Colin Kirkus was one of the most influential climbers Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 has ever produced.

Jack Longland

Jack Longland

Sir John Laurence "Jack" Longland was an educator, mountain climber, and broadcaster.He was educated at the King's School, Worcester, and Jesus College, Cambridge. He lectured in English at Durham University from 1930 to 1936. He then served as Director of Education for Derbyshire for 23 years,...

 described the greatest rock face in Wales, Clogwyn Du'r Arddu

Clogwyn Du'r Arddu

Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, on the north flank of Snowdon, is considered by many to be one of the best climbing cliffs in Britain. It is north-facing and comparatively remote . The name is Welsh and probably means "black cliff of the plough"...

, as "Colin’s Cliff". Kirkus' series of new routes on "Cloggy" was unparalleled until the emergence of Joe Brown, 20 years later.

Kirkus also climbed extensively in the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 and made a pioneering Alpine-style ascent in the Himalaya in 1933. He was killed in the Second World War in 1942.

Kirkus left the world of mountaineering two tremendous legacies: firstly his pioneering climbs in Wales and elsewhere, and secondly one of the finest instruction books ever written "Let's Go Climbing!".