With earthquakes, fuel strikes and vacuous announcements about Everest dominating the news agenda, an obscure but significant rule change affecting Nepal’s trekking peaks has largely gone unnoticed.
Read moreDeath of the Nepal trekking peaks?
Opinion and advice
To climb or not to climb? Those last 50 metres
When you’ve put so much time, money and physical commitment into a climb, it’s never easy to turn around just fifty metres from the top. Here are some stories from Aconcagua which help to shed light on when that decision should be made.
Read moreIs disaster reporting becoming too violent?
After two major tragedies on Everest in the last two years, which generated worldwide media interest, I have found myself reading increasingly violent reports, with explicit descriptions of injuries and upsetting photographs.
Read moreEverest 2014-15: A personal tale of two tragedies
Last year I was on my way into the Khumbu Icefall on Everest, and watched in horror as a huge avalanche took the lives of sixteen Sherpas. This year I watched from a distance as an earthquake put that event into perspective. Here is my personal account of witnessing both tragedies.
Read morePoo in the Everest region: is it such a big problem?
Recently I wrote a satirical piece about a fictional washroom at Everest Base Camp as a reaction to more sensationalised media reporting about Everest. But the reports contained a grain of truth that I intend to fertilise in this post.
Read moreWhen expedition operators should be taken with a pinch of salt
It was silly season in the media again last week, when the BBC latched onto another Everest story. But while the media were busy having their usual feeding frenzy, expedition operators didn’t help by squabbling among themselves.
Read moreIs mountaineering in Nepal becoming too expensive?
Budget climbing on its way out, cried a headline in the Himalayan Times. Nepal has often been seen as a cheap destination for mountaineering, but this perception is changing. I look at the reasons, examine whether it’s true and make some predictions.
Read moreCreative peak bagging is the way forward
Last year was an unusual one for me. There were few real plans, and my travels ended up evolving out of necessity and opportunity, but I kind of liked it that way and I believe a combination of loose planning and going with the flow is the way forward in travel.
Read moreThe Denali concession: is it good for customer choice?
The Denali guiding concession is up for grabs. According to the National Park Service it’s intended to provide a variety of mountaineering services of different prices and style. But is this true? I had a look at what the existing operators are offering.
Read moreExpedition insurance: why I’m ditching BMC for another provider
For several years now Christmas has been the time to renew my annual travel insurance with the British Mountaineering Council (BMC). This year I won’t be, and this post is all about why and where I’ll be shopping around.
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