description: The Heart of Lakeland was published in 1908 by Sherratt &amp; Hughes.Lehmann J Oppenheimer was born in Manchester in 1868. He was a sculptor and an artist specialising in designing mosaics. In this, his only book, he describes his experiences of rock climbing in the Lake District from about the mid 1880s to the first few years of the 20th century. It is readable and entertaining, infused throughout with Oppenheimer’s subtle humour and modesty, redolent of the era.The sport was in its early stages and techniques and attitudes were evolving. The main centre for Lake District climbing was Wasdale Head and every Easter the hotel was taken over by a disparate group of men, all intent on testing themselves on the surrounding crags. Life at the hotel was sometimes chaotic, Oppenheimer uses narrative to evoke a ‘typical’ day. He describes the famous ‘barn-door traverse’, ‘the passing of the billiard table leg’ and the ‘billiard room traverse’. They even developed a form of billiards called ‘billiard fives’ which was more like table tennis. The ball often flew around the room, the window being guarded by netting. Sometimes the hotel was so crowded the billiard table doubled as a bed.Oppenheimer sometimes uses Pseudonyms. 'The Bohemian’ is the eccentric Aleister Crowley (1875 - 1947) a colourful character to say the least - he experimented with drugs and had an abiding interest in the occult. ‘The Wanderer’ is Oscar Eckenstein (1859 - 1921) Crowley's climbing partner and inventor of the modern-style ice-axe and crampons. The ‘Gymnast’ is Owen Glynne Jones (1867 - 1899). ‘The Photographer’ is one or both of the Keswick photographers, Ashley and George Abraham. Walter Parry Haskett Smith (1859-1946) known as the Father of Rock Climbing was also a regular visitor to Wasdale Head.Oppenheimer made many first ascents in the company of fellow climbers. Some of the routes are still highly regarded even when judged by today’s standards. A lot of the climbs in those early days were in gullies and chimneys where hours were spent struggling in cold, wet conditions. This so-called Golden Age of British climbing was all too short lived.In 1915 Oppenheimer volunteered for service in WWI and joined the Artists’ Rifles. In June 1916, during an action in the Somme Offensive, a poison gas cannister exploded near him. He died in hospital on 8th November 1916, aged 48. He is buried at Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.
language: English
title: The Heart of Lakeland
publisher: Johnson Publishing