John Cunningham

Change Log

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Quick Info ˅

From:	United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Date of birth:	23rd November 1927
Age:	52 years old
Date of death:	31st January 1980
Gender:	Male

References

[1] Connor, J. (1999). Creagh Dhu Climber: The Life and Times of John Cunningham. United Kingdom: Ernest Press.

Contributors

remus

13 contributions since 20th January 2025.

Quick Info

From:	United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Date of birth:	23rd November 1927
Date of death:	31st January 1980
Age:	52 years old
Gender:	Male

References

[1] Connor, J. (1999). Creagh Dhu Climber: The Life and Times of John Cunningham. United Kingdom: Ernest Press.

Contributors

remus

13 contributions since 20th January 2025.

Library

Features in Mountain 14 (1971) Magazine

Pics + Vids

No pics or vids yet.

Ascents

4 recorded ascents.

This timeline is missing some ascents where the date of the ascent is unknown.

Year	Climb	Grade	Style	Date
1958	Carnivore	E2	Alternate Leads	1958
1958	Carnivore	First ascent. Ken Wilson: What happened on Carnivore? Oh, that was a laugh. Whillans will never forgive me for that. I met him in Glencoe when he was on his honeymoon. He asked if I fancied a climb. I said yes, but told him that he'd have to lead as I wasn't climbing very well - it was still early in the year and I wasn't really fit. He'd been trying the route with Charlie Vigano, but they hadn't got too far because peregrine falcon or some such bird was barring the way. So Whillans had gone to Fort William and bought a catapult and bombarded the 'carnivore' into submission. That's where I came in. I had most of the equipment, whereas Whillans didn't have too much. So we set off, with him leading, using my gear. When I came to follow, I found that every protection peg and karabiner that was mine was placed in an awkward corner and was often impossible to get out, while the ones that were easy were always his. "Christ!" I thought, "this won't do. I'm losing all my gear." So every time I lost one of my pegs or karabiners I put one of his in my pocket. Well, we couldn't finish the route that day — we failed just below the final overhanging section. Whillans drove another of my pegs in up to the hilt, clipped on another of my karabiners, and abseiled off. So I put another of his in my pocket. When we got down there was a little heap of my gear left, but hardly any of his. "That's odd, Jock," he said, looking at the pile, "I could have sworn it was your gear I was knocking in up there." A month later, I came back with Noon and did the route, finishing by a line I'd spotted as I was abseiling off. I also managed to recover quite a bit of the gear we'd left in. Whillans was really choked, and his wife was too - but I thought it was a fair cop, don't you? More fitting to the sixties perhaps. Well, I must admit he did most of the work. Lots of Scots climbers had tried to put a route up that bit of rock without much success, but it was Whillans who really found the key with that clever entry. [1] References [1] Mountain 14 (1971), page 25 /library/9610/mountain-14

Climb	Grade	Style	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade

Climb	Grade	Style	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade

Climb	Grade	Style	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade
Carnivore	E2	Alternate Leads	1958
Carnivore	First ascent. Ken Wilson: What happened on Carnivore? Oh, that was a laugh. Whillans will never forgive me for that. I met him in Glencoe when he was on his honeymoon. He asked if I fancied a climb. I said yes, but told him that he'd have to lead as I wasn't climbing very well - it was still early in the year and I wasn't really fit. He'd been trying the route with Charlie Vigano, but they hadn't got too far because peregrine falcon or some such bird was barring the way. So Whillans had gone to Fort William and bought a catapult and bombarded the 'carnivore' into submission. That's where I came in. I had most of the equipment, whereas Whillans didn't have too much. So we set off, with him leading, using my gear. When I came to follow, I found that every protection peg and karabiner that was mine was placed in an awkward corner and was often impossible to get out, while the ones that were easy were always his. "Christ!" I thought, "this won't do. I'm losing all my gear." So every time I lost one of my pegs or karabiners I put one of his in my pocket. Well, we couldn't finish the route that day — we failed just below the final overhanging section. Whillans drove another of my pegs in up to the hilt, clipped on another of my karabiners, and abseiled off. So I put another of his in my pocket. When we got down there was a little heap of my gear left, but hardly any of his. "That's odd, Jock," he said, looking at the pile, "I could have sworn it was your gear I was knocking in up there." A month later, I came back with Noon and did the route, finishing by a line I'd spotted as I was abseiling off. I also managed to recover quite a bit of the gear we'd left in. Whillans was really choked, and his wife was too - but I thought it was a fair cop, don't you? More fitting to the sixties perhaps. Well, I must admit he did most of the work. Lots of Scots climbers had tried to put a route up that bit of rock without much success, but it was Whillans who really found the key with that clever entry. [1] References [1] Mountain 14 (1971), page 25 /library/9610/mountain-14
The Bat	E2	Alternate Leads
The Bat	References [1] Mountain 14 (1971), page 25 /library/9610/mountain-14
King Kong	E2	Alternate Leads
King Kong	Second ascent. References [1] Mountain 14 (1971), page 25 /library/9610/mountain-14
Centurion	HVS	Alternate Leads
Centurion	References [1] Mountain 14 (1971), page 25 /library/9610/mountain-14

Climb	Grade	Style	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade