Myrtle Simpson
{{Short description|Scottish skier and mountaineer}}
{{about|the skier|the teacher|Myrtle May Simpson}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2017}}
Myrtle Lillias Simpson (née Emslie; born around 1930) is a Scottish skier and the thirteenth woman to receive the Polar Medal. She has been called the "mother of Scottish skiing". She was the first woman to ski across Greenland on an unsupported expedition. She was president of the Scottish Ski Club in the 1970s and has written several books.
Early life
She was from Aldershot and moved to Fort William, Highland age 21.{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/outdoors/silver-skiers-why-the-over-60s-are-hitting-the-slopes-1-3970130 |title=Silver skiers: Why the over 60s are hitting the slopes |first=Cat |last=Hart |work=The Scotsman |date=8 December 2015}} She qualified as a radiographer and worked at the Belford Hospital.{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15045958.___Mother_of_Scottish_skiing____awarded_prestigious_Polar_Medal_at_age_of_87/|title='Mother of Scottish skiing' awarded prestigious Polar Medal at age of 87 |work=The Herald |date=25 January 2017|accessdate=14 May 2017}}
Skiing
She was part of the Edinburgh Andean expedition in 1958, climbing various routes with Hugh Simpson and Bill Wallace.{{cite news |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/125863932/Scots-party-combined-medical-research-and-mountaineering |title=Scots party combined medical research and mountaineering |first=Myrtle |last=Emslie |work=The Scotsman |date=4 November 1958 |accessdate=14 May 2017}} The group made seven ascents, including the first British ascent of Huascarán, which at 6,768m is the fourth-highest mountain in the Americas.{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/william-wallace-1-1108018 |title=William Wallace |work=The Scotsman |date=2 March 2006 |accessdate=15 May 2017}} In 1965 she skied across Greenland with four others on an unsupported expedition, the first woman to achieve this.{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/arctic-adventure-in-tracks-of-a-pioneer-1-1057611 |title=Arctic adventure in tracks of a pioneer |work=The Scotsman |date=10 June 2005 |accessdate=15 May 2017}}{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/new-adventures-of-city-s-super-men-and-women-1-980681 |title=New adventures of City's super men and women |work=The Scotsman |date=13 February 2006 |accessdate=15 May 2017}} She was president of the Scottish Ski Club in the 1970s. She was an experienced climber.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-38730043 |title=Skier and climber Myrtle Simpson awarded Polar Medal |work=BBC News |date=24 January 2017 |accessdate=14 May 2017}}
Other adventures
She wrote several books about her expeditions and on other subjects.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldcat.org/wcidentities/lccn-n50023695 |title=Simpson, Myrtle |publisher=World Cat |accessdate=15 May 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qI5AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3KQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5290%2C4131554 |title=Something in common |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=19 April 1974 |page=6 |accessdate=15 May 2017}} In 1974 BBC Scotland broadcast Breathing Space:
To the Land Where Glaciers Grow, featuring Myrtle Simpson, her husband Hugh, and their four children, on a 200-mile expedition in canoes and on foot across West Greenland. The programme was rebroadcast on BBC i Player in 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p03yfgzt/breathing-space-to-the-land-where-glaciers-grow
Awards and honours
In 1969, she and her husband Dr Hugh Simpson were awarded the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.{{cite news |url=https://www.rsgs.org/mungo-park-medal |title=Mungo Park Medal |work=RSGS |accessdate=15 November 2019}}
In 2013 she was given the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture.{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/roger-cox-myrtle-simpson-rightly-honoured-1-2794444 |title=Roger Cox: Myrtle Simpson rightly honoured |work=The Scotsman |date=16 February 2013 |accessdate=14 May 2017}}
In January 2017 she was awarded the Polar Medal in recognition of her arctic achievements. Her husband Hugh had been awarded the Polar medal fifty years previously. She received the medal at a ceremony in London in May.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-39900890 |title=Skier and climber Myrtle Simpson receives Polar Medal |work=BBC News |date=12 May 2017|accessdate=14 May 2017}} That year, she became one of the Saltire Society's Outstanding Women.{{cite web |url=http://www.saltiresociety.org.uk/discuss-and-debate/saltire-women/ |title=10 New Inductees into the Outstanding Women of Scotland Community |work=Saltire Society |accessdate=14 January 2018}}
References
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Female recipients of the Polar Medal
Category:Scottish female skiers
Category:Scottish mountain climbers
Category:Scottish women writers
Category:Scottish travel writers
Category:British women travel writers