Hamish MacInnes

Hamish MacInnes OBE FRSGS was a Scottish mountaineer, explorer, mountain search and rescuer, and author. He is credited with inventing the first all-metal ice-axe and an eponymous lightweight foldable alloy stretcher. His 1972 International Mountain Rescue Handbook is considered a manual in the mountainSearch and rescue discipline. He resigned his position as leader of the Glencoe Mountain Rescue team in 1994.

About Hamish MacInnes in brief

Summary Hamish MacInnesHamish MacInnes OBE FRSGS was a Scottish mountaineer, explorer, mountain search and rescuer, and author. He is credited with inventing the first all-metal ice-axe and an eponymous lightweight foldable alloy stretcher. He was part of an 11-strong team that attempted to be the first to ascent the southwest face of Everest, but their expedition did not reach the summit due to bad weather. His 1972 International Mountain Rescue Handbook is considered a manual in the mountainSearch and rescue discipline. He resigned his position as leader of the Glencoe Mountain Rescue team in 1994 after a decision was made by his colleagues to make a BBC documentary based on their work. He later became friends with mountaineering star Michael Palin and wrote a book on mountaineers, Heaveering: The Call-out: Climber’s tales of mountain rescue in Scotland, which was published in 1996.

He died in 2007 at the age of 87. He had three sisters and a brother who was eighteen years older than Hamish. His father served in the Chinese police in Shanghai, then returned to join the British Army and the Canadian Army during World War I. He served with National service, shortly after the Second World War, with a deployment in Austria. He also worked on the 1975 film The Eiger Sanction and the 1986 film The Mission. He has been described as the ‘father of modern mountain rescue’ in Scotland.