Mountain Footfalls
Published on 15. May 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-1-912147-04-5 (ISBN)
Description
The more I walk the hills, the more I become aware that I am hearing echoes which resonate with other echoes, footfalls on footfalls. When you make your footfalls on the mountains, you are not simply experiencing beauty as in a museum or gallery. With your eyes and ears you can see and hear what has gone before you, appropriate it and immeasurably enrich your experience.
This is the story of the adventures of Stobcross Gentlemen's Climbing Club. Against all the odds thrown up by the Scottish weather, faulty map reading and the symptoms of physical decline, they strove to maintain the fine traditions of Scottish mountaineering. They battled through their Munros and Corbetts whilst valiantly trying to celebrate Burns' Night, Guy Fawkes Night and Hogmanay in a ritual calendar of the Scottish Hills.
Alongside these adventures are explorations of a different kind - ones into the history of the bothies and the mountains that make up the present-day landscape, as well as the stories of those who have vacated the bens and glens within living memory. Based on Ian Mitchell's
research and experiences, Mountain Footfalls adds a new dimension to hillwalkers' appreciation and enjoyment of the Scottish Highlands.
This is the story of the adventures of Stobcross Gentlemen's Climbing Club. Against all the odds thrown up by the Scottish weather, faulty map reading and the symptoms of physical decline, they strove to maintain the fine traditions of Scottish mountaineering. They battled through their Munros and Corbetts whilst valiantly trying to celebrate Burns' Night, Guy Fawkes Night and Hogmanay in a ritual calendar of the Scottish Hills.
Alongside these adventures are explorations of a different kind - ones into the history of the bothies and the mountains that make up the present-day landscape, as well as the stories of those who have vacated the bens and glens within living memory. Based on Ian Mitchell's
research and experiences, Mountain Footfalls adds a new dimension to hillwalkers' appreciation and enjoyment of the Scottish Highlands.
Reviews / Votes
As well as being a good read the book is an authentic word picture of this part of the climbing scene in latter-day Scotland, which, like any good picture, will increase in charm over the years. IAIN SMART in Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal on Mountain Days and Bothy NightsA humorous, entertaining but informative book written by two men with obvious expertise, knowledge and love of their subject. SCOTS INDEPENDENT on Mountain Days and Bothy Nights
To have produced a work of such significance that is also fun to read is an achievement. TERRY GIFFORD, High Reviews on Scotland's Mountains Before the Mountaineers
We tend to associate the figure of the 'flaneur' with Paris, a city that encourages walking through all districts. But here Mitchell reclaims it forcefully and often beautifully for Glasgow, exhorting us to explore areas once thought 'off limits' as well as the tourist attractions to provide also a history of the working class. THE SUNDAY HERALD on Walking Through Glasgow's Industrial Past
If you buy any one mountain book this year, make sure it is this one. KEVIN BORMAN, High Mountain magazine on View from the Ridge
One of Scotland's most distinguished mountain writers. The Great Outdoors Magazine on View from the Ridge
Written... with obvious expertise, knowledge and love of [the] subject. Scots Independent on View from the Ridge
He knows his mountains and his history and that awareness informs almost every page. Scots Magazine on View from the Ridge
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 135 mm
Width: 210 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
206 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-912147-04-5 (9781912147045)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
IAN R. MITCHELL was born in Aberdeen but he's spent most of the last three decades wandering through mountains. He began walking and climbing in the Cairngorms in the 1960s, and he's since built up considerable knowledge of the Scottish Highlands and also further afield-the Alps, the Pyrenees and Norway. He now lives in Glasgow and is the author of several award-winning walking books. In 1991 he was jointly awarded the Boardman-Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature. He was also awarded the Outdoor Writers Guild Award for Excellence for his book Scotland's Mountains Before the Mountaineers.