Who’s Who?
MHT is the only organisation of its kind in England concerned with the preservation of mountain heritage. The Trust is made up of appointed officers:
Sir Chris Bonington CVO, CBE, DL
Chris is one of Britain’s most famous mountaineers. He started climbing very seriously in the Alps and then moved to the Himalaya. In 1975 he was leader of the famous British ascent of the South West face of Everest. He has since explored mountains, oceans, and remote areas around the world. Founder Chair of MHT from 2000-5, Chris has been active in national and international organisations on behalf of MHT, gaining sponsorship, funding, materials and support from many people and organisations. His unflagging support for MHT’s objectives and activities extends to giving MHT custody of his personal archive in the future.
Paul (Tut) Braithwaite
Paul started climbing in 1960 at the age of fourteen on local Pennine outcrops. For over 35 years he climbed extensively at a high standard in the UK, the Alps and greater ranges (winter/summer) and became one of Britains leading mountaineers of his generation. He has been a member of many climbing expeditions to remote regions including Arctic Canada, Alaska, South America, Russia, Nepal and Tibet and has been involved in many first ascents including the South West Face of Everest in 1975. He has just completed a 3 year term as President of the Alpine Club, the oldest and most respected mountaineering club in the world. Paul is currently a trustee of Community Action Nepal and MHT and is the Managing Director of specialist contracting company Vertical Access Ltd.
Rab Carrington
A leading Scottish climber during 1960-1970’s and a distinguished explorative mountaineer, Rab has climbed extensively in the Alps, South America (Patagonia, Bolivia, Peru) and the Himalayas and formed a strong climbing partnership with Al Rouse. Some of his most notable ascents include Jannu in Nepal and Yerupaja in Peru. He is current President of the British Mountaineering Council and founder of Rab © clothing company.
Professor Terry Gifford
Twenty-one years as Director of the International Festival of Mountaineering Literature, together with writing over that period for the national climbing magazines has left a strong sense of the importance of archives for future research into British mountain culture. Author of The Joy of Climbing, academic books and climbing poetry, Terry is currently Visiting Professor at Bath Spa University, UK and Professor Honorario at the University of Alicante, Spain.
John Innerdale
Ex Chairman of MHT and founding Trustee member of MHT, John Innerdale is an architect, mountaineer, landscape painter and bee keeper based in the Lake District. A lifetime of walking and climbing in the UK, Alps, Norway, Pyrenees, Himalaya and Patagonia has helped him to understand and interpret mountain architecture. He was a member of the Langdale and Penrith Mountain Rescue teams. He now lives, climbs and sails in the Lake District as well as undertaking expeditions further afield. He is the curator and developer of a number of mountaineering and painting exhibitions for MHT. An active member of the Alpine Club John is also a collector of mountain memorabilia.
Ron Kenyon
Ron was one of the founder members of the Eden Valley Mountaineering Club in 1975, the driving force for the Eden Climbing Wall in Penrith; past Vice President and Honorary member of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club; was a member of Penrith Mountain Rescue Team for 25 years and also rock climbing guide writer for Borrowdale and also the Eden Valley. Ron has climbed throughout Europe, Morocco and North America. He is keen to get youngsters out onto the crags and mountains and is passionate about the history of mountaineering and ensuring that adventure is not forgotten.
Jim Lowther
In 1991 Jim accompanied Chris Bonington on expeditions to Greenland, sailing with Robin Knox Johnston in 1993 and again in 2000. He also accompanied Chris to Kinnaur in India 1994 and Sepu Kangri, Tibet in 1997. He led an expedition to Tibet in 2006. Jim manages the Lowther Estates in Cumbria. His interests, apart from mountaineering, include forestry, natural history and management of landscapes and gardens.
Dr D J Lovatt
Jerry is a noted Alpine antiquarian and avid collector of mountain literature. During his career he climbed extensively in the Alps and Himalaya and was involved in an Alpine Club expedition to Bhutan in 1991 with George Band and John Innerdale. He is Honorary Librarian of the Alpine Club as well as an activist for many mountain causes. Jerry previously worked as a senior international consumer goods marketing executive. Now retired, he continues to make trips to the Alps and the Himalaya.
John Porter (Secretary)
American by birth, he became part of a small international group that helped changed the way unknown Himalayan faces were climbed – with no more than four people involved. The concept was doing big peaks with no support – the sort of more with less we need in today’s economy. A number of his first ascents on big Himalayan walls in the 70’s and 80’s remain unrepeated. Creator of the Kendal Mountain Festival and the SteepEdge adventure film website, he has been a regular contributor to many magazines over the years and is a member of the Alpine Club committee. He runs a successful business consultancy based in the Lake District.
Julie Summers (Chair)
A twenty year career in the museum world has given Julie broad experience of exhibition display and conservation issues. A trustee since spring 2006, she is passionate about the preservation of British mountain heritage in all forms. Her ambition is to expand the work of MHT and create the country’s leading repository for mountain related archive material and artefacts. A full time author, Julie writes and lectures about people in extreme situations. She continues to advise the Sandy Irvine Trust, which looks after material relating to the 1924 Mount Everest Expedition.
Doug Scott CBE (Vice Chair)
Doug is one of the leading mountaineers of his generation; he is a former President of the Alpine Club and Vice-president of the BMC. He is currently the UK’s representative on the UIAA, the world body for mountaineering. He is a member of the UIAA Management Committee and his aim is to help to preserve the best traditions of mountaineering. Naturally he considers the MHT vital in the role of informing the current generation of climbers of the great traditions of our sport. He is patron of, and an active supporter of a range of charities aimed at providing health and education to Nepalese communities and to improving the welfare and working conditions for the porters in Nepal. His registered charity, Community Action Nepal, has gained an international reputation for its work. Doug is also a well respected writer, photographer and lecturer.
Staff Profile:
Maxine Willett (Archivist)
Maxine has worked for MHT since September 2004, cataloguing archives and artefacts to recognized standards; compiling a database of related mountain heritage primary sources; providing archival support to UK-based climbing clubs; undertaking survey visits in respect of possible acquisitions; creating a website in order to allow public access to the collections; acting as PR liaison; management of the Trust’s records; answering enquiries and drafting fund-raising applications. Maxine is a fully qualified archivist holding a Masters in Archives and Records Management from University College, London.
Nick Colton (Secretary to the Board)
Born 1954, Nick has been climbing since the age of 10 and is still an enthusiastic and widely travelled climber and mountaineer – probably best known for making the first ascent of the Colton/MacIntyre route on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses. A teacher by profession, Nick now works for the British Mountaineering Council as the Deputy CEO where he is also Lead Child Protection Officer and secretary to the BMC’s Equity Steering Group that is tasked with identifying and endeavouring to remove barriers to participation.