Eleanor Winthrop Young

Eleanor "Len" Winthrop Young (1895-1994) was a co-founder and first president of the Pinnacle Club, elected because her name “would surely give prestige and a good start to the club” (Pinnacle Club Journal no. 17).

Born in Yorkshire, she was the youngest of five children of Alizon and William Cecil Slingsby. Cecil introduced Eleanor to climbing in and around Malham Cove. He was known as "the father of Norwegian mountaineering"; Len first visited Norway on a climbing expedition with her father in 1921 — the same year as co-founding the Pinnacle Club. Five years later, by now the mother of two young children, she delighted her father by climbing Skagastolstind on the 50th anniversary of his first ascent. She subsequently edited her father's book, Norway: the Northern Playground (1941). She was involved in the Norwegian climbing community for many years, including two visits when she was in her 80s.

“On the flyleaf of our copy of the history of the Pinnacle Club my mother wrote - for once almost legibly - that she wasn't happy about the frontispiece, a large picture of herself, the first president - "Mrs Kelly was the real heroine of the Club." This is of course true, but also expresses a lifelong modesty about her own climbing achievements. She came from a family in which mountaineering was part of life and only special feats were talked about or recorded.” — obituary by daughter Marcia Newbolt, Pinnacle Club journal no. 23.

Len was widely recognised as an excellent mountaineer, climbing extensively in the UK and the Alps as well as Norway. Because she kept no records, there is only a patchy picture of her achievements, but they include a traverse of the Hohstock and the first ascent of the southernmost peak of the Fusshörner.

Len first met her future husband, Geoffrey Winthrop Young, when she was only 7 years old (and he was 26). He was a family friend. He organised annual climbing parties at Pen-y-Pass, and Len first joined one of these parties in 1910.

“This party (1911) I can never forget. As I was a very young and rather shy teenager, it was indeed exciting. Also there was a gallant rescue on the Parson's Nose of a very City-clad gentleman from a Lancashire town — with, I remember, a gold watch — who offered a pound later to his rescuers, of whom I well remember Mallory was one. This gathering closed down in 1914, until we awoke it at Easter, 1919. And I can take credit for this! After the finish of the Austrian-Italian War, and after meeting Geoffrey who returned after losing his leg while driving an ambulance on the Italian front; we spent the winter 1918-19 in Florence; we fell really ill with the prevailing "Spanish flu". Whilst convalescing on the balcony in the spring sunshine I suddenly said to Geoffrey: "Let's start Pen y Pass parties again". I think Mallory's last visit was 1920, because after that came Everest. The twenties indeed saw some splendid gatherings, particularly 1921 — "a great gathering" — and 1922.” — Eleanor Winthrop Young, Pen y Pass, Pinnacle Club Journal no. 15, 1971-73

> Read the journal article (PDF - opens in a new window).

Len and Geoffrey were married in April 1918, and had two children, Jocelin and Marcia. “She loved travel, planning meetings, supporting causes, above all variety. This restlessness affected our family life, for she found it difficult to live anywhere longer than four or five years.” (Marcia Newbold, obituary, journal no. 23) They were married for 40 years. Len worked tirelessly on enabling Geoffrey to climb with an artificial leg, and over the years he became a legendary mountaineer who participated in long, challenging expeditions in the Alps and the UK. They co-authored In Praise of Mountains (1951).

Eleanor Winthrop Young outside the Pen y Pass, 1926.

“As long as she could she continued to travel the world... she would go miles to attend meetings and was sought out by those wanting to share in or learn from her memories. At her best she was wonderfully buoyant, sure of the goodwill and interest of others; thus she made friends wherever she went. "I do wish," she said in old age, "people wouldn't say I'm wonderful, I'm not! I do what I like doing" — and she went on doing it. — obituary by daughter Marcia Newbolt, Pinnacle Club journal no. 23.

This recording of Len is a short extract from an interview by Alan Hankinson (Peel Session 8 May 1997; reproduced by the kind permission of the Mountain Heritage Trust).

The purpose of the interview seems to be to capture her memories of the mountaineers whom her father (William Cecil Slingsby) had known, for a biography Hankinson was writing about Eleanor’s then late husband Geoffrey Winthrop Young, whom she married in 1918. In this extract she recalls telling her father about Geoffrey’s ascent of the Matterhorn, which he repeated several times, and on this occasion completed after he had lost his leg during WWI.