Kenneth John Wilson (7 February 1941 – 11 June 2016) was a British writer, publisher and editor of books and magazines about climbing and mountaineering. The

British Mountaineering Council The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers. The BMC ...

's ''Summit Magazine'' described him as "one of the most influential voices in British climbing". In 1974 he edited and contributed to the first editions of the book ''Hard Rock'' which ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' considered was "among the most influential climbing books of the 20th century."

Early life

Wilson was born in

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

to Blanche (née Colman) and John Wilson, a salesman of stationery. He attended Birmingham College of Art where he studied architecture and photography before working for the architectural photographer Henk Snoek for four years in London. During this time he met his future wife Gloria – they married in 1971 and had two children. Based on his experience from the early 1950s with a holiday in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

and with climbing and walking with the

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

, in 1968 he took up a post to run a Youth Hostels Association magazine called ''Mountain Craft''.

Writing, publishing and editing

In 1960 with his long-time friend Dave Cook he went on a Mountaineering Association course 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. ...

climbing 19 peaks near Arolla. Wilson never became an outstanding climber although he did climb the Younggrat route on the

Breithorn The Breithorn ( German for literally "broad horn"; 13,661 ft. or 4,160 m) is a mountain range of the Pennine Alps with its highest peak of the same name (but also called ''Breithorn (Western Summit)''), located on the border between Switze ...

. He became a significant figure in the group of young climbers that formed in

Llanberis Llanberis () is a village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activity, outdoor ac ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. Gaining the support of his network of climbing friends, he was able to develop ''Mountain Craft'' into a flourishing magazine which he then bought, changed its name to ''Mountain'' and then fostered, wrote for and edited from 1969 to 1978. It distinctly reflected the culture of the climbing and mountaineering community of the time. The magazine had high journalistic standards, exemplified by its coverage of the Cairngorm Plateau disaster in 1971. Alan Hinkes considered it "perhaps the finest mountain magazine ever published". His 1974 compendium ''Mountain Craft'' was aimed firmly at practitioners of the sport and attracted writers such as

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, ...

Royal Robbins Royal Robbins (February 3, 1935 – March 14, 2017) was one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz Rock, Robbins went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite. As an early proponent o ...

Jim Perrin Jim Perrin (born 30 March 1947), is an English rock climber and travel writer. Biography Jim Perrin was born Ernest James Perrin in Manchester, England, to a family of Huguenot descent. His father played rugby league for Salford in the late 19 ...

, Ed Drummond and

Al Alvarez Alfred Alvarez (5 August 1929 – 23 September 2019) was an English poet, novelist, essayist and critic who published under the name A. Alvarez and Al Alvarez. Background Alfred Alvarez was born in London, to an Ashkenazic Jewish mother and a ...

. As well as ''Hard Rock'' he produced ''Classic Rock'' and ''Extreme Rock'', ''Cold Climbs'', ''The Big Walks'', ''Classic Walks'' and ''Wild Walks'' along with his 1978 anthology ''The Games Climbers Play''. He was a contributor to ''The Black Cliff''.Jack Soper, Pete Crew and Ken Wilson (1971), The Black Cliff, Kaye & Ward, He founded two publishing firms: Diadem and Bâton Wicks. Wilson became prominent in British mountaineering politics with campaigns to allow women to join the

Climbers' Club The Climbers' Club is the senior rock-climbing club in England and Wales (outside the Lake District). The club was founded in 1898. The CC one of the largest publishers of climbing guidebooks in many of the main climbing areas of England and Wale ...

, becoming a committee member of the

and voicing his forceful opinions on mountaineering ethics.

Early life

Writing, publishing and editing

References

Further reading