The Night Climbers of Cambridge Whipplesnaith 9781909349551 Books
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THE CULT CLASSIC BIBLE OF EXTREME FREE CLIMBING SPORTS
“It’s an adrenaline rush that could cost them everything.”
“As you pass round each pillar, the whole of your body except your hands and feet are over black emptiness. Your feet are on slabs of stone sloping downwards and outwards at an angle of about thirty-five degrees to the horizontal, your fingers and elbows making the most of a friction-hold against a vertical pillar, and the ground is precisely one hundred feet directly below you.
If you slip, you will still have three seconds to live.”
Urban Climbing 1930s Style
The Night Climbers of Cambridge was first published in October 1937. Authored under the pseudonym Whipplesnaith it recounts the courageous (or foolhardy) nocturnal exploits of a group of students climbing the ancient university and town buildings of Cambridge. These daring stegophilic feats were recorded with prehistoric photographic paraphernalia carried aloft over battlements, up chimneys and down drain-pipes. The climbers all this while trying, with mixed results, to avoid detection by the 'Minions of Authority' university proctors, Bulldogs and, of course, the local 'Roberts' (police). The result is a fascinating, humorous and, at times, adrenalin-inducing adventure providing a rare glimpse into a side of Cambridge that has always been enshrouded by darkness. The tradition, known now as urban climbing, buildering, structuring or stegophily is followed all over the world. This edition features the complete text and over seventy digitally re-mastered images, half of which have been reproduced from the original negatives.Newspaper, Magazine and Climbing Reviews
The Times (London)
“A near-legendary guide, The Night Climbers of Cambridge is a lot more than a guide for climbing the colleges”The Guardian (London)
“Whipplesnaith's stories of death-defying derring-do in Cambridge say a lot. This book is also a wonderful evocation of a lost generation.”UK Climbing
“Climbers have been climbing man-made structures since the 19th Century (if not before) and still are, even if your name isn't Alain Robert. The seminal volume about this art, was The Night Climbers of Cambridge.”The Daily Telegraph (London)
“What an endearing book is The Night Climbers of Cambridge. All the more reason then to applaud the derring do, if not foolhardiness, of the proto-Edmund Hillarys whose exploits are described with precision and relish.”Buildering.net
“Arguably the best, and certainly one of the earliest, buildering guidebooks to come out is the 1937 The Night Climbers of Cambridge, by Whipplesnaith”The Sunday Times (London)
“There is a secretive and reckless club that has existed for over 100 years. And when night falls in Cambridge, its members can be seen scrambling up the spires and flying buttresses of the university. It’s an adrenaline rush that could cost them everything.”Slightly Foxed
“It is the climber’s ideal to leave ‘no trace where he has been’. What he does at night is to weave intangible anarchy.”OTHER UNMISSABLE NIGHT CLIMBING TITLES FROM OLEANDER
The Granddaddy of Night Climbing Books - The Roof-Climber's Guide to Trinity (Cut and Paste 9780900891922 to search) The astonishing 1905 book for all lovers of rock climbing and mountain climbing by Geoffrey Winthrop Young - Wall and Roof Climbing (Cut and Paste 9780900891854 to search)The Night Climbers of Cambridge Whipplesnaith 9781909349551 Books
I came across this book accidentally and what a serendipitous find! I am thoroughly enjoying it and marveling at the courage and athleticism of these young men from the past in their prime. The book was written anonymously by one of the climbers and has some of that wonderfully understated British humor (for example, in a particularly dangerous section, referring to it as an "unpleasant" climb). And it's not just about the climbing, but also whether they will elude the vigilant proctors or the occasional "Robert" (their word for the British "bobby"). Your heart will pound while you're reading about the Marks and Spencers escape. For your own escape from the mundane, try this terrific little book -- you won't regret it.Product details
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The Night Climbers of Cambridge Whipplesnaith 9781909349551 Books Reviews
I first saw this book as a youngster thinking of going to college in Cambridge. I saw it in the library, an old 1953 edition. I subsequently went to Cambridge.
I can attest (without admitting to any wrongdoing) that the climbs described are as described and that the art of nightclimbing is well worth pursuing.
I have since bought three copies of this book. One was before the Oleander edition came out and cost me £100 many years ago. I searched hard to find it and it is probably worth a fortune now. The next was on the day that oleander launched their edition. I bought this one as I did not wish to further damage the older edition and the book is the sort that you can not help picking up and browsing occasionally.
The photos are superb and the text grabs you once you start looking at the pictures. I sometimes get it down to show guests when the subject of climbing comes up. The third copy I have is an investment copy. It is signed by the author, the later re-publisher, the person in the photos and if there is any justice in the world it will be a legacy for my grand children when I have some.
