The Scottish Mountaineering Club was formed in Glasgow in 1889, as a result of correspondence in the Glasgow Herald initiated by William W. Naismith. Although other Scottish clubs existed at this time, such as the Cairngorm Club, these had only local membership and limited technical aspirations. By contrast, the founder members of the SMC included a good number who already had Alpine experience and wished to use their skills in their native country.
In the early 1960s the SMC formed a charitable trust, the Scottish Mountaineering Trust. Part funded by revenue from the SMC's guidebooks, the Trust has given support to many projects over the years, including to the National Trust for Scotland and of the John Muir Trust and to footpath maintenance projects generally. The Trust also supports Mountaineering Scotland.
Publisher's website 2018
This splendid, thoroughly researched and well illustrated book details the first 100 years of climbing in The Cairngorms covering the period from 1893 to 1993.
It is a tale of human endeavour played out among the remote corries and cliffs of Britain's premier mountain range. The book recounts the pioneering activities of climbers drawn to the high hills of The Cairngorms from all over the country and it details the continuing development of summer and winter climbing on the famous granite cliffs located there, as well as on other lesser known cliffs.
Following on from the successful and much lauded Ben Nevis Britain's Highest Mountain, this is the second important book from the Scottish Mountaineering Trust to document the history of Scottish Mountaineering.
