John Crabbe Cunningham (1927 – 31 January 1980) was a Scottish climber. Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, he climbed extensively in the Scottish mountains, where he pioneered new techniques of ice climbing. For several years, he worked for the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

(BAS) of the British Antarctic Territory (BAT). On 23 November 1964, he became the first to climb

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

's Mount Jackson. In 1960–61, he was a member of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, serving as Station Commander at Stonington Island in 1962–63. He was a member of the British Antarctic Survey, and was Station Commander of

Adelaide Island Adelaide Island is a large, mainly ice-covered island, long and wide, lying at the north side of Marguerite Bay off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Ginger Islands lie off the southern end. Mount Bodys is the easternmost mount ...

in 1964–65. He was also a member of the South Georgia Survey of 1955–56. He died in 1980.

Professional years

During the 1950s and '60s, Cunningham went to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

. He wanted to climb to

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

, and in 1953 he had gone to

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

via India with

Hamish MacInnes Hamish MacInnes (7 July 1930 – 22 November 2020) was a Scottish mountaineer, explorer, mountain search and rescuer, and author. He has been described as the "father of modern mountain rescue in Scotland". He is credited with inventing t ...

, also a Scottish mountaineer, to start his climb. However, Hillary and

Tenzing Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; perhaps 29 May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. He was one of the first two people known to reach the sum ...

had made it to the top of Mount Everest before he could begin. He then started his career with the British Antarctic Survey. He was the base leader at Adelaide Island. In the 1970s, after he returned to Scotland, he became an instructor at the Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore. In this capacity he perfected innovations in techniques for front point cramponing and use of curved pick ice axes on steep sloping ice. He had used this front point technique while working in Antarctica on icebergs and cliffs with a slope of 70 to 90 degrees. In 1976 he became an instructor at I M Marsh Campus in Liverpool. In 1980, he took his students for practical instruction on climbing to the South Stack sea-cliffs on

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. He drowned at South Stack on 31 January 1980, while attempting to rescue a female pupil who fell into the sea while Coasteering. The student survived.

Honours

Cunningham is the namesake of

Mount Cunningham Mount Cunningham is a mountain at the west end of South Georgia's Esmark Glacier. It is situated between Jossac Bight and Queen Maud Bay. With an elevation of , it is the 16th highest mountain in South Georgia. The mountain was named after Scott ...

() in the Queen Maud Bay at the southern end of

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

, His biography, titled ''Creagh Dhu Climber, the life and times of John Cunningham'', was published by Ernest Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, John Crabbe 1927 births 1980 deaths Scottish explorers Explorers of Antarctica Scottish mountain climbers Sportspeople from Glasgow Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom Accidental deaths in Scotland