Ian ‘Spike’ Sykes was born and raised in Leeds during the Second World War. A climber since his youth, he joined the RAF at sixteen, working on the Kinloss Mountain Rescue Team in the Scottish Highlands during a number of dramatic rescues. After leaving the RAF he worked with the British Antarctic Survey on the southern polar ice cap, where he ran a dog team and worked as a guide for the Survey’s field scientists.Back in Scotland, Spike and Ian Sutherland identified an opportunity for a climbing and outdoor equipment shop in the Highlands, and the first Nevisport shop was born. Both remained as members of the Lochaber Mountain Rescue, the UK’s busiest team. Spike was also instrumental in the development of the ski area at Nevis Range on Aonach Mor, where he stayed on as managing director for twelve years. He is currently a director of Nevis Range, which is now also internationally renowned as a mountain biking centre.Spike was awarded an MBE in 1990 for services to sport and mountain rescue, and in 2011 he received the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture. His first book, Cry Argentina (978-1-846248-71-9), a semi-fictional account of the build-up to the invasion of South Georgia in the Falklands War, was published in 2013. In the Shadow of Ben Nevis is his second book. Spike lives in Fort William with his partner Gay, and has a daughter Eilidh.

• Foreword by Hamish MacInnes; 1 Fort William Station; 2 Garforth; 3 Fulneck; 4 Kinloss Mountain Rescue; 5 The Alps; 6 A New Year on Skye, 1963; 7 Locheil; 8 Falkland Islands; 9 Deception Island; 10 Stonington; 11 That's One Small Step for Man; 12 Nevisport; 13 Callop; 14 A Mandarin Murder; 15 The Snow Goose; 16 Nevis Range; 17 Lotus Flower Tower; 18 An Autumn in Siberia; 19 Cochamo; 20 Wadi Rum; 21 The End of the Century; 22 Discovering America.

This book tells of the life and experiences of a unique character and should appeal to anyone with a spirit of adventure. – Stu Gallagher, Alpine Club One man in his time plays many parts.’  This is certainly true of Spike, and this autobiography takes us through them ‒ RAF MRT member in the primitive pre-helicopter days, outdoor instructor, FIDS ‘gash man’, entrepreneur, Lochaber MRT member, and throughout it all a climber whose experience ranges from hitch-hiking and barn-dossing as an impoverished teenager to helicopter drops into exotic locations.  Not a typical climbing autobiography ‒ and all the better for it. – R T Richardson, former president of the Scottish Mountaineering Club Suffice to say, In The Shadow... is a rattling good yarn, and that’s before you even get on to Sykes’s life-saving work with the Kinloss Mountain Rescue Team and his climbing adventures in the Alps, the Yukon and elsewhere. – Roger Cox, The Scotsman This book is a good read about a man and his life of adventure in the mountains and out of them. – Nick Carter, Alpha Mountaineering It recounts many lively tales of adventure and mishap. – Eilidh Davies, Highland News His stories of epic mountain rescues before the age of helicopter assistance, good communications, organised rescue teams and enforced drink driving laws are riveting. – Dave McLeod, Blogspot  Hats off to Ian Sykes for a terrific read. Very highly recommended. – Ullapool News