conserved, documented, made accessible and, most importantly, communicated to as wide an audience as possible.

Who's who?
The Mountain Heritage Trust is the only organisation of its kind in England. The Trust is comprised of appointed officers, Professor Terry Gifford (Chairman), John Porter (Secretary), Ron Kenyon (Treasurer) and Nick Colton (Secretary to the Board) and the trustees, namely, Sir Chris Bonington, Paul Braithwaite, John Innerdale, Jerry Lovatt, Julie Summers, Mark Vallance and the British Mountaineering Council.

Mallory Clothing Replica Project

The Mallory clothing replicas, comprised of six different layers of wool, silk and cotton, challenge the conventional view that Mallory's clothing and equipment were inadequate for his ill-fated 1924 Everest expedition. Based on the scientific analysis of textile fragments from the original clothing, uncovered on Everest in 1999, the replicas were created to provide a better understanding of the construction of the garments. They demonstrate how effective they would have been at providing protection at altitude, and have been rigorously laboratory-tested for comparison with current mountaineering products.

Graham Hoyland, mountaineer and great-nephew of 1924 Everest climber Howard Somervell, has field-tested on Everest an exact replica of the clothing worn by George Mallory in 1924 . He concluded it was: 'very pleasant to wear, easy movement, sufficiently warm to summit.'

The replicas are the result of a three-year project headed by Professor Mary B. Rose and Mike Parsons both of Lancaster University Management School's IEED. Research work and replication was undertaken at the Universities of Leeds, Southampton and Derby; the £30,000 project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund with added support from the Pasold Research Fund and the Clothing for Extremes conference and under the direction of the Mountain Heritage Trust.

A copy of the brochure which provides further information on the above project is available from the Trust, priced £4.95.


Other projects
Funding from the Northern Rock Foundation for a project entitled 'Onwards and Upwards: The Archive of Ascent' enabled the Trust's archivist, Maxine Willett, to contact all UK based climbing clubs to assess exactly what records/artefacts exist, where they are held, the condition they are in and whether there is any existing information on the club holdings. An element of the project involved visiting some of the clubs to help compile a descriptive list and offer advice on preservation issues. This work continues as working with the clubs now will ensure that their history is preserved and available to be used in centenary celebrations and beyond.


How to help
If you know of any equipment, documents, papers, film or photographs which contribute to the history of British Mountains and Mountaineering, then the MHT would like to hear from you. Please contact:

Maxine Willett
Mountain Heritage Trust
Station House
Ullswater Road
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 7JQ
T: 01768 840911
E: maxine@mountain-heritage.org


Mountain Heritage Trust, a Registered Charity, number 1083219, Station House, Ullswater Road, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 7JQ, 01768 840911, enquiries@mountain-heritage.org
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