Show of strength

Scottish Mountaineers at Home and Abroad at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Queen Street, from 10am-5pm, today and tomorrow.

Admission free. Runs until January 19.

SUSPENDED high on the sheer rock-face of Salisbury Crags, the two Edwardian ladies - resplendent in billowing ankle-length skirts and Sunday best hats - look slightly ridiculous.

The year is 1909, and the intrepid climbers conquering one of the Capital’s most famous landmarks are members of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club, set up by three Edinburgh women, who each had a keen eye for danger.

These sepia-tinted secrets of adventures past, captured at a time when photography was, if not quite in its infancy, just beginning to find its feet, are just some of the fascinating images currently on display in an exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

On Top Of The World: Scottish Mountaineers at Home and Abroad examines the role Scots have played in the exploration and conquering of some of the highest mountain peaks the world has to offer. What may come as a surprise, however, is that many of these intrepid adventurers were female.

The fading images of these early female climbers take pride of place in the exhibition and show Edinburgh climbers Lucy Smith and Pauline Ranken halfway up the rock-face in the Queen’s Park on October 13, 1908. A thin hemp rope tied around their waists is all there is to offer them a sense of security as they blindly feel for their next foothold.

Alison Higham, president of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club, which loaned the images for the exhibitions, says: "It must have been amazingly difficult to climb dressed like that because they couldn’t see their feet."

The fact that both appear to be wearing their best hats suggests to Alison that the shots were posed, but that didn’t lesson the danger.

Alison explains: "Climbers always climb in pairs, and these early climbers lived by the maxim ‘the leader never falls’. Basically, they couldn’t afford to, because, unlike now, the facilities for doing that weren’t there then.

"The leader would find a place on the rock-face where she felt comfortable before calling up her partner. Then she might catch the rope around a rock, or pass it over her shoulders to give her a better grip, but really the only way she could stop her partner falling if she slipped was by gripping the rope."

In the first of the photographs (above), Lucy Smith - on the right - was the trailblazer. She was one of three founding members of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club, the others being Jane Inglis Clark and Mabel Jeffrey, wife and daughter of the eminent Scottish climber Charles Inglis Clark.

"They went out climbing independently of their men folk which is why they wanted to have their own club," says Alison, adding: "These pioneers of ladies climbing were just learning their trade and danger was never far away. They didn’t know how to recognise a hazardous slope and there weren’t any courses they could go on, so they tended to have to learn from the people who were already doing it."

Initially, the ladies met to climb Salisbury Crags two or three times a year, and it was there that they trained for the expeditions that would eventually take them much further afield.

Alison adds: "Climbing wasn’t a normal thing for women to do then and so you find that most of the women in the club already had some connection to the Scottish Mountaineering Club. Many were sisters or wives of men who were members of the SMC."

In another photograph, taken at the ladies’ new year meet of 1909, seven members of the club smile proudly at the camera. Each clutches their alpine stock - a long ice axe - and some wear coiled lengths of rope sashes, but it’s the action shots that prove the most fascinating.

Also featured in the exhibition is Monica Jackson, 82, of Edinburgh, who climbed in the Himalayas in 1955. She recalls that the expedition was very tough, but exciting.

"Although at the time we had the support of most of the men in Scotland and, of course, the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club, the expedition was not without its sense of adventure."

Reaching the summit of a remote 22,000ft peak which they named Gyalgen after Mingma Gyalgen, their lead Sherpa, was the high point of Monica’s climbing career.

"It was very tough at times, but also very, very exciting. As we were the first people to explore the mountains, the maps we were following were not accurate. I would not say we were lost, but we certainly felt confused at times."

Of course, Monica has been followed by other famous Scottish female climbers whose achievements are also celebrated in the exhibition. These include Polly Murray, who was the first Scottish woman to climb Everest when she conquered the peak in May 2000.

Ms Murray also opened the exhibition, which includes paintings, sculptures, equipment and documents.

Not that it’s all about women. There’s a specially-commissioned portrait of Hamish MacInnes, the founder of the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team, and also works showing the exploits of Professor James Forbes, John Buchan, John Muir and Norman Collie.

What’s on today and tomorrow in region

TODAY

l It’s your last chance to catch the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition Centenary Exhibition and retrace the footsteps of its leader Dr William Bruce at Our Dynamic Earth. From 10am to 6pm today and tomorrow. For more information call 0131-550 7800.

l Tailiesin and Cuchulainn, two ancient legends are told through a mixture of song, story and shadow puppetry at the Netherbow from 2pm today. The show is aimed at children aged six and over. Tickets cost 4 (3). For more information contact 0131-556 9579. Then at 7.45pm join four feisty women from Iceland, Norway and Ireland telling tales of Northern Lights. Tickets 6 (4).

l The kids can get some exercise at The Big Weekend at Tiso’s outdoor centre in Leith. See page 34 for more details.

l Find out how to get some autumn colour in your garden at the Royal Botanic Garden in Inverleith Row. From 10am to 4pm. Call 0131-552 7171 for more information.

l See how mountaineering has developed since the 19th century at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. See left for more details.

l Experience jazz, flamenco, traditional folk and blues at the Queen’s Hall, 8pm. Tickets cost 14 and 18, call the booking hotline on 0131-668 2019 and see page 35 for more details.

l Check out some of the best contemporary British art in the new exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Belford Road. Open from 10am-6pm today and tomorrow. Call 0131-624 6200 for more information.

l The Taming of the Shrew performed by the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company. Full price tickets range from 7 to 18. Tonight’s performance starts at 7.30pm. Call 0131-248 4848.

l The Mozart Festival Orchestra present Four Seasons by Candlelight, an evening of Baroque music. The concert starts at 7.30pm and ticket prices range from 14 to 22.50. Call the box office on 0131-228 1155.

l Under-12s go free at the 3D/2D Craft & Design Fair at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston where contemporary craftwork will be sold directly by the makers. The fair starts at 11am and finishes at 5pm. All other tickets cost 1.60 (1.20).

l Brush up your storytelling skills with the help of acclaimed professionals at a masterclass at the Netherbow Art Centre. 1.30pm to 4pm, 9 (4-6). Call 0131-556 9579 for more details.

TOMORROW

l Hunt for a bargain at the antique and collectors fair at Meadowbank Sports Centre between 10am and 4pm. Tickets cost 1 and children go free.

l Go fly a kite at Holyrood Park. Entry is free, but an advanced booking is required at the event, which runs from 1pm to 3pm. Call 0131-556 1761

l Celebrate the year of photography at the Dean Gallery in Belford Road. There’s more than 150 photographs on display by former Vogue photographer John Deakin .Admission, 3/2. Open from 10am to 5pm.

l The Tron Kirk has just launched a new exhibition, The Return by Angela Wallace, a collection of paintings inspired by her travels in Australia. Open from noon to 5pm.

l Explore World Faiths at the Royal Museum. From 2.30pm until 4.30pm. The cost is 20 (12), for more information call 0131-247 4219.

l Imagination’s Chamber is also opened at the Royal Museum thanks to illustrator Jonny Boatfield. Kids can create a character based on something in the museum For ages 7+. At 12.15pm and 2.45pm. Call 0131-247 4219 to book.