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.