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Aleister Crowley in the Devil's Kitchen

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 dr evil 12 Jun 2022

I'm working on a book about sea cliff climbing in the UK and I'm trying to figure out how Aleister Crowley fitted in to the standards of the day. Of course he was an outsider and attracted as well as courted controversy. His chalk and Lake District ascents were certainly up there with the hardest climbs of the day but I'm puzzled about his ascent of the Devil's Kitchen in Ogwen.

In his 'Confessions' Crowley describes an ascent of the Devil's Kitchen sometime in the 1890s: ‘The Devil’s Kitchen or Twll Du, which I had climbed by taking off my boots. I had no idea that the place was famous, but it was. It was reputed unclimbable. Almighty [OG] Jones himself had failed. I found myself, to my astonishment, the storm centre. Jones, behind my back, accused me flatly of lying. Quite unconsciously, however, I put myself in the right. I have always failed to see that it is necessary to make a fuss about one’s climbs. There is a good reason for describing a first climb. To do so is to guide others to enjoyment.’

I'm uncertain how Crowleys’s ascent fits into the ‘official’ chronology of ascents that is in the guidebooks which is as follows: The Devil’s Kitchen was first ascended in March 1895 by James Merriman Archer Thomson in what was described as ‘exceptional’ winter conditions. OG Jones attempted it in the summer of that year but failed. George and Ashley Abraham climbing with Oscar Eckenstein also failed in 1897. Geoffrey Winthrop Young retreated from Jones’s high point in May 1898. The day after Young’s attempt the route was ascended as a summer rock climb by WR Reade and WP McCulloch who are credited with the first ascent in the guidebooks. OG Jones is credited with making the second ascent in 1899.

Crowley states in his 'Confessions' that Jones had ‘failed’ which would presumably place Crowley’s ascent sometime between Jones’s attempt in 1895 and success in 1899. Crowley’s clear implication is that he, himself, made the first ascent of the Devil's Kitchen, but his ascent appears to have either simply been ignored or not considered credible by the cognoscenti.

Can anyone shed any further light on this?

 Morty 12 Jun 2022
In reply to dr evil:

Was he a big name in sea cliff development? 

OP dr evil 12 Jun 2022
In reply to dr evil: He chalked up a few on Beachy Head

 Bob Aitken 12 Jun 2022
In reply to dr evil:

Crowley's application form to the SMC in 1894 claims that he climbed it in May 1892 at a time when he was active around Snowdonia:  "Twll-Du (The Devil's Kitchen) out by L. face (i.e. the S.E. face).  A first ascent."

Crowley's later reputation might suggest that we (and some of his contemporaries) should be cautious of that claim, but on the other hand there's no obvious reason why he should be so specific.  He was a very bold lad.  And the range of his other climbs at that time and later show that he was highly competent on rock of varied quality.

 philipivan 12 Jun 2022
In reply to dr evil:

No climbing is mentioned in the ozzie osbourne song, but Randy's guitar parts are sublime. 

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 matt1984 12 Jun 2022
In reply to dr evil:

I can't believe I've somehow missed his climbing/mountaineering in my reading around him, thanks for this. Fascinating stuff!

 Mick Ward 12 Jun 2022
In reply to matt1984:

Opium in the Kendal Mint Cake. 

Think he may have done the first ascent of a VS on Napes Needle (equivalent to E9 today?)

The Great Beast, 666. Mad, bad and dangerous to know. 

Mick 

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 Duncan Bourne 13 Jun 2022
In reply to Bob Aitken:

Crowley is in many ways the classic unreliable narrator but was also a talented climber. It is equally possible that his contemporaries poo pooed his achievements as he was out of favour. 1892-1893 seem to have been very dry years, with 1893 being especially drought ridden so it is possible that the Kitchen wasn't as damp as it normally is

 Pekkie 13 Jun 2022
In reply to Mick Ward:

Wasn’t he ‘fitted up’ by the popular media of the time because of his unconventional views. Some things never change?

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 CantClimbTom 13 Jun 2022
In reply to Pekkie:

No, as well as being a climbing genius he was a thoroughly unpleasant *** but a lot of the talk of conspiracy of being fitted up by the "powers that be" was invented later by his son Amado Crowley (for his own self publicity and books).

One of Aleister Crowley's many failing was that he was was quite dishonest with his descriptions of what he did/didn't do. I just don't believe him when he said "..I had no idea that the place was famous.." but I do believe he climbed it.

Utter genius on chalk, if he wasn't such an unpleasant person nobody would climb with him, he would have been a well known great of climbing. His accounts are notoriously adjusted for his convenience and too unreliable to read without questioning, which sadly obscures some of the amazing climbs he achieved

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 Pekkie 13 Jun 2022
In reply to CantClimbTom:

> No, as well as being a climbing genius he was a thoroughly unpleasant ***

When I say 'fitted up' I mean that they did a thorough job on him, creating a cartoon character - ' Evil Devil Worshipper' - which has lasted to this day, and is evidenced by your post. The caricature was started in gutter press newspapers and furthered by popular novelists of the time eg John Buchan and Denis Wheatley, to whom the 'mad and bad devil-worshipping' villain was a godsend. And then you had the farce of the 60s (and later) hippy counterculture - see Led Zeppelin and Ozzy Osbourne - to whom 'Do What Thou Wilt' and total sexual freedom had a certain ring to it. When if you actually read Aleister Crowley what he was saying was quite reasonable.

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OP dr evil 13 Jun 2022
In reply to dr evil:

Thanks everyone that info and opinions are all very helpful

 Iamgregp 13 Jun 2022
In reply to Pekkie:

Advocating sexual freedom is one thing, but Crowley went far beyond that and used the guise of his "sex magic" to manipulate followers for his own sexual gratification, often whilst children were present.

