2024-12-31-accounts

Charity Registration No. 313051

Company Registration No. 01002955 (England and Wales)

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

COUNCIL'S REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) CONTENTS

	Page
Council's report	1 – 19
Independent Auditor’s report	20-22
Statement of financial activities	23
Balance sheet	24
Notes to the accounts	25-32

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

COUNCIL'S REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

The Trustees (who are also directors of the Charity for the purposes of the Companies Act) present their report and the financial statements for Alpine Club Library (the Company) for the year end 31 December 2024 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report for Companies Act purposes.

The accounts comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

Our purposes and general activities

The Alpine Club Library charity's purpose and principal activity is to care for and manage the collections of mountaineering books, tracts, archives, artefacts, photographs and paintings owned, in the main, by the Alpine Club, and to make them available to the public. Based in the Alpine Club's London premises, the Alpine Club Library manages one of the most significant collections of mountain material world-wide which provides an important source of reference.

To achieve these purposes, the Library gains funds by: the sale of duplicate books; the sale of reproduction rights for photographs; commissions from painting sales; contributions from members of the public and organisations who use the Library; occasional support from grant making bodies and occasional appeals primarily - though not exclusively - to the Club membership. The Library actively seeks donations in kind of archives, photographs, paintings and books. We consider all items for addition to our collections and we also retain duplicates (and triplicates or quadruples) as needed. We publish a regular list of surplus books for sale; recycling books back into circulation for interested readers. The acquisition and disposal of rare and important book volumes is only carried out in consultation with the Club; a restricted Acquisitions & Restoration Fund exists for the purposes of acquiring specialist books. There has been no change in these policies during the year.

In shaping the objectives for the year and planning the activities, the Members of Council have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance ‘Public Benefit: Running A Charity (PB2)’.

Financial review and reserves policy

The results for the year show a surplus of £9,715 (2023: £59,455), after accounting for total gains on investments of £110,328 (2023: £54,917). Realised gains for the year totalled £6,666 (2023: £3,395). Unrealised gains which are not cash items and solely reflect the movement of the investments with regard to the value of the portfolio at the year end totalled £103,662 (2023: £51,522).

Total funds carried forward were £1,467,084 (2023: £1,457,369) of which £1,317,458 (2023: £1,299,141) were unrestricted funds, £12,880 (2023: £14,382) were designated and £136,746 were restricted funds (2023: £143,846).

It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month's expenditure, which is between £20,500 and £41,000 at current levels. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity's current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. In the event of reserves not meeting the required amount to fund the expenditure of the charity, the trustees have discussed realising some of the charity's investments to meet the shortfall. The charity had free reserves of £1,317,120 at the year end (2023: £1,209,445).

With the authority of the Charity Commissioners, the Library's investments were managed on a discretionary basis by Quilter Cheviot Asset Management. These investments provide a vital source of income to support the salary for our professional Librarian and the costs of our premises. Investment income for the year was £39,748 (2023: £41,082). The value of listed investments increased from £1,222,862 to £1,413,440 at 31 December 2024.

Notes 13 and 14 set out an analysis of the assets attributable to the various funds and a description of the funds held. These assets are sufficient to meet the charity's obligations on a fund by fund basis.

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

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People and Events

The number of physical visitors to the Library during 2024 remained similar to that for 2023; so, the trend towards conducting research and accessing material online, either via email exchanges or through the website, appears to be continuing for both AC members and the wider public. As well as hosting visitors and answering online research enquiries, Emma, our Librarian, also hosted a number of professional meetings and open days during the year. LILA (London Independent Libraries & Archives) met at Charlotte Road in January. This gathering of specialist and club libraries with similar interests provided an opportunity for networking and showcasing the AC collections. As a result, the Library is now taking a more active role in LILA with Emma becoming one of the current organisers. Two tours of the collections were given to members of CILIP (the UK professional library and information association). The first was an on-site tour for members of the CILIP London Group, discussing the history of the collections and letting members see and handle items first hand. The second was a virtual tour for members of the South-West Group of CILIP, given over Zoom. Both tours aimed to promote the Library and the AC Collections, and the Zoom tour resulted in a follow-up visit from staff working on an exhibition at the National Mountain Museum in Turin. The Library also hosted two public tours as part of the Heritage Open Days initiative. During these, visitors were given a brief history of the Club, as well as a chance to look at items from the collections. They were very well received, and we therefore plan to repeat the exercise again in the coming year.

We were approached by the Cairngorm Club about the possibility of the Librarian giving a talk at one of their regular meetings. It was decided to focus the talk on the exhibition about women’s membership of the Club and the Ladies’ Alpine Club – What would Lucy say? – as this was an area of interest to them. It turned out that one of their members had even climbed with Dorothy Pilley. Emma also contributed an article to the Bulletin de l’Association Culturelle pour le Voyage en Suisse on objects from the collections associated with tourism in Switzerland. This included short pieces about de Saussure’s compass, one of our Führerbuchen and Whymper’s alpenstock, which highlighted the role that the English, and especially members of the AC, had played in early travel and tourism in Switzerland.

Following concerns about the direction of travel of Twitter, and its successor X, the Library has opened a Bluesky account, and this has already attracted close to 4,000 followers.

