hinchliff was a minor figure of the golden age of alpinism, between wills's ascent of the wetterhorn in 1854 and whymper's conquest of the matterhorn in 1865. in 1857 he was a founding member of the alpine club, the club meeting in his lincoln's inn chambers before it leased rooms of its own at 8 st martin's place, trafalgar square in 1859. john ball was elected the club's first president, with e. s. kennedy as vice-president and hinchliff as secretary. in 1857 hinchliffe published "summer months among the alps: with the ascent of monte rosa", a work which some twenty years later mark twain referred to as "hinchliffe's book". in his "a tramp abroad" (1880), twain's narrator advises his friend harris to read this book to learn about mountain climbing, and a description in it of a fall influences the course of twain's story.