Summer Times is the Journal of the Old Scarborians Association

foot on glaciers hitherto only names on a map.
To a ripe age Harry Marsden was their com‐
panion. He would climb three or four thou‐
sand feet on a daily basis, more than matching
the stamina and discipline of young men sev‐
eral decades his junior. He just revelled in the
drama of it all.
Harry kept a diary most of his life. Many will
remember his superb, often poignant, wartime
diary. He liked to chronicle interesting events,
and so it was that details of many of the
school camps were recorded. Some of the
highlights he duly despatched to the
‘Scarborough Evening News’, thereby parents
were kept well informed of their sons’ adven‐
tures. Some Scarborians may well remember
the Switzerland camp of 1951. It was spent in
Langwies, Arosa and Davos. The flavour of it
is apparent in this old newspaper cutting
which I unearthed some time ago. Harry takes
up the story:
‘Our first camp was at Langwies, a village on
the mountainside five miles down the valley
from Arosa. As our camping site was very
cramped, we found another, close to the town,
moving into it on our third day. From here we
made some mountain excursions in very hot
weather and the novices soon discovered that
sunbathing in strong Alpine sunshine is
quickly followed by torturing discomfort.
‘We ascended the Arosa Weisshorn, a peak of
8,000 feet, an easy walk up, as Arosa is 5,000
feet above sea level. There was snow in
patches on the northern side but the top was
clear. We looked through the telescope on the
summit at the distant Piz Palu range on the
Italian border, all covered with vast snow‐
fields.
‘Our second expedition was harder, the ascent
of the Rothorn, 9,000 feet. Half the campers
volunteered for the climb. We decided that the
party should stay the night at the Ramoz Hut,
about an hour’s walk from the summit on the
other side of the mountain, from which the
descent to Arosa is easy.
‘The remaining campers had an easier day,
56
carrying food up to the hut, and then return‐
ing to attend the celebrations of 1st August,
which is the Swiss National Day.
‘Things did not quite turn out as planned. The
party did not reach the summit and finding
conditions in the melting snow rather difficult,
wisely returned to camp.
‘But up at the Ramoz Hut were one master
and his fag, left there to prepare a meal for the
party which failed to turn up. To relieve his
anxiety, several of the climbers, on their return
to camp, volunteered to go up to the Ramoz to
tell him what had happened. Four were al‐
lowed to go with one master. (AR Wood, JD
Belcher, P Hartley, J Stirling, and Mr Hinchliffe)
and they arrived there at nightfall.
‘It was rather a remarkable feat – rather as if
having spent a day climbing the Great Gable
from Dungeon Gill one were asked on one’s
return at 6 pm to run up to the top of Bow Fell
after quarter of an hour’s rest. There was a
very pleasant party at the hut that night. The
In difficulties on the slopes of the Rothorn