The marvellous story of Boris of Kathmandu

August 26, 2015 History adventure travel, boris lisanevich, history of nepal, jimmy roberts, kathmandu, michel peissel, mountain literature, nepal, tourism, trekking, wildlife 8 Comments

I recently wrote about Colonel Jimmy Roberts, the grandfather of trekking. Now I would like to introduce another important figure in the development of tourism in Nepal, a ballet dancer called Boris, whose colourful life reads like a surreal fairy tale.

Hell or high water: a Peak Lenin modern pentathlon

August 19, 2015 Trip reports central asia, jagged globe, kyrgyzstan, pamirs, peak lenin, robert anderson, ron rutland, tien shan travel, weather 5 Comments

Peak Lenin in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan has been on my radar for many years as a mountain renowned for being very big, but technically straightforward. But as I discovered, technically straightforward is not the same as easy.

Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest: please give your feedback on my book cover

August 17, 2015 My books and writing everest, hill walking, seven steps from snowdon to everest, snowdon, travel writing

I’m reaching the final stages of my crusade to publish a book about my ten year journey to the summit of Everest, and am keen to have your feedback about two very different concepts we have in mind for the book cover.

My 5 wettest mountain adventures

August 12, 2015 Humour africa, andes, bhutan, chile, himalayas, kyrgyzstan, manaslu, nepal, pamirs, patagonia, peak lenin, rwenzori mountains, snowman trek, torres del paine, uganda, weather 2 Comments

I expect most of us have experienced it at some time in our lives: escaping the office for a few weeks of sunshine, only to end up somewhere wetter than a haddock’s bathing costume. Nobody likes rain, but sometimes it just won’t stop.