Sir (William) Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington Conway, became an early member of the Alpine Club, of which he was president from 1902 to 1904. In 1892 he beat the then current high altitude climbing record by ascending to a height of 23,000 ft. (7,010 metres) in the Himalayas in the course of an exploring and mountaineering expedition undertaken under the auspices of the Royal Society, the Royal Geographical Society and the British Association.
In 1896-1897 he explored the interior of Spitsbergen, and the following year he explored and surveyed the Bolivian Andes, climbing Sorata (21,500'/6,553m) and Illimani (21,200'/6,461m). He also ascended Aconcagua (22,831'/6,959m) and explored Tierra del Fuego. At the Paris exhibition of 1900 he received the gold medal for mountain surveys, and the founders medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1905.
He is the author of half a dozen mountaineering books and many others on art history, etc.
