Tilman’s expedition to Langtang

February 4, 2015 History bill tilman, dorje sherpa, exploration, first ascents, ganchenpo, ganesh himal, helambu, history of mountaineering, history of nepal, langtang, langtang lirung, mila mikhanovskaya, nepal, paldor, pasang ongchu sherpa, shishapangma, tenzing norgay, trekking, trekking peaks, wildlife 11 Comments

The great mountain explorer Bill Tilman made three treks in Nepal in 1949 and 1950. His first to Langtang was not successful in mountaineering terms, but as an exploratory journey it must have been as enjoyable as any he undertook.

Bill Tilman: Nepal’s very first trekking tourist

January 7, 2015 History africa, bill tilman, book extract, eric shipton, history of mountaineering, history of nepal, kilimanjaro, mount kenya, nanda devi, nepal, noel odell, rwenzori mountains, travel writing 14 Comments

A few weeks ago I wrote about the history of Nepal and how it came to open its doors to tourism. In the second post in this series I introduce you to Nepal’s very first trekking tourist, who was already a Himalayan veteran and an interesting character.

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?

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.

Legends of Mulanje, Africa’s misty mountain

October 8, 2014 History africa, exploration, laurens van der post, legends and folklore, malawi, mountain literature, mulanje, travel writing, trekking 3 Comments

Mountains that are rich in history have a special attraction, but finding out about them isn’t always easy. Many of the stories about Mulanje in Malawi are as hazy as the legendary mists that sweep across its upper reaches.

How photographs revealed Frederick Cook’s Denali hoax

August 27, 2014 History adams carter, alaska, belmore browne, bradford washburn, denali, false summit claims, first ascents, frederick cook, history of mountaineering, mountain literature, mountain photography, polar exploration, seven summits 7 Comments

Frederick Cook was one of the most notorious con men in exploration history who tried to fake the first ascent of Denali. What makes his story so engaging is the way photographs have been used to shred his claim so convincingly.

10 great Sherpa mountaineers

March 19, 2014 History angtharkay, annapurna, apa sherpa, babu chiri sherpa, cho oyu, chris bonington, darjeeling, eric shipton, everest, fritz wiessner, gaylay, gyalzen norbu sherpa, herbert tichy, himalayas, jimmy roberts, john hunt, k2, manaslu, nanga parbat, nawang gombu, nepal, pasang dawa lama, pertemba sherpa, phurba tashi sherpa, russell brice, sherpas, tenzing norgay

As the Everest season approaches we will be hearing a lot about the successes of western climbers in the Himalayas over the next few months, but very little about the superstars of high altitude mountaineering. It’s time this was rectified, so here are ten of the greatest tigers of the snow.

Everest’s magic miracle highway

January 8, 2014 History aconcagua, everest, expedition logistics, glaciers, history of mountaineering, john noel, maurice wilson, reinhold messner, tibet 8 Comments

When the 1922 expedition team set out, they already knew their approach to Everest lay up a side valley known as the East Rongbuk, but they knew little of the terrain they would find there. When they arrived they discovered a tumbling mass of jagged ice towers the size of buildings, but there was also a miraculous way through.

Frank Smythe is more interesting than George Mallory

December 4, 2013 History chris bonington, darjeeling, eric shipton, everest, frank smythe, garhwal, george mallory, gunther dyhrenfurth, himalayas, history of mountaineering, kamet, kangchenjunga, malaria, mountain literature, sandy irvine, tenzing norgay 14 Comments

The headline ‘Mallory’s body discovered on Everest in 1936’ appeared widely on social media sites last week. Had new revelations emerged about whether Mallory reached the summit of Everest? No, the real subject of the story wasn’t George Mallory at all, but arguably a much more interesting character.

Did Chinese climbers reach the summit of Everest in 1960?

March 6, 2013 History bottled oxygen, china, chris bonington, chu yin-hua, dougal haston, everest, false summit claims, first ascents, history of mountaineering, jim whittaker, pete boardman, tibet, tom hornbein, wang fu-chou, willi unsoeld

There has been a lot of gushing editorial written recently to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first American ascent of Everest in 1963. I could write a bit more about the expedition here, but I wouldn’t be adding anything to what’s already out there. Instead I’m going to talk about another expedition which took place on Everest’s north side three years earlier.