When people arrive at Ice Factor in Kinlochleven, they are often surprised to meet their instructor, Kev Shields.
Well known in the world of professional climbing, he takes to the wall with ease and enjoys teaching others about his passion.
Now 38, Kev works part-time at the centre, which is sandwiched between Ben Nevis and Glencoe, and he is sponsored to travel around Europe tackling dangerous routes with nothing but a specially adapted ice-axe and a climbing rope.
It’s the former which gives the game away, and in keeping with his blunt attitude to life, Kev usually points out the reason for his aid before people have a chance to shoot uncomfortable glances.
Rudeness is par for the course when you’ve been living with essentially one hand for your entire life, and Kev was born with no fingers on his left hand.
Surgeons sculpted Kev a thumb in early childhood but told his parents, Bruce and Christine, that he would never be able to climb trees like other youngsters and would probably have to attend a special school.
It is testament to Kev’s upbringing and his determination to succeed that he was the first disabled climber to compete in the Ice Climbing World Cup, and he is also a keen mountain biker.
But what has inspired him to keep pushing against the naysayers and ultimately triumph despite, in his own words, “my messed up hand”?
“My mum and dad didn’t know about my hand before I was born but they had a very matter-of-fact attitude about it,” said Kev.
“They just got on with it so naturally, that became my attitude as well.
“I only had to adapt after operations and learn how to tie my own shoelaces, but mum and dad made it very clear that I wouldn’t get special treatment.
“If anything, it was a reason to prove people wrong and be better than them. I’ve tried to live by that philosophy my entire life.
“My dad taught me to ride a bike by pushing me down a hill on my brand new BMX on Christmas Day.
“It was other people who always told me I couldn’t do things and my cycling proficiency test at school was really embarrassing.
“I basically got told I couldn’t take part because of my hand, but my mum and dad weren’t about to let that pass.”
Kev was able to take the test after all thanks to his scout master, Archie Comrie, and he credits him for his love of mountaineering.
“Archie is a really big influence because he’s a hard character and that really shaped me. I loved going hillwalking with him,” said Kev.
Indeed much of Kev’s sheer grit can be credited to the people around him, although he never focuses on his achievements.
“I’d soon be pulled up, I didn’t have pushy parents but mum and dad wanted me to succeed at the same time,” he said.
“People sometimes say I’m remarkable but I shrug it off, or I’d quickly get told I’m getting a big head.
“My girlfriend, Kat, also keeps me grounded.”
Kev went to a mainstream school in his original home county of Ayrshire and soon learnt how to deal with taunts.
Throughout childhood he dreamed of joining the Special Forces but was turned away because of his hand.
“That’s the only way I really class my hand as a disability – joining the Army was my dream,” he said.
“I didn’t get too down about it though because the Territorial Army (TA) were willing to take me on instead.”
Having battled against misconceptions about his hand while growing up, Kev was then dealt perhaps the biggest blow after suffering an epileptic fit aged 20.
He was climbing the Galloway Hills with Archie at the time and has no recollection of fitting.
“Archie got me back to the car and said I’d given him a scare, but because I couldn’t remember anything I tried to brush it off,” said Kev.
“I actually started getting ready to go out because it was a Saturday night but I couldn’t even have a shave. My right hand just wouldn’t co-ordinate.
“I knew something was wrong and ended up in hospital. That’s when I got the epilepsy diagnosis.
“The TA then turned around and said it was simply too much – they could take me on with my hand but not with epilepsy.
“That was by far the biggest blow. My mum was also diagnosed with cancer so it wasn’t a great year.”
Kev took to the hills in order to work through his frustration, and although he wasn’t allowed to drive he regularly got the ferry to the Isle of Arran as a foot passenger.
It was there that his passion for climbing began in earnest as he learnt to scramble and tackle harder routes.
“Going to the mountains gave me a lot of peace and I worked through stuff in my own head. It allowed me to process the anger,” said Kev.
“I got to the stage where I wanted a climbing partner, but oddly enough if you tell people you have epilepsy and one hand they aren’t too keen to dangle you off a rope.”
It is this dry sense of humour which saw Kev find his own way as a solo climber before he started entering competitions.
He credits fellow climber Dave MacLeod with encouraging him and plans are in the pipeline to climb the Himalayas. “Dave encouraged me to push myself and try harder, and I’m still seeing what I can do,” he said.
“I love my job because I’m basically getting paid to climb, but people’s reaction to my hand can be really varied.
“It’s very obvious when I’m on the ice wall but I’d much rather people ask questions about it than stare.
“My response depends on how rude they are but I try to explain my hand when I’m working with people before they get a chance to question it.
“Over the years I’ve learnt how to deal with it and to never listen to anyone that says I can’t do something.
“That would be my advice to anyone faced with something like this, to carry on pushing forward.
“There is always a way.”
Although Kev doesn’t like to brag about his achievements, it’s fair to say he’s blazing a trail for fellow climbers. He was the first Scot to take part in an Ice Climbing World Cup Competition. He also held aloft the Paralympic Torch on the summit of Ben Nevis in 2012. But Kev’s proudest achievement is his Blue Peter badge, which he received when the team filmed at Ice Factor earlier this year.
“I was so chuffed to receive it because my sister had one when we were kids, and she was always reminding me of it,” said Kev. “Now I have one of my own and I haven’t been shy in letting her know about it.”