John Crabbe Cunningham (23 November 1927 – 31 January 1980) was a Scottish climber. Born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, he was a member of the Creagh Dhu Mountaineering Club and climbed extensively in the Scottish mountains, where he pioneered new techniques of

ice climbing Ice climbing is a climbing discipline that involves ascending routes consisting entirely of frozen water. To ascend, the ice climber uses specialist equipment, particularly double ice axes (or the more modern ice tools) and rigid crampons. ...

. During the 1950s and 1960s, Cunningham went to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

and

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. He wanted to climb

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

, and in 1953 he had gone to

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

via India with

Hamish MacInnes Hamish MacInnes (born McInnes; 7 July 1930 – 22 November 2020) was a Scottish mountaineer, explorer, mountain search and rescuer, and author. He has been described as the "father of modern mountain rescue in Scotland". He is credited w ...

, also a Scottish mountaineer, to start his climb. However,

Hillary Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

and

Tenzing Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer. On 29 May 1953, he and Edmund Hillary were the firs ...

had made it to the top of Mount Everest before he could begin. On 23 November 1964, he made the first ascent of

's Mount Jackson.

Professional years

Cunningham was a member of the

South Georgia Survey The South Georgia Survey was a series of expeditions to survey and map the island of South Georgia, led by Duncan Carse between 1951 and 1957. Although South Georgia had been commercially exploited as a whaling station during the first half of t ...

led by

Duncan Carse Verner Duncan Carse (28 July 1913 – 2 May 2004) was an English explorer and actor known for surveying South Georgia Island, South Georgia and for the portrayal of Special Agent Dick Barton on BBC Radio. Early life Carse was born on 28 July 1 ...

for the third field season, 1955–56. In 1960 Cunningham started his career with the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, which became the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of list of global issues, global issues, and to provide an active prese ...

in 1962. He served as base leader at Base A,

Port Lockroy Port Lockroy is a bay forming a natural harbour on the north-western shore of Wiencke Island in the Palmer Archipelago to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Antarctic base with the same name, situated on Goudier Island in this bay, includ ...

for the winter of 1960, followed by two winters at Base E,

Stonington Island Stonington Island is a rocky island lying northeast of Neny Island in the eastern part of Marguerite Bay off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It is long from north-west to south-east and wide, yielding an area of . It was formerl ...

, again as base leader, 1961 and 1962. He returned for a fourth winter in 1964, this time as base leader at Base T,

Adelaide Island Adelaide Island is a large, mainly ice-covered island, long and wide, lying at the north side of Marguerite Bay off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Ginger Islands lie off the southern end. Mount Bodys is the easternmost mounta ...

, during which time he and three companions climbed Mount Jackson. (Both Port Lockroy and Stonington Island bases are now Historic Sites under the

Antarctic Treaty The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of A ...

, managed on behalf of BAS by the

UK Antarctic Heritage Trust The United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) is a British charity, registered in 1993 and re-registered in 2015. The UKAHT is a member of the Antarctic Heritage Trust coalition. The UKAHT's Patron is Princess Anne, The Princess Royal. The ...

. In the 1970s, after he returned to Scotland, he became an instructor at the Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore. In this capacity he perfected innovations in techniques for front point cramponing and use of curved pick ice axes on steep sloping ice. He had used this front point technique while working in Antarctica on icebergs and cliffs with a slope of 70 to 90 degrees. In 1976 he became an instructor at I M Marsh Campus in Liverpool. On 31 January 1980, he took a group of six students for practical instruction on climbing to the

South Stack South Stack () is an island situated just off Holy Island on the northwest coast of Anglesey, Wales. Geology South Stack is an island known as a sea stack. It was formed by the wave erosion of sedimentary rocks that once connected the isla ...

sea-cliffs on

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

. Weather conditions deteriorated whilst the group were

coasteering Coasteering is movement along the intertidal zone of a rocky coastline on foot or by swimming, without the aid of boats, surf boards or other craft. Coasteering allows a person to move in the “impact zone” between a body of water and the co ...

and a student was swept off the cliff. During the attempt to rescue him, a mature student tried to swim out to him with a rope but got into difficulty and Cunningham and a third student were washed into the sea. Cunningham, who was not a strong swimmer, was drowned. The three students survived but their instructor's body was never found.

Honours

Cunningham was awarded the Perry Medal by the Royal Georgraphical Society in the 1950s. He was awarded the

Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...

in 1967. Mount Cunningham () in the

Queen Maud Bay Queen Maud Bay is a V-shaped bay 2.5 miles (4.0 km) wide at the entrance, lying immediately north of Nuñez Peninsula along the south coast of South Georgia. Roughly charted in 1819 by a Russian expedition under Bellingshausen, it was named ...

at the southern end of

was named in his honour. His biography, titled ''Creagh Dhu Climber, the life and times of John Cunningham'', was published by Ernest Press.

References

External links

UK Antarctic Heritage Trust
– The trust manages the historic sites of Port Lockroy (Base A) and Stonington Island (Base E).
British Antarctic Survey
- The Archives holds official expedition records, photographs and moving film. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, John Crabbe 1927 births 1980 deaths Scottish explorers British explorers of Antarctica Scottish mountain climbers Sportspeople from Glasgow Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom Accidental deaths in Scotland

Professional years

Honours

References

Further reading

External links