It is a general policy that, while the Club is happy to accept donations, it does not normally sanction the purchase of items to add to its already extensive collections. It may relax that rule in exceptional circumstances where an item is of significant importance to the history of the Club. That occurred during the year when a portrait of Dorjay Pasang by Francis William Helps came up for sale. Helps (1890-1972) was the official artist to the 1924 Everest Expedition and Pasang was one of only two mountaineers who took part in all of the first three British Everest expeditions of 1921, 1922 and 1924; the other being a certain George Leigh Mallory. Pasang was amongst the 15 high-altitude porters given the nickname “Tigers” because of their exceptional strength and bravery. He was Mallory and Bruce’s leading porter, their first pick, and one of the men on whom their high hopes for success centred. Consequently, the Club approved the purchase of this portrait, and it became available in time to be displayed as part of the Everest Revisited exhibition at Charlotte Road (details of which are included later in this report).

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In the autumn, we were very pleased to receive a second unsolicited donation from the Chalten Fund of the Marin Community Foundation recommended by the Holdfast Collective, which is the charitable arm of Patagonia. The donation was for $25,000 and was not allocated for any specific purpose. After extensive discussions it was decided to use this award to support the Club’s new publishing initiative. It was felt that this would meet the aims of the Foundation as it would be of long-term benefit not only to AC members but to all alpinists.

During November, the Club met for its second six-year review of activities at the Blencathra Field Studies Centre, labelled Leading Through to reflect the hope that the Club can continue the progress and momentum generated following the first Blencathra event in 2018. Discussion of the Club’s heritage collections formed one of the five pillars of the meeting. The breadth and depth of the Club’s holdings in literature, photographs, artefacts and art were explained and discussed, and the need to spread awareness of this amazing resource more widely both to the membership and the public at large was highlighted. A key priority over the next few years will be making better use of digital communications and other novel forms of presentation to better showcase our collections. To ensure that the challenges associated with storage, custodianship and dissemination of the collections are responded to proactively in the future, it was agreed to recommend that the AC should establish a Heritage Board to coordinate these activities. The AC Committee has accepted this recommendation and established a Heritage Board comprising the Keepers, the Honorary Librarian, the Honorary Archivist, the Honorary Secretary, the Chair of the Finance Committee, the Chair of the Library Council and an external representative from the Mountain Heritage Trust. It will hold its inaugural meeting in early 2025.

Library Trustees now have a fixed term of office of three years. Stephen Venables therefore stepped down as a Trustee at the end of his three-year term, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his contribution. After stepping down as Honorary Librarian last year, after many years of dedicated service to the ACL, Barbara Grigor-Taylor also stepped down as a Trustee this year. I am pleased to report that Barbara will continue her association with the Library both as an ACL Member and through taking up the new role of Assistant Honorary Librarian with special responsibility for book sales. Subsequently, the AC Committee has nominated John Porter and Gordon Turner, our

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new Honorary Librarian, as the new incoming Trustees. They also re-nominated Alan Henderson (Treasurer) and Philip Meredith (Chair) to serve for a further three years.

At the risk of repetition, I feel I need to reiterate that collections don’t get smaller but inevitably increase in size over time. This not only puts continual pressure on space, but also on the work required to organise and manage the holdings. We are therefore always looking for volunteers to help with custodianship of the collections. If you are interested in helping out or would like more information about volunteering opportunities, please contact me ([e-mail]), the Honorary Secretary ([e-mail]) or any of the Keepers. Not only can the work itself be very rewarding, but it also opens the door to a truly wondrous world of mountaineering heritage.

Exhibitions

During 2024, as in the previous two post-Covid years, the Exhibitions Sub-Committee organised a full schedule of exhibitions in the Charlotte Road Lecture Room.

The first exhibition of the year comprised a selection of pictures from the Alpine Club’s collection chosen by Emma McDonald (AC Librarian) and Ewa Orzechowska (AC Office Manager). This formed the initial part of an initiative to provide more opportunities for members and visitors to view rarely seen paintings that spend most of their time hidden away in the Charlotte Road basement due to lack of display space. The idea is to display and rotate selected artworks on the walls of the office space and in a series of Lecture Room exhibitions. This first such exhibition included works by Karl Milner, Benjamin Eastlake Leader and Athur Croft.

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Everest Revisited

In June 2024, one hundred years after the disappearance of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine high on the slopes of Everest, the Alpine Club opened an exhibition which focussed on the all-important 1924 Mount Everest Expedition. Drawing from the Club’s remarkable assets such as photographs and artefacts from the expedition itself and other sources, the exhibition also addressed the continuing legacy of this seminal moment in the attempt to summit Everest. Everest Revisited profiled the personalities at the centre of the expedition, from Mallory and Irvine to the local workers who made the venture possible, and considered the impact of the expedition on current perceptions of the world's highest mountain. One of the highlights of the display was of course Sandy Irvine's ice axe (recovered in 1933). Aside from the opportunity to see so many Everest related items at first hand, the exhibition also brought to life the experiences of the climbers; from their arrival in Darjeeling to coming within touching distance of the summit.

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Following the opening of the exhibition, a new film about the 1924 expedition, produced by John Porter as a collaboration between the Alpine Club and the Mount Everest Foundation was premiered at the Club. The film, titled Everest Revisited 1924-2024 , uses extensive historical footage as well as interviews with Everest scholars and mountaineers to tell the story of 1924 and to ask questions about what the mountain means to climbers and Nepalese people 100 years on from the famous expedition. The film has gone on to be exhibited at a number of mountain film festivals, and won a special mention at the 2024 Krakow Mountain Film Festival.

