Rusty Westmorland standing by 'Westmorland's Cairn' built by his father and uncle above Wastwater.When he died his ashes were scattered here.
Horace ‘Rusty’ Westmorland was born in Penrith,
Cumberland in 1886 into a family well known for their adventurous
lifestyle. Indeed his father, aunt and uncle were noted for their un-roped
ascent of Pillar Rock in 1873 which at the time was only the second ascent by a
lady. The adventurous spirit which he had inherited, took him to the Alps in
1910 with the Abraham brothers and by 1911 he had moved on to Canada where he
had secured a job as a chainman with a surveying party led by Arthur Wheeler.
Not long after that, he joined the Canadian Army and rose to the rank of
Lieutenant-Colonel and it was in this period that he gained his nickname
‘Rusty’.
Back in Lakeland, in his middle years, an incident which saw him
involved in the rescue of Wilfrid Noyce in 1946 became the inspiration for the
founding of one of the UK’s very first mountain rescue teams. The Borrowdale
MRT which later evolved into the Keswick MRT we know today. He was known and
respected for his remarkable longevity in the world of mountain activities. Climbing
and walking until well into his 90’s and his services to mountain rescue saw
him receive an OBE.
What might not be known about this remarkable
mountaineer, is the full extent of his climbing adventures which spanned over
90 years. Starting on his very first birthday when he and his 2 year old
sister, were taken for an open air overnight bivvy by his parents, on Norfolk
Island on Ullswater. Two weeks later, they were both taken to the summit of
Helvellyn to attend the bonfire to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. On
his 4th birthday, his father took him to Brougham Castle, where they both climbed
up to the second story and back down again, without using a rope, and on his 15th
birthday (1901), he climbed Pillar again with his sister and father, all un-roped.
A daring feat for that time.
Rusty leading an unknown route.Probably in the Lake District
When his father died in 1909, Rusty became a man
of private means so he was able to go out climbing almost every day. During this freedom, he met and became close
friends with George and Ashley Abraham, who he was to climb with on many
occasions.
The year 1910, was for Rusty, the busiest
climbing time he had had to date. It started in January climbing at Tryfan and
Carreg Wasted with George and Ashley Abraham, where they climbed extensively
before returning to the Lakes where he continued to climb until the end of
February. In March with others, he made first ascent of Easter Crack on
Elliptical Crag followed in April by a first ascent of Blizzard Chimney. With his
cousins, he climbed more winter climbs on St. Sunday Crag; Fairfield; The
Dodds; Dollywaggon Pike; and Catchedicam (Catstycam). In June he set off for
the Alps with the Abraham brothers on a climbing photographic expedition.
During their visit, they made many first ascents which became the basis for
George’s book: ‘On Alpine Heights and British Crags’.
On returning to the lakes, Rusty continued to
climb with his cousins making first ascents of Chock Gully on Dove Crag and a second
ascent of Dollywaggon Gully. Possibly the first full true ascent in one climb.
In 1911, he went to Canada and secured work with
a mountain survey party run by Arthur Wheeler, the founder of the Alpine Club
of Canada. During his three years of working with Wheeler, Rusty climbed many
peaks and summits in the Canadian Rockies along with Swiss guides such as
Konrad Cain and the Fuez brothers. His list of ascents is impressive
(some 1st and 2nd ascents)- many of which have still only seeing a handful of repeats- with well
over sixty summits and peaks ascended in this period. He was also the first
person to ascend the face of Mt Whyte through pure rock climbing.
He got a commission in the Territorial Army and following outbreak of
WWI, he was commissioned in the Canadian Royal Transport Company. During his time
at the front, he was nominated several times for mentions in dispatches for his
bravery when he led his ammunition horse supply train under fire, to troops on
the front line of both Ypres and the Somme.
He
returned to Canada after the war, continued to serve with the Canadian Army and
climbed and skied whenever possible. He was to discover climbing crags in Nova
Scotia, was instrumental in discovering skiing venues in Quebec, and made
significant climbing ascents in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island, some of
which have been rarely repeated. In addition, he was a keen horseman and participated
in many competitions in Halifax, Nova Scotia, winning several times in his
class (heavy horse), and, he was also a good amateur golfer and all round skier.
