Mrs Jean Green donated this ice-axe to the collection after her husband, Don, died back in 2006. Don had been an active mountaineer and member of the Grampian Club. The axe is in almost mint condition and a welcome addition to our collection. Some 50 years after he ‘created’ the axe, Hamish MacInnes is still going strong and dug out this old press release for us:

THE MACINNES ALL METAL ICE AXE & TERRORDACTYL FROM:

GLENCOE PRODUCTIONS LTD., GLENCOE, ARGYLL PA39 4HX THE ALL METAL ICE AXE:

The first all metal ice axe was made by Hamlsh Maclnnes in the late 1940s. it was known as ‘The Message”. But it was not manufactured by him until the early 1960s, using aluminium alloy shafts. The decision to make these all metal ice axes available to the public was taken after Hamish found two wooden axes broken on a fall on Ben Nevis, where a party of three mountaineers were killed. All metal ice axes are now used throughout the world.

They were originally made in a barn at his home in Glencoe and the drop forgings of the production models, the first of their kind, were produced by B. & S. Massey of Manchester, John Byam Grounds, the managing director, was himself a keen climber.

The ice axes, with their strong shafts, in place of wooden shafted models and slightly declined picks introduced a new standard of safety in mountaineering. He continued making them for several years, but when manufacturers internationally copied Hamish’s design he wound up production. He felt his aim in introducing a stronger and safer design which helped to save lives had been achieved.