Blyth Wright
I was very sad to hear of the death of Blyth Wright earlier this week. Blyth was a founder member of the Corriemulzie Club, those intrepid characters from the Dundee area who explored the north-west of Scotland in the sixties putting up some very hard routes in the process. More recently Blyth was the boss of the Scottish Avalanche Service at Glenmore Lodge where he had been an instructor for over 20 years.
Originally from Kirkcaldy, Blyth Wright was one of a group of hard climbers who put up a number of first ascents in the Alps during the seventies. He was also assistant director of the International School of Mountaineering at Leysin in Switzerland where he worked with the likes of John Harlin, Dougal Haston and Don Whillans.
As well as being a great climber and an enthusiastic hill and mountain explorer Blyth’s other great love in life was the cause of Scottish Nationalism. Indeed, he was agent for Fergus Ewing MSP in the 1992 Westminster elections and the 1999 Holyrood elections when Fergus won his seat. But it’s for his knowledge and expertise in avalanches that Blyth will be remembered. He co-authored the standard UK text on the subject - A Chance in a Million? Scottish Avalanches, with Bob Barton and he also translated a number of texts from the original Swiss and French into English. I’ll always remember Blyth as a good friend who was always willing to share his time and knowledge when I pestered him for various articles and features I was writing, and a better companion over a dram or two would be hard to find.