Alex MacIntyre (5 March 1954 – 17 October 1982) was a British mountaineer in the 1970s. He is known for developing new climbing techniques that enabled ascents not previously accomplished.
MacIntyre was born inCottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, to Scottish Catholic parents. His first experience of climbing came after his parents moved toLetchmore Heath while Alex studied for his A-levels atWatford Grammar School. Almost as soon as he entered the school, MacIntyre joined the London Mountaineering Club and frequently went on weekend climbing trips to north Wales. In 1972, he was awarded four grade As at A-level. He then attendedLeeds University to study Geography and Economics, later switching to Law.
As a member of the Leeds University Mountaineering Club (LUMC), he developed his climbing skills, along with fellow students John Syrett, Brian Hall and John Powell.[1] After climbing Yorkshire's gritstone, MacIntyre travelled to Scotland to develop his ice climbing technique and understanding of winter climbing conditions. On 14 March 1975, he made a solo ascent of two of the test pieces onBen Nevis –Zero Gully andPoint Five.
Alex was one of several British climbers who were proficient in 'front point" climbing, a style of climbing accomplished through the use of crampons with two front-slanting points or spikes which allow traction to be concentrated at the toe of a climber's boots. This allowed the British group to make a light and fast ascent,[2][3] relatively unencumbered by gear and supplies, ascending and descending in a shorter time than traditional climbing methods allowed. During this period, MacIntyre and his climbing partners ascended theGrandes Jorasses giant ice sheet,The Shroud, in a single day,[4][5] and also accomplished the first non-sieged ascent of theHarlin Direct on theEiger North Face.
MacIntyre later climbed in the Himalaya where he was a proponent of 'Alpine Style' ethics,[6] along with a number of other climbers, includingVoytek Kurtyka. He climbed with a number of international groups, whose ascents included attempts on major objectives such asDhaulagiri,Changabang,Shishapangma[7] andMakalu.
In the autumn of 1982, at the age of 28, MacIntyre was killed by a single stone while setting up a new route onAnnapurna's South Face with French alpinist René Ghilini.[8] In light of his contribution to British climbing, particularly advances in the 'light and fast' style of alpinism, the 'Alex MacIntyre Memorial Hut' was set up in the West Highlands where it is managed by theBritish Mountaineering Council and theMountaineering Council of Scotland.
A book written by MacIntyre and Doug Scott, entitledThe Shishapangma Expedition, was published in 1984, and re-released in 2014.
In 2014, MacIntyre's climbing partner John Porter published a biography of his life.[2][9] The book won the grand prize at the annualBanff Mountain Book Festival.[10]
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