In November, much of the content from Everest Revisited was relocated to Cumbria as part of a major exhibition on the history of mountaineering and mountain art and culture which took place in the main exhibition hall at the Rheged Centre. This was the largest mountain related exhibition in the UK since the closure of the National Mountaineering Exhibition in 2005. Around 10,000 paying customers visited the exhibition, with a significant number of younger visitors who entered for free. The central theme of the exhibition was the history of Mount Everest from early exploration through to the present day, with special attention on the 1924 expedition 100 years after the loss of Mallory, Irvine, Man Bahadur and LanceNaik Shamsherpun

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Thanks to the work of the Club’s Librarian Emma McDonald and the support of Keepers Janet Johnson, Bernie Ingrams, William Mitchell, Nigel Buckley and our Office Manager Ewa Orzechowska, items displayed from the Alpine Club’s collections formed a significant part of the Rheged exhibition. The storyboards written for the AC Everest Revisited exhibition were used as a starting point, and were then greatly expanded upon to encompass many other mountain stories and personalities from the mountain community and the Alpine Club such as Arthur Wakefield and Howard Somervell.

Although Everest was the main subject, the exhibits, art and photographic displays branched out into much wider areas, such as early mountain film and photography, and contemporary mountain art around the world, with a number of paintings from the first International Mountain Art Festival in Mustang being flown in especially for the exhibition. The Mountain Heritage Trust also made a major contribution of artefacts, as did the Royal Geographical Society with a loan of three Mallory items. Throughout the period of the exhibition, an accompanying programme of lectures from noted members of the mountain community including Julie Summers and Krishna Thapa took place in the IMAX cinema, together with six screenings of the AC film Everest Revisited 1924-2014 , which attracted around 500 viewers.

E.T. Compton: The Wild Pomp of Alpine Majesty

This exhibition of the Club’s collection of nine pictures by Edward Theodore Compton, presented alongside a sample of the work he did for the Austrian Alpine Club and other prints, provided a rare opportunity to see the works of one of the pioneering peintre alpinistes beyond the confines of the Alpine Museum in Innsbruck.

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As is the case with so many exhibitions predominantly featuring treasures from the Club’s holdings, one always learns something new about both the pictures and the respective painters being focussed on. With E. T. Compton and the splendid display of pictures in The Wild Pomp of Alpine Majesty, in this instance it showed visitors just how good a watercolourist Compton was. It is well known that Compton combined a celebrated career as an alpine artist with extensive climbing. Between 1878 and 1914 he made 20 first ascents, contributed to 30 volumes of the DAV (Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein) journal and frequently exhibited at the Alpine Club’s winter exhibitions. His paintings were celebrated for their realism and featured not just mountains but also climbers. They are dynamic illustrations of the romance of mountaineering and in many ways Compton’s life as a peintre alpiniste (and that of his son, Edward Harrison Compton) was not dissimilar to that of Gabriel Loppé. Having said that, it could be argued that Compton was a more traditionally schooled practitioner and where he differed from Loppé was in his ability to draw and paint in watercolours. Indeed, Compton is considered by many a better watercolourist than a painter in oils and nobody before or since him has been able to capture the colours, thrown off by rock under snow especially, of the haute montagne in this medium. His ability to draw rock formations and then bring them to life in washes of ultramarine violet, (see, for example, the image of the Grandes Jorasses from the Charmoz) could only have come from thousands of hours of first hand observation. A charming and fun surprise in the The Wild Pomp of Alpine Majesty was the inclusion of a hitherto unidentified mountainscape in the Club’s collection and the invitation to members and other visitors to scribble down in a jotter their thoughts on its location. The overriding conclusion was that it was of a peak near Lavaredo in the Dolomites.

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What would Lucy say?

‘What would Lucy say?’ was an exhibition marking two key anniversaries in the history of the Alpine Club; namely, the 50th Anniversary of the AC voting to admit women members and the 50th Anniversary of the merger of the Ladies’ Alpine Club (LAC) and the AC. The ‘Lucy’ in question was Lucy Walker, the first woman to climb the Matterhorn who, despite this achievement and having already had, by 1870, many successful alpine seasons, could not be elected to the Alpine Club because of her gender. The exhibition title could equally have been asked of a number of Walker’s contemporaries, women who climbed seriously in the second half of the 19th century and before the founding of the LAC in 1907. The exhibition highlighted a number of these women and their climbing achievements.

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It is interesting to note that there was never any official Alpine Club rule against the admission of women; applications from women candidates were simply not welcomed on account of their perceived ‘physical and moral deficiencies in the matter of mountain climbing’. The exhibition placed these attitudes in context, with comparisons made with other alpine clubs, organisations and societies. The lead up to the vote, and its eventual passage, were explored, including details of the women who joined prior to the vote and the rather embarrassing tale of Tschingel, the mountain-climbing dog who was reputedly the Club’s first female member.

With the admission of women to the AC, a merger with the LAC had a sad inevitability. The exhibition dealt with the history of the LAC, its founders, key members and their achievements over the lifetime of the club. The final section of the exhibition was a celebration of where we are now: the place of female AC members within the club and in the wider mountaineering community. In putting together this exhibition, as with all remembered anniversaries, the curators hoped to prompt discussions of the past and a fresh evaluation of the present. What would Lucy say, indeed?

