Tom Patey was killed in May 1970 abseiling from a sea stack off the north coast of Scotland. He was 38.
People outside the climbing world knew of him as the man who launched himself into space during the televised climb of the Old Man of Hoy, a remarkable sandstone stack on the Orkney Islands. Inside the climbing fraternity everyone knew of him. He was irreplaceable.
It was when studying medicine at Aberdeen University that Tom first showed his talent as an extraordinary climber and started his long series of epic first ascents. He also took part in the four man 1956 British expedition to climb the 28,800 feet Mustagh Tower in Pakistan - a mountain that many people regarded as unclimbable. They conquered it.
A remarkable collection of Tom Patey's essays, poems and photographs, 'One Man's Mountains' offers a glimpse into the mind of this multi-talented and fascinating man whose contribution to modern climbing was enormous. It remains a touching and compelling self-portrait that has long been regarded as a classic of climbing literature.
