Published by Scottish Mountaineering Press
“The Steps of a Giant” is a biography of Harold Raeburn’s climbing life. I write that because the book reveals very little of his life outside climbing. This may be in part because writing a biography of someone who died 100 years ago will mean no contemporaries are still alive but also because Raeburn was a very private man who left behind very little information about his life other than articles in the SMC and AC journals.
It is likely that you know very little about Raeburn, you may even have never heard of him. But if you go climbing in Scotland, particularly winter climbing, you will have heard of his most celebrated routes.
Green Gully (IV 4), Crowberry Gully (IV 4), Observatory Ridge (V 4), Raeburn’s Route (IV 4) in winter, and Raeburn’s Arete (severe) in summer: all climbed before 1921.
How popular are these routes today? If we consult UKC logbooks as a convenient barometer we find that for winter routes, Raeburn’s Route on Stob Coire na Lochan is the fourth most popular route on that crag, Crowberry Gully on Buchaille Etive Mor is the fourth most popular on that mountain and on Ben Nevis Raeburn’s Arete is the fourth most popular summer route.
These only scratch the surface of his exploits in Scotland and he climbed in the Lake District, the Alps, Norway, the Caucasus and the Himalayas too.
On Ben Nevis there were 30 new routes in the 25 years between 1896 and 1921 (the duration of his climbing on the mountain), and half of those routes have his name on the first ascent. In those days of no protection ‘the leader must not fall’ and the evidence is that he almost always led, which suggests that he was the SMC’s most accomplished climber at that time.
Therefore when the Scottish Mountaineering Press states: “Widely considered the founding father of Scottish mountaineering, Harold Raeburn’s achievements in the Edwardian era were as impressive as those of WH Murray, Robin Smith, Tom Patey, Dougal Haston, Jimmy Marshall or Hamish MacInnes in their respective periods. We might even think of these great climbers as standing on Raeburn’s shoulders”, I think you might agree the statement is justified.
The author Peter Biggar weaves information gained from journals and the diaries of his climbing partners into an engaging narrative. I soon became engrossed in the book and read half of it in one day.
The book is a quality production, hardback on good quality paper, it even has a ribbon place-marker. It is 450 pages plus references, so a weighty tome. I would have liked to have seen a list of his first ascents and maybe a timeline to place it all in context, but this is just my personal preference. Throughout the book there are black and white images, many of them taken at the time of his climbs.
The author covers Scotland first, then the Alps and Norway, followed by the Caucasus and finally the Himalayas and Raeburn’s final climbs. There is also a chapter on his illness, decline and sad death in 1926 aged 61.
He did most of his alpine climbing with William Ling and their energy as well as the standard of the routes they climbed is astonishing.
Raeburn worked in the family brewing business and was wealthy enough to stay in hotels and spend a full summer season in the Alps every year for 10 years as well as two summers in the Caucasus. However, in his era, 1896 unto 1921, most climbers – if not all – were wealthy. He enjoyed climbing with women as well as members of the all male SMC but never married. He also willingly gave time to help beginners on club meets and encouraged and supported the fledgling Ladies Scottish Climbing Club (founded 1908).
I can thoroughly recommend this important book, which fills a gap in the history of British Mountaineering.