Robin Smith and Jimmy Marshal were two of Scotland’s finest mountaineers and they pushed the boundaries of winter climbing in the 60’s. Robin Smith was a student at Edinburgh University and Jimmy was an architect. They were both incredible climbers who had a magnificent week on Ben Nevis which was recently re enacted 50 years later by Dave McLeod and Tim Emmet two modern-day climbing stars, there is DVD of this week which is an incredible tribute to Smith and Marshal and the gear they used.
The photo above shows the Mc Innes Terror and the small gully axe of a type used by Smith and Marshal in those early days. Robin Smith was killed when he fell on an expedition to Russia the Pamir mountains with Wilfred Noyce in 1962 a tragic loss, Robin was only 24 when he died.
The book above is a wonderful addition to any mountaineers book shelf. Martin Moran lives in the Torridon area and is a local guide.He is also a member of the Torridon MRT and this book is full of wonderful snippets for safe winter mountaineering.
Todays tip: One thing that may cause you great grief on a mountain is high winds. They can blow you off a ridge or make travel in the hills impossible, by wearing you down especially if you have to travel into it, be sensible with your ambitions in bad weather.
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