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Collections

Books

The Library was grateful to receive a donation of seventeen rare and fine illustrated books on Wales from the library of Jon Mellor, donated by Rowena Mellor. The books are 18[th] and early 19[th] century titles on Wales and Snowden, and are particularly welcome because they were not previously held in the AC collections. The remaining books in Jon’s library, copies of which are already held in the ACL, were sold at auction, with the Library receiving 5% of the proceeds for helping to sort and value the collection.

The auction proceeds have been used to offset some of the costs of conserving other valuable books by our skilled conservator, Cyril Titus. During the year Cyril made two slipcases for our Limited Editions of Everest 1924 (each valued at over £2,000), as well as new storage boxes for five other valuable holdings; Southern Tibet by Sven Hedin, The Gangotri Expedition 1933 by Colin Kirkus, Gangotri and Sutlej 1933 by Charles Warren, Mount Everest 1921 by Charles Howard-Bury and two Mont Blanc titles by Albert Smith.

During 2023, it was noticed that the rather ancient home-made shelving that housed the folio book collection (heavy, over-sized volumes that cannot fit on standard bookshelves) in the basement was in danger of collapsing. Quotations were therefore sought for a professional replacement. After considering them all, it was decided to go with the Rackline system. This provided a four-bay run of reinforced metal shelving, purpose-built to our requirements, and capable of taking the weight of the folios (100 kg per shelf). It also allows for expansion if more shelving is needed in the future. The system was delivered and fitted during a single day in February 2024, but it took Emma, our Librarian, considerably longer to complete the herculean task of re-shelving all the heavyweight volumes.

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Archives

Early in the year, we were delighted to receive the complete archive of Wilfred Noyce. It will probably come as no surprise to members that this constitutes a very substantial amount of material, and includes his diaries from expeditions to Everest, Trivor and Machapuchare. Luckily, the archive is very well sorted and documented, so it should prove to be relatively straightforward for researchers to use and to access any specific information they require.

Photographs

The centenary of the 1924 Everest expedition has seen a plethora of exhibitions, documentaries and publications about that event, and the AC’s archives and photograph collections have been asked to contribute material to many of them. In addition to providing images for the AC’s own Everest Revisited exhibition and the major exhibition at Rheged, the Keeper of Photographs provided images for the Balliol College exhibition Going up to Balliol: Mountaineering at the College , amongst others. The ongoing, and seemingly never-ending, activity of digitally scanning photos and 35mm slides continued apace, with particular emphasis this year on the mountaineering photos and slides of Ian McNaughtDavis and A.B. Clarke’s slides of the 1970 Manchester Nampa Expedition.

Pictures

Following on from last year, interest in the pictures from the AC collection displayed on ArtUK and The Watercolour World has increased even further, and that has encouraged us to increase our presence to the next level, allowing us to display up to 300 selected images. Our presence on ArtUK continues to provide a small but steady income stream that has helped to defray some of the cost of conserving two important paintings from the collection; Clair de lune sur le Cervin by Albert Gos (1852-1942) and Dawn on the Matterhorn seen from the Riffelberg by Gabriel Loppé (1825-1913).

Albert Gos came from an established Genevan family. He devoted his early years to music and studied the violin under Alexandre Calame’s wife, Amélie Munz-Berger. Despite acclaim at the Geneva Conservatory, Gos turned to painting when he was twenty-two and took lessons for several months from one of Alexandre Calame’s leading pupils Barthélemy Menn. His instruction overlapped with Ferdinand Hodler who was also one of Menn’s pupils. Gos’s debut picture Moonlight in the Lauterbrunnen Valley was hung in the Lausanne Gallery in 1873 followed three years later by a first submission to the Paris Salon in 1876. Gos exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1880 and, subsequently, numerous private and official exhibitions, both in Switzerland and abroad, brought the young painter into prominence.

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His notable early exhibition was a solo one at the Georges Petit Gallery in Paris in 1895 and one which confirmed his reputation as a peintre de montagne and one of the best known Valaisan painters of his generation. Indeed, of all the subjects of which it could be said that Gos made his ‘own’, his prolific Cervin (Matterhorn) pictures were what he became famous for and in alpine clubs and artistic communities, his name was frequently written as ‘Albert Gos, Le peintre du ’ Cervin . Unusually, he made many moonlit views of the mountain too and the Alpine Club’s Clair de Lune is not only one of the largest compositions he ever painted, but is also the largest picture hanging in Charlotte Road.

The Gos family divided their time between Geneva and Zermatt and Albert’s children became well-known in their respective artistic fields. They were accomplished mountaineers too, especially Charles who made the first unguided ascent of the Zmutt Grat on the Matterhorn’s north face. The eldest son, François followed on from his father as a painter, his brother Charles was a writer and the youngest, Emile a widely revered mountain photographer. The title: Les Gos, une montagne en heritage seemed a most suitable one for a retrospective exhibition held in Martigny a few years ago and starting with Albert, the Gos family’s remarkable affinity with the Matterhorn continued for a few generations.

