Paul Nunn

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Paul Nunn
Personal information
Born(1943-01-06)6 January 1943 [1]
Abbeyleix, Co. Laois, Ireland
Died6 August 1995(1995-08-06) (aged 52)
Haramosh II, Karakoram, Pakistan
Occupation(s)rock climber, mountaineer, economic historian
Climbing career
Known forPresident of the British Mountaineering Council (1994-death)
First ascents

Paul James Nunn (6 January 1943 – 6 August 1995) was an English mountaineer[1] (elected president of the British Mountaineering Council in 1994), and an author and economic historian.

Early life[edit]

Nunn was born in Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland, in 1943 but was brought up by adoptive parents in Macclesfield, Cheshire.[2] Nunn graduated in economic history at Sheffield University and completed a Ph.D. in economic history. He spent a short spell teaching at a school in Buxton, before becoming a lecturer and then principal lecturer in economic history at Sheffield Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam University).[3]

Mountaineering career[edit]

He was an early member of the Alpha Mountaineering Club and later became a member of both the Climbers Club and the Alpine Club. He pioneered numerous rock climbs across the UK, particularly in Derbyshire, the English Lake District and in Scotland and quickly established his reputation by climbing a significant number of the classic hard routes in the European Alps.[4] He pioneered a range of new climbs including over 40 first ascents on grit and 30 on limestone as well as others across the UK; more than a dozen of these new routes are now regarded as '3 star' classics,[5] including Megaton which is featured in Extreme Rock[6] and Emerald Gully featured in Cold Climbs.[7] He was one of the team that first climbed the Old Man of Stoer in 1966 (with Brian Henderson, Tom Patey, and Brian Robertson).[8]

His wide experience led him to become involved in compiling several widely used UK rock climbing guidebooks including a FRCC guidebook to Borrowdale with Oliver Woolcock,[9] the BMC guidebook to the Peak District Northern Limestone,[10] BMC guidebook to the Peak District Southern Limestone,[11] a guidebook to the Kinder edges[12] and a highly successful commercially published guidebook covering most of the Peak District[13] which ran to several editions over the following 12 years.[14]

He was also a leading climber on a number of major mountaineering expeditions further afield. Highlights included the Caucasus in 1970, where he joined Chris Woodhall and Hamish MacInnes on a steep new route on the north face of Pik Schurovski (4259m)[15] and Baffin Island in 1972 (the east pillar of Mount Asgard, a new 4000-foot rock climb up on the Arctic Circle with Paul Braithwaite, Dennis Hennek and Doug Scott).[3] He was part of an eight-man team (with Joe Tasker, Alan Rouse, John Porter, Brian Hall, Adrian Burgess, Alan Burgess, Pete Thexton) that attempted a difficult assault on the west face of Mount Everest during the winter of 1980-1981; this unsuccessful but radical attempt was recounted in Tasker's book Everest the Cruel Way.[16] He climbed Rangrik Rang (6553m)[1] and Manirang (6593m)[17] in Himachal Pradesh in 1994, as well as making numerous smaller expeditions to the Karakoram of Pakistan and the Himalayas.[18] His wide experience of mountaineering in the Greater Ranges led to him becoming a member of the UIAA Expeditions Commission in 1990s, with the role of Karakoram expert.[19] It was whilst descending from the summit of Haramosh II [de] (6666m, in the Karakoram Range), that he and his climbing partner Geoff Tier were lost when they were overwhelmed and buried by a massive icefall collapse in 1995.[3]

He wrote numerous articles on mountaineering and rock climbing for publications including various climbing magazines; several are reproduced in 'At the Sharp End'.[20] He was on the editorial team of the magazine 'Mountain' from its inception in 1969 when he was 'reviews editor', and became associate editor in 1979, a role he held until the final issue in 1992.[21][22]

Paul Nunn worked as the climbing double for Sean Connery[23][24][25] on the film Five Days One Summer [26] which involved extensive filming of climbing sequences in the Swiss Alps.[27] He was also involved in a number of other short films [28] including The Bat in 1978.[29]

The significance of his role in British climbing, its affairs and development led to his election as Vice President of the British Mountaineering Council (1986-1990 and 1993–1994) and subsequently as President in 1994, a position he would have held longer if not for his death in 1995.[19]

