The Climbers
Paul ‘Tut’ Braithwaite.
ion Richard McHardy were two of the leading rock climbers of the time. Over in the Alps Tut made many first British ascents including the Croz Spur, winter ascent of the Walker Spur and Shroud Direct on the Grandes Jorasses, the Couzy Pillar of the Droites, Grand Pilier d’Angle on Mont Blanc and numerous first solo ascents of major Alpine routes. In 1971 he climbed the north faces of both the Eiger and the Matterhorn, and the Central Pillar of Frêney, Mont Blanc. The following year he climbed the East Pillar of Mount Asgard on Baffin Island and in 1974 made the first ascent of La Punta Innominata in Patagonia. The same year he climbed the North-East Spur of Pik Lenin in the Pamirs. Tut will forever be remembered along with Nick Estcourt for climbing through the steep rock band on the South-West Face of Everest in 1975; but for the storm which took Mick Burke, the pair of them could so easily have summited the mountain. In 1976 he made an alpine-style ascent of the Cassin Ridge on Denali and later that year the first ascent of the East Face of Mount Kenya and the first winter ascent of the mountain’s Diamond Couloir. 75