First ascent of Aconcagua: a story of self-inflicted altitude sickness

February 27, 2013 History aconcagua, altitude sickness, andes, argentina, chimborazo, edward fitzgerald, edward whymper, first ascents, history of mountaineering, matthias zurbriggen, mountain literature, seven summits 6 Comments

When the Swiss guide Matthias Zurbriggen stood on the highest point in South America in 1897, as far as anyone knew it was the highest place man had ever been, but he stood there alone. His expedition leader Edward Fitzgerald had been left behind with altitude sickness at 6000m.

The snows of Kilimanjaro, and why seeing is believing

December 5, 2012 History africa, exploration, famous explorers, first ascents, glacial erosion, global warming, hans meyer, history of mountaineering, kibo, kilimanjaro, ludwig purtscheller, seven summits, tanzania, william desborough cooley 8 Comments

(I should start by pointing out to anyone hoping to read about the Ernest Hemingway short story of the same name, about a man who bullies his wife while dying of an infected leg on safari in East Africa, that

Safe return doubtful: Was Shackleton’s advert apocryphal?

October 10, 2012 History ernest shackleton, exploration, famous explorers, polar exploration, quotations, roland huntford, tony hawks, travel writing 9 Comments

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.” Sir Ernest Shackleton (allegedly) At the beginning of his book Round Ireland with a Fridge, the

What climbing Everest taught me about George Mallory’s final hours

September 12, 2012 History 8000m peaks, annapurna, everest, george mallory, history of mountaineering, louis lachenal, margaret watroba, maurice herzog, noel odell, sandy irvine, summit fever

I’ve been fascinated by the legend of George Mallory, and whether he was the first person to climb Everest, since long before I became a mountaineer. Many years and many mountains later I finally had the chance to follow in

How the whim of Eric Shipton shaped the history of Everest

September 5, 2012 History edmund hillary, eric shipton, everest, himalayas, history of mountaineering, john hunt, tenzing norgay 7 Comments

In 1953 Eric Shipton was controversially overlooked as leader of the British Everest expedition in favour of John Hunt. The decision was vindicated when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people ever to reach the summit on 29

A short history of Nanga Parbat, the Naked German Mountain

August 1, 2012 History 8000m peaks, albert mummery, aleister crowley, andrew lock, cathy o'dowd, doug scott, duke of abruzzi, hermann buhl, himalayas, history of mountaineering, jerzy kukuczka, karakoram, mark dickson, mazeno ridge, mountaineering disasters, nanga parbat, pakistan, rick allen, sandy allan 12 Comments

With the news last week that Sandy Allan and Rick Allen have completed the Mazeno Ridge on Nanga Parbat (8125m), the longest continuous ridge on any 8000 metre peak, I was reminded of the colourful history of this giant mountain in Pakistan, the most westerly of the 8000ers, once considered to be a German mountain, and now at least temporarily dressed in tartan.

A menagerie of mad mountaineers

July 11, 2012 History aleister crowley, aviation, everest, george mallory, himalayas, history of mountaineering, k2, kangchenjunga, karakoram, maurice wilson 6 Comments

Some people will probably say the title of this post is tautological, but all things are relative. On Everest this year there was an elderly Italian climber who, justified or not, had a reputation for being a bit of a

The great great grandfather of mountaineering

February 22, 2012 History alps, andes, bill tilman, cricket, history of mountaineering, horace-benedict de saussure, incas, jacques balmat, llullaillaco, michel paccard, mont blanc, mt etna, otztal alps, spitzbergen 0 Comment

“I was desperately anxious to see at close quarters the great Alpine summits which look so majestic from the top of our mountains.” Horace-Benedict de Saussure Modern mountaineering is said to have begun on 8 August 1786, when Michel Paccard,

A short history of Cerro Torre, the world’s most controversial mountain

February 15, 2012 History albert mummery, andes, cerro torre, cesare maestri, climbing equipment, fair means, false summit claims, first ascents, hayden kennedy, jason kruk, patagonia, rock climbing, southern patagonian ice field, toni egger, via ferrata 6 Comments

Rising above the Southern Patagonian Ice Field on the border of Chile and Argentina is a narrow finger of rock 3128 metres in height that for over 50 years has been a source of controversy among the climbing community. Last