I can confidently say that Lands of Lost Borders by Kate Harris is my favourite of all the Boardman Tasker Prize winners that I’ve read. It reminded me of Dervla Murphy, but how similar is it? I read Dervla Murphy’s book Full Tilt to find out.
Read moreReviews and tributes
Is The Last Great Mountain by Mick Conefrey the last great book about Kangchenjunga?
It’s not clear why Kangchenjunga should be considered the last great mountain, but whatever: this book is a comprehensive history of all expeditions up to its first ascent in 1955. I learned a lot from it, and I can thoroughly recommend it, however well acquainted you are with Kangchenjunga’s history.
Read moreLearning about the Manang Valley in the early days of the Annapurna Circuit
Now that the pubs are all closed, I’ve been spending Saturday nights searching for mountain gems on YouTube. Here’s one. In the Shadow of Annapurna offers a glimpse into an earlier age in Nepal, when things were rapidly changing but many of the old ways remained.
Read moreCool Conversations: experience the mountains during lockdown by social distancing Kenton Cool-style
So far I’ve not been finding lockdown too bad. I don’t know whether this makes me unusual. I know I’m lucky in many respects. We have a nice garden beside the river here in the Cotswolds and we’re able to
Read moreWhat I’m learning from Robert Macfarlane’s reading group about Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain
As coronavirus lockdown takes hold, the nature writer Robert Macfarlane has started running a reading group on Twitter about Nan Shepherd’s classic nature book The Living Mountain. It was a no-brainer for me to join, and it’s helping me to see the world differently.
Read moreIntroducing Wilderness Prime: a superb introduction to the Great Himalaya Trail
Edita was in Africa last week, so last weekend I had a day to myself. What better way to spend it than pulling up YouTube on the TV and spending the evening watching porn… Mountain porn, that is – and I found an absolute gem.
Read moreReview: Touching the Void, on stage in London’s West End
There aren’t many characters in Joe Simpson’s book Touching the Void, and the main one spends most of the story entirely alone, contemplating existence as he crawls for three days along a glacier. How on earth were they going to make a stage version of this?
Read more10 great books about mountains that have nothing to do with climbing
The shortlist for this year’s Boardman Tasker Prize was announced this month, and once again five out of six books on the shortlist are about climbing. You can be certain that the winner will be one of the five. [*]
Read moreIn memoriam: Jeremy “Bunter” Anson, who put Twixes on the Himalayan map
I would like to pay tribute a mountaineering friend of mine who passed away last month. He is not someone you will have heard of, but I believe that it’s important to remember such people, for they are the ones most like ourselves.
Read moreRemembering Michelle Pradhan and the Courtyard Hotel, Kathmandu
Nepal has brought many wonderful memories, but it is also a place that reminds me of the fragile nature of life. This was brought home last month when I was saddened to learn of the early death of Michelle Pradhan of the Courtyard Hotel, Kathmandu.
Read more