Escaping to the freedom and challenges of the mountains from the constraints of the city has always been important to me. I have an urge to see over the next ridgetop or around the corner into the next valley. Attaining a summit, crossing a pass, or completing a journey always provides a measure of achievement.
My first forays were with the 24th Glasgow ( Bearsden ) Scouts ( whose illustrious leader Alec J. Spalding has recently been awarded an MBE ) and then extended, in all weathers and all seasons, to the far corners of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, with the aid of bicycles, canoes and skis to climb all the Munros.
Alpine ascents also started with the 24th during their regular visits to Kandersteg in Switzerland and continued with the climbing of 30 snow peaks over 3000metres ( 15 over 4000m ) including the Eiger and Mont Blanc in Europe, Toubkal in the High Atlas and Elbert in in the Colorado Rockies.
Accounts of travels and ascents in the Himalaya have always been fascinating but it was only after dispensing with my post as senior lecturer in computer studies at Bell College of Technology in Hamilton that my first visit to Nepal became possible. Although I returned home in a sorry state with a fractured vertebra ( from a fall while washing my hair in a waterfall ) I was totally enthralled by my experiences in trekking around the Annapurna Himal and have returned every autumn for 12 years to Nepal.
In travelling and climbing around the world in five continents I have found nowhere else that rivals the attractions of the Nepal Himalaya. It is not only the awesome beauty of the highest mountains of the world, or the picturesque landscapes of the middle-hills but also the charm, tolerance and fortitude of the peoples of the high valleys: the Sherpas, Tamangs, Gurungs, Limbus, Rais, Magars et al.
Also important is the competence and reliability of the trekking crews - the organisational skills of the sirdars, the excellence of the cooks ( who can prepare a four course dinner in the middle of a glacier or at high camps at 20,000ft. ) the care and attention of the hard-working sherpas ( assistant sirdars ) and the stalwart porters - without them none of my treks would have been possible or so enjoyable.
Most of my treks have been organised by the Highland Sherpa Agency in Kathmandu and it was through the managing director Ang Zangbu Sherpa that I was introduced to my friend Horst from Germany whose ambitions and enthusiasm ensured the success of our climbing treks to the Rolwaling and Hongu valleys.
I did not set out to trek the length of the Nepal Himalaya from Kangchenjunga to Dhaulagiri but having started I continued because there was, and still is, more that I wanted to see - their immensity is matched by their diversity. My kitbag and trekking gear remain with Highland Sherpa in Kathmandu awaiting my return.
( Introduction to “ Such Heavenly Pursuits “, The Glasgow Herald, 17th August 1996 )
