Hamish MacInnes is a Scottish mountaineer, explorer, mountain search and rescuer, author and mountain safety advisor to a number of major films. He has been described as "the father of modern mountain rescue in Scotland". He made an attempt to climb Everest in 1953, and is credited with inventing the first all-metal ice-axe, and a lightweight stretcher, widely used in mountain and helicopter rescue.
Early life
He was born Hamish McInnes in Gatehouse of Fleet, in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Galloway, Scotland, in 1930. He was the youngest child, having three sisters and a brother eighteen years older than himself. His father served in the Chinese police in Shanghai, then returned to join the British army and the Canadian army during World War I. By the age of 16, MacInness had already climbed on the Matterhorn, and at age 17 had built his own motor car.
Achievements
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, 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. In 1975, MacInnes was deputy leader to Bonington's Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition, which included Dougal Haston and Doug Scott. Although never an official member, MacInnes climbed extensively with the Creagh Dhu, 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. He was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and received the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture in 2008. He has been involved with a number of films, as climber, climbing double and safety officer, including The Eiger Sanction and The Mission, and has written numerous books on mountaineering, including the International Mountain Rescue Handbook, regarded as the standard manual worldwide, and Callout, his classic account of his experiences leading the Glencoe Rescue team. MacInnes acquired a number of nicknames within the mountaineering community, most noteworthy of which are 'The Fox of Glencoe' and 'MacPiton'.
Hamish Macinnes lived in Glen Coe for many years. Until 1998, he resided at 'Allt Na Reigh' a cottage within the glen that was subsequently purchased by the sex offender, Jimmy Savile.
Illness and recovery
In 2014, MacInnes suffered a urinary tract infection which rendered him severely confused and suffering from delirium. He was 'sectioned' into a psychiatric hospital in the Scottish Highlands. From there he made multiple attempts to escape, including scaling up the outside of the hospital to stand on its roof. Eventually recovering from the illness, he was left with no memory of his former life. In 2018 a documentary film was produced for BBC Scotland, titled Final Ascent:The Legend of Hamish MacInnes. Introduced by his friend, Michael Palin, it recounts the story of MacInnes's life and achievements, and how he used archive footage, his photographs and his many books to "recover his memories and rescue himself".
