Major award for ClimbScotland staff member

Mountaineering Scotland is delighted to report that Robert Mackenzie, our West of Scotland Regional Development Officer, is to receive one of Scotland’s top mountaineering awards.

Nevis Landscape Partnership and the Fort William Mountain Festival announced today that 25-year-old Robert is to be the third recipient of The Scottish Youth Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture. The award, established in 2015, is part of a wider project between the two organisations to celebrate adventurous young people, the landscapes they choose to explore and the outdoor pursuits in which they excel.

Nominated by the public and his peers as a young mountain hero who celebrates achievement, accomplishment and the spirit of adventure, Robert Mackenzie joins Zeki Basan (2015) and Natalie Berry (2016) - as the next Youth Ambassador in the Fort William Mountain Festival Hall of Fame.

Inverness born and bred Robert Mackenzie has been climbing for 22 years, ever since his first day outdoor climbing at the age of three. Since then he has had a passion for climbing in all its formats. At nine years old he began entering climbing competitions with great success. He moved up the ranks winning the British Lead climbing Championships four times and placing 15th in the World Youth Championships and 8th in the European Championships, as part of the GB Junior climbing Youth Team.

At 19 Mackenzie moved to Glasgow for university, where he got a job coaching the Glasgow Climbing Youth Squad, becoming head coach four years later. The squad now has 42 young athletes from around Glasgow, two of whom Robert coached to GB team status.

Robert believes that there is nothing better than a good day out in the mountains and he has always been keen to encourage as many people as possible to share that experience. In 2015 he set up the Glasgow Gorillas Climbing Club in order to introduce his young climbers to outdoor climbing. With the help of a great group of parents he has been running outdoor climbing trips every month since then. Together they have introduced around 35 kids to traditional and sport climbing and bouldering.

Robert left the position of Head Coach of the Glasgow Climbing Centre Youth Squad in October 2016 to take up his new Regional Development role for the west of Scotland at ClimbScotland.   Robert’s main roles in this position are to increase grass roots participation, develop and support pathways into climbing, encourage better use of indoor climbing facilities and to promote and report on ClimbScotland events and competitions. He is still involved in the coaching at ClimbScotland’s national Youth Academies.

Mike Pescod, Chairman of The Highland Mountain Culture Association Limited, organisers of The Fort William Mountain Festival, said: “We can hardly believe that this is the third year of The Scottish Youth Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture. Our previous ambassadors have been outstanding young people and with Robert Mackenzie there is no exception to that level of excellence.  He represents an exemplar in influencing other young people by showing it is possible to achieve high levels of personal and sporting success through his own passion for climbing and Scotland’s outdoors.”

Avril Gall, Mountaineering Scotland's Director for ClimbScotland said the news of the award put a huge smile on her face. She said: "The award is well deserved as Robert’s involvement in all aspects of youth climbing has been and is exemplary."

Robert Mackenzie will be presented with his award in Fort William on Saturday 18 February at the Fort William Mountain Festival; together with Dr Hamish Brown MBE, who has won The Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture in its 10th anniversary year.

Hamish Brown, who came to notice with his hugely influential book about his continuous round of the Munros, has walked and climbed extensively in Scotland and abroad – particularly in Morocco – and influenced many people through his writings. He also introduced many schoolchildren to the mountains during his time as a teacher in Fife.

This award is presented with support from Corpach Boatbuilding Co. Ltd. Without this support the award would not have been created or continue to be presented each year. Encouraging young people into active healthy lifestyles in the outdoors goes alongside the graduate placement and apprenticeship work that continues at Corpach Boatbuilding Co.