Interview With Adventurers - Mountaineer author Alan Rowan
by Chris on 7th July 2018
Chris is the CEO of The Adventure People and has over 20 years experience in the travel industry.
Please tell us a bit about yourself and when your love for mountains started
I suppose my introduction to Scotland's mountains came through the Boy Scouts in the late 1960s. After a gap of a few years I started going for weekends away camping with friends, one of whom was more serious than the rest of us. Married life, family and work then intervened, but the big turning point was when I started working long, anti-social hours in newspapers. I was a production journalist for many years and decided that I was spending too much time in an office and not enough outdoors. Myself and two friends started climbing mountains before we started work and it snowballed from there. When I had done around 50 Munros, I reckoned I needed to find more time to get out, so I came up with the idea of heading for the hills AFTER I finished work round about midnight. The other two didn't fancy that idea so I went alone, intending to sleep in the car and then starting walking at first light. But the first time I went out, I discovered I wasn't tired when I arrived at my destination and the light was already starting to rise so I geared up and started up the hill at 2.15am. I never looked back from that moment.Why climb in the dark?
It's probably more accurate to talk about walking during the night hours than in darkness. In Scotland during the summer months it can be light for most of the time. The first time I went out at night was in May 1994, and it was already getting light as I set off. I then spent the next three hours rising up the mountain along with the new day. It was so beautiful, the colours amazing. At that time of day, the light changes every few minutes. There's a silence that isn't silent; maybe it's because the senses seem more finely attuned. It's easier to concentrate and pick lone bird and animal noises, trees and foliage rustling in the wind, and there's always the sound of water running. On moonlit nights, you set off with the silhouettes of distant hills on the horizon, and then watch as the shapes of the landscape settle while you walk. And there's the ultimate reward – the sunrise. You never tire of seeing the sun rise. I was hooked from my first night trip. Fifteen years later, I was still leaving work at midnight and heading for the mountains. It had a habit, a magnificent obsession. I'm still hooked on night walking. I took early retirement from my job in 2009 to spend more time in the outdoors and I haven't looked back.
What does adventure mean to you?
For me adventure is all about discovery, but it's also a sensory experience. You can always find something new, even on mountains you have climbed many times; the seasons, the weather, the routes, they can change dramatically with every outing. Even in the worst conditions, there's never been a day on the hill I would have swapped for one in the office. I also love introducing others to the places I have seen. My oldest granddaughter loves coming out with me and it just feels right to keep passing on the spirit of adventure to the younger generation. It's also important to give them an understanding of the natural world.What advice would you give to someone who wants to start writing about their adventures?
The simple answer is to write everything down. I have kept extensive diaries and photo files since my first walk and they are a vital point of reference. Always write for yourself, not to please someone else. That way you are being more honest. One of the greatest and most humbling experiences I have had recently was acting as a guide for a 75-year-old blind man to help him complete a 16-day pilgrimage walk across Scotland. Michael was an amazing character who wouldn't let his disability hold him back; he was cheerful, strong and fit, and he had competed in marathons and cycle events. I spent four days in his company, walking from Iona across Mull, and it gave me a new way of looking at the landscape as I had to describe the entire journey step by step.Who’s been your biggest inspiration and why?
There have been so many that it would seem unfair to single out one, but I suppose anyone in the our mountain rescue teams would qualify. The dedication from these men and women is phenomenal. They are all volunteers and behave with a dignity and professionalism that puts our political leaders – many of whom love to comment on this country's mountain rescue service without having the first clue what they are talking about - to shame. There are just so many adventurers out there doing so many amazing things. Every time you think you have seen it all, along comes someone else to top those achievements.What has been your best adventure yet?
My favourite has to be the dusk to dawn traverse of the remote Fisherfield mountains in the North-west Highlands. I set off late afternoon for the six-hour walk to the summit of A'Mhaighdean to watch the sun go down, staying up there for two hours as it melted slowly through the horizon setting alight all the lochs. Then I dropped down back to the pass and slept in a small cave located in a boulder field, before rising at 4am by a tequila sunrise dawn to walk out over the remaining three mountains with the light and shadows changing the colours of the mountains by the second. I also had a marvellous long night walk through the Cairngorms, setting off in full moonlight and then having breakfast as the sun rose to turn all the faces bright copper red.What advice would you give to someone who wants to go to Scotland to climb/hike mountains? Where should they go?
Planning is the key. Pick your time and place, and make sure it fits your ability. My favourite times are winter and autumn – in the good winter days the air is clearer, and in autumn the light is wonderful. From late spring through the summer it's more hazy and the dreaded midge season is in full swing. For such a small country, the diversity of the Scottish hills is immense. The North-west Highlands are filled with unique mountains, Norse names and impossible shapes, each looking like giants despite sometimes being of modest height. Glencoe is a must-see at any time, but in winter it is a mountaineer's paradise; the Nevis range with our highest mountain, Ben Nevis, standing over all and the Mamores ridge, ten Munros on a long twisting chain; the Cairngorms, the highest land mass in the country, Arctic in the winter, where you may bump into the local reindeer which thrive in these conditions. And then there's the islands, and Skye in particular with the fearsome Cuillin ridge. So many places in such a small space, you can't go wrong.
Do you want to be interviewed next for our Interview With Adventurers series? We like to speak to anyone who's been on an adventure and would like to share their story/advice. Please email us on hello@theadventurepeople.com
