TOI: The Himalayan club kept alive the flame of private mountaineering: April 02, 2008

Q& A

We have kept alive the flame of private mountaineering

The Himalayan Club was founded in 1928 with an aim to encourage and assist Himalayan travel and exploration, to extend knowledge of the Himalayas through science, literature, art and other areas. Suman Dubey, president of the club, talks to Percy Fernandez:

The Himalayan Club has turned 80. What are the highlights of the journey so far?

Little of the Himalayas was known in 1928. The biggest impact of the club was opening the greater Himalayan ranges to climbs and mountaineering expeditions, a lot of climbs being done by its members. There was almost no or little logistics on the ground during the early years and the Himalayan Club was responsible for establishing them. This is the only international club that has members across five continents and is headquartered in India.
It has kept alive the flame of private mountaineering. Its one thing for government institutions to fund expeditions but the club has been in the forefront of private expeditions encouraging its members to explore remote regions.

Geoffrey Corbett, Jack Gibson, Edmund Hillary, M S Kohli, Noel Odell, Eric Shipton, Frank Smythe, H W Tilman and Sir Francis Younghusband an illustrious list of members. How have they shaped the club?