mymountainrescue
A personal journey through mountains and through life
From the pavements and gutters of Glasgow to shimmering Alpine peaks My Mountain Rescue is the moving story of one man’s triumph over despair and his relentless climb towards success, love and happiness. Graeme Wilson takes us on a journey from the Ochil Hills to the high peaks of the Alps, remembering each step of the way, through mountains and what they meant to him. Sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes exhilarating, this is one man’s journey through real life and all it throws at you.
If you love mountains and wild places you’ll love this story, where mountains bring hope to the most hopeless. If you know nothing of mountains this story will lift your heart, exposing the very essence of the human spirit.
Read the whole story of My Mountain Rescue
Graeme Wilson
Graeme has climbed all of the great mountains in Scotland for over fifty years. It started with Munros but soon moved on to the mighty ridges of Ben Nevis and the complex traverse of the Cuillin in Skye. Winter days were short but hard and the great classic routes came into view - SC Gully, Tower Ridge, Crowberry Gully to name but a few. And then the Alps where it took three years to finally reach the Dufourspitze summit, climbing the Breithorn and the Matterhorn on the way.
What a story!
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Tower Ridge
Eastern Traverse
"That easy summer stroll along the Eastern Traverse became a heart pounding, ice filled horror where at the halfway point you slither downwards, crampons screaming, just hoping that it’s almost over."
Dufourspitze
"But there it was, a short fixed rope to boost your confidence as you make the final moves and heave yourself on to the summit. Barely room for two people we could only look at each other, smile then find a place to sit. At 4634 metres we were on top of our world. In a moment I understood the achievement, not just on this mountain but on all the hills and mountains that had led to this. I understood that I had taken a life in tatters and in chaos and had brought about a wonderful transformation that eventually had brought me to this place, high in the sky."
Alpine Adventures
A Room with a View
On the edge of the Grenz Glacier
Looking back to the Matterhorn
From the Monte Rosa Glacier
High on the Dufourspitze
Sattel at 4359 metres
Skye
Where adventure really begins
Sgurr nan Eag and Gars-bheinn
"How could I miss out the complete traverse of the Cuillin ridge on Skye? Now this was a classic in British mountaineering, took us two whole days to complete and Stuart was more than a little bit sad it was not there. I will never forget these two days and perhaps I should have told that story. But you can’t tell them all."
The An Stac Tower and the Innaccesible Pinnacle
"Out to the right was a narrow ledge, offering the only steps forward. As I moved carefully along the ledge, I could see it narrow then vanish into cloud. Carefully became tearfully as I took what felt like the very last steps of life itself - and then it was there. At the very end of the dying ledge, I could take two steps up and there it was – a menacing piece of rock, piercing the grey cloud and the gloom of the day. It was easy – two steps and I couldn’t fall."
Sgurr Alasdair and beyond
"The Great Stone Shoot swept up from the corrie floor and would carry us to this new world. It was without mercy, shifting beneath our feet, three steps forward and two steps back, air filled with dust and swearing. And then it was over. Rucksacks thrown to the ground, a few moves and we were there – sea and piercing tops."
Cairngorms
Linda's Mountains
Lairig Ghru
Not far now
"The snow just got deeper and once we reached the highest point at 835 metres we were swimming in the stuff. It had all fallen in the previous twenty four hours so here it was, something approaching three feet of soft snow into which we plunged with every step. I’m not sure what would be worse – the soft snow or the never ending boulders that lay beneath. Either way this was the crucial section that sucked away your strength and your patience. But like all horrible things they do come to an end and there we were heading downhill through not very much snow, sun blazing in the sky and Cairn Toul glistening ahead of us."
Meall a' Buachaille
Linda by the summit cairn
"We set off on a very fine day to climb Meall a’ Buachaille, on the edge of the Cairngorms, looking down on Loch Morlich, and I knew immediately something was different. It had been quite a few months since we had been in the mountains and here I was moving quickly and easily towards the summit. And then the penny dropped! I was carrying two stones less and this was easy."
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