UKC

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Anyone able to shed some light on this? Cant find anything on the BBC Scotland news sites. I know some rescue team members post on this site.
Any recent news appreciated!!

In reply to dek:

There is a short report in The Herald:

"Rescuers searching for a missing mountaineer have found a body.
The family of the missing 69-year-old man raised the alarm at 9.40pm on Friday night when he failed to return from a climbing trip in the Corrie Fee area of Glen Doll in Angus at the expected time.
Conditions were severe and it is thought he may have been swept away in an avalanche.
Tayside Police and Tayside Mountain Rescue Teams launched a search last night, supported by a rescue helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth.
They found a body in a gully at around 3.30am on Saturday morning.
Police said that the missing man was a very experienced mountaineer and fully equipped for the conditions.
The body has yet to be formally identified and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal."

Condolences to all concerned.

In reply to DougG:
Cheers Doug
Thats what i was dreading!

Sending my condolences & deepest sympathy

In reply to dek:

Just read this thread. Feeling extremely sick. If you or anyone on here can provide further details please personal mail me.

Mark

In reply to dek: Condolences to the family of the guy!

Be safe out there folks!!!

Was told who it was last night. He has not been formally identified yet so don't want to post but it was a well known 69-year-old Dundee climber who was in the SMC and the Carn Dearg M.C. Our thoughts are with his Wife and family.

In reply to jetonline:

The climber in question has now been formally idenitfied and there was a piece in The Courier this morning about him. I'd prefer to leave it to some one who knew him to name him on here though as you could maybe do a wee bit on his achievements and what a loss it is to the climbing community.


Sad news. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

In reply to MelH:

The fatality has now been formally identified as Doug Lang, a huge loss to all who knew him and to the Scottish Climbing community.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/12036/dundee-climber-dougla...

There will be people on here that knew Doug much better than I did, but I did have the pleasure of climbing with him on a few occasions. I particularly remember bumping in to him one New Years Day on one of our local crags when we had both nipped out to get the first route of the year in. We had a great time knocking off a few climbs before he dashed off to see his beloved Football team play.

My thoughts are particularly with his wife and his daughter Hilary at this time.

Dave

In reply to Dave Pritchard:
Like you say Dave, there will be many on here who new Doug Lang much better than me. I only have couple of modicums of association with his climbing life - but perhaps its appropriate to record here and now?
It must have been in 2007. I was on a repeat ascent of Arverikie Wall and bumped into a couple of guys of a similar age to me. They turned out to be Doug Land and [I think] Graeme Hunter - on a fortieth anniversary ascent of their first ascent back in 1967. I felt honoured just to be rubbing shoulders with them, and the day sticks in my memory as one of the memorable ones.
In a similar instance, one of my mates from Cumbria was on an early ascent of Point Five way back then. Doug Lang was in the team in front of them.

Sad to hear of his passing but what better memorial could a man have than Arverikie Wall. How many have followed in his footsteps up those wonderful walls of micorgranite, how many more still to come.

With condolences to his wife and daughter.

In reply to John Workman:

Never met Mr Lang, but done some of his routes and thank him for them. As you say, his climbs are his memorial and his name will live on in books and articles.
RIP

Very sad news, I met Doug once on Look C Gully just before New Year 2010. I sparked up conversation by asking if the route was in cold climbs and he retorted by saying he wrote the article! I remember the belay chat vividly with stories of him climbing on the Ben Slav route, Hadrians wall and especially his account of Psychedelic wall with a lost axe.
It was a great day that day, not least because of the stories.
Condolences to all that knew him.

Ron

In reply to Ronbo:

I don't know that I met him, but he lived literally round the corner from me. Very sad news. Requiescat in pace.

In reply to Dave Pritchard:

Like others here, I only knew Doug Lang by name and repute. But the names and achievements of Lang, Hunter et al have been part of my consciousness for the 30-odd years I've been climbing, and this is still shocking, sad news.

Thinking of his family and all who knew him.

P

In reply to dek: I can only hope that I will be fit enough with enough life energy and passion to go winter soloing a the age of 69. what a legend.

Condolences to the family.

In reply to John Workman:


Well put John; I make an annual pilgrimage to Ardverikie, so will take a moment when I do so this summer to remember a man with the vision to see a plum line that Patey missed.

In reply to dek:
A huge loss to the Climbing community. I had the privelege of climbing a few routes with Doug in the past couple of years, the last of which was only in January.

He had a tremendous enthusiasm for the mountains and an encyclopedic knowledge. I'll remember his wicked, and at times, acerbic wit which always kept you smiling....and his stories! He was very patient, even when i was faffing, and gave good advice to this low grade plodder.

