In the Shadow of Ben Nevis

In 1959, sixteen-year-old Ian ‹Spike› Sykes left school and, after a short
period of work at Leeds University, joined the RAF. Already a keen climber, he
signed up on the promise of excitement and adventure and was posted to the
remote RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue Team in the north of Scotland. It was the
beginning of a journey which would see him involved in some of the most
legendary call-outs in Scottish mountain rescue history, including the 1963
New Year tragedy on the Isle of Skye.

In the Shadow of Ben Nevis tells Spike’s story from growing up in Leeds in the
aftermath of the Second World War, to his time with the RAF during the cold
war. After leaving the RAF, he remained an active member of the Lochaber
Mountain Rescue Team and was involved in the first lower down the north face
of Ben Nevis – an epic 1,500-foot descent to rescue stricken climbers in the
middle of winter. Following a two-and-a-half-year stint on Antarctica with the
British Antarctic Survey, he returned to the Highlands and opened the first
Nevisport shop with his close friend Ian ‹Suds› Sutherland. Together, they
brought Sunday trading to Fort William and were one of a small number of shops
to revolutionise outdoor retail in the UK. Later, he was a key player in the
development of the Nevis Range ski area. Over many years, and against all
odds, the project became a reality and a great success.

Recounted within these pages are a great many lively tales of adventures and
mishaps, told with immediacy and charm. With a foreword by legendary Scottish
mountaineer Hamish MacInnes, a close friend of Spike’s, In the Shadow of Ben
Nevis is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Scottish mountaineering
and mountain rescue.

Ian ‹Spike› Sykes was born and raised in Leeds during the Second World War. A
climber since his youth, he joined the RAF at sixteen, working on the Kinloss
Mountain Rescue Team in the Scottish Highlands during a number of dramatic
rescues. After leaving the RAF he worked with the British Antarctic Survey on
the southern polar ice cap, where he ran a dog team and worked as a guide for
the Survey’s field scientists. Back in Scotland, Spike and Ian Sutherland
identified an opportunity for a climbing and outdoor equipment shop in the
Highlands, and the first Nevisport shop was born. Both remained as members of
the Lochaber Mountain Rescue, the UK’s busiest team. Spike was also
instrumental in the development of the ski area at Nevis Range on Aonach Mor,
where he stayed on as managing director for twelve years. He is currently a
director of Nevis Range, which is now also internationally renowned as a
mountain biking centre. Spike was awarded an MBE in 1990 for services to sport
and mountain rescue, and in 2011 he received the Scottish Award for Excellence
in Mountain Culture. His first book, Cry Argentina (978-1-846248-71-9), a
semi-fictional account of the build-up to the invasion of South Georgia in the
Falklands War, was published in 2013. In the Shadow of Ben Nevis is his second
book. Spike lives in Fort William with his partner Gay, and has a daughter
Eilidh.