Harold Raeburn

Harold Andrew Raeburn (21 July 1865 – 21 December 1926) was a Scottish mountaineer. He was one of the most prominent British mountaineers of his era with several first ascents. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries he took part in numerous ascents in Norway, contributing to the popularization of Norwegian mountaineering among the international mountaineering community. Some of his regular mountaineering partners in Norway were William Cecil Slingsby, Howard Priestman and Norwegians Kristian Tandberg and George Paus. He was mountaineering leader on the initial 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition.

Life Raeburn was born in 1865 at 12 Grange Loan, Edinburgh. His father William Raeburn, a brewer, married Jessie Ramsay in 1849. Harold Raeburn was their fourth son, and he grew up to enter his father's occupation as a brewer. He died in Edinburgh, on 21 December 1926, and was buried in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh.

Mountaineering

Scotland It is not documented how or why Raeburn began climbing as a sport, but his early enthusiasm in ornithology led him to climb or descend many steep faces, in search of nests and eggs. A collection of eggs by him is kept in National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh. Living under Edinburgh's Salisbury Crags and possessing a wiry, athletic build he soon adapted to the vertical world of rock and ice.

As to his character, he very obviously possessed the necessary determination and drive of any ambitious and hard mountaineer; Lord Mackay provided a good description of Raeburn, writing that he was "... physically and mentally hard as nails, trained by solitary sea-cliff climbing after birds' haunts, he was certain, unyielding and concise in every movement, both mental and physical." Mackay went on to remark that Raeburn had a capacity of grip that was astonishing: "He was possessed of strong muscular fingers that could press firmly and in a straight downward contact upon the very smallest hold."

Raeburn remained a bachelor all his life but he climbed with both men and women, including his sister Ruth, herself an expert climber, and Jane Inglis Clark, a founder of the Scottish Ladies Mountaineering Club. The (all-male) Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) was founded in 1889 and Raeburn joined in 1896. Within a few years he became its leading climber serving as Vice-President from 1909 to 1911 and later turning down the Presidency. He recorded many classic routes throughout Scotland: there are several "Raeburn's Gullies" scattered across the land.

The west face of the Douglas Boulder below Ben Nevis, Highland Scotland. The left edge approximates to the line of Direct Route (215m Very Difficult) first climbed on 3 April 1896 by a party of four led by William Brown and including Raeburn – his first climb on Ben Nevis. The steep crest behind (left) is Raeburn's Arete (230m Severe), climbed on 30 June 1902 in the company of William and Jane Inglis Clark. The (almost) level Carn Mor Dearg Arete is on the skyline.

First ascents On Ben Nevis in particular, he left a tremendous legacy of high-quality routes; indeed, "of the 30 new routes on Nevis from 1896 to 1921, his name appears on exactly half."

Commemoration The SMC Raeburn Hut, between Dalwhinnie and Newtonmore, was opened in 1988 and is named after him. There is a faint geographical connection here, as Raeburn was the first to explore the steep cliffs on nearby Creag Dubh, Newtonmore.

Raeburn's ice axe is one of two seals of office held by the president of the SMC.