Over all the book is fun and interesting as well as showing an intimate view on a world rarely seen. Having managed to taste the edges of that world myself I can say "yes, it really was like that". I recommend buying this book if you are interested in climbing or in history, if you like a good read or you are impressed by the spectacular. I have shown it to hundreds of people over the years and it has never failed to impress. Buy it and put it where friends can see it. Leave it there a week or two and come back and write your own review of their reactions.
Thank you oleander for making it possible for me to use it again.
If you have been to Cambridge, England, you know the beauty of the city, the tranquil college quads, the gentle River Cam flowing through academic grounds, the stately and ancient spires and domes of the magnificent buildings. I used to live nearby, and it was easy to appreciate such beauty, but neither you nor I have the appreciation which was shown by the student Whipplesnaith and his fellows. They, you see, found beauty on the roofs, and on the challenge of ascending thereto. Whipplesnaith and his pals documented some of their feats, and in 1937 he published _The Night Climbers of Cambridge_, which, although it had been reprinted, has been unavailable for decades. Now this strange and funny book has been reprinted by Oleander Press and it features seventy photographs of the climbers in action, photos that have been digitally fussed-over, as well as the full text of the original. It is a handsome volume and as good an example of British eccentricity as one can find in print.
Whipplesnaith was actually Noel Howard Symington. He describes a sweetly innocent, if dangerous, hobby. Repeatedly, Whipplesnaith insists on respect for the buildings. Black gum-shoes, for instance, are recommended rather than the usual shoes of mountain climbers, which have nails in them to "scratch and damage the stone-work which is not consistent with the night climber's ideal of leaving no trace where he has been." Whipplesnaith from time to time hints at non-defacing traces; describing the climb up St. John's, he says, "From the window ledge a climber in a playful mood may leave his gown or surplice on the statue in the middle. This would probably cause considerable surprise to the authorities." The authorities are not so much the local constabulary, or the dons (who may have had their own climbs in their day), but the college porters. "The dismay felt by a climber descending a drain-pipe outside a college, with a porter inside shouting `Police!' at the top of his voice, is an emotion never to be forgotten." There was danger, too, simply in being on walls and roofs. The photographs of the climbers at work, atop chapel spires or clinging to drainpipes or gargoyles four stories up, are enough to document the risk, but it was all taken in stride by the climbers. Indeed, much of this volume describes the sensible steps needed to reduce any risk, not just of being caught, but of unexpected descent.
The good-humored instructions are likely to produce mirth in readers who have no intention ever of duplicating the feats described here. The enthusiasm and fun of the jaunty writing makes a nice parallel to the derring-do described. When, for instance, remarking upon a particular chimney (not the appliance above a fireplace, but, as in mountaineering, a narrow vertical passage between two walls which the climber may ascend with his back against one wall and feet against the other), Whipplesnaith advises, "The chimney is too broad for comfort, and a very short man might find it impossible to reach the opposite wall, with his feet flapping disconsolately in space like an elephant's uvula." This is an endearing memoir written by someone who obviously loves his hobby and the fine old buildings that he clambers over. Who knows? Perhaps someone will take Whipplesnaith up on his invitations issued seventy years ago. "But the sun is setting," he writes at the end of a chapter, "Enthusiasts will now make a tour of some of the interesting climbs of Cambridge, we hope in fact as well as by the fireside. There is no moon, the sky is cloudy and the barometer is high. It will be a fine night."
I just got it and it looks good so far, since i do parkour and stuff and this is 4 school, so i picked it because it relates 2 something similar 2 what i do
I knew this book from a friend who comes from Cambridge. It's really interesting and it seems very popular among Cambridge students.
When I was a college student in the late 1960s, my friends and I used to climb college buildings. So this book brings back memories of a good time in my life. If you are a climber, you'll likely enjoy the exploits and adventures of the anonymous climbers. If you're not a climber, it will likely be less interesting. The writing is adequate, but there's no real plot - just descriptions of climbs, route guidance that may or may not still be valid nearly a century later, and a record of a more innocent time. I'm enjoying the book, but it's a specialized taste. I'm giving it four stars, but only if you're a climber as well as a reader. Otherwise, it's at best two.
I came across this book accidentally and what a serendipitous find! I am thoroughly enjoying it and marveling at the courage and athleticism of these young men from the past in their prime. The book was written anonymously by one of the climbers and has some of that wonderfully understated British humor (for example, in a particularly dangerous section, referring to it as an "unpleasant" climb). And it's not just about the climbing, but also whether they will elude the vigilant proctors or the occasional "Robert" (their word for the British "bobby"). Your heart will pound while you're reading about the Marks and Spencers escape. For your own escape from the mundane, try this terrific little book -- you won't regret it.
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