Clair de Lune sur le Cervin (oil on canvas, 209cm x 180cm) by Albert Gos was extensively restored in late 2024 and rehung in its place in the Charlotte Road Lecture Room in early 2025. Until 1999 the painting had never been cleaned and, crucially, restretched on its chassis. This was partly due to its unwieldy size and partly to the neglect. As a result, the unframed canvas had sunk and pooled at the bottom. There was significant paint loss due to the blistering brought on by the collapsing paint surface. In 2000, John Mitchell Fine Paintings undertook the relining of the canvas through Trevor Cumin in Putney and at that stage the priority was to clean the surface where possible but above all consolidate the paint surface from losing any more paint and ground. A generation on, the heavy mastic varnishes used to effectively glue the picture back together had shrunk and discoloured significantly. Apelles Art consulted David Chesterman and Sons in Clapham and whilst costly, the verdict was in favour of a complete removal of all the layers of varnish and a more invasive clean going back to the original paint surface. Thanks to a strong relining done in 2000, the picture stood up to the task and now hangs in all its moonlit splendour in the Lecture Room.

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A second venerable Lecture Room picture, Dawn on the Matterhorn seen from the Riffelberg (oil on canvas, 98.5cm x 73.5cm, 1879) by Gabriel Loppé had become very discoloured since its last treatment in 1998 by John Mitchell Fine Paintings. A long overdue removal of oxidised and discoloured varnish was needed. Some further impacted and historic grime was removed and the canvas was given a re-stretching prior to revarnishing. Sadly, this stretcher or chassis will need replacing at some point in the near future, but as well as a clean several minor losses of pigment were replaced. Interestingly this picture had also never been cleaned or tightened until 1998 and yet it did not need relining like the Gos. It now looks resplendent after its re-hanging in the bar area of the Lecture Room.

Artefacts

The AC’s artefact collection is nothing if not eclectic. That was emphasised during 2024 with the donation of a unique piece of climbing hardware known as the Beveridge Block (see photo). This Heath-Robinson piece of equipment was constructed by Adam Roberts. In the late 1970s Roberts was working at the London School of Economics (LSE) and was often distracted by the sight of the corner of the Old Building across the road. Dubbed the ‘Northeast Arete’, it was made up of blocks of smooth, grey limestone that led to the crux of the fourth-floor cornice. Roberts thought it would go, but was unsure how to protect it. Eventually, he came up with the device in the photograph; the prototype of the Beveridge Block. Its two wedges, made from plywood left over from a kitchen renovation, are secured by an adjustable tongue and groove mechanism that allows the device to fit tightly into the gaps between the corbel stones. Having made the device, Roberts put his homemade contraption to good use in protecting his first ascent of the northeast corner of the Old Building with three friends on 16 April 1978. Apparently, the name derived from the facts that William Beveridge was Director of the LSE before WWII, that Beveridge and Roberts were both Balliol College alumni and, perhaps more importantly, its alliterative construction made it pleasing to the ear. Readers will not be surprised to learn that the device has neither an EU nor UK approved safety rating.

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Monuments

The year was dominated by the successful completion of the long-running project to restore and move the monument to C.E. Mathews in Chamonix from its original position outside the old Couttets Hotel to a new and more prominent location at the entrance to the Couttets Park. As previously reported, the project was delayed and disrupted by the Covid pandemic, but benefitted from the relentless drive and determination of our friends in Chamonix, Claude Marin and Claire Burnett, together with Charlie Burbridge, our Keeper of Monuments. With the additional strong support of the Mayor and his office, this substantial monument was moved, cleaned, repaired and installed in its new location. The official rededication ceremony, held in July 2024, provided an opportunity for the AC, Chamonix and the Guides to reaffirm our comradeship. The gathering was modest due to the inclement weather, but in attendance were the AC President, the President of the Chamonix Guides, a representative of the BMG, the Chamonix Tourist Office and the Mayor; making for a very convivial and friendly event.

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The monuments generally continue to attract interest across the Club, and the Mathews project has increased awareness of the existence of monuments elsewhere. The plaque to Maurice Simond attached to the Bar Nationale receives a regular clean from passing AC members. The plaque to Clinton Dent on the Britannia Hit is checked regularly to ensure that it is still in place and weather resistant. The Hinchcliffe Memorial in Riffelalp is likely to need attention in the near future since the chains that surround its base are badly corroded due to the monument’s elevated location.

End Note

At the risk of repetition, I again end this report by expressing my gratitude to everyone in the Library team, Librarian, Trustees, Keepers, Members and Volunteers, who once again gave their time so generously and ungrudgingly throughout the year. Thanks also to all who supplied the details of their activities needed to compile this report.

Philip Meredith

Chair of the Council of Trustees of the Alpine Club Library

July 2025

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Reference and administrative details

Charity number: Company number: Registered office: Company secretary:

313051 01002955 55 Charlotte Road, London, EC2A 3QF Professor Philip Meredith

Our advisers

Independent Examiners and Auditors

Bankers Investment advisors Honorary solicitor

TC Group NatWest Group Quilter Cheviot Limited David Unwin

Members of Council

The directors of the charitable company (the charity) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law.

The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows: Professor Philip Meredith (Chairman)

Barbara Grigor-Taylor (resigned 08/10/2024) Kimball Morrison Robin Ashcroft Trevor Campbell Davis Alan Henderson Stephen Venables (appointed 08/12/2024) Gordon Turner (appointed 01/11/2024) John Porter (appointed 10/12/2024)

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FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Structure, governance and management

Alpine Club Library is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 22 February 1971. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission.

