On bog hopping and jungle treks

March 21, 2011 Opinion and advice bog hopping, carstensz pyramid, henry morton stanley, indonesia, jungle trek, mount baker, mount speke, mount stanley, mountain photography, richard parks, rwenzori mountains, seven summits, trekking, uganda 3 Comments

Why experiencing something unique is worth sacrificing a camera for I’ve just been reading the former Welsh rugby international Richard Parks’ latest post following his ascent of Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia last Tuesday. I’ve been following his attempt to climb

Turning mountains into trash heaps

March 5, 2011 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, arian lemal, baruntse, everest, expedition food, gasherbrum, himalayas, k2, karakoram, leave no trace, makalu, michael odell, mountain environment, nepal, pakistan, waste management 0 Comment

The environmental cost of mountaineering expeditions Base camp on the east side of Baruntse, Nepal, is one of the most breathtaking settings you’re ever likely to come across. Hemmed in by rock walls on two sides, to the west the

Is the Annapurna Circuit still a Must-See?

February 5, 2011 Opinion and advice adventure travel, annapurna circuit, everest base camp, great himalaya trail, himalayas, manang, nepal, responsible tourism, tamang heritage trail, the responsible travellers, trekking, world expeditions

With the spring trekking season in Nepal nearly upon us, and record numbers of visitors expected in the country for the second successive season, some people are beginning to question the impact of tourist numbers on this small developing Himalayan

Putting together an adventure travel kit list

January 19, 2011 Opinion and advice adventure travel, backpacking, camping, climbing, trekking, walking boots

It’s a familiar story (though hopefully not too familiar). Your bags are all packed, you’ve put your passport and e-tickets somewhere accessible and you’re heading to the airport when a sudden thought strikes you. “Shit, I’ve forgotten to pack my

2010, a year of walks across Britain

January 11, 2011 Opinion and advice backpacking, black mountains, britain, cornwall, countryside, hill walking, lake district, munros, right to roam 0 Comment

2010 saw the 10th anniversary of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, otherwise known as the Right to Roam, an historic piece of legislation which saw over a million hectares of open countryside in the UK classified as “access

8 reasons why false summit claims are made

December 10, 2010 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, baruntse, bill tilman, edurne pasaban, eric shipton, everest, false summit claims, gasherbrum, gerlinde kaltenbrunner, kangchenjunga, nepal, oh eun-sun, rwenzori mountains, seven summits 2 Comments

The news that fresh doubts are being cast on the Korean Oh Eun-Sun’s claim to have summitted Kangchenjunga has raised again the spectre of false summit claims among the high altitude mountaineering community. Miss Oh had been engaged in a