Two climbers have been honoured with an international mountaineering prize after conquering the longest unclimbed ridge in the Himalayas.
The Mazeno Ridge of Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat mountain has defeated scores of climbers due to its length and difficult terrain.
Sandy Allan, from Newtonmore, and Rick Allen, from Aberdeen, scaled the ridge last summer, leading judges to award them the Piolet d’Or, or Golden Ice Axe prize.
Mr Allan, 56, said he was happy to be joining the list of esteemed climbers who have won the prize.
He said: “It took a lot out of us but it’s really nice to get the award. It’s not why we did the climb but to be nominated and to be involved has been exciting.”
The pair were honoured with four other climbers at an event in Chamonix in France and Courmayeur in Italy at the foot of Mont Blanc earlier this month.
Mr Allan is back to his day job as a mountain guide in Scotland and France after scaling the 8,125m Nanga Parbat over 18 days last June and July.
Describing the difficulty of the Mazeno Ridge, he said: “Not only is it very long but it is very technical. Once you start, there is no easy way off.”
Mr Allan was the fifth Scot to climb Mount Everest and the first to scale Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth highest mountain. The Piolet d’Or has been awarded by the French magazine Montagnes and the Groupe de Haute Montagne since 1991.