The Library is managed by a Council of Trustees, comprising five members nominated by the Alpine Club, one by the Royal Geographical Society and one by the British Mountaineering Council. Day to day book library operations are in the care of a salaried professional librarian who works closely with the Honorary Librarian. Other collections are managed by our volunteer Honorary Keepers and Honorary Archivist.

None of the Members of Council has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the Members of Council are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £5 in the event of a winding up. The Members of Council are fully aware of their responsibilities as Trustees of the charity.

Risk

The Board of Trustees holds overall responsibility for Risk Management for the organisation and has conducted a review of the major risks to which the organisation is exposed. Consequently and where appropriate, systems or procedures have been established to manage the risks that the Charity faces.

Appreciation

Finally, I cannot end this report without expressing gratitude to everyone in the Library Team and to all the Volunteers who gave their time so ungrudgingly throughout the year. Without your efforts the ACL could not function. Thank you!

We are open to the public 46 weeks of the year

The Library opens to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (except during August and the Christmas – New Year week), but please email to check, particularly if travelling from afar. Appointments are possible on other days by prior arrangement with the Librarian. Some of our historic items are only available by appointment. The catalogues of Books and Archives, and the Himalayan Index (which lists all summits and climbs in the Himalayas) can also be accessed via the Alpine Club website. We always look forward to welcoming visitors.

Statement of the Members of Council’s responsibilities

The directors, who constitute the Executive Committee, are responsible for preparing the Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Executive Committee to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these accounts, the Executive Committee is required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities’ SORP;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the charitable company will continue in business.

18

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

The Executive Committee is responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

On behalf of the board of Members of Council Pip bende

Professor Philip Meredith (Chairman) Council 16.08.2025 Dated: .........................

19

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

TO THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL OF ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

We have audited the financial statements of The Alpine Club Library for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet and notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and the provisions available for small entities, and we have fulfilled our ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorized for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees’ with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, including the trustees’ report, other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

20

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

TO THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL OF ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (CONTINUED)

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• the information given in the trustees' report (incorporating the strategic report and the directors’ report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the strategic report and the directors' report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report and the directors' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require; or

• the directors were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees' responsibilities statement, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative to do so.

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.

Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

The objectives of our audit, in respect to fraud, are: to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses; and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both those charged with governance of the entity and its management.

21

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

TO THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL OF ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (CONTINUED)

Our approach was as follows:

• We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our general sector experience, and through discussion with the trustees and other management (as required by auditing standards), and discussed with the trustees and other management the policies and procedures regarding compliance with laws and regulations (see below);

• We identified the following areas as those most likely to have such an effect: health and safety; General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); fraud; bribery and corruption; DBS checks; and employment law. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. The identified actual or suspected non-compliance was not sufficiently significant to our audit to result in our response being identified as a key audit matter.

• • We considered the legal and regulatory frameworks directly applicable to the financial statements reporting framework (FRS 102, the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011) and the relevant tax compliance regulations in the UK.

• We considered the nature of the charitable company’s operations, the control environment and financial performance.

• We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.

• We considered the procedures and controls that the charitable company has established to address risks identified, or that otherwise prevent, deter and detect fraud; and how senior management monitors those procedures and controls.

Based on this understanding we designed our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with such laws and regulations. Where the risk was considered to be higher, we performed audit procedures to address each identified fraud risk. These procedures included: testing manual journals; reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation; performing analytical procedures; and enquiring of management, and were designed to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements were free from fraud or error.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for the no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members, as a body, for our audit work, or for the opinions we have formed.

Mark Cummins FCCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of TC Group Statutory Auditors

Office: Steyning, West Sussex

Dated:

22

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

		Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total	Total
		funds	Funds	funds	2024	2023
	Note	£	£	£	£	£
Income from:
Donations and legacies		23,925	-	-	23,925	8,722
Other trading activities		15,373	2,728	-	18,101	28,137
Investment income	5	39,748	-	-	39,748	41,082
		───────	────────	────────	────────	────────
Total income		79,046	2,728	-	81,774	77,941
		───────	────────	────────	───────	───────
Expenditure on:
Raising funds		9,307	-	-	9,307	8,495
Charitable activities:
Library operation		61,750	4,230	7,100	73,080	64,908
		────────	────────	────────	────────	────────
Total expenditure	6	71,057	4,230	7,100	82,387	73,403
		────────	────────	────────	────────	────────
Other losses	9	-	-	(100,000)	(100,000)	-
Net gains on investments	10	110,328	-	-	110,328	54,917
Transfer between funds	13	(100,000)	-	100,000	-	-
		────────	────────	────────	────────	────────
Net movement in funds		18,317	(1,502)	(7,100)	9,715	59,455
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward		1,299,141	14,382	143,846	1,457,369	1,397,914
		────────	────────	────────	────────	────────
Total funds carried forward	15	1,317,458	12,880	136,746	1,467,084	1,457,369
		════════	════════	════════	════════	════════

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

All income and gains for the period are recognised above. All of the activities are classified as continuing.

