Thomas Walton Patey (20 February 1932 – 25 May 1970) was a Scottish climber,

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

, doctor and writer. He was a leading Scottish climber of his day, particularly excelling on winter routes. He died in a climbing accident at the age of 38. He was probably best known for his humorous songs and prose about climbing, many of which were published posthumously in the collection ''One Man's Mountains''.

Early life

Patey was born on 20 February 1932 at

Ellon, Aberdeenshire Ellon ( gd, Eilean) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan, which has one of the few undeveloped river estuaries on the eastern coast of Scotland. It is in the ancient region of Formart ...

. He was educated at Ellon Academy and Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen. He studied medicine at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, graduating in 1955 with a

MB ChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

Medical career

Patey worked for ten years as a general practitioner (GP) in

Ullapool Ullapool (; gd, Ulapul ) is a village and port located in Northern Scotland. Ullapool has a population of around 1,500 inhabitants. It is located around northwest of Inverness in Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands. Despite its modest size, ...

, in the far north-west of Scotland. He served for four years as Surgeon Lieutenant in the Royal Marines at the

42 Commando 42 Commando (42 Cdo) (pronounced as Four-Two Commando) is a subordinate unit within the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade. Based at Bickleigh Barracks near Plymouth, personnel regularly deploy outside the United Kingdom on operations or training. ...

School at

Bickleigh Bickleigh may refer to the following places in Devon, England: * Bickleigh, Mid Devon, a village near Tiverton ** Bickleigh Castle * Bickleigh, South Hams Bickleigh is a small village on the southern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England. It h ...

Climbing

Patey first became interested in climbing while he was in the

Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...

, but it was at University in Aberdeen, that he first revealed his full talent as an exploratory climber, captaining the Lairig Club. Much of his early exploratory routes were on

Lochnagar Lochnagar or is a mountain in the Mounth, in the Grampians of Scotland. It is about south of the River Dee near Balmoral. It is a popular hill with hillwalkers, and is a noted venue for summer and winter climbing. Names The English nam ...

and neighbouring

Cairngorms The Cairngorms ( gd, Am Monadh Ruadh) are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park (the Cairngorms National Park) on 1 S ...

. A dedicated climber, he often dropped all other commitments for the prospect of a good climb. Patey's preference of travelling light extended to leaving his gloves behind on some ice climbs and he had a disrespect for climbing ropes unless they were necessary. While he was at Bickleigh, he would regularly open up new climbs on the Devon Tors. He cared little about recording these climbing details, since that way, if routes were left unblemished and apparently virgin, those following could have a similar excitement in their experience. This generosity of spirit, along with his exuberance and irrepressive energy, left a lasting memory with his companions. His irreverent climbing songs would often be accompanied at a piano by incessant humming through a comb and paper. He climbed extensively in Scotland (making the first winter traverse of the

Cuillin The Cuillin ( gd, An Cuiltheann) is a range of mostly jagged rocky mountains on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The main Cuillin ridge is also called the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin ('), which lie to the east of Glen Slig ...

ridge with

Hamish MacInnes Hamish MacInnes (7 July 1930 – 22 November 2020) was a Scottish mountaineer, explorer, mountain search and rescuer, and author. He has been described as the "father of modern mountain rescue in Scotland". He is credited with inventing t ...

, David Crabbe and Brian Robertson in 1965), as well as achieving notable ascents in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

and the Karakoram including the first ascent of the Muztagh Tower (7273 metres) with John Hartog, Joe Brown and

Ian McNaught-Davis Ian McNaught-Davis (30 August 1929 – 10 February 2014) was a British television presenter best known for presenting the BBC television series ''The Computer Programme'', '' Making the Most of the Micro'' and ''Micro Live'' in the 1980s. He was ...

in 1956 and

Rakaposhi Rakaposhi ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram mountain range of the Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan. Geography Rakaposhi is a mountain in the Karakoram mountain range in the Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan, about north of the ...

(7788 m) in 1958 with Mike Banks. In 1968, he and

Ian Clough Ian Clough (1937–1970) was a British mountaineer who was killed on the 1970 British Annapurna expedition led by Sir Chris Bonington to climb the south face of the Himalayan massif. He was later described by Bonington as "the most modest man ...

were the first to climb

Am Buachaille Am Buachaille is a sea stack, or vertical rock formation composed of Torridonian Sandstone, southwest of Sandwood Bay in the Scottish county of Sutherland. It lies at the tip of the Rubh' a Bhuachaille headland around north of Kinlochbervie. ...

, a

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geology, geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by Coastal_erosion#Wave_action, wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and wate ...

off the coast of Sutherland. He, Rusty Baillie and

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...

pioneered the route up the

Old Man of Hoy The Old Man of Hoy is a sea stack on Hoy, part of the Orkney archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. Formed from Old Red Sandstone, it is one of the tallest stacks in the United Kingdom. The Old Man is popular with climbers, and was first c ...

which was repeated with others on a live televised

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Early life

Medical career

Climbing

Legacy

Bibliography

References