The Pinnacle Club is a women's rock climbing club based in the United Kingdom, founded in 1921.

History

The Pinnacle Club – the UK’s only national

rock-climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and ...

club for women – was founded in 1921 by Emily Kelly (known as Pat). In the 1920s, although increasing numbers of women were coming to climbing, they remained a minority. Though the

Fell & Rock Climbing Club The Fell & Rock Climbing Club (or the Fell and Rock Club or FRCC) is the senior climbing club covering the English Lake District. It was founded in 1906–1907 and, amongst its other activities, publishes rock climbing guides to the area. It ...

, established in 1906 for

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 ...

climbing, was open to both men and women, women were excluded from most climbing clubs. Women still tended to be viewed as secondary partners, with men predominantly taking the lead. The Pinnacle Club was founded to offer an alternative – a space where women could literally 'learn the ropes' together. Although the

Ladies' Alpine Club The Ladies' Alpine Club was founded in London, England in 1907 and was the first mountaineering club for women. It merged with the Alpine Club of Great Britain in 1975. History In December 1907 a group of ladies who were climbers in the Alps m ...

and

Ladies' Scottish Climbing Club The Ladies' Scottish Climbing Club was founded by Jane Inglis Clark, her daughter Mabel, and Lucy Smith at a boulder near Lix Toll, Perthshire in 1908. It now has about 120 members and is the oldest active climbing club exclusively for wome ...

had been set up in 1907 and 1908 respectively, they were focused on

mountaineering 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 mounta ...

. The Pinnacle Club, by contrast, was primarily about rock climbing. Its objectives were – and remain – to "foster the independent development of rock climbing amongst women and bring together those interested in the pursuit". The Club was inaugurated on March 26, 1921 at a meeting in the

Pen-y-Gwryd Pen-y-Gwryd is a mountain pass, pass at the head of Nantygwryd and Nant Cynnyd rivers close to the foot of Snowdon in Gwynedd, Wales. The area is located at the junction of the A4086 road, A4086 from Capel Curig to Llanberis and Caernarfon and t ...

Inn, just below

Pen-y-Pass Pen-y-Pass is a mountain pass in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a popular location from which to walk up Snowdon, as three of the popular routes (the Miners Track, the Pyg Track and the ascent via Crib Goch) can be started here. ...

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

. The Club began with 43 members, with Pat Kelly as Club Secretary and

Eleanor Winthrop Young Eleanor "Len" Winthrop Young (1895–1994) was a British climber. She was a co-founder and the first president of the Pinnacle Club, a British women's climbing club, and made numerous ascents in the Alps and many in the United Kingdom. Early ...

as President. A letter was published in the ''

Manchester 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 ...

'' soon afterwards, advertising the club’s existence and asking interested women to contact Pat Kelly. She died the following year following a climbing accident in North Wales, but the club continued. The Club organised weekend or week-long 'meets' around the UK, where members could come together to climb. Early venues included

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 ...

, the

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

, the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

and the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

. In 1921, there were nine meets in the calendar – in 2019 (before the

Covid pandemic Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fev ...

), there were 26. From the start, members also regularly climbed abroad, many having extensive Alpine experience and achieving many Alpine first female ascents. Today members continue to travel throughout Europe and beyond, enjoying all types of climbing:

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

, trad and

. By 1945, the Club had just under 100 members, and this growth continued through the following decades. The Club in 2021 has 170 members, the youngest in their 20s and the oldest in their 90s. Eminent climbers who have been members over the years include Nea Morin, Dorothy Pilley, Brede Arkless, Jill Lawrence, Eileen Healey, Gwen Moffat and Angela Soper.

International Events

The first international event held 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 ...

in 1984 saw the first female ascent of an E5 by Jill Lawrence. In 2016 a second event was held with over eighty climbers of all standards, from making their first

traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

climb to climbing E7.

Presidents

* 1921-1923: Eleanor Winthrop-Young (1895–1994) * 1932-1933 & 1935-1936: Dorothy Pilley (1894–1986) * 1963-1964 Dorothea Gravina (1905–1990) * 1965-1966 Margaret Darvall (1911-1996)

External links

Club websitePinnacle Club Centenary Project (1921-2021) website

References

{{Reflist Climbing clubs in the United Kingdom Climbing in England Women's sports organisations in the United Kingdom Sports organizations established in 1921