I recall him singing good scottish ballads as he waited on a cold belay and the lengthy conversations held on the walks in/out. His generousity of spirit will be sadly missed and i'm sure his contribution to Scottish climbing won't be underestimated.

It was a privelege and an honour.

My thoughts go out to the many good friends left behind and particularly my deepest sympathy to his wife and daughter.

RIP Doug

"Tom Patey was the first to pay Binnein Shuas a visit with an eye to climbing, but he left having climbed only one route, the upper part of The Fortress in 1964. He later commented that Ardverikie Wall, the classic route of the crag pioneered by Dougie Lang and Graham Hunter in 1967, was the finest route he walked past and didn't climb. 1967 proved to be the heyday at Binnein Shuas with Lang and Hunter bagging the majority of the best lines all through that year. Excited at their find of such a superb virgin cliff and fearful that someone might find out what they were up to and cash in, Lang convinced the estate keeper to park his car, a very conspicuous white Volvo, out of sight behind the keeper's cottage. Subterfuge paid off and the resulting Ardverikie Weall is the undoubtedly one of Scotland's best routes at any grade."

--Kevin Howett, SMC Highland Outcrops Guide, p.227

In reply to dek:

That's really sad news. Didn't know him but like most knew of him, and Ardverikie Wall's a fine memorial for anyone.

Great link higher up to some photos on what I assume is Graham Hunter's gallery. Some photos there that make you feel you knew the people.

RIP. Condolences to his family.

jcm

In reply to dek:Those of us who were lucky enough to have counted Doug as a friend and regular climbing partner are currently trying to deal with the disbelief that comes from the events that unfolded at the weekend. A winter day out in Corrie Fee was a regular event for Doug. I shared such days with him on several occasions with the classic outing being Look C followed by a quick link to B Gully Chimney, one of his long list of first ascents of course. The last time we spoke he remarked upon the enjoyment that he still gained from a quick day out up the Glen, often solo. Doug was a consummate mountaineer on rock and ice with a level of determination and enthusiasm that was unsurpassed. His achievements should not be under rated and in his retirement he was still climbing at a very respectable standard. In the late sixties and early seventies with Graham Hunter on rock and with Neil Quinn in winter he was formidable. Many will associate Doug with that gem of the Central Highlands, Ardverikie Wall but those who have visited other routes of his such as Falseface at Creagh an Dubh Loch,, will have realised just how much he was at the cutting edge of exploratory rock climbing at the time. His winter ascents with Quinn in the last days of the step-cutting era are the stuff of legend. How many who visit this site would contemplate step cutting up Hadrian’s Wall on the Ben. As I recall it took him and Neil 18 hours. Left Edge Route and Slav Route on the Ben in winter are testimony to his winter prowess. I could fill many pages with my memories of days on the hill with Doug. He was first and foremost a climber’s climber. But beyond his climbing ability Doug was a thoroughly genuine individual, quick witted and full of energy. Those who expressed an interest in getting out would receive the inevitable phone call when conditions were promising. “Hellooo Its Doug here what are you doing tomorrow?” If you lacked a cast iron excuse for not getting out the next day Doug's disappointment would be palpable. He was a stalwart SMC member. Membership of the club, which he joined in 1969, was one of his lifelong sources of enjoyment. He was above all else a superb mountaineer and a thoroughly decent bloke. Someone Denise and Hillary can remain proud of for a whole host of reasons. I will remember Doug for his infectious enthusiasm, unswerving loyalty as a friend, and the best sort of person to have on the other end of your rope.
JH

In reply to cuillinman:

Thank you for posting at what must be a very sad time, its good of you to give us a background into the man as well as the climber we know of from the guidebooks.

Deepest sympathies to his family.

In reply to dek:
A little more recent info on Doug from the Carn Dearg Mountaineering Club , of which Doug had been a member some time past, and suddenly turned up at the Sept 2010 Ardgower Club Meet. Here is the link to the Blog where Doug got a mention, and I have pinned my Flickr Link where I happened to photograph Doug on the hill.

http://www.carndearg.org/?p=529

This is the closest photo I have (Doug sitting)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22776031@N05/4966350890/in/set-721576247732054...

Other Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22776031@N05/sets/72157624773205479/

In reply to Jamie Bankhead:

My God I didn't know he had done the first ascent of Ardverikie Wall! He was there at the base of it watching me when I did it for the first time. I was only aware of who he was when we came back down and his name was mentioned by his friends. I may have been a bit self conscious had I known at the time. I hope he saw the size of the smile I had after having climbed the route.

A sad loss to Scottish mountaineering. RIP and condolences to his family and friends.