I am not sure if you appreciate the impact that you make on an audience and as someone in that audience this week you have made me think very hard about me getting more out of myself and giving a bit more of myself."
- Kevin Doran, Scottish Executive
Jamie's great passion in life has always been mountaineering, but at the height of his climbing career, tragedy struck unexpectedly when he and his climbing partner where caught for five day storm at the top of one of the French Alps hardest North Faces. The ensuing helicopter rescue was one of the most spectacular in the history of the Alps and made news headlines around the world. Unfortunately the rescue came too late for his partner Jamie Fisher, and Jamie only just survived despite severe frostbite and hypothermia. Later in hospital all of Jamie's hands and feet had to be amputated.
After the accident Jamie made a surprisingly swift recovery, and the story of this has been described by many as inspirational. Within three and a half months he had learnt to walk on prosthetic legs and had sufficiently re-learnt everyday tasks such as washing, dressing and feeding to be able to leave hospital. Immediately he returned to full time work as a manager for the same rope access company he had worked for before and was soon considered a valuable and fully productive member of the management team. In June 2000 he married his long term partner, Anna Wyatt.
Since the accident Jamie has participated in many sporting activities including swimming, running, skiing, snow-boarding, paragliding, caving, orienteering and sailing. But it was returning to mountaineering that was to provide his greatest goal and the biggest challenge.
In June 2000 he climbed Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, raising over £15,000 for charity in the process. A 30 minute documentary, called Climb Back, was made of this ascent, screened on BBC Scotland and featured at the Kendal Mountaineering Film Festival.
Jamie also returned to active rock climbing and ice climbing. In May 2001 he returned to Chamonix, and with one of his doctors and his rescuers, he climbed the Cosmiques Arete on L’Aiguille du Midi, subject of a 50 minute documentary for French television called Le Defi de Jamie, broadcast on France 3 and winner of several film festival awards.
In April 2002 Jamie ran the London Marathon, raising over £22,000 for charity on the way, and has returned to the Alps several times in 2002 and climbed several mountains including Mont Blanc du Tacul (4200m) and The Monch (4099m). He also made an attempt on Mont Blanc (4800m), Western Europe’s highest mountain, but was forced to turn back just 300m below the summit due to closing bad weather.
In January 2004, with three other disabled mountaineers he made an all-disabled ascent of Kilimanjaro (5895m), the highest mountain in Africa. The ascent raised over £5,000 for a Tanzanian leprosy centre situated on the slopes of the mountain.
“ It’s my hope that my experiences and achievements may inspire others to tackle the obstacles they face in life and to achieve their full potential.
It seems to me that our greatest limitations are the ones we impose on ourselves. I want to encourage others to throw out these misconceptions and to be all they can be.
"Remember, nothing is impossible!" ”
Jamie has also written numerous articles about his adventures and experiences, published in The Scotsman, The Observer, Scotland on Sunday, The Sunday Mail and various climbing magazines. The book “Life and Limb” is the story of his experiences.
He has given motivational talks to companies, conferences, mountaineering clubs, schools and universities throughout the UK and Europe.
His talks include aspects of attainable goals; problem solving – especially solving ‘big problems with small solutions’; and developing personal confidence through achievement.
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