Why did Harry’s Mountain Heroes leave Everest early?

August 29, 2012 Opinion and advice climbing fatalities, commercial mountaineering, everest, himex, manaslu, marco siffredi, mountain films, prince harry, russell brice, sherpas, walking with the wounded 0 Comment

On the eve of the Paralympics there was a timely film on UK television this week about a group of remarkable disabled mountaineers on an expedition to the Himalayas, which also provided some insight into one of the most talked

Introducing the Test Way, Hampshire’s unspoilt gem

August 27, 2012 Humour britain, long-distance trails, test way, tumblr post, walking 0 Comment

It was a glorious bank holiday Sunday yesterday, so I thought I would get out into the countryside and explore the Test Way, a 44 mile long-distance walking route in rural Hampshire.

Why Nepal is the world’s best destination for solo trekking

August 22, 2012 Opinion and advice annapurna circuit, everest base camp, langtang, manaslu circuit, nepal, security, solo trekking, tamang heritage trail, teahouse trekking, trekking, trekking agencies association of nepal

So the government of Nepal has u-turned on a decision made earlier this year to ban solo trekking in the country. It’s a victory for common sense. Nepal is currently the best place in the world for solo trekking, and

Climbing Elbrus by any means

August 15, 2012 Trip reports 7 summits club, alex abramov, caucasus mountains, elbrus, mountaineering ethics, russia, seven summits 3 Comments

I suspect I’m going to shock a few people with this post. During my ascent of Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, last month I took not only performance enhancing drugs (aspirin, diamox and — I’m told — Russian vodka) but a cable car, a chairlift and, most shocking of all, a snow cat (that’s a tracked vehicle, not a clawed feline).

Anatomy of a crampon

August 8, 2012 Opinion and advice chongba sherpa, climbing equipment, everest, grivel g14s, la sportiva olympus mons, mountaineering boots, needle sports, outdoor gear 1 Comment

I recently had to lengthen my crampons to fit a new pair of a boots. This wasn’t the straightforward procedure I was expecting it to be: because of the design of the crampon I had to take the entire thing

A short history of Nanga Parbat, the Naked German Mountain

August 1, 2012 History 8000m peaks, albert mummery, aleister crowley, andrew lock, cathy o'dowd, doug scott, duke of abruzzi, hermann buhl, himalayas, history of mountaineering, jerzy kukuczka, karakoram, mark dickson, mazeno ridge, mountaineering disasters, nanga parbat, pakistan, rick allen, sandy allan 12 Comments

With the news last week that Sandy Allan and Rick Allen have completed the Mazeno Ridge on Nanga Parbat (8125m), the longest continuous ridge on any 8000 metre peak, I was reminded of the colourful history of this giant mountain in Pakistan, the most westerly of the 8000ers, once considered to be a German mountain, and now at least temporarily dressed in tartan.