Sherpa: They Live, We Come Back

April 13, 2016 Opinion and advice commercial mountaineering, everest, media sensationalism, nepal, outside magazine, sherpas 4 Comments

I believe the Everest debate has progressed in the last couple of years, but then a badly-informed article appears in a mass-market publication which takes it back a few years, and reignites hatred against those who dream of climbing high mountains.

Everest is not piled high with dead bodies

April 6, 2016 Opinion and advice art gilkey, buddhism, charles houston, david sharp, everest, george mallory, media sensationalism, mountaineering ethics, sandy irvine

One of the things that shocks people when I tell them about Everest is that I had to walk past dead bodies on my summit day. In this post I debunk a popular media myth, and discuss how we need a more mature attitude towards death.

2Mbps broadband available on Mount Everest, claims UK cable company

March 9, 2016 Opinion and advice asian trekking, blogging, digi comms, everest, everest base camp, kenton cool, media sensationalism, nepal, tibet 2 Comments

A few news sites have been reporting that five UK villages have slower broadband internet speeds than Everest. But where did these claims originate, and how plausible are they?

Nepal announces cuts to Sherpa safety to attract more tourists

December 16, 2015 Opinion and advice climbing permits, mountaineering insurance, nepal, nepal earthquake, nepal mountaineering association, responsible tourism, sherpas, trekking agencies association of nepal, trekking peaks 2 Comments

Tourism in Nepal has been hit hard by the earthquakes and border blockade, and tourist numbers have declined significantly. Against this backdrop, Nepal’s government continues to make announcements which damage its reputation as a tourist destination.

Death of the Nepal trekking peaks?

November 18, 2015 Opinion and advice cholatse, climbing permits, island peak, mera peak, nepal, nepal earthquake, nepal mountaineering association, the longest way home, trekking peaks 11 Comments

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.

To climb or not to climb? Those last 50 metres

July 1, 2015 Opinion and advice aconcagua, andy henderson, augusto ortega, commercial mountaineering, edward fitzgerald, everest, gasherbrum, history of mountaineering, martin conway, mick burke, seven summits 1 Comment

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.

Is disaster reporting becoming too violent?

June 17, 2015 Opinion and advice climbing fatalities, dreamers destination, everest, everest base camp, media sensationalism, mountaineering disasters, national geographic, nepal, nepal earthquake, outside magazine, social media, tibet 3 Comments

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.

Everest 2014-15: A personal tale of two tragedies

June 3, 2015 Opinion and advice climbing fatalities, edita, everest, everest base camp, facebook, gasherbrum, history of mountaineering, media sensationalism, nepal, nepal earthquake, sherpas 2 Comments

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.

Poo in the Everest region: is it such a big problem?

March 18, 2015 Opinion and advice aconcagua, alan arnette, ama dablam, denali, everest, himalayas, media sensationalism, mera peak, mountain environment, mountaineering ethics, nepal, tibet, tim mosedale, waste management

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.

When expedition operators should be taken with a pinch of salt

February 25, 2015 Opinion and advice 7 summits club, alan arnette, alpenglow expeditions, alpine ascents, chongba sherpa, commercial mountaineering, everest, himex, media sensationalism, sherpas, stefan nestler 7 Comments

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.