Editor's Thoughts

by Peter Finch

Our 75th anniversary year is drawing to a close. In previous newsletters Allan Hartley has looked back at dramatic changes which have taken place over the period in hut structures, and we finish 2023 with Janet Britnell’s report on the 120-year development at the Zellerhütte. But the way huts operate has also developed dramatically and Diana Penny Sherpani’s article may well produce a shudder (or a nostalgic tear) in those old enough to have experienced the delights. I remember my AAC rock and ice climbing course in 1970 where the Hüttenwirt had to re-stock the hut from the valley using a group of pack horses; we felt guilty at the number of beer bottles the beasts had to carry!

This landmark year was celebrated in style at the Autumn Gathering in October, reported in this issue by Diana Rayner, our chairman. Now the Board, office staff and all the volunteers involved in running the Club are looking forward to 2024 and beyond. Members are urged to review the calendar, which has been extended to cover the whole year to assist in planning your alpine adventures. With the growing interest in activities for younger members and families, we have added a calendar section especially for family trips.

Our articles, written by members, have the usual span. Ruth Beach describes a gentle meet in Austria, while Emma Huffman recounts her visits to the base camps of all 8000m peaks. Sue Bramall treads the path taken by many WWII refugees across the Pyrenees and Will Wenban carries out a scientific survey, camping in Iceland in the middle of winter. We catch up with the ski racing progress of George Brown, and another of our younger members, Eleanor Lampard, sets off on the first part of a year’s mountaineering adventure.

Please keep writing in with your contributions on any Club- or mountain-related topics. Copy date for the next issue is 3 January 2024.

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