(Words by Carson's brother Christopher Bilsland)

Carson Bilsland lived in rural Perthshire in a sleepy little village called Bridge Of Cally, he spent most of his free time cramming as much as possible into every single day whether it was Speed Skiing, Freediving, Speed Flying or anything else exciting and death defying......the majority of the rest of his leisure time was spent with his loving family and friends who came to know him as a whirlwind of fun and adventure and a very decent human being.

During his younger years Carson worked as a ski instructor at Glenshee Ski Centre, Scotland and built up a reputation as an excellent skier and utterly fearless, during this time he managed to get into the British Speed Ski Team where he enjoyed some excellent years competing and working alongside some of the very best in the world.

Carse also had an incredible way with kids, they loved his mad cap ideas and childlike enthusiasm for life in general, never a dull second and always with a wonderful sense of capturing the very moment and making it his own, he was the original Peter Pan and full of spark and a burning fire for living life. Carson was wild and a bit mad and always able to make people laugh and often at his expense.

Carson absolutely loved Glenshee, Scotland and the surrounding mountains, he spent many years there as a skier and then many hours flying above it as he pursued his love for Speed Flying. It would have been Braemar Mountain Rescue that picked him up if he ever had any problems and he rated them as the very best at what they do.

During his 46 years on this earth Carson had lived all over the world due to his work in the Oil and Gas Industry, during this time he had built up a wonderful network of friends and work colleagues. These people have been a rock solid source of support for the Bilsland Family during a very difficult time.

Carson more recently had worked at the Tigantourine Gas Plant at In Amenas, Algeria and had gone into his work as usual on the 16th January and started his daily routines. Later that morning Carson became involved in the terrorist attack which claimed the lives of 40 innocent people, Carson was one of the innocent men killed during the attack by terrorists and died on the 17th January 2013.

I cannot stress enough that terrorism is everywhere, it has managed to affect families in every corner of the globe and in utterly devastating ways. In the photo of Carson in New York you can clearly see the Twin Towers in the background.

While Braemar Mountain Rescue may not seem a first choice of charity it is one which we as a family are very grateful to have in place as we explore and enjoy the local mountains, the hills had a special place for Carson and he would often walk/ski/fly around Glenshee to clear his head and feel free.

A quote from a good friend of Carson - Aharon Solomons

Carson was a person who walked through the world leaving not a trace behind him, only love and laughter. He was an alchemist who literally turned the base metal of life into gold. He, in the best sense of the word was utterly harmless.