Cold as a Mountain Top

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BBC Radio 4 - Cold as a Mountain Top

Robert Macfarlane climbs a wintry Buachaille Etive Mor, guided by the words of WH Murray.

Robert Macfarlane climbs the iconic Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe on an immersive audio journey, guided by the words of WH Murray's 'Mountaineering in Scotland'.

WH Murray was one of a pioneering group of climbers in Scotland in the 1930’s, establishing new routes in Glencoe, Ben Nevis and The Cuillin.  But it was one particular mountain that he loved – and climbed – the most; the iconic Buachaillie Etive Mor at Glencoe.  This was the last mountain he climbed just before leaving for war in 1941.

Murray was captured in the African desert but his life was saved when he uttered the words, ‘Cold as a mountain top.’  The German officer was also a mountaineer and took him prisoner instead of shooting him on the spot.  During his imprisonment in Italy and Czechoslovakia he wrote the seminal ‘Mountaineering in Scotland’ completely from memory, recalling the intimate details of climbs he undertook in the 1930’s.

The book has been a talismanic text for climbers like Robert Macfarlane. He's turned to it often, particularly when the cold of the mountain top has felt very far away during recent periods of confinement.  In this immersive audio voyage, Robert returns to Murray’s beloved Buachaille  with 'Mountaineering in Scotland' by his side.

Produced by Helen Needham in Aberdeen.
Readings by Cal MacAninch.
Sound design and composition by Anthony Cowie.
Sound consultation and mixing by Ron McCaskill.
Our mountain Guide was Richard Parker.

Thanks to Robin Lloyd-Jones, WH Murray's biographer, for help with the preparation of this programme and to Victoria McArthur for her idea.

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