The constitution of the Alpine Club does not admit of women members, and, though the climbing record of many is on a par, if not superior to that of the average member, they are without the pale. It was, therefore, somewhat of a satire that, on the very night of the great dinner to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of organization, a women's club should have been formed in London; thus putting the nose of the Alpine Club of Canada "out of joint," previously the baby and flower of the flock.
The most attractive and important features of the Jubilee Celebration were an exhibition of alpine paintings and drawings by past and present members at the club rooms, from December loth to 28th, and the now historic dinner of the 17th December, 1907.
The former comprised a very fine and, to a stranger, instructive collection of mountain paintings. The representations were chiefly from the European Alps, the Himalayas, the Caucasus and the Andes. Of the first, Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, the Wetterhorn and the Breithorn stood out conspicuously. Among others, striking pictures were shown of Mt. Everest and Aconcagua. There was also a representation of Fujiama; and even of Mt. Ararat.
Among the member-artists whose works were contributed figured the names of Ruskin, Watts, Loppe, Alfred Williams, McCormick, Sir J. Collier, Franz Schrader, Elijah Walton, and Willink. There were besides numerous pen and ink sketches, both humorous and descriptive. Taken as a whole, the several hundreds of paintings and drawings presented a collection of incalculable value; not only that it was a rare exhibition of art, but also from its association with members who had "done things"; and as an important series of links in the history of the Club, showing not alone the evolution of art in mountaineering, but the evolution of mountaineering itself.
