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Collie and Mackenzie

(Photo by Judith Wallace ©)

Subject(s): (from L to R) Norman Collie and John MacKenzie
Sport: Climbing

Location: Sligachan, Isle of Skye
Unveiled: 25/9/2020
Sculptor: Steve Tinney
Material: Bronze
Status: In Situ

Inscription(s):
Plaque: Collie & McKenzie an unlikely friendship. "As a companion on a long summer day he was perfect. Always cheerful, keenly alive to everything." Collie upon the death of Mackenzie, 1933. Collie was a gentleman and a respected scientist at University College London. In addition to climbing, his hobbies included collecting fine wine and rare books. Like many tourists, Norman Collie first visited Skye to go fishing in 1886. After seeing other climbers, he set out to try the sport. He met Mackenzie when - after several days - he admitted that he needed some expert help. Over the years, Collie and McKenzie completed ten first ascents in the Cuillin and opened a number of new routes. The skills that Collie learned on Skye enabled him to become one of the greatest British mountaineers ever. Collie beyond Skye. Collie's passion for mountaineering took him around the world. He made pioneering climbs in the Alps, the Lofoten Islands in Norway, the Canadian Rockies, and the Himalayas. By some accounts, this included nearly 80 first ascents. In Scotland he played a leading part in the beginning of rock climbing. "Nowhere in the British Island are there any rock climbs to be in compared with those Skye." Norman Collie. Close friendships between people of different social classes were rare in British society at the time. But the men bonded over their passion for fishing and climbing. Collie moved to Skye when he retired and is buried next to Mackenzie in Struan. Their headstones are rough lumps of gabbro and visitors leave rocks from the Cuillin as tributes. A climbing legacy. Colie and Mackenzie played a central role in creating a mountaineering destination in the Cuillin. Mackenzie's reputation as a first-class guide made him sought after by expert climbers. Collie wrote about the virtues of the Cuillin in guides read by mountaineers around the world. To honour these men, peaks on Skye are named after them: Sgurr Mhic Choinnich (Mackenzie's Peak) and Sgurr Thormaid (Norman's Peak). Collie and Mackenzie would be pleased that the Cuillin still attract climbers today. And that 'munro bagging' is no longer a hobby for gentlemen, but a sport for everyone.

Links: Project


(Photo by Judith Wallace ©)

(Photo by David Fowlie ©)

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