Second Man on the Rope

Second Man on the Rope is a celebration of Scotland's mountains come sun, sleet or snow. Ranging from the Cairngorms to Glencoe, from Nevis to Knoydart and from the Cuillin to the Cobbler, this book weaves the story of a friendship amongst witty – and often alarming – tales of mountaineering mishaps. These richly entertaining tales will delight all who love the Scottish hills – be they mountaineers, day-outers, Munro-baggers (like the author) or merely armchair ramblers. Written with a wealth of knowledge, this mountaineering classic is a warm and witty celebration of friendship, forged over many years, between the author and his ‘first man’ – Davie. Together they form one of the great double acts of climbing literature. They face with humour and fortitude all that the mountains can pit against them – winter avalanches, raging rivers, rats in bothies and Brummies in baseball boots.

Ian R Mitchell Ian R. Mitchell was born in Aberdeen, spending his first 25 years in Torry and Kincorth. He graduated in History from Aberdeen University in 1973, after a couple of drop-out years working as a paper mill labourer and engineering machinist, and subsequently moved to Glasgow. Ian taught History at Clydebank College for over twenty years and whilst there wrote a standard textbook on Bismarck and the Development of Germany. He has written several books on mountaineering including Mountain Days and Bothy Nights (1987), and A View from the Ridge (both co-written with Dave Brown), which won the Boardman-Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature in 1991. More recently he has developed an interest in urban heritage and walking, which led to This City Now: Glasgow and its Working Class Past (2005), and its follow up, Clydeside: Red, Orange and Green (2009).