In the late afternoon of 25th June I suffered a very serious fall at the Black Carls pinnacles section of the Beinn Eighe traverse in the Torridon hills, tumbling about 100ft down a steep scree gully.

Alongside a good dose of luck I owe the positive outcome to a number of things - we carried satellite location equipment, survival equipment, and my companion was calm and collected throughout.

Most of all, however, I owe it to the combined work of the Torridon Mountain Rescue Team and the Stornoway Coastguard, who worked on dangerously steep and unstable terrain, and in difficult cloudy conditions, to make me safe and, eventually, to winch me off the hill and on to hospital around midnight. I am left with several fractures and am every shade of black and blue known to humankind, but I also know that it could have been much, much worse.

Torridon Mountain Rescue Team relies entirely on donations. It is currently seeking to raise £12,000 for two new stretchers in order for the team to be fully operational at all times, and I would very much like to help them out with a good chunk towards one of them by way of a 'thank you'. It would mean a great deal to me if you could donate a couple of quid to support the work of this remarkable team.