Marco and I met in our first weeks at St Andrews, in 2003, and when he found out I like the outdoors, he invited me on a day trip he had planned to the hills: my first as a student and possibly his too. Not having a car, we cycled from St Andrews to Leuchars, took several trains to get to the village of Blair Atholl, then hiked from the village to the hill itself. The transport logistics and the Scottish nights “drawing in” meant that despite an early start we had to be quick on the hill, and it was Marco’s determination, even slogging up steep heather, that powered us to the summit. Back in Blair Atholl we enjoyed a good meal in a pub with on open fire before the journey home. A humble outing compared to the mountain adventures he would have later, but an early display of love of the outdoors and spontaneous inclusion of others.

Later, Marco became a regular at the St Andrews University Mountaineering Club and many of us enjoyed days on the hill and evenings in climbing huts or bothies with him. There are of course some anecdotes.

I remember one evening at Ling Hut in Torridon, where everyone was cooking dinner after a long day on the hills. The club’s main concerns with food were maximum energy for minimum weight, hence the meal of choice was a mountain of pasta covered in a small jar of tomato sauce and as much cheese as possible. Amid the usual kitchen conservation about who last had the cheese grater and when a pan would be available to boil yet more pasta, Marco’s voice rang out with, “Do you think this venison’s finished marinating yet?” An appreciation for food, beyond the calories, became a signature part of his inimitable style.

Another evening, I think this time at the Smiddy in Glen Etive, Marco and I decided to test our intellects in a game of chess. We didn’t have a chess set, but no problem, we would make our own. One piece of paper became the board, and another was painstakingly turned into 32 exquisitely hand-torn playing pieces. After this lengthy set up, we exchanged our opening moves; at which point more mountaineers came into the hut and our confetti armies deserted it on the wind. It’s unusual for chess to have two losers, but we managed it, having shown everyone exactly how great our intellects were.

Marco was adventurous, enlivening company and thoughtful in both senses of the word. Exactly the type of person to have shared such times with, and sadly missed.