Ken Wilson (mountaineering writer)
Ken Wilson (Kenneth John Wilson, 7 February 1941 – 11 June 2016) was a British writer, editor and publisher who focused on climbing and mountaineering. He is remembered as a major voice in British climbing and for helping shape climbing publishing.
Born in Solihull to Blanche (née Colman) and John Wilson, a stationery salesman, Wilson studied architecture and photography at Birmingham College of Art. He worked for architectural photographer Henk Snoek in London, where he met his wife Gloria; they married in 1971 and had two children.
In 1968, Wilson took charge of Mountain Craft, a Youth Hostels Association magazine. He moved it to Llanberis, North Wales, built a strong network of climbers, and renamed it Mountain. He wrote for and edited the magazine from 1969 to 1978, turning it into a leading voice in climbing. The magazine was known for high journalistic standards and for covering major events, such as the Cairngorm Plateau disaster in 1971. Alan Hinkes later called it perhaps the finest mountain magazine ever published.
Wilson’s 1974 book Mountain Craft brought together writings from top climbers like Chris Bonington, Royal Robbins, Jim Perrin, Ed Drummond and Al Alvarez. He edited and published Hard Rock (1974), which The Guardian called one of the most influential climbing books of the 20th century. He also produced Classic Rock, Extreme Rock, Cold Climbs, The Big Walks, Classic Walks and Wild Walks, and the 1978 anthology The Games Climbers Play. He contributed to The Black Cliff.
He founded two publishing firms, Diadem and Bâton Wicks. Wilson was active in mountaineering politics, campaigning to allow women to join the Climbers’ Club, serving on the British Mountaineering Council, and speaking out on climbing ethics.
Ken Wilson passed away in 2016 at the age of 75.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:17 (CET).