Hamish MacInnes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dr Hamish MacInnes (b. 1930) is a Scottish mountaineer, leading mountain search and rescuer, author and advisor. He is the leading Scottish winter mountaineer of the generation following W. H. Murray.

MacInnes was born in Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland in 1930. He made the first winter ascent of Crowberry Ridge Direct and of Raven's Gully on Buachaille Etive Mòr with Chris Bonington in 1953. He designed the first all-metal ice axe,^[1] and is credited with introducing the short ice axe and hammer with inclined picks for Scottish winter work in the early 1960s. He pioneered the exploration of the Glencoe cliffs for winter work with the Glencoe School of Winter Climbing and for many years led the area's Mountain Rescue team. He is recognised as having developed modern mountain rescue in Scotland, setting up the Search and Rescue Dog Association and the Avalanche Information service, and inventing the MacInnes stretcher, which is used for rescues worldwide.^[1] In 1975, MacInnes was deputy leader to Bonington's Everest expedition, which included Dougal Haston and Doug Scott.^[2]

Although never an official member, MacInnes climbed extensively with the Creag Dhu, the notorious Glasgow-based climbing club as well as with the rival Aberdeen clubs and joined forces with Tom Patey to make the first winter traverse of the Cuillin Ridge on Skye. MacInnes is known as the "Fox of Glencoe" for his cunning as a mountaineer.^[3] He was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and received the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture in 2008.^[1]

He has been involved with a number of films, as climber, climbing double and safety officer, including The Eiger Sanction and The Mission,^[3] and has written numerous books on mountaineering, including the International Mountain Rescue Handbook (1972), regarded as the standard manual worldwide,^[3] and Callout (1973), his classic account of his experiences leading the Glencoe Rescue team.

[edit] Bibliography

MacInnes, Hamish (1963). Climbing: A Guide To Mountaineering And Mountain Rescue. Edinburgh: Scottish Youth Hostels Association.
MacInnes, Hamish; Ian Clough; Richard Brian Evans (1969). Ben Nevis and Glencoe : Guide To Winter Climbs. Manchester: Cicerone. ISBN 9780902363007.
MacInnes, Hamish (1971). Scottish Climbs : A Mountaineer's Pictorial Guide To Climbing In Scotland. London: Constable. ISBN 9780094574502.
MacInnes, Hamish (1972). International Mountain Rescue Handbook. London: Constable. ISBN 9780094582002.
MacInnes, Hamish (1973). Callout. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 9780340173961.
MacInnes, Hamish (1974). Climb To The Lost World. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 9780340190418.
MacInnes, Hamish (1976). Death Reel. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 9780340207253.
MacInnes, Hamish (1979). Look Behind The Ranges : A Mountaineer's Selection Of Adventures And Expeditions. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 9780340189498.
MacInnes, Hamish (1979). West Highland Walks. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 9780340239155.
MacInnes, Hamish (1980). High Drama : Mountain Rescue Stories From Four Continents. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 780340245590.
MacInnes, Hamish (1982). Scottish Winter Climbs. London: Constable. ISBN 9780094636200.
MacInnes, Hamish (1984). Beyond the Ranges. London: V. Gollancz. ISBN 9780575035126.
MacInnes, Hamish (1985). Sweep Search. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 9780340372586.
MacInnes, Hamish (1988). My Scotland. London: Constable. ISBN 9780094677005.
MacInnes, Hamish (1988). Highland Walks. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 9780340423844.
MacInnes, Hamish; Oliver Thomson (1988). Glencoe. London: National Trust for Scotland. ISBN 9780901625526.
MacInnes, Hamish (1989). The Way Through The Glen. London: Constable. ISBN 9780094693401.
MacInnes, Hamish; Moira Kerr (1989). Land Of Mountain And Mist. Glencoe: Glencoe Productions. ISBN 9780951438008.
MacInnes (ed), Hamish (2003). The Mammoth Book of Mountain Disasters: True Stories of Rescue from the Brink of Death. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 9780786712397.