Merry Christmas from Morocco

December 24, 2014 Expedition dispatches africa, atlas mountains, first ascents, jebel toubkal, mont blanc, morocco, old post, ouanoukrim, ras dashen 1 Comment

The title is not a line you expect to hear in a Muslim country, but I’ve made an exception. If all goes to plan by the time you read this I’ll be resting at Toubkal Refuge ready to make a Christmas Day ascent of the highest peak in North Africa.

The Denali concession: is it good for customer choice?

December 17, 2014 Opinion and advice alaska, alaska mountaineering school, alpine ascents, american alpine institute, commercial mountaineering, denali, mountain trip, national outdoor leadership school, rainier mountaineering, seven summits, united states 0 Comment

The Denali guiding concession is up for grabs. According to the National Park Service it’s intended to provide a variety of mountaineering services of different prices and style. But is this true? I had a look at what the existing operators are offering.

How Nepal first came to open its doors to tourism

December 10, 2014 History bill tilman, book extract, himalayas, history of mountaineering, history of nepal, nepal, tourism, travel writing, trekking 5 Comments

The book I’m writing about my journey to the summit of Everest contains a chapter on high altitude trekking. Nepal was isolated from the outside world for much of its history, but has become the Himalayas’ go-to destination. How did this happen?

Expedition insurance: why I’m ditching BMC for another provider

December 3, 2014 Opinion and advice british mountaineering council, everest, lhotse, malawi, mountaineering insurance, mulanje, search and rescue, zambia

For several years now Christmas has been the time to renew my annual travel insurance with the British Mountaineering Council (BMC). This year I won’t be, and this post is all about why and where I’ll be shopping around.

Southwest ridge of Cholatse: the videos

November 26, 2014 Trip reports ama dablam, cholatse, mountain films, nepal, trekking peaks 5 Comments

Last week I posted a trip report about our Cholatse ascent that was so long I imagine a few of you couldn’t be bothered to read it. Luckily for those of you who prefer to watch a bit of action I also have some spine tingling video footage.

Cholatse 11, Ama Dablam 0 (Everest arrested for streaking)

November 19, 2014 Trip reports altitude junkies, ama dablam, cho oyu, cholatse, climbing fatalities, climbing grades, commercial mountaineering, dorje sherpa, everest, nepal, pasang ongchu sherpa, phil crampton, samuli mansikka, sherpas, trekking peaks 2 Comments

If ever I used omens as a means of determining my next holiday destination, then it’s likely I would have spent this autumn sunning myself on a beach. Luckily I’m not superstitious, and my climb of Cholatse proved as happy and successful as an expedition can be.

When is a summit not a summit?

November 12, 2014 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, cholatse, false summit claims, nepal, pasang ongchu sherpa, phil crampton, samuli mansikka, trekking peaks 7 Comments

Last week I managed to reach the summit of 6440m Cholatse in Nepal, which has a reputation for being one of the country’s most challenging technical peaks. But there’s a bit of a twist, and if you look closely you might notice something funny about my summit photo.

How many aitches in Machapuchare?

October 29, 2014 History annapurna, history of mountaineering, jimmy roberts, machapuchare, puja, trekking, wilfrid noyce 5 Comments

Machapuchare, the celebrated 6,993m peak in Nepal’s Annapurna range, is often given the ludicrous spelling Machhapuchhare, with two sets of double aitches. This post is all about how to spell the mountain correctly.

Chillaxing on Cholatse: a return to Nepal

October 22, 2014 Expedition dispatches altitude junkies, ama dablam, cholatse, first ascents, galen rowell, history of mountaineering, john roskelley, nepal, training, trekking peaks, weather 3 Comments

Last year was the first since 2005 I didn’t go to Nepal, so in 2014 I’m making up for it by going twice. By the time you read this I will be heading to the Khumbu region to attempt 6440m Cholatse. It’s likely to be the hardest climb I’ve ever done.

It’s normal to say you’re going to break someone’s legs, Sherpa admits

October 17, 2014 Opinion and advice climbing fatalities, commercial mountaineering, everest, everest base camp, himalayan ascent, national geographic, nepal, sherpas, trekking 8 Comments

National Geographic has just published a series of articles about this year’s Everest avalanche when 16 Sherpas died. Buried further down the story is one startling statement that leapt out of the page at me.

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