William Mitchell, John Colton, Ben Tibbetts

We are celebrating mountaineering artists past and present:

First, William Mitchell, an art dealer, climber, and writer, who has written the first book in English about Gabriel Loppé. As a prolific artist and mountaineer, Gabriel Loppé (1825-1913) was the first painter to have depicted what the French call ‘la haute montagne’.

We are joined by John Colton, who discovered the wild places of Yorkshire and a love of drawing from an early age. By the time he was twenty this had developed into serious mountaineering and painting combined. John has previously exhibited at the Alpine Club in 2013 and was described as the first exhibitor who actually draws whilst engaged on serious Alpine climbs. These include the Walker Spur on the Grandes Jorasses and the Innominata route on Monte Bianco.

Finally, we have Ben Tibbetts who last year published ‘Alpenglow’, the result of an obsessive project involving 10,000 hours of climbing, to reach all the highest summits of the Alps. It is a book full of meticulous historical research, inspiring photography, intricate and beautiful drawings, and writing that captures the essence of each route. We’re not clear yet about what Ben will show, but we can expect some of his drawings of the mountains and routes shown in Alpenglow, and the stories of the climbs that inspired them.

Followed by a Q&A

Alpine Club members will be sent a zoom link by Alpinet on Monday 15 June and will be able to participate in the live Q&A

For the benefit of non-members we will be live streaming this ClubCast on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/Xwm_2uHMWsY 

You are welcome to pass on this YouTube link.