Ian Clough
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Ian Clough (1937–1970) was a British
mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...
who was killed on the 1970 British Annapurna expedition led by Sir
Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...
to climb the south face of the
Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...
n
massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
. He was later described by Bonington as "the most modest man I ever had the good luck to climb with" and "the kindest and most selfless partner I ever had."


Climbing career

Clough was born on 13 March 1937La Montagne et Alpinisme, Revue Du Club Alpin Francais et du Groupe de Haute Montagne, Paris, France, February 1971, No. 81, p. 41, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9763610j?rk=21459;2 in the
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
town of
Baildon Baildon is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford, Bradford Metropolitan Borough in West Yorkshire, England and within the Historic counties of England, historic boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire. ...
, near
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
, and learned to climb on the gritstone edges near his home. He did his
National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
in the RAF, and he joined the RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue Service. He supported himself after leaving National Service in various jobs, including running a small climbing school from the cottage he and his wife Nikki Clough owned at
Glen Coe Glen Coe ( ) is a glen of glacial origins, that cuts though volcanic rocks in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the shires of Scotland, county of Argyll, close to the border with the history of local governm ...
. Now one of the best British climbers of his generation, he made many difficult ascents in the
Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...
, including the first ascent of the Central Pillar of Frêney on
Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...
with
Don Whillans Donald Desbrow Whillans (18May 19334August 1985) was an English rock climber and mountaineer. He climbed with Joe Brown and Chris Bonington on many new routes, and was considered the technical equal of both. Early life Born and brought up in ...
,
Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...
and
Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
in 1961 and the first British ascent of the North Face of the
Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends ...
, with Bonington in 1962. He climbed widely in Britain too, publishing a guide to the
Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...
in 1969, and in 1968 he and the Scottish mountaineer Tom Patey were the first to climb Am Buachaille, a
sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...
at Sandwood Bay off the coast of
Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...
. Two years later, both Clough and Patey died in separate climbing accidents within five days of one another. When Clough died on 30 May 1970, he would have been unaware Patey had been killed abseiling down another Scottish sea stack on 25 May. His wife Nikki Clough, who later died of cancer, was also a mountaineer and climbed the
north face North face or Northface or The North Face may refer to: * North face (Eiger), in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland * North Face (Everest), in Himalaya, usually traversed ascending Everest from the north * North face (Fairview Dome), a climbing route i ...
of the
Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...
with her husband.


Expedition to Annapurna

In 1970, Clough took part in the expedition to
Annapurna Annapurna (; ) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the 10th highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its as ...
led by
Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...
, but after the successful ascent of the south face by
Dougal Haston Duncan "''Dougal"'' Curdy MacSporran Haston (19 April 1940 – 17 January 1977) was a Scottish mountaineer noted for his exploits in the British Isles, Alps, and the Himalayas. From 1967 he was the director of the International School of Mountai ...
and
Don Whillans Donald Desbrow Whillans (18May 19334August 1985) was an English rock climber and mountaineer. He climbed with Joe Brown and Chris Bonington on many new routes, and was considered the technical equal of both. Early life Born and brought up in ...
, Clough was killed by a falling
sérac A serac () (from Swiss French ''sérac'') is a block or column of glacial ice, often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. Commonly house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers, since they may topple with little warning. ...
(
ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
-pillar) just below Camp 2 as he was descending the mountain's lower slopes. Bonington dedicated his book ''Annapurna South Face'' (1971) with the words "To IAN CLOUGH, who gave so much", and a meeting-place and
arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...
venue in Clough's hometown of
Baildon Baildon is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford, Bradford Metropolitan Borough in West Yorkshire, England and within the Historic counties of England, historic boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire. ...
was named "Ian Clough Hall" in his honour.


1999 Memorial

In November 1999 a brass plaque was erected in Clough's memory at Annapurna base camp. The text of the plaque reads: The plaque was commissioned by Kelvin Kent, who had been base camp manager on the expedition. An earlier memorial at the site is an
inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
above his grave there, reading "Ian Clough, killed May 30, 1970", cut into rock with an accompanying message in a local language. The burial site was suggested by Sherpas on the expedition and lies below a rock wall where he gave them climbing lessons.


References


Bibliography

* ''Ben Nevis and Glencoe'', Ian Clough 1965 * ''Winter Climbs: Ben Nevis and Glencoe'', Ian Clough (ed. Alan Kimber) 1981 * ''Annapurna South Face'',
Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...
1971 (book dedicated to Clough's memory)


External links


Story about the memorial to Ian Clough
in the Bradford ''Telegraph and Argus'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Clough, Ian (mountaineer) 1937 births 1970 deaths English mountain climbers Mountaineering deaths People from Baildon Sportspeople from the City of Bradford Sport deaths in Nepal Deaths on Annapurna