Personal life[edit]

Whilst a student at Sheffield University in 1963, Nunn met his future wife Hilary, with whom he had two daughters.[30]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Paul James Nunn 1943-1995" (PDF). Alpine Journal. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  2. ^ Scott, Doug. "Paul Nunn, 1943-1995". American Alpine Club. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "OBITUARY: Paul Nunn". The Independent. 21 August 1995. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  4. ^ Al Parker (2010), Alpha Males: the Story of the Alpha Mountaineering Club, 274pp, ISBN 9781844269068, particularly chapters 3-11
  5. ^ Lewis, T.I.M (March 1977). "Nunn Ook of the North – Profile: Paul Nunn". Crags. No. 7. Dark Peak Ltd. pp. 17–19.
  6. ^ Wilson, Ken; Newman, Bernard, eds. (1987). Extreme Rock. Diadem. ISBN 9780906371367.
  7. ^ Compiled by Ken Wilson, Dave Alcock and John Barry (1983), Cold Climbs, 280pp, Diadem, ISBN 0906371163
  8. ^
  9. ^ Paul J. Nunn & O. Woolcock (1968), Borrowdale, 219pp, Fell & Rock Climbing Club
  10. ^ Paul J. Nunn (1969), The Northern Limestone Area [Rock Climbs in the Peak 5] , BMC, ISBN 9780901601032
  11. ^ Paul J. Nunn (1970), The Southern Limestone Area [Rock Climbs in the Peak 8] , BMC, ISBN 9780901601087
  12. ^ Paul J. Nunn (1974), The Kinder Area [Rock Climbs In The Peak 7], 220pp, British Mountaineering Council, ISBN 9780903908108
  13. ^ Paul J. Nunn (1975), Rock Climbing in the Peak District, 328pp, Constable, ISBN 9780094619401
  14. ^ "Rock Climbing in the Peak District - Constable". WorldCat. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  15. ^ Salkeld, Audrey; Bermudez, Jose Luis (1993). "A Dream of Ushba". On the Edge of Europe: Mountaineering in the Caucasus. Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 205–208. ISBN 9780340585474.
  16. ^ Tasker, Joe (1981). Everest the Cruel Way. Eyre Methuen Ltd. ISBN 0-413-48750-4.
  17. ^ "Manirang, 6593m" (PDF). Alpine Journal. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  18. ^ Curran, Jim (2001). The Middle-Aged Mountaineer: A bicycle tour down the length of Britain: A Climbing Journey Down the Length of Britain. Constable. p. 204. ISBN 9781841192369. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  19. ^ a b Milburn G., Walker D. & Wilson K. (eds) (1997), The First Fifty Years of the British Mountaineering Council, 321pp, British Mountaineering Council, ISBN 0903908077
  20. ^ Nunn, Paul J., ed. (1988). At the Sharp End. Unwin Hyman. p. 201. ISBN 9780044401384. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Contents Page". Mountain. Mountain Magazine Ltd. ISSN 0964-3427.
  22. ^ Parker, p. 265
  23. ^ Birtles, Geoff (December 1982). "Mr Z Meets the Mafia - The story of the making of a film in the Alps, based on conversations with the climbers and interviews with Fred Zinnemann". High #6, p16-19. Sheffield, UK: Dark Peak Ltd.
  24. ^ At the Sharp End, pp 171-175, with 2 photos, including one showing Nunn & Connery face-to-face
  25. ^ High Risk: Climbing to extinction, Brian Hall, 2023, ISBN: 9781839812156. Vertebrate. 26 October 2023. ISBN 978-1-83981-216-3. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Movie Details: Five Days One Summer". AFI Catalog. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  27. ^ MacInnes, Hamish (1984). Beyond the Ranges: Five Years in the Life of Hamish MacInnes. Gollancz (specifically pp 141-181, there are 10 b&w photos and 2 colour photos relating to the filming and rigging for the production). ISBN 9780575035126. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  28. ^ "Filmography Paul Nunn". MNTNFilm. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  29. ^ "The Bat: A Scottish Climbing Epic". MNTNFilm. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  30. ^ Nunn, Hilary. "IN MEMORIAM Paul James Nunn". Himalayan Club. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
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