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Cairngorm John is a thoughtful book, not macho at all. It s as much about love of the mountains as their dangers. --Libby Purves
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
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 MacOwen
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
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 MacOwen
Product Description
For over thirty years John Allen was an active member of the CairngormMountain Rescue Team and for most of them acted as Team Leader. In 'Cairngorm John' (his call sign when in contact with Search and Rescue helicopters he recalls the challenges of mountain rescue and the many changes he has seen and been a party to. His book is filled with exciting accounts of real life rescues, discussions of mountain rescue topics such as hypothermia, first aid, and the use of helicopters and search and rescue dogs. Peopled with interesteing characters his accounts are at all times humane and the book is laced with humour.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Coming home from the Scottish hills in winter, perhaps after a storm had brewed up, friends and I would often wonder if people had got caught out in the Cairngorms. Sometimes we would read the next day in the papers of missing or dead people. A number of incidents stick in mind: the tragic death of a child out for a walk with her father and brother; the bizzare case of a woman who managed to elude the rescue services for several days, and on being found claimed to have recieved visions preventing her from walking over cornices.
So it was with great interest I read Cairngorm John. These incidents, and more, are brought to life by the man who was at the centre of mountain rescue in the Cairngorms for years. Not all are tragedies: there are the hilarious stories of the yeti hunters, the incredible cheerfulness and resilience of a climber who broke several bones and was stuck upside down in a waterfall for several hours, and a touching story of a man and his son bonding in the hills. We get the inside story on these, and on the team's relationship with police and RAF, and the challenges and responses of professionalism on the amateur volunteers.
Above all, John is a team player, which shines through in the slower-paced stories. I couldn't do what the likes of John did, but I'm 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 in 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.
So it was with great interest I read Cairngorm John. These incidents, and more, are brought to life by the man who was at the centre of mountain rescue in the Cairngorms for years. Not all are tragedies: there are the hilarious stories of the yeti hunters, the incredible cheerfulness and resilience of a climber who broke several bones and was stuck upside down in a waterfall for several hours, and a touching story of a man and his son bonding in the hills. We get the inside story on these, and on the team's relationship with police and RAF, and the challenges and responses of professionalism on the amateur volunteers.
Above all, John is a team player, which shines through in the slower-paced stories. I couldn't do what the likes of John did, but I'm 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 in 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.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I came across this book merely by accident because, unlike most mountain books that stack my shelf or I'm waiting in anticipation for release, I had no idea that this one existed. However, I accidentally came across it on Amazon after searching on "Cairngorm".
The book is a valuable insight into the Mountain Rescue services and one particular team (the Cairngorm MRT) that faces the dangers of both summer and winter seasons on a yearly basis. The book explains how the Cairngorm MRT was developed, which is very interesting, but also how one or two key rescues changed the MRT SOPs and attitudes towards other services and the public themselves. The book does describe the less known aspects of the MRTs outside the general public knowledge and that is one of recovering bodies on the mountain and this dark side to the role is yet another aspect that we take for granted by the MRT in Scotland, England and Wales.
As someone that holds the ML and has also faced a savage winter experience in the Cairngorms, that resulted in our little group heading desparately for Shelter Stone in a total white out and with a member showing signs of fatique and hyperthermia, I can only take my hat off to the lads in the MRT that do what I did (i.e. bring the group to safety) on what is sometimes a day to day basis. On that particular occasion, two of out three of us had winter or survival training and therefore we managed to walk back down to the Ski Centre the next day but it is certainly reassuring that in different circumstances a team as professional as the Cairngorm MRT would have been on standby to help if necessary.
Anyone who wonders why the UK MRTs are not full paid professionals (they are professionals in their own right) should read this book and learn the opinions of one particular leader and the general opinions of those that do this without pay but certainly with a great deal of well deserved pride.
