Leo Houlding does his bit for the Sherpas

June 11, 2014 Reviews and tributes antarctica, chance, climbing fatalities, conrad anker, edmund hillary, everest, first ascents, george lowe, george mallory, himalayan trust, leo houlding, mountain films, mountain talks, nepal, rebecca stephens, rock climbing, sandy irvine, sherpas, ulvetanna 6 Comments

Last week one of Britain’s top rock climbers did a lecture at the RGS in London. Rock climbing isn’t generally my thing, but this talk had an Everest theme, and one of its aims was to raise money for the families of the Sherpas who died in the 18 April avalanche.

The Everest Base Camp summit meeting: an eyewitness account

May 29, 2014 Reviews and tributes asian trekking, climbing fatalities, climbing permits, commercial mountaineering, everest, everest base camp, jagged globe, nepal, nepal mountaineering association, sherpas, trekking agencies association of nepal 17 Comments

In April government officials flew into Everest Base Camp to meet with Sherpas who had issued demands after a fatal avalanche. Afterwards they issued a press release about the meeting that was misleading in a number of ways. Here is my account of the events I witnessed that day.

The mother of all avalanches: an eyewitness account

May 16, 2014 Reviews and tributes climbing fatalities, everest, everest base camp, george mallory, history of mountaineering, howard somervell, nepal, sherpas 8 Comments

At approximately 6.45am on Friday 18 April, 2014 I was walking with team mates through Everest Base Camp on the way to my first foray into the Khumbu Icefall. It was a climb I wasn’t to start, for at that moment a huge chunk of ice fell off Everest’s West Shoulder, triggering an avalanche which swept across the entire width of the Icefall.

Ueli Steck’s guide to the 8000m peaks

January 29, 2014 Reviews and tributes 8000m peaks, annapurna, climbing fatalities, eiger, erhard loretan, everest, first ascents, gasherbrum, makalu, mountain talks, royal geographical society, shishapangma, ueli steck 8 Comments

A short while ago I attended a lecture by the Swiss climber Ueli Steck, known affectionately as the Swiss Machine, and later wrote about how ridiculous his mountaineering career has been. Last week I went to see him again after he had done something even more ridiculous.

When the mountain gods are angry

January 22, 2014 Reviews and tributes 8000m peaks, book reviews, broad peak, climbing fatalities, first ascents, galen rowell, gasherbrum, jon krakauer, karakoram, mountain literature, nanga parbat, pakistan 0 Comment

I’ve been pretty lucky with my adventures so far. Although they don’t always go according to plan I’ve never experienced a major disaster. I had a chance to reflect on this while I was sheltering in a mountain hut in Patagonia reading John Quillen’s account of his attempt on Broad Peak last year.

How not to do a mountaineering presentation

November 27, 2013 Reviews and tributes broad peak, cathy o'dowd, chogolisa, dhaulagiri, doug scott, first ascents, hermann buhl, himalayas, k2, kurt diemberger, ladakh, mick fowler, mountain talks, nanga parbat, robert schauer, royal geographical society, sandy allan, sherpas

Climbing has as much in common with public speaking as it does with hosting a dinner party. I’ve seen some great lectures by mountaineering legends over the years, but last week I attended a lecture that was about as slick as a mountaineer’s chin after two weeks in an ice cave.

George Mallory was murdered … by Jeffrey Archer

November 13, 2013 Reviews and tributes book reviews, everest, george finch, george mallory, historical fiction, history of mountaineering, mountain literature, sandy irvine, tibet

In 1924 the mountaineering legend George Mallory vanished into mist on Everest’s Northeast Ridge, never to be seen again. In 2009 and the bestselling novelist Jeffery Archer wrote a novel about it called Paths of Glory, but was it historically accurate? Let’s have a look.

Carpe diem – Cheesewring, Cornwall

November 6, 2013 Reviews and tributes britain, buddhism, cheesewring, climbing fatalities, hill walking, obituaries, rock climbing 5 Comments

There are many things death can teach you, but one of the most rewarding is to seize the day because life can change in an instant. If there’s something you always wanted to do then start making plans to do it, because otherwise it may pass you by.

The Epic of Everest – Captain John Noel’s film of the 1924 expedition

October 30, 2013 Reviews and tributes edward norton, everest, george mallory, history of mountaineering, john noel, mountain films, mountain photography, sandy irvine, sherpas, tibet 2 Comments

If I had one word to describe The Epic of Everest, John Noel’s historic record of the 1924 expedition, which has recently been restored, then it would be atmospheric. If I had a second one then it would be weird, but then I’m not that familiar with 1920s silent movies and I expect they were all like this back then.

The first winter ascent of Broad Peak – a tribute

October 25, 2013 Reviews and tributes 8000m peaks, broad peak, climbing fatalities, first ascents, karakoram, krzysztof wielicki, mountain films, pakistan 5 Comments

Poland has produced some of the world’s toughest and bravest mountaineers, none more so than Krzysztof Wielicki, who earlier this year led a team of his fellow countrymen to attempt the first winter ascent of Broad Peak in Pakistan. A gripping film about the climb has recently been published on Vimeo.