23

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

			2024		2023
	Notes	£	£	£	£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets	9		338		100,743
Investments	10		1,413,440		1,222,862
			────────		────────
			1,413,778		1,323,605
Current assets
Debtors	11	5,950		995
Cash at bank and in hand		79,487		147,939
		────────		────────
		85,437		148,934
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year	12	(32,131)		(15,170)
		────────		────────
Net current assets			53,306		133,764
			────────		────────
Total assets less current liabilities			1,467,084		1,457,369
			════════		════════
Funds of the charity	Funds of the charity
Restricted funds	13		136,746		143,846
Unrestricted general funds	15		1,317,458		1,299,141
Unrestricted designated funds	14		12,880		14,382
			────────		────────
			1,467,084		1,457,369
			════════		════════

The directors are responsible for ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006 and for preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its result for each year in accordance with the requirements of section 396 of the Act and which otherwise comply with its requirements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.

The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

The accounts were approved by the Board on .............................. Professor Philip Meredith (Chairman) PALS Medi Council

Company Registration No. 01002955

24

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 Legal status of charitable company

Alpine Club Library is a charitable company, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. The charitable company’s registered number and registered office can be found in the Council’s report.

In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £5 per member of the charity.

2 Accounting policies

2.1 Basis of preparation

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Alpine Club Library meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). There are no material uncertainties about Alpine Club Library’s ability to continue as a going concern.

The functional currency of the charity is pounds sterling. Items are rounded to the nearest pound.

2.2

Income

Income is derived from the promotion, support and maintenance of a mountaineering library.

Primary income generating activities being the sale of duplicate books, the sale of reproduction rights for photographs, commissions from painting sales alongside donations. Income from these activities is recognised when the proceeds are realised.

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Investment income is accounted for when receivable.

2.3 Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis with the irrecoverable element of VAT included with the item of expense to which it relates.

Charitable activity costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity.

Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include independent examination fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity. These are shown within support costs.

2.4 Fund accounting

Funds held by the charity are either:

Restricted funds – these are funds subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the accounts.

Unrestricted general funds – these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the Members of Council.

25

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

2 Accounting policies (continued)

2.4 Fund accounting (continued)

Unrestricted designated funds – these are unrestricted funds that have been ring fenced by the Trustees for projects and causes.

The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the accounts.

2.5

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets in use at rates to calculated to write off the cost of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

Fixtures, fittings & equipment

Over 4 years

No depreciation has been provided on the paintings, as the directors consider that the nature of these assets can only appreciate in value. In the current period these have been disposed of to bring the treatment in line with heritage assets held off balance sheet.

2.6

Investments

Investments are included at fair value at the balance sheet date. Any gain or loss on revaluation is taken to the Statement of Financial Activities.

2.7 Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discounts offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

2.8 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments. The trustees seek to use short term deposits where possible to maximise the return on monies held at the bank and to manage cash flow.

2.9

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.

2.10 Cash Flow Statement

In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) the charity is claiming exemption from the requirement to prepare a cash flow statement on account of it being a small charity.

2.11 Foreign currency

Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Day to day transactions in foreign currencies are initially recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing on the dates of the transactions. Exchange differences are taken into account in arriving at the operating result.

2.12 Estimates and judgements

Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed by trustees on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised.

The trustees do not consider that there are any critical estimates or areas of judgement that need to be brought to the attention of the readers of the financial statements.

26

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

3 Taxation

The charitable company is registered as a charity and all of its income falls within the exemptions under Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.

4 Comparative funds – Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 December 2023

		Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total
		Funds	Funds	Funds	2023
		£	£	£	£
	Income from:
	Donations and legacies	8,213	509	-	8,722
	Other trading activities	17,730	10,275	132	28,137
	Investment income	41,082	-	-	41,082
		────────	────────	────────	────────
	Total income	67,025	10,784	132	77,941
		────────	────────	────────	────────
	Expenditure on:
	Raising funds	8,495	-	-	8,495
	Charitable activities
	Library operation	50,574	7,449	6,885	64,908
		────────	────────	────────	────────
	Total expenditure	59,069	7,449	6,885	73,403
		────────	────────	────────	────────
	Net gains/(loss) on investments	54,917	-	-	54,917
		────────	────────	────────	────────
	Transfer between funds	(11,047)	11,047	-	-
		────────	────────	────────	────────
	Net movement in funds	51,826	14,382	(6,753)	59,455
	Reconciliation of funds
	Total funds brought forward	1,247,315	-	150,599	1,397,914
		────────	────────	────────	────────
	Total funds carried forward	1,229,141	14,382	143,846	1,457,369
		════════	════════	════════	════════
5	Investment income
				2024	2023
				£	£
	Income from listed investments			39,748	41,082
				────────	────────
				39,748	41,082
				════════	════════

27

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

6	Expenditure
		Staff	Other	Total	Total
		costs	costs	2024	2023
		£	£	£	£
	Raising funds
	Investment management fees	-	9,307	9,307	8,495
	Charitable activities
	Library operation:
	Activities undertaken directly	35,455	32,625	68,080	61,068
	Support costs	-	5,000	5,000	3,840
		────────	────────	────────	───────
	Total charitable activities	35,455	37,625	73,080	64,908
		────────	────────	────────	───────
	Total expenditure	35,455	46,932	82,387	73,403
		════════	════════	════════	═══════

Support costs include governance costs which comprise payments to the Independent Auditor of £5,000 for Audit Fees (2023: Independent examination fees of £3,840). Other costs include depreciation of £405 (2023: £406).

During the year TC Group provided payroll services totalling £160 which are included within other costs.

7 Members Of Council

No Trustees received any remuneration during the year. During the year two trustees were reimbursed expenditure totalling £1,506 (2023: four trustees were reimbursed expenditure totalling £2,416).