In 1936, he went to the Alps with his close friend Dr. P. B. Finn
(Director of Atlantic Fisheries), for two weeks and in that time, they climbed
the Unttergabellahon, Riffelhorn (by three different routes), Rimpfischhorn,
and then capped their holiday off with an ascent of the Matterhorn. When back
in Cumberland, Gerald Greenback and others, had set up the Lake District Ski
Club which Rusty was invited to be President of, which he remained connected to
for the rest of his life.
On his return to Canada, he made the first winter ascent of both East
and West Lion outside Vancouver; made the first winter ski exploration of the
entire Yoho Valley; discovered a crag called Eagle’s Nest and made first ascents
of all routes in both summer and winter; wrote endless climbing and
mountaineering articles for local newspapers; gave frequent illustrated talks
on the subject, and, was fully involved in the mountain warfare training
programme set up in the Rockies by the Alpine Club of Canada. This led to Rusty
going on a clandestine visit to the War Office in London, which resulted in the
Lovat Scouts being sent on the training programme, commanded by Frank Smythe.
With the onset of WWII, Rusty was given the go ahead from the Canadian
Government, to set up and run the country’s first official military mountain
warfare training camp at Terrace, east of Prince Rupert. Whilst travelling
there on the train, he took seriously ill with biliary colic resulting in his
gall bladder being removed. As a result, in 1945 he was medically discharged
from the Army with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, returned to his beloved
Cumberland, and settled down to his retirement in Keswick.
Never a one to allow any grass to grow beneath his feet, he was out on
the fells and crags within days of arriving home.
A year later in 1946, he went to the aid of Wilfrid Noyce (Everest
veteran) who had fractured his femur whilst out climbing on Great Gable. This
event led to Rusty forming the Borrowdale Mountain Rescue Team which later
changed its name to Keswick MRT. He was eventually awarded the O.B.E. for his
services to mountain rescue, in addition to receiving the Silver Rope Award
from the Alpine Club of Canada in 1947, being the only climber to do so that
year.
Throughout his lifetime, he climbed and hiked the fells and hills of
both the UK and Canada with many notable climbers; Haskett Smith, George
Seatree, Norman Collie, Noel Odell, Bentley Beetham, Harry Griffin, Godfrey
Solly, Tony Mason-Hornby (Ogwen Cottage), John Disley and many many others. In
the 1960’s he suffered from stomach cancer – underwent 15 major operations –
given a few weeks to live in 1964 – but was still climbing and walking in 1976
aged 90, without helmet, harness or other modern day climbing aids, and,
wearing a full time catheter!
He published ‘Adventures in Climbing’ (1964), wrote articles for a
variety of climbing journals, and, did the world’s first ever live radio
outside broadcast whilst rock climbing with Stanley Williamson in Borrowdale-
the broadcaster who was responsible for clearing Captain Thain of blame for the
Manchester United Munich air disaster.
Rusty was a quiet unassuming person, preferring to be in the shadows of
publicity. He took great interest in introducing many novices to rock climbing
and skiing, and firmly believed in the adage, that climbers should not fall and
as such, should learn to ascend and descend climbs in order to improve their
climbing technique and abilities.
On 24th November 1984, Rusty finally succumbed to his illness and sadly,
dementia, and passed away in a nursing home near Kirkby Stephen. A particular
view from Great Gable, thought to be the finest in all Lakeland, was marked by
his father and uncle by building a cairn in the 1830’s, now known as the
Westmorland Cairn where Rusty's ashes were spread. He left an only son Horace
Lyndhurst and an only grandson, Dickon who now lives in Australia.
Frank Grant:2015
Frank has written a comprehensive 400+ page biography of his subject and recently completed a biography of 'The Father of English Rock Climbing'WP Haskett-Smith. Both works will be published in the not too distant future.
