Book review: In the shadow of Ben Nevis

In a bit of a change from the usual gear write-ups, it’s time for some bedtime reading:

Time to take a look at In the shadow of Ben Nevis, by Ian Sykes.

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When I was in my formative mountaineering days in the late eighties I made my first excursions to Fort William, a place I would come to know very well and visit frequently. On my first visit I was astounded to discover what was to me the holy grail: a large building that resembled a crashed UFO at the end of the high street; an outdoor gear shop that stocked interesting and innovative brands and had a fantastic cafe and a well stocked bookshop upstairs. During the ensuing years, I would spend an awful lot of time and money in Nevisport, coming from Aberdeen where the choice of outdoor shops was limited to say the least. In these times of internet shopping, it’s almost impossible to understand how exciting it was, but to a young and impressionable gear head it was a revelation. That was how I came to know of Ian Sykes, the man behind Nevisport.

Known as Spike to his friends, Ian has certainly led an interesting life with plenty of material to discuss in this, his memoir. There is much more to the man than selling gear to the likes of me.

The book is broadly chronological, and starts with his time in the Air Force and his initial forays into mountain rescue as part of the Kinloss team. You can tell that this is based on memory, the early days are snippets and anecdotal stories, occasionally hopping around in time a little, the distant past can be a fuzzy place after all. He gives us his side of the harrowing New Year rescue at Coruisk in 1963 (as told by Hamish MacInnes in his book Call Out) and it’s a rescue which clearly had a big impact on him.

Things start to ramp up when he reaches Antarctica and the passion really emerges, the time spent with dogs on the ice clearly had a profound effect on him and it comes through in the writing. It’s obviously been an transformative part of his life.

On his return to the UK we’re quickly into the struggle to get Nevisport up and running and then keep it afloat during difficult times. There are some intriguing events, including theft and even a murder. I knew Ian was involved in the development of the Nevis Range ski centre, but the degree of his involvement and the personal effort and drive he put into it was astounding and so the chapters dedicated to that were very enlightening. Climbing trips intersperse the business elements, much like in real life, and so it shines through that Ian is passionate about climbing and that was partly what made Nevisport such a success, it was run by climbers, for climbers.

The story told in this book is an eventful one, although there are fewer insights into personal territory. The impression I get is that he is a humble individual despite his successes and like so many climbers of his generation is self-deprecating, so it’s entirely understandable. The glimpses we do get show that doubt and uncertainty were very evident, but ultimately outweighed by pure effort and force of will. It seems that his climbing mentality translates well to business. There’s no question that he has made a huge contribution to climbing, to mountain rescue and to the Fort William area as a whole.

Overall, In the shadow of Ben Nevis kept me entertained throughout, with tales of daring climbs, daring rescues and daring business ventures.

Recommended.

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