Tilman and Shipton’s travels in Africa

Tilman and Shipton’s travels in Africa

The Himalayan explorer Bill Tilman spent fourteen years of his life as a coffee planter in Kenya. During that time he and Eric Shipton made a number of exploratory treks and climbs on Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro, and in the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda.

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Kilimanjaro: returning to the crown of Africa

Kilimanjaro: returning to the crown of Africa

I’ve been thinking a lot about Kilimanjaro this year. I first climbed it in 2002, and I was long overdue a return. Back then I didn’t know whether I would be strong enough. This time it should be a different story, and we hope to explore a bit of the crater while we’re up there.

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Bill Tilman: Nepal’s very first trekking tourist

Bill Tilman: Nepal’s very first trekking tourist

A few weeks ago I wrote about the history of Nepal and how it came to open its doors to tourism. In the second post in this series I introduce you to Nepal’s very first trekking tourist, who was already a Himalayan veteran and an interesting character.

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Which is harder, the Second Seven Summits or the first one?

Which is harder, the Second Seven Summits or the first one?

Last month the Italian climber Hans Kammerlander became the first person to climb the Second Seven Summits, in other words the second highest peak on each continent. According to 7summits.com, 348 people had climbed the main Seven Summits, the highest

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5 great books about mountain exploration

5 great books about mountain exploration

If you like books about mountaineering, here are some of my favourites. I make no claims that these are the 5 best books about mountain exploration ever written, because I can’t claim to have read them all. They are simply

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