Although there has been a general decline in the number of expeditions to the Himalaya over recent years, Pakistan still tempts many climbers, and in 1999 attracted the same number of expeditions as Greenland. However only one of them, to Shel Chakpa (south of the Biafo) succeeded in climbing its primary objective. The other four expeditions experienced heavy snow and dangerous conditions, although a team hoping to climb a new route on Latok III had successes on other peaks around the Choktoi Glacier. Teams on Sangemarmar (Batura Mustagh), Saraghrar (Hindu Kush) and Pumari Chhish (north of the Hispar-Biafo Glacier system) were not so fortunate, and retreated whilst they were still able to do so.

Two expeditions to India had mixed fortunes. One team, hoping to make the first ascents of both Arwa Tower and Arwa Spire in the Garhwal, was successful on the former, whilst another to the Arunachal Pradesh suffered delays then illness and injuries on the walk-in, and had to be rescued by helicopter without setting foot on their mountain.

There are still plenty of unclimbed mountains in Tibet, and a team in the Western Nyanchen Tanglha Range achieved the first ascent of one of them, Machag. In the Trans-Himalaya of Central West Tibet an Anglo-American party drove to a high base camp and then suffered acclimatisation problems and poor snow conditions, but nevertheless achieved a couple of summits and carried out a useful reconnaissance, identifying tracks of snow leopard at altitudes up to 6000 metres.

Greenland would appear to be the place to go for unclimbed peaks of all standards. Reporting from north to south, in Louise Boyd's Land a group of University students achieved 15 first ascents as well as some botanical and geological research. In Rignys Bjerg a team made first ascents of 3 peaks, whilst in the Lemon Mountains another party climbed no less than 18 routes including first ascents of 12 peaks. In Schweizerland a strong team of rock-climbers achieved their objectives of two new routes and in the far south a two-man team completed the W-E traverse that they had attempted two years earlier, making 4 first ascents en route.

North America continues to be popular. After being dropped by boat, an international party skied into the St Elias mountains of Canada, and as part of an 11-day traverse made the first ascent of NW Cook A two-man team in the Yukon experienced bad weather, but made the first ascent of the North Summit of Mount Seattle, whilst on the other side of Canada the first British team to visit Stewart Valley on Baffin Island climbed in shifts by day and night to make the first ascent of 'Citadel Wall' 'more impressive than Yosemite'. The weather had a major effect on all four expeditions to Alaska. A two-man team hoping to climb new routes on Thunder Mountain and Mount Hunter was hit by an avalanche and aborted due to dangerous windslab, but succeeded in climbing the SW Ridge to the South summit of the latter. Another expedition to Mount Hunter - reduced to a single man when his companion received bad news and had to return home - was abandoned when a gap between snow layers made conditions too dangerous to continue. A two-man attempt to climb the Lightning Spur on Thunder Peak was aborted when one of the team received serious head injuries from falling rocks, whilst another team on South Kennedy experienced snow on 19 days out of 21 forcing several retreats

There were four expeditions to South America. In Argentina, a team hoping to climb a new route on the West Face of Fitzroy was defeated by the notorious Patagonian 'summer' weather, but the gamble of another team of getting more settled conditions in winter paid off, and they achieved first winter ascents of several other peaks in the area. Both expeditions to Bolivia recorded successes, a team in the Cordillera Quimsa Cruz climbing 18 new rock routes, with first British ascents of six peaks.

Kyrgyzstan attracted three expeditions in the year, although the ever closer activities of the Taliban prompted the teams visiting Lailiak & Karavshin and the Ak-Su Valley to retreat earlier than planned, although not before some one-day rock routes had been climbed in the former area and three new routes in the latter. The Pamir offered a safer environment and although the higher mountains proved to beyond the technical ability of the team, ascents were made of 5 lower peaks.

Despite going in the 'dry' season, a party hoping to climb the East-facing wall of Low's Gully on Kinabalu experienced 12 hours of rain per day which transformed the crack lines into enormous waterfalls, making progress impossible.

The MEF does not normally support expeditions to the African continent, but the Tsaranoro Massif of Madagascar had no known previous visits by British climbers, so an exception was made for a team which succeeded in putting up a 500m big wall climb on the N Face of Karambony.

There were two caving expeditions during the year, one to Vietnam and one to Sichuan Province in China. Each surveyed some 20 km of new passage, but the hopes of the latter team of linking two major systems were frustrated by a 450 metre gap.

At the kind invitation of the British Mountaineering Council, the Foundation put on a day of lectures at 'Climb 99' held in Birmingham in December. The aim was to tell the story of 'Five Decades of the MEF', but in doing so, the speakers 'some of them making their first 'public' appearances in many years - inevitably told the story of British mountaineering in the Greater Ranges over the period.

We are most grateful to the BMC for being given this opportunity - hopefully the first of many such joint offerings. Plans are already in hand for the MEF to participate at the Kendal Mountaineering Film Festival on the first weekend of December this year.

At the Annual General Meeting, three representatives of the Royal Geographical Society - Jon Fleming, John Peacock and Nick Van Gruisen - complete their six year terms of office on the Committee of Management. I would like to record the sincere thanks of the Foundation to each of them. My own period as representative of the Alpine Club also comes to an end, and I hand over the Chairmanship of the Committee of Management to Martin Price.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my term of office, and should like to express my gratitude for the superb support that Bill Ruthven - ably assisted by his computer mentor, Dave Squires - has given me and the Foundation over that period. I should also like to congratulate Lindsay Griffin in his role as Chairman of the Screening Committee in using his unique knowledge of the World’s greater ranges and what has been done amongst them, in helping his committee to reach rational and balanced judgements on the relative merits of expeditions and the grants they should receive. Richard Morgan, our Treasurer has kept me well informed and has ensured that our funds are well managed.