#307: Pat Parsons - RM Commando & Mountain Rescue

Pat is a retired Royal Marines Officer who lives in the Peak District with his wife Nicky. His mountaineering career began at school in the mountains of North Wales and since then he has climbed widely, made first ascents and led many expeditions to the Himalayas, Antarctica, North America, Africa and the alps. In 1980 he was awarded the Royal Humane Society Bronze medal for saving the life of a fellow climber on a mountain in India. 

His career in the Royal Marines was long and varied; he ran the Nigerian Army Jungle Warfare Course and also commanded the Mountain & Arctic Warfare Cadre during Operation Haven, the Kurdish refugee crisis in 1991. He served as an advisor to the Kosovo Liberation Army and his last posting was in the Czech Republic where he commanded the British Military Training Team in Eastern Europe.

Pat’s outdoor agenda was interrupted in 2018 when he suffered a serious climbing accident, sustained a spinal injury and was diagnosed as an ‘incomplete paraplegic’. At the accident site he was rescued by the Derby Mountain Rescue Team which, although not apparent at the time, was to open another chapter of his life.

Pat enjoys Sea kayaking, mountain biking, motor biking, and boating. He is currently the Chairman of the Derby Mountain Rescue Team - the same team that rescued him in 2008.

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