Book review: Dark Summit by Nick Heil and High Crimes by Michael Kodas “There’s three things that could happen: you could fail, you could get up it, or you could not come back. You’ll just have to make sure you
Read more5 Everest horror stories
Year: 2012
Why Altitude Junkies is my choice for the 8000m peaks
“We’re a couple of high-altitude junkies.” Pete Boardman This is a follow up to last week’s post about choosing an 8000 metre peak expedition operator. In that post I offered up some pointers to help you make the right choice and
Read moreGoogle invents armchair hiking
When I first saw this video of a bearded man who appears to be hiking a footpath with some sort of jetpack on his back, if it wasn’t June then I would have thought it was an elaborate April Fool’s
Read moreHow to choose an 8000m peak expedition company
So you’ve done a few high altitude mountaineering expeditions and you’re ready to climb your first 8000 metre peak, but there are many options and companies offering their services at a bewildering disparity of prices. How do you tell them
Read moreSleeping like a masked baby
It would normally be considered the height of impertinence to photograph your tent mate when they’re sleeping, but I couldn’t resist posting this one of me flat out in my sleeping bag at Camp 3 taken by Grant ‘Axe’ Rawlinson
Read moreEverest 2012: Climbing and alcohol
The story of the 2012 Altitude Junkies expedition to climb Everest by the North Ridge Sometimes you get lucky in life, and everything just seems to fall into place like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. These times are rare and
Read more5 media myths about Everest busted
There’s nothing some journalists like more than a bit a death. It generates controversy, helps sell copy, and gives them an opportunity to drum up hatred against people who live more interesting lives than they do. And this year on
Read moreHow to ruin a brand new down suit
Answer: Try climbing Everest by the North Ridge One of my abiding memories of my descent from Camp 3 on 20 May, the day after we summited Everest, was of a cloud of feathers flying in front of me whenever
Read moreA parting gift from the China Tibet Mountaineering Association
I don’t have that many certificates. This one was acquired after 40 days spent camped at the end of a glacier looking up at a quite frightening piece of black granite as it got battered by the jetstream. In true
Read moreThe world’s most terrifying ridge walk
This is a short post briefly describing our successful ascent of Everest by the North Ridge on Saturday 19 May. I’ll describe it in more depth in a later post, once I’ve recovered from summit exhaustion and had more time
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