Friends of a climber who died when he plunged 600ft down a Highland mountain are having a specially adapted mountain rescue vehicle built in his memory.
Shaun Bowden, of Ware, Hertfordshire, died on 3,773ft Bidean nam Bian – the highest peak in the Glencoe area – in March last year.
The 39-year-old married father-of-two was part of a five-strong group descending from the summit when the weather conditions worsened and he lost his footing on ice and fell, resisting the temptation to grab his companions as he fell.
Mr Bowden’s body was later located by Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team.
His friends have just completed a 4×4 rally from Birmingham to Glencoe, arriving at the team’s base on Saturday.
It was the final event in their campaign to raise money for the new vehicle for the Glencoe rescue team.
Rally organiser Bobby Willis, 35, of London, who had been climbing with Mr Bowden when he fell to his death, yesterday hailed the event – called the Bowden Big Weekender – as a huge success.
He said: “It was incredible. We had 35 people in 16 vehicles, mainly 4x4s, driving all the way from Birmingham to Glencoe and more joined in along the way.
“Driving into Glencoe with the convoy and looking back at all the lights of the other vehicles was really quite emotional. I was close to tears.
“We set ourselves a target of £30,000 and have raised more than £20,000 so I’ve decided to donate my Land Rover, which is the last vehicle Shaun rode in, as the base vehicle. This means we can now afford to get the work done.”
Mr Willis said they were hoping work to customise the vehicle for its new role could be completed in the next month or two and they plan to get it to the mountain rescue team as soon as possible.
He said: “I will miss my Land Rover, but it will be good to know it’s up in Glencoe saving lives in Shaun’s memory.”
Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team leader John Grieve said: “They’ve done a great job and we’re very grateful for their efforts.
“The new vehicle will enable us to carry more people out to remote locations and will be particularly useful in the winter for getting down places like Glen Etive when it’s snowed in.”