The book is a valuable insight into the Mountain Rescue services and one particular team (the Cairngorm MRT) that faces the dangers of both summer and winter seasons on a yearly basis. The book explains how the Cairngorm MRT was developed, which is very interesting, but also how one or two key rescues changed the MRT SOPs and attitudes towards other services and the public themselves. The book does describe the less known aspects of the MRTs outside the general public knowledge and that is one of recovering bodies on the mountain and this dark side to the role is yet another aspect that we take for granted by the MRT in Scotland, England and Wales.
As someone that holds the ML and has also faced a savage winter experience in the Cairngorms, that resulted in our little group heading desparately for Shelter Stone in a total white out and with a member showing signs of fatique and hyperthermia, I can only take my hat off to the lads in the MRT that do what I did (i.e. bring the group to safety) on what is sometimes a day to day basis. On that particular occasion, two of out three of us had winter or survival training and therefore we managed to walk back down to the Ski Centre the next day but it is certainly reassuring that in different circumstances a team as professional as the Cairngorm MRT would have been on standby to help if necessary.
Anyone who wonders why the UK MRTs are not full paid professionals (they are professionals in their own right) should read this book and learn the opinions of one particular leader and the general opinions of those that do this without pay but certainly with a great deal of well deserved pride.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is a fantastic example of Scottish Mountain literature. John Allen's style is bothy funny and informative and the narrative is dramatic throughout. You find yourself whisked in the imagination to blizzard stricken tops on the Cairngorm Plateau and feel compelled to read on for the next story.
An excellent read for anyone interested in the Scottish Mountains and anyone considering a trip into the Cairngorms. It will certainly make you think about how well or indeed under-prepared you are before you take to the hills, which can be no bad thing.
An excellent read for anyone interested in the Scottish Mountains and anyone considering a trip into the Cairngorms. It will certainly make you think about how well or indeed under-prepared you are before you take to the hills, which can be no bad thing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pageturner in cold conditions
An avid hillwalker myself I found this book utterly delightful, despite its many tragic reminiscences. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Carina
Great inspiring book
I've been a keen walker for many years and fortunately never needed emergency assistance. Reading this book highlighted to me the importance of the efforts of the Cairngorm... Read more
Published 11 months ago by AH
Cairngorm John
Having completed all the Munros, I could relate very easily to the events in this book. It was an excellent read and I would recommend it to all hill-lovers
Published 13 months ago by Mr. A. Duthie
Hill Diary of a Nobody
This is a really good book which would be excellent if it was 60 pages shorter.
Don't be put off by the first 20 pages which are an inconsequential and slightly... Read more
Don't be put off by the first 20 pages which are an inconsequential and slightly... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Weedavie
Fantastic and entertaining insight into the mountain rescue
I picked up this book having walked and climbed a bit in the Cairngorms and found it was a brilliant read. Read more
Published 17 months ago by K. Watson
The golden hour...
I have refrained from adding a review to this superb 5-star book, as others have done that already.
I would only add that all mountain rescuers are volunteers. Read more
I would only add that all mountain rescuers are volunteers. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Paul S. Hyett
Highly recommended
I found this book a very good read, with many useful lessons for people who venture onto the hills from a man who knows. Read more
Published 18 months ago by P. H. Lee
An Excellent Book
This is a wonderful book. I read it in one long sitting- a sleepless night, actually.
John Allen is a vastly experienced mountain rescuer, having been a member of the... Read more
John Allen is a vastly experienced mountain rescuer, having been a member of the... Read more
Published 20 months ago by AHW Rea
Amazing insight into the lives of MRT members
I am a keen hiker and whilst I had never needed the assistance of mountain resuce I was always curious of how they operate. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2010 by AJ Yudin
Mountain Rescue in the Scottish Highlands
John Allen's book tells Mountain Rescue in the Grampian Mountains (aka The Cairngorms) as it is. Harsh, lethal, sad, joyful, inspiring but always truthful. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2010 by Mr. Roderick A. McRae
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