Kirjahaku

'At 3:00 am, with headlamps probing the gloom, we crept up Cotopaxi's glaciated flanks, turning sinister-looking crevasses and ascending steep icy walls. It was bitterly cold, and by the time we approached the summit, the wind cut through us like the arrow grass of the plains below. The violet sky was littered with stars and the great expanse of the Amazon was bathed in diffused light as we reached the rim of the vast crater, where an ominous-looking wisp of smoke eddied as if at the behest of an unseen deity.' The Fox of Glencoe chronicles the adventures of the legendary Hamish MacInnes and his achievements in the field of mountaineering. Throughout this rich collection of tales, Hamish's unorthodox character and pragmatic approach to risk and loss are conveyed with wry, elegant style, offering a glimpse into the mind of one of the greatest mountaineers of our time. Few people cram as much into a lifetime as Hamish did, and these memoirs reflect his restless curiosity and ability to marshal loyalty and support for the most outlandish schemes. The result is an eclectic array of tales that include youthful and historic first ascents, a disorganised attempt on Everest with only 40 pound and a borrowed tent; hunting for treasure in South America; dangling film stars from DIY contraptions off the North Face of the Eiger; hot air ballooning off Ben Nevis; and much else besides. Tenacious and inventive by nature, Hamish also committed much of his life to developing modern alpinism and promoting mountain safety and rescue. His legacy is vividly brought to life in this collection of unseen and retold stories, images and additional narratives from some of his closest friends. A portrait of a life lived to the full, The Fox of Glencoe captures a bygone age and will strike a chord with anyone with a spirit of adventure, and who sees possibilities rather than constraints.

Chronicles the adventures of the legendary Hamish MacInnes and his achievements in the field of mountaineering. Throughout this rich collection of tales, Hamish's unorthodox character and pragmatic approach to risk and loss are conveyed with wry, elegant style, offering a glimpse into the mind of one of the greatest mountaineers of our time.

Call-Out is the definitive collection of tales about early mountain rescue in the Highlands of Scotland from Hamish MacInnes – Everest pioneer and arguably the most famous Scottish mountaineer of the twentieth century.In the late 1960s, MacInnes led the Glencoe Mountain Rescue team and together they developed innovative techniques and equipment in order to save lives – often risking their own in the process – whether night or day, and always at a moment’s notice. He was a central figure in the rescue during the 1963 New Year tragedy in the Cuillins on the Isle of Skye, and led groundbreaking rescues on Buichaille Etive Mor, Ben Nevis, Bidean nam Bian and many other legendary Scottish mountains.At the heart of the stories in Call-Out are the unique characters in the team and wider Glencoe community who demonstrate faultless camaraderie, and – by virtue of MacInnes’s engaging storytelling – inject an almost comical slant into these sometimes-grim accounts of misadventure in the mountains.The dark allure of the frozen Scottish peaks provides a foreboding backdrop against which we learn of Hamish MacInnes’s concern for human life under even the most extreme conditions. Call-Out offers an inspiring portrayal of responsible and dedicated mountaineering practice, which is as pertinent today as ever.

Over 9,000 feet up on the top of Mount Roraima is a twenty-five mile square plateau, at the point where Guyana’s border meets Venezuela and Brazil. In 1973, Scottish mountaineering legend Hamish MacInnes alongside climbing notoriety Don Whillans, Mo Anthoine and Joe Brown trekked through dense rainforest and swamp, and climbed the sheer overhanging sandstone wall of the great prow in order to conquer this Conan Doyle fantasy summit.As one of the last unexplored corners of the world, in order to reach the foot of the prow the motley yet vastly experienced expedition trudged through a saturated world of bizarre vegetation, fantastically contorted slime-coated trees and deep white mud; a world dominated by bushmaster snakes, scorpions and giant bird-eating spiders.This wasn’t the end of it, however. The stately prow itself posed extreme technical complications: the rock was streaming with water, and the few-and-far-between ledges were teeming with scorpion-haunted bromeliads. This was not a challenge to be taken lightly. However, if anyone was going to do it, it was going to be this group of UK climbing pioneers, backed by The Observer, supported by the Guyanan Government, and accompanied by a BBC camera team, their mission was very much in the public eye.Climb to the Lost World is a story of discovering an alien world of tortured rock formations, sunken gardens and magnificent waterfalls, combined with the trials and tribulations of day-to-day expedition life. MacInnes’ dry humour and perceptive observations of his companions, flora and fauna relay the story of this first ascent with passion and in true explorer style.