Celebrating 50 Years of The Sternians’ Mountaineering Club

CELEBRATING

50 Years

of The Sternians’ Mountaineering Club

Muker Oct 2010

Llanberis April 2007 Scafell Pike, September 1987

The Sternians’ Mountaineering Club was due to hold its impressive 50th anniversary in May 2020 but Covid put a stop to that and we, unfortunately, had to cancel again in May 2021. The Club’s origin can be traced back to the first mountaineering expedition organised by Sandy Henderson in 1946, when he was Headmaster and a member of The Climbers’

Club (I am the last of that first group). When Sandy retired in 1970, he and I formed the SMC. Although the term ‘mountaineering’ seems ambitious, it accurately describes walking (not climbing) on mountains.

The first meeting of the SMC was at Morvich, in Kintail and thereafter we have met at the many Monroes and other mountains of Scotland, the Lake District, North, Central and South Wales, the Brecon Beacons, the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales and Shropshire.

Each of the parties who have joined us on these beautiful walking adventures have kept a very detailed log. Gerald Smith (one-time President of the SMC) has digitalised the log for the years 1974 – 2004, and the digital log now includes every walk up to 2010. Since then, it has remained a written manuscript.

We have had many members over the years, mainly Sternians, but joined by wives and by some of the next generation of mountaineers. Very sadly, some have died – including Sandy Henderson and Tweedie Stodart, David Brown, Malcolm Ruddock, Cyril Ray, Megan and Marion Minnikin and most recently David Minnikin. The longest standing (or walking?) members still meeting in 2019 are Gordon Pitt, Charles Lawrence, Mike Beckley, Tony Barry and the Everalls. Peter and Liz Everall have, for so many years, catered for us with delicious meals, which are so enjoyable after hours on the hills (the longest day was in Scotland, when we ended the day in semi-darkness being rescued by boat, cold and wet and looking for a bothy for shelter after a navigational misunderstanding).

The SMC has seen fifty years of delight on the hills – but its continuation is uncertain. We are feeling our age, we have lost our Treasurer and former Meet Organiser, David Minnikin (who bagged all the Munroes and Corbetts!), the Everalls have earned a rest from catering and our children have other preoccupations. We hope that the hills will continue to give as much pleasure to others as we have enjoyed.

HUGH PODGER (1948, School, 565) - current President of the SMC

Do you enjoy escaping to the natural beauty of the hills?

Could you be part of the next generation of Sternian Mountaineers?

We are looking for new members to join the SMC and ensure its continuation – perhaps another trip to the Lake District is in order?

Contact the Sternians office if you would like to be involved: Sternians@lordwandsworth.org