Flashing on Everest: is it worth the money?

July 25, 2018 Opinion and advice acclimatisation, alpenglow expeditions, altitude chambers, altitude junkies, commercial mountaineering, everest, furtenbach adventures 13 Comments

Last month I examined the practice of climbing Everest in a shorter period of time by acclimatising at home and using larger quantities of oxygen during the climb. In this week’s follow up post, I take a look at the cost of these expeditions.

Where are the humorous mountaineering books?

July 11, 2018 Opinion and advice andy kirkpatrick, book reviews, chris darwin, eric newby, felice benuzzi, history of mountaineering, jan morris, joe simpson, jon krakauer, kenton cool, maurice herzog, maurice isserman, mick fowler, mountain literature, seven steps from snowdon to everest, stewart weaver, the ascent of rum doodle, tom patey, travel writing, vertebrate publishing 10 Comments

Mountain literature isn’t devoid of humour, but generally speaking, comedy takes second place to heroics in mountain writing. But I know there must be some laugh-out-loud funny, two or three jokes a page mountaineering books out there. If you know of any, then I’d like to hear about them.

Flashing on Everest: is it safe or sensible?

June 20, 2018 Opinion and advice acclimatisation, adrian ballinger, alpenglow expeditions, altitude chambers, altitude junkies, ben fogle, commercial mountaineering, everest, furtenbach adventures, griffith pugh, harriet tuckey, kenton cool, lukas furtenbach, phil crampton, robert anderson, tibet 31 Comments

Many teams climbed the north side of Everest this season, but two seemed to get the lion’s share of the attention. These two teams were using new techniques to shorten their expeditions. But was their approach sensible or effective? Let’s have a look.

Drohmo Ri, the world’s easiest 6,000m peak? Not quite

April 25, 2018 Opinion and advice bokta, doug scott, drohmo peak, drohmo ri, himalayas, jamie mcguinness, kangchenjunga, nepal, project himalaya, trekking, trekking peaks 6 Comments

If you ever trek to Pangpema to see the north side of Kangchenjunga, then you should definitely allow an extra half day to climb Drohmo Ri, even if you’re just a trekker. It’s a piece of piss to get up, and the view is something special.

Introduction to the Apennines – Part 2: Maiella

April 18, 2018 Opinion and advice abruzzo, apennines, hill walking, introduction to the apennines, italy, maiella, monte acquaviva, monte amaro, monte morrone, wildlife 3 Comments

Maiella is Italy’s equivalent of the Cairngorms, but at a much higher altitude. It’s a huge plateau of multiple summits linked by broad ridges, and divided by deep, mouth-watering gorges. You can walk for miles without dropping below 2,000m.

Introduction to the Apennines – Part 1: Gran Sasso

March 7, 2018 Opinion and advice abruzzo, apennines, corno grande, corno piccolo, gran sasso, hill walking, introduction to the apennines, italy, monte brancastello, monte camicia, monte corvo, pizzo cefalone, pizzo d'intermesoli 0 Comment

Without doubt the Gran Sasso massif is the crowning glory of the Apennines. It contains its highest and most dramatic peaks, limestone cathedrals, ruled over by 2,912m Corno Grande, the highest mountain in the Apennines.

Everesting on Everest: how mountaineers differ from endurance cyclists

February 28, 2018 Opinion and advice acclimatisation, altitude chambers, cycling, everest, everesting, himalayas, north coast 500, sea to summit, tibet 14 Comments

Everesting involves repeatedly cycling up and down a hill until you’ve ascended the height of Everest. I read an interesting article about Everesting on the Tibetan side of Everest, that shed light on how poorly adapted endurance training is for altitude.

It’s the Everest silly announcement season again

January 10, 2018 Opinion and advice alan arnette, commercial mountaineering, everest, media sensationalism, nepal, seven steps from snowdon to everest, stefan nestler 3 Comments

It was a slow news week over the Christmas period, and the mainstream media fell for the Everest silly announcement hoax for the umpteenth time. This particular stunt happens roughly once a year, and the process is described here.

Adventure-loving Guardian readers hit back at couch-potato Guardian writers

November 29, 2017 Opinion and advice benedict allen, exploration, media sensationalism, papua new guinea, paul theroux, the guardian 4 Comments

When the explorer Benedict Allen went missing in the jungles of Papua New Guinea earlier this month, it was no surprise when the Guardian published an article by a smug intellectual taking a swipe at his adventurous lifestyle. More surprising was how their readers reacted.

Is Cotopaxi now safe to climb?

October 6, 2017 Opinion and advice andes, cayambe, cotopaxi, ecuador, mexico, popocatepetl, volcanoes 9 Comments

Tomorrow Ecuador’s most popular volcano will be open again for the first time since a major eruption in 2015. But is it safe or is the decision premature? Here are my thoughts after a month in Ecuador.