Dr Hamish MacInnes: The late mountaineer has made a final visit to Glencoe

The late Dr Hamish MacInnes has made a final tour of Glencoe before he was taken to Glasgow crematorium.

The Scottish mountaineer, mountain search and rescuer, engineer and author died at his home aged 90 on November 23 2020.

His funeral at a crematorium in Glasgow took place on Friday, December 4.

The funeral cortege of Dr Hamish MacInnesmakes its way past Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe

Locals lined the roads to pay their respects as a hearse carrying his coffin made its way through Glencoe village and then on to the glen for one last time before heading to Glasgow for the cremation ceremony.

Members of the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team centre, of which Hamish was founder and one time leader, were among those paying their respects, and the hearse paused briefly outside the building.

The Dr could often be seen there in the cafe of the rescue team base having a cup of tea.

Hamish was born in Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, in Galloway on July 7 1930.

The funeral cortege makes its way through Glencoe

He conquered the Matterhorn in the Alps at just 16-years-old and made two attempts at Mount Everest later in life.

During one of these attempts, in 1975, he was almost killed by an avalanche on the peak.

He also designed the first all-metal ice axe, and is credited with introducing the short ice axe and hammer, as well as pioneering the exploration of the Glencoe cliffs for winter work with the Glencoe School of Winter Climbing.

For many years led the area's Mountain Rescue team.

The climber was dubbed 'the Fox of Glencoe' for his mountain rescue expertise

Hamish 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.

The MacInnes stretcher was a folding stretcher, designed to make it easier to carry to difficult to reach places, as the original, one piece stretchers were too heavy and bulky for purpose and required two members to carry it.

Neil Reid, from the Mountaineering Scotland Society, said: “He had much endurance as a winter climber during the Fifties and Sixties when climbers didn't benefit from the gear we have today."

On Friday, the day of his funeral, mountain rescue groups across Scotland took to social media to pay their respects.

Dr Hamish MacInnes. Pic credit: Contributed.

Skye Mountain Rescue commented: “It is Dr Hamish Macinnes' OBE BEM funeral today, and everyone on the Skye team wishes to pass on our respects to all his friends and family.

"Hamish always had a strong connection with Skye both through his family ties, (his mother was from here), and through mountaineering.”

Scottish Mountain Rescue added: “Hamish MacInnes is laid to rest today.

"A hugely talented mountaineer and the driving force behind the modern mountain rescue service he has directly and indirectly help save the lives of countless people.

"He leaves a legacy which is unlikely to ever be matched.”

Hamish was also involved with a number of Hollywood films, as climber, climbing double and safety officer, including The Eiger Sanction with Clint Eastwood, Five Days One Summer with Sean Connery, and The Mission with Robert De Niro.

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