38 Years Ago Today: First Ascent of London’s Nelson’s Column
On Oct. 21, 1978, British climber Ed Drummond, 34, and Colin Rowe, 22, made the first ascent of Nelson’s Column, without a ladder, in Trafalgar Square, London. It has been noted as likely the first politically-inspired climb in history by top mountaineers. The ascent took took four hours and caused caused traffic and pedestrians to stop and watch. The tower was built in the mid-1800s.
Drummond and Rowe brought their mountain kit, which included ropes, hammers and pitons. They climbed the column by hammering pitons into the granite cracks. During the climb, a dropped not read they were climbing to protest foreign investment in South Africa. Their ascent was on the same day as anti-apartheid demonstrations. The two climbers lit a cigarette after they reached the top of the column and then lowered a banner. They rappelled down and were arrested at 10:30 a.m. and spent a day in custody. There was little damage to the column.