8 Employees

Number of employees

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

	2024	2023
	Number	Number
Administration staff	1	1
	═══════	═══════
Employment costs	2024	2023
	£	£
Wages and salaries	34,603	32,908
Pension costs	852	852
	───────	───────
	35,455	33,760
	═══════	═══════

There were no employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more in 2024 or 2023. The trustees are the key management and were not remunerated during the period or previous year.

28

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

9 Tangible fixed assets

9	Tangible fixed assets
		Paintings	Fixtures,	Total
			fittings &
			equipment
		£	£	£
	Cost
	At 1 January 2024	100,000	4,626	104,626
	Disposals	(100,000)	-	(100,000)
		───────	───────	───────
	At 31 December 2024	-	4,626	4,626
		───────	───────	───────
	Depreciation
	At 1 January 2024	-	3,883	3,883
	Charge for the year	-	405	405
		───────	───────	───────
	At 31 December 2024	-	4,288	4,288
		───────	───────	───────
	Net book value
	At 31 December 2024	-	338	338
		═══════	═══════	═══════
	At 31 December 2023	100,000	743	100,743
		═══════	═══════	═══════
10	Fixed asset investments
				Listed
				investments
				£
	Fair value at 1 January 2024			1,222,862
	Disposals at opening book value			(303,570)
	Acquisitions at cost			390,486
	Change in value in the year			103,662
				───────
	Fair value at 31 December 2024			1,413,440
				═══════
	The investment assets are held:
	In the UK			1,040,237
	Outside the UK			373,203
				───────
				1,413,440
				═══════
	Historical cost:
	At 31 December 2024			1,028,062
				═══════
	At 31 December 2023			943,737
				═══════

29

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

10 Fixed asset investments

( continued)

Gain on investment assets totalling £110,328 (2023: gain £54,917) are shown in the Statement of Financial Activities comprising a gain on disposal of investments of £6,666 (2023: gain £3,395), unrealised gain on investments of £103,662 (2023: gain of £51,522).

11	Debtors	2024	2023
		£	£
	Trade debtors	5,950	995
		───────	───────
		5,950	995
		═══════	═══════
12	Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	2024	2023
		£	£
	Trade creditors	27,131	11,330
	Accruals	5,000	3,840
		───────	───────
		32,131	15,170
		═══════	═══════

13 Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:

	Balance at					Balance at
	1 January	Incoming	Resources	Transfer	Gains/	31 December
	2024	resources	expended		(losses)	2024
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Himalayan Index
Fund	4,278	-	-	-	-	4,278
Acquisition Fund	10,335	-	-	-	-	10,335
Librarian Fund	29,233	-	(7,100)	-	-	22,133
Pictures &
Preservation Fund	100,000	-	-	100,000	(100,000)	100,000
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	143,846	-	(7,100)	100,000	(100,000)	136,746
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

30

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

13 Restricted funds

(continued)

The Himalayan Index Fund is used to maintain the charity's database which stores data on ascents of, and attempts on, mountains over 6,000 metres.

The Acquisition Fund is used to facilitate the purchase, at short notice, any special item which comes on the market.

The Librarian Fund is used to fund one day a week of the staff costs of the permanent librarian.

The Pictures and Preservation Fund relates to 3 specific Ruskin paintings donated by Dr Charles Warren. These assets were taken off the balance sheet to be consistent with the accounting treatment of other heritage assets. However, the trustees have maintained the value of this fund through a transfer from unrestricted funds.

14 Designated funds

The income funds of the charity include designated funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:

	Balance at				Balance at
	1 January	Incoming	Resources	Transfers	31 December
	2024	resources	expended		2024
	£	£	£	£	£
Keeper’s Fund	14,382	2,728	(4,230)	-	12,880
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	14,382	2,728	(4,230)	-	12,880
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

The Keeper's Fund is used to ring-fence funds to directly support the activities of our keepers. Incoming resources represent income generated by keepers throughout the year.

15 Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds
	Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total
	funds	funds	funds
	£	£	£	£
Fund balances at 31 December 2024 are represented by:
Tangible fixed assets	338	-	-	338
Investments	1,413,440	-	-	1,413,440
Current assets	(64,189)	12,880	136,746	85,437
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(32,131)	-	-	(32,131)
	───────	───────	───────	───────
	1,317,458	12,880	136,746	1,467,084
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

31

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

15	Analysis of net assets between funds			(continued)	(continued)
		Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total
		funds	funds	funds
		£	£	£	£
	Fund balances at 31 December 2023 are represented by:
	Tangible fixed assets	743	-	100,000	100,743
	Investments	1,222,862	-	-	1,222,862
	Current assets	90,706	14,382	43,846	148,934
	Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(15,170)	-	-	(15,170)
		───────	───────	───────	───────
		1,299,141	14,382	143,846	1,457,369
		═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

16 Related parties

The Alpine Club is a related party to the charity as it has the power to appoint 5 members of the council of the Alpine Club Library.

During the year the charity paid rent & services of £17,500 to the Alpine Club (2023: £17,500). The Alpine Club made donations to the charity during the year of £17,500 (2023 £17,500). At the balance sheet date the Alpine Club Library owed £26,269 (2023: £nil) to the Alpine Club.

17 Control

The charity is under the control of the board of trustees. No one member has overall control.

32