The National Mountaineering Exhibition

In 1998, the president of the British Mountaineering Council, George Band - veteran of the successful 1953 Everest Expedition - asked his friend John Innerdale to find a site to create a National Exhibition of Mountaineering. This was to be the first National Exhibition honouring the history, culture and the personalities of the men and women who developed mountaineering in Britain. There was a rich and undeveloped heritage to go at, but where to house it all?

By a happy coincidence a new Exhibition Centre was being constructed near Penrith called Rheged. Having investigated many possibilities nationally, John Innerdale recommended this as a prime location for the Exhibition since it had the three fold advantage of being an environmental sensitive development near the M6 and adjoining the Lake District where climbing in the county began. John Porter was brought in by the Board Chairman of Rheged, John Dunning, who suggested to John Innerdale that the BMC called on his services as project manager.

"John carried out that task with enormous energy, enthusiasm and consummate skill," says Innerdale. He says Porter drew together many knowledgeable members of the climbing world and bonded them into an effective team. But more than that, he says it was Porter who navigated the extremely complex application process to secure the project £240,000 in European Regional Development Funding and also a five year sponsorship package with the Climbing equipment manufacturer Helly Hanson. Porter worked closely with Innerdale and the American based design team to determine the character and content, and researched and co-produced the film which makes up one of the strands of the Exhibition. He wrote much of the accompanying text, secured many of the photographs and requested the artefacts from the Alpine Club, the Fell and Rock Club and private collections which now reside at the exhibition.

At the end Porter also delivered the project on the due date at a price which exceeded the budget by 4 per cent. "That's fairly miraculous," says Innerdale, a professional architect used to working to budget limitations.

The exhibition was opened by Prime Minister Tony Blair ten days after the completion date, on July 25, 2001. Despite the fact it was opened in the midst of the foot and mouth epidemic, it attracted 40,000 visitors in its first year.

Innerdale, who is now curator of the exhibition, says of Porter: "I do see a very focused person with enormous energy. Having also seen Judith Brown in action in other work assignments, I can understand they complement each other as a team."