An Angus minister is lucky to be alive after a 30-foot weekend fall in the Torridon mountains.
And former Kirk Moderator Martin Fair says no praise is high enough for the mountain volunteers and helicopter crew who came to his rescue in the dramatic Wester Ross incident.
The 58-year-old, who has been minister at Arbroath St Andrew’s for 30 years, is recovering at home after being airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness on Saturday.
Friends horrified by fall
Torridon Mountain Rescue Team and a Coastguard helicopter were called in by the two climbing pals who feared the worst when they saw him plunge 30-feet down Beinn Liath Mhor.
But Martin has no recollection of the tumble which left blood pouring from a head wound that required ten stitches.
Remarkably, he otherwise escaped serious injury.
Martin, who was Church of Scotland Moderator at the height of the pandemic in 2020-21, plans to stage a fundraiser as a thank you to his rescuers.
“I honestly feel I dodged a bullet,” he said.
He was on a weekend climbing trip with friends Tim Mineard, a minister in Barrhead, and Michael Self, from Edinburgh.
“Friday was glorious, we climbed that day and stayed overnight in a bothy,” said Martin.
The trio planned to tackle two mountains on Saturday.
Adding to Munro tally
Those would have been the latest additions to Martin’s list of around 240 Munros he has climbed out of Scotland’s total of 282.
3,038-foot Beinn Liath Mhor, between Strath Carrion and Glen Torridon, was the first climb.
In 2018, Martin suffered a freak jogging accident which left him without the use of his left arm.
He said: “We came to this steep section and I do remember thinking that it might be quite tricky for me coming down.
“I’ve always got to be quite careful so I don’t take any risks.
“So we got to the summit, stopped briefly for a sandwich and were then making our way back down.”
Descent turned to near tragedy
“We got to this steep little bit and that’s the last thing I remember,” said Martin.
“My friend said it was horrifying to watch – I literally went somersaulting down the mountain.
“It must have been a lot worse for them to see it, because I have absolutely no recollection of the fall.
“I remember the whole day up to then, but nothing until I was sitting there with the blood pouring from my head.
“In some ways I’m quite glad I can’t remember it.”
His climbing pals instantly swung into action
“We are always well equipped so we had a good first aid kit,” said Martin.
“And thankfully we had a strong mobile phone signal so they were able to raise the alarm and give them good coordinates.”
Rescue teams’ challenge
But windy conditions meant the Coastguard helicopter couldn’t land close to Martin.
It lifted four Torridon Mountain Rescue Team members close to the spot and the Angus minister was gently led to safety.
It then flew him Raigmore.
“The helicopter was there very quickly,” said Martin.
“I was given a complete scan in the hospital.
“Thankfully I’ve nothing broken. So it was a bit of concussion and a pretty serious gash to my head.
“It really could have been so much worse.
“I am absolutely indebted to the mountain rescue team and the helicopter crew.
“And of course to my friends who were so quick to give me the correct help when it happened.
“The mountain rescue team said I should not let something like this put me off because experienced people can run into accidents.
“I’ve been hillwalking for 40 years, so I’ll definitely get back out.
“But I will be very careful because you cannot take risks and flippantly put others at risk.
“My situation could have been so much worse so I consider myself very lucky.
“But these guys can be called out multiple times, day or night and in all conditions to things that are much more serious.
“During lockdowns I did things like online fundraising quizzes so I will definitely be doing something to thank them for the help they gave me.”
