One Man's Legacy...
Posted by Jeremy Windsor on Jan 13, 2023
David Hillebrandt has been in touch to tell us about a fascinating new biography of Dr Tom Patey. "One Man's Legacy..." by Mike Dixon charts the short life of a much loved GP, who made an enormous contribution to climbing in Scotland as well as the Alps and Greater Ranges. Here's David to tell us about the book and the impact Patey had upon him...
A long weekend trip to Scotland from London for an informal interview at St Andrew's University on Monday 16th October 1972 was possibly one of the most influential days of my life. I was aged nineteen and had already enjoyed several years of walking in the Highlands. I had started rock climbing. During those trips north one name had repeatedly been mentioned in bothies - Tom Patey, a GP from Aberdeen who practised in Ullapool. His death at the age of 38, when he fell from The Maiden sea stack, was detailed in the climbing press with obituaries about the adventures that had filled his short life.
In the summer of 1972 I wardened the BMC climbing hut in Glen Brittle and climbed with Bill Wallace, an SMC member. When he knew I was making a flying visit north to make informal enquiries as to whether the university might accept an Englishman who was retaking A levels he mentioned that I might like to join the SMC meet in Glencoe. Saturday was a wet ascent of The Chasm on the Buchaille followed by a whisky fuelled evening.
"Should you fall ill in Ullapool, you will be directed to the modern Medical Practice building. In the waiting room is a photograph of a doctor who served the area in the 1960's ... Many will be surprised to note that he is not wearing a helmet or even a warm balaclava. His pallor suggests someone out of his comfort zone, yet this man excelled in this environment and revelled in its physical demands..."
Sunday was a more gentle ascent of Stob Coire an Albannaich with Bill and Mike. We followed a stream bed to emerge high on the hill surrounded by a herd of deer. I still remember the comment "Tom would have enjoyed today". I had just read the posthumous collection of Tom Patey's writings and songs. It was only then that I realised I was on the hill with Bill Brooker and Mike Taylor. In his song "Aiguilles des Cairngorms" Tom's final verse says, "And a handshake from Brooker the passport to fame". I shook both their hands as we left the club hut and they wished me well for Monday. St Andrew's were not impressed and it was two years later that I was finally accepted by a London medical school having worked my way through universities based near mountain areas. I knew I wanted to be a rural GP with easy access to crags and time to enjoy the mountains.
I had been aware that this book was in preparation for some time since Patey's national service was based near me in Devon. I have had the pleasure of repeating his routes in the area; Wrecker's and Smuggler's Slabs, Spiders Web, Leviathon, Sarcophagus and Ultramontane. Mike Dixon's research is extensive and thorough and he has assembled a remarkable collection of photographs. This book certainly does justice to an iconic mountaineer and, despite comments about his amphetamine use and double life, it has not diminished my appreciation of my teenage hero. Possibly, now I am marginally more mature and can read between the lines, I am even more fascinated by his psyche. There is one telling section where Mike Dixon discusses modern support for doctors experiencing personal dilemmas, but in reality most people choose their own solutions. Some people are born to die young.
On writing the book Mike Dixon wrote, "It would be disingenuous to say that the journey has always been smooth. Trying to fathom the behaviour, motivations and inner world of someone so complex when that person is no longer alive to question directly. But subjects like Tom Patey are a rarity, and despite the challenges, studying him and charting his full and varied life has been a considerable privilege"
Patey's speed in the mountains is legendary but I never appreciated how so many of his first ascents were soloed either in their entirety or between crux pitches. The current generation are fit, have good gear and climb technically harder routes but do they have the hard earned hill knowledge? Possibly he moved fast in the simple knowledge that, with his disregard for warm gear, he would die if ever forced to bivvy.
As somebody who loves to sing but has absolutely no ear for music I am jealous of Patey's ability to bring people together with long music filled evenings. It reminds me of bothy nights and early days on the Diploma in Mountain Medicine when Fort William's Brian Tregaskis would play until the whisky ran out. All this is part of our British mountain heritage.
Thanks to Mike for his labour of love. I now find myself reaching up to my bookshelf for my well thumbed 1972 copy of Patey's "One Man's Mountains" for another reread. I suggest you read both books as part of your essential mountain medicine education!
Thanks David! Read more from David Hillebrandt here.
"One Man's Legacy" by Mike Dixon is published by the Scottish Mountaineering Press and is available from all good book shops!
Thanks for reading this post. If this is your thing why don't you take a look at other posts on the blog? Better still, why not join the British Mountain Medicine Society? More information can be found here
For more information about the University of Central Lancashire's Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM) take a look at this.
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14/01/2023 @ 10:02:34 Jim Duff
I never met Tom but when I was off to Norway in 1962 age 16 I wrote to him in Ullapool asking for info on the climbs he knew of. Back came a two page letter on onion paper, tiny case, with detailed descriptions of two routes on the Troll Wall complete with invite to stay in his home if up that way. I still have the letter, a treasured link to a great soul.
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