It’s time for my annual migration from Britain to escape Noddy Holder and his elves (a strange image, but keep it with you). I’ve received lots of Christmas cards this year asking me what I’m going to do next. Since
Read moreChristmas in Guatemala
Year: 2012
Ueli Steck’s ridiculous mountaineering career
If you read the title of this post and think I’m about to slag off the Swiss climbing superstar, famous for his speed ascents in the Alps and Himalayas, then you should know upfront that I’ll be doing precisely the
Read moreThe snows of Kilimanjaro, and why seeing is believing
(I should start by pointing out to anyone hoping to read about the Ernest Hemingway short story of the same name, about a man who bullies his wife while dying of an infected leg on safari in East Africa, that
Read moreWhy most books about Everest are irrelevant (but not all of them)
If you type the word Everest into the books category on Amazon.com, here’s what you get: 4 teen novels about a group of backstabbing teenagers competing to become the youngest person to climb Everest 1 worst-case scenario teen adventure book
Read moreJoe Brown provides a rare glimpse of Kangchenjunga
When my mate Dan asked me if I wanted to go and see Joe Brown talk about the first ascent of Kangchenjunga, I didn’t even realise he was still alive (Joe Brown that is, not Dan). There aren’t many climbers
Read moreSnowdon via the Snowdon Ranger Path
My latest trip up Snowdon was something of a flying visit, and has the distinction of being one of the rare ascents of England and Wales’s highest mountain on a day trip from London. A few weekends ago I ascended
Read moreIn memory of Victor Correa of Guican
It made me very sad to hear about the last fatality on Manaslu this year before the weather closed in and the Himalayan climbing season ended for the winter. Eleven people had already died in a huge avalanche on the
Read moreSnowdon via the Watkin Path
It’s not often you get great weather on Snowdon, but there was a good weather forecast the other day so I decided to head up there. Many people describe the highest peak in England and Wales as hill walking’s equivalent
Read moreHi Kickstarters, but this is wrong in so many ways
I don’t know too much about the organisation Kickstarter, so I hesitate to be too critical about them, but this morning an item appeared in my Twitter feed about a campaign of theirs which appeared to be taking bad taste
Read moreWhy glaciers are amazing in 3 minutes 17 seconds
Every once in a while you see something that reminds you what an amazing place the natural world is, and that happened to me today. This video by glaciologist Allen Pope (@PopePolar) from the Scott Polar Research Institute is so
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