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Correspondence from Joseph Doughty to Aleister Crowley
[Undated]
For A. Crowley, Esq.
Many thanks for the notes on Wastdale Climbing. Unfortunately Norman [Norman Mudd] sent them too late for use in the Guide. Your account of a climb up the West Face of Low Main was particularly interesting as there seem to have been one or two similar attempts. I had not heard before of yours or the alleged one of Jones, but Mallory made one some years ago. Unfortunately all the descriptions of past climbs on this face are very vague. My friend Mr. H. M. Kelly, who was preparing the Guide to Pillar, was quite unable to trace Mallory's climb from the description. He himself has in recent years made 3 routes up to Low Main between the Old West and the North West—all harder than the North Climb. The Abraham's still pursue their wicked ways. Your prediction about the famous foothold on the Needle top-block is unfulfilled. Many others have made it from time to time, but threatened holds live long. If you would care for it, I will send you a copy of the guide when it appears.
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