John Allen - Cairngorm John

John Allen was born in 1942 in Knightswood, Glasgow. After graduating from Heriot Watt University he spent the early part of his career in Edinburgh, in pharmacy. With his wife Anne and their two young children he moved to Strathspey in the Scottish Highlands to manage community pharmacies in Kingussie and Newtonmore. There Johns interest in mountains and mountaineering increased until, after the Cairngorm Plateau Disaster of 1971, he joined the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team. He became Team Leader in 1989, remaining in post until retiring from the Team in August 2007. He was closely involved in well over 1000 rescues, and received an MBE for services to mountain rescue in 2001.

Chris Bonington was born in Hampstead in 1934 and is considered by many to be Britains most distinguished living mountaineer. He has led many expeditions including the successful one in 1972 on the hitherto unclimbed South-West ridge of Mount Everest, and in 1985 achieved the summit personally. He has travelled and climbed all over the world and is the author of many successful books.

Robert Davidson is a writer, editor and experienced hill walker who lives in Highland Scotland.

Praise forCairngorm John

Cairngorm John is a thoughtful book, not macho at all. Its as much about love of the mountains as their dangers.

Libby Purves, BBC Radio 4 Midweek

The mountain rescue fraternity and top climbers, in Britain at any rate, have not always seen eye to eye. There can be a difference of approach, a difference of values in some cases. But not here. Allen is a traditional mountaineer. He doesnt criticise when people make mistakes, not because hes diplomatic, but because he knows what mountaineering is. No reader will find his efforts and commitment to helping others other than totally admirable. But thats not why the book is on the shortlist. What impressed us was the way it was so cleverly underwritten. This is as civilised a book as one could write on the subject perhaps, but not ineffective. Some of these simply told dramas stay in ones mind. There is no infantile medical humour, and no suspicion, as there sometimes is with rescue books, of the author aiming to make money out of other peoples tragedies. This is a fine testament to a great British tradition of voluntary service.

Phil Bartlett, Chair of the Boardman Tasker Judging Panel

Cairngorm John isnt all about tragic circumstances though and another of the books great strengths is the magnificent vein of great humour that runs through it. The twisting mix of sadness and wit are blended together with perfection. Kick Ass Day and the true meaning of TLC are the kind of priceless gems that we all need in MR.

Neil Woodhead, Rossendale and Pendle MR Team, in Mountain Rescue Magazine

A story needing to be told, and one happily recounted with modesty, understanding and enthusiasm.

Hamish Brown, author, Hamishs Mountain Walk

Reflects on decades of service saving lives in the mountains... measured... a hilarious example of how things have changed [from] the tough, self-reliant world John Allen grew up in... if you want an in-depth look at the challenges facing mountain rescue, and the immense contribution it makes, then Allens book is an invaluable source.

Ed Douglas, Climber Magazine

Cairngorm John: a life in mountain rescue, is a fascinating account of a man of great humility and remarkable courage. It recalls the memories that he cant erase, such as the face of a dead 10-year-old German girl, whom his team found frozen. It tells of climbers and walkers whose lives were cruelly claimed by the mountains and the many more who were rescued.

Annie Brown, Daily Record

I had to put on several layers just to read this book. It makes Touching the Void seem like a pretty routine day on the hill.

Iain Macwhirter, Sunday Herald

I couldnt do what the likes of John did, but Im grateful that folks like him and his volunteers are ready to come out in all weathers to help walkers and climbers in distress. As an inside look at the work of a mountain rescue team and, by example, of what to do to improve your odds of coming home in one piece this is going to be on the shelves of everyone who heads regularly for the Scottish hills.

Craig Weldon, author, The Weekend Fix

Cairngorm John... stirring stories of life and death, played out against the wild beauty of the Cairngorms.

Peter Gillman, co-author, The Wildest Dream: The biography of George Mallory

Cairngorm John portrays the human side of mountain rescue, clearly demonstrating the emotional roller-coaster thats involved, as well as the camaraderie that exists within teams like Cairngorm MRT. I wish every do-gooder who insists on full-time professional rescue teams would read the book and recognise that the main ingredients for a mountain rescuer are commitment, concern and enthusiasm. John Allen has all these in abundance. He also tells a very good story...

Cameron McNeish, editor, TGO Magazine

Cairngorm John is a remarkable piece of work: succinct, moving, compassionate, gripping, technically detailed and yet broad enough in its appeal to hold the attention of general audiences.

Rennie McOwen, Scots Magazine

Also by Robert Davidson

Poetry

The Bird & The Monkey

Total Immersion

After The Watergaw (Editor)

Columba (Poetry Scotland)

Butterfly on a Chestnut Leaf

Song Cycle

Centring on a Womans Voice

Libretto

Dunbeath Water an oratorio

Non-fiction

Winning Through

(with Brian Irvine)

Shadow Behind the Sun

(with Remzije Sherifi)

Fiction

Hegarty and the Doleful Dancer

(writing as Leon Murphy)

Site Works

JOHN ALLEN

with Robert Davidson

Introduced by

SIR CHRIS BONINGTON

This paperback edition printed 2010.

Reprinted 2010, 2011.

First published in Great Britain by

Sandstone Press Ltd

PO Box 5725

One High Street

Dingwall

Ross-shire

IV15 9WJ

Scotland.

www.sandstonepress.com

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.

Copyright John Allen with Robert Davidson 2009

All internal photographs as ascribed 2009

The moral right of John Allen with Robert Davidson to be recognised as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988.

The publisher acknowledges subsidy from the Scottish Arts Council towards publication of this volume.

ISBNe: 978-1-908737-48-9

Cover design by River Design, Edinburgh

Ebook by Iolaire Typesetting, Newtonmore.

This book is dedicated to all members and supporters of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team, past, present and future.

In my years as a team member, deputy leader then leader of the team, I was acutely aware when dealing with the media that many researchers and reporters had little understanding of mountaineering. This often led to poor and inaccurate reporting. For example the press in both TV and Newspapers would report an incident in two or three lines: