This is how we enjoy the mountains and it's how Rachel Majumdar and Tom Chesters were enjoying them in Glencoe last weekend when they were descending Bidean nam Bian, in the wrong place at the wrong time. My thoughts are with their families and friends, they'll be missed by so many! I know I'll be missing Rachel's ready smile, I'll remember her as one of the kindest and most encouraging people I had the pleasure to call my friend. As it happens, I never got to meet Tom. He was working on a PhD similar to mine in Hull. He tracked me down online (ah, what a small world orienteering is) and we chatted by email, sharing stories of weekend adventures (I mean, discussing the intricacies of osteoporosis and bone biomechanics), planning to meet up the next time he was in Sheffield visiting the gait lab we were both using.
As fellow blogger whereverthepathmaylead put it:
'These events demonstrate the fine line we tread when we pursue the activities we do. Everyone was adequately equipped and suitably experienced. Through no “fault” of their own, they’ve ended up in dangerous situations. And the fact is, as fellrunners and mountaineers, it could be any one of us at any time. Does that mean we don’t do it anymore and we find more sedate activities? No, of course it doesn’t since, as well as being an ever-present danger, it’s also one of the attractions to what we do'
So when we're inevitably back up on the hill (Saturday no doubt), there'll be two more people with us reminding us to enjoy every minute. RIP xXx
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