I’ve recently been reading The Everest Years by Chris Bonington, during which he states that he was the 7th Brit to climb Everest. So who were the 7 and what were their stories?
Read moreThe first 7 British people to climb Mount Everest
Dougal Haston
When climbing documentaries were as popular as cookery shows
Last year fifteen million people, a quarter of the population of Britain, watched the final of a cake-baking competition. In 1967 the same number watched a live broadcast of the second ascent of an obscure sea stack off the coast of Orkney.
Read moreThe first ascent of the Southwest Face of Everest
On 24 September 1975, Doug Scott and Dougal Haston became the first two Brits to reach the summit of Everest, by a new route on the Southwest Face. Forty years later, on 24 September 2015, I had the privilege of hearing all about it from members of their team.
Read moreSir Chris Bonington’s life in 90 minutes
Britain’s greatest living mountaineer is currently touring the country with a series of lectures about his life, and I was lucky enough to see one of them. An important World Cup qualifier was taking place that evening, but if Chris Bonington’s life were a football match it would be a 22 goal thriller which ended 11 goals all and went into extra time.
Read moreDid Chinese climbers reach the summit of Everest in 1960?
There has been a lot of gushing editorial written recently to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first American ascent of Everest in 1963. I could write a bit more about the expedition here, but I wouldn’t be adding anything to what’s already out there. Instead I’m going to talk about another expedition which took place on Everest’s north side three years earlier.
Read moreDougal Haston climbs the Hillary Step of Everest
Here’s the print (complete with apples) of Dougal Haston climbing the Hillary Step, signed by the photographer Doug Scott, that I acquired this time last week at the the Adventure Travel Show, London Olympia. Shortly after the photograph was taken
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