Agreed, a frenzy had, and has been whipped up about him, but he really was a evil man.

In reply to dr evil:

Fantastic stuff! I'd read it 

 CantClimbTom 13 Jun 2022
In reply to Pekkie:

"Do what thou wilt" when interpreted more in lines of follow your destiny... sort of...  (rather than do what you feel like) isn't "unreasonable". But my comments that he was unpleasant aren't from the press at the time: but other climbers, for example accounts of him on Kanchenjunga expedition beating porters and the allegations that he refused to help 2 climbers and 4 porters in a nearby avalanche (within earshot of their shouts for help) where 4 people ended up dying, to prove his point as he had advised against their trip. His later progression to become a sex abusing cult leader also reflects badly on his character to say the least. I have read "The Secrets of Aleister Crowley" by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amado_Crowley which was written favourably about him not as some cheap character assassination and I'm still of the opinion he was an extraordinarily clever and extraordinarily unpleasant man.

 Pekkie 13 Jun 2022
In reply to CantClimbTom:

> he was an extraordinarily clever and extraordinarily unpleasant man.

You're probably right. He was a mad and bad lad. But we should bear in mind that there are two sides to this and he often stoked his own myth to gain popularity and sell books. And there is the undeniable fact that the establishment & newspapers had it in for him. He had a far-reaching influence on popular culture which is not over yet. Here's the best, fair summary of his influence that I can find. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jul/10/society

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 Bob Aitken 13 Jun 2022
In reply to CantClimbTom:

A characteristically illuminating, provocative and enjoyable piece about Crowley by Robin Campbell: http://footlesscrow.blogspot.com/2011/01/brief-mountaineering-career-of-ale...

 Trangia 13 Jun 2022
In reply to Morty:

> Was he a big name in sea cliff development? 

https://www.mixcloud.com/maco-euan-mcaleece/climbing-the-monster-beachy-hea...

He was the first man to climb this. I remember looking at it and it looked impressive, but terrifyingly unstable. This whole section of Beachy Head collapsed in a massive cliff fall a few years ago. The sea was stained white for weeks after the collapse including the seas around the light house. The whole section  of these cliffs from Eastbourne to, and including The Seven Sisters have been having huge collapses in recent years. 

The old Belle Tout lighthouse was moved back about 50 m from the cliff top, a big engineering challenge, in 1999 using rails, but since then the original driveway has collapsed into the sea, and the distance to the cliff edge has halved.

 65 13 Jun 2022
In reply to CantClimbTom:

My conclusion from the wikipedia article you linked to is that Amado Crowley was most likely a charlatan and of no relation to Aleister whatsoever let alone his offspring.

 Mick Ward 13 Jun 2022
In reply to Pekkie:

> Wasn’t he ‘fitted up’ by the popular media of the time because of his unconventional views. Some things never change?

Hi Pete, 

Got a feeling he was. Think he was pretty scathing about the establishment (e.g. the Raj and colonialism). Too progressive for his time? 

Iirc his mate Oscar Eckenstein got blackballed by the Alpine Club for lack of moral fibre - Elvis leg. Think he was on the equivalent of another E9. Ffs!!

Crowley said that Eckenstein was 'the most decent man I ever knew'. (This from the self-styled most evil man in the world!) They must have been a bloody odd couple. 

While you definitely wouldn't want your kids hanging around with Crowley, he certainly added to the gaiety of nations. And Eckenstein seems to have been completely innocent, massively talented and treated like shit. 

As you rightly say, some things never change.

Mick 

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 Pekkie 13 Jun 2022
In reply to Mick Ward:

Agreed, he wouldn't be your ideal choice for prospective son-in-law, but I think the best word to describe him would be 'interesting'. Re-reading the Guardian article I added to my earlier post, I was impressed by the range of well-known people he has influenced. From Malcolm Lowry to Kenneth Anger and David Bowie. I mean, Ian Fleming based Blofeld on him. He influenced punk rock: The Sex Pistols and Eddie and the Hot Rods, for goodness sake (though that kinda makes sense). 'An influence on modern culture as pervasive as Freud or Jung'. Wow. Never mind the mountaineering stuff.

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 CantClimbTom 13 Jun 2022
In reply to 65:

He made a career from saying he was his son but he definitely had a sound understanding of the esoteric (however you want to interpret that) and was a vigorous apologetic/promoter of Crowley's beliefs. I mentioned to clarify that my opinion of Crowley (I'm *Not* a follower!) isn't as an expert but equally isn't just from having read a "Crowley was very wicked" article or having watched a quick YouTube video or whatever. Given Crowley's promiscuity in an age before contraception, having secret children is entirely plausible but as for the accuracy of Amado's claim..? I've no idea! 

Post edited at 18:48
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 Iamgregp 14 Jun 2022
In reply to Pekkie:

> Agreed, he wouldn't be your ideal choice for prospective son-in-law, but I think the best word to describe him would be 'interesting'. 

[Emily Maitlis voice] He was a sex offender?!

 Sandstonier 14 Jun 2022
In reply to Iamgregp:

One excellent line confounds the buffoon.

 Pekkie 15 Jun 2022
In reply to Iamgregp:

> [Emily Maitlis voice] He was a sex offender?!

Exactly 'Do what you wilt' is a very dangerous concept. A few moments' thought and you realise that it should have read 'Do what you wilt, so long as it doesn't hurt or damage other human beings.' The Kantian thing. But then why are Crowley's ideas so influential? Especially amongst rock stars. That's what's interesting.

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 timjones 21 Jun 2022
In reply to Pekkie:

> But then why are Crowley's ideas so influential? Especially amongst rock stars. That's what's interesting.

Surely they are so influential because wannabe stars who crave fame know that their fans will be beguiled by the association?


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