The Mountain Men

Alan Hankinson - out of print do a web search.

I love this book.

Here's a review by Colin Wells of On The Edge Magazine (posted at planetFear.com):

What’s the gist?
Eccentric elements of the late Victorian & Edwardian bourgeoisie invent mad new British sport one drizzly Easter bank holiday. It involves slimy gullies, waxed moustaches, Meerschaum pipes, and standing on each others’ shoulders in a manfully, but vaguely homo-erotic way. Rock climbing is born!
Are they any good?
In other hands, the narrative could have been as dry as a gentleman’s snuff box but ex-ITN newshound Hankinson employs his journalistic skills to great effect, bringing the landscape and the characters of the protean Edwardian climbing scene come alive as if it were but yesterday. The Mountain Men recalls the hard nuts who grappled with the Welsh volcanic battlements of Snowdonia, which is both educational and entertaining.