author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
Ever since an incident in the Italian Apennines, the promise of ladders on a hiking route has made me nervous. As we approached the 11 ladders of the Grand Balcon Sud on the Tour du Mont Blanc, I wondered: would they be like the cakewalk on Everest or the sphincter ticklers on Corno Piccolo?
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Without requiring technical skills, crampons or a down-suit to fend off the biting cold, Mont Blanc trekkers cover more cumulative metres of altitude than Everest climbers. So my guidebook says about the TMB, but how did did we find it, and was it really like climbing Everest?
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There is a moment in your life when you start reminding yourself of your dad. For me that happened earlier this month while I was editing Edita’s videos of myself trekking the GR20. It wasn’t a pleasant realisation.
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It’s that special time of year when you get to see more of my amazing videos. A full eighteen months ago, Edita and I had the great pleasure of trekking the GR20, the infamous long-distance trail along the spine of the mountainous island of Corsica.
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I left you a month ago having climbed the easy trekking peak Dzo Jongo East and made a valiant attempt on Dzo Jongo West in a whiteout. With the peaks happily under our belt, we experienced four days of trekking joy as we crossed high passes linking the Langtang and Chang valleys in a landscape that changed with every day.
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Yes, folks. It’s time for the next mesmerising instalment of my award-winning video diaries. I left you a month ago having passed through the villages and oases of the narrow Markha Valley. High up in the wide open spaces of the Nimaling Valley, it was time to tackle the mountains we had come to climb.
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It’s over three years since I last released a series of my trademark shit videos on YouTube. Some of you are wondering if a yeti got my tongue. Eighteen months have gone by since I trekked in Ladakh, and the hilarious footage that I took has been lying untouched on my hard drive. It’s time to give it an airing.
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It’s time for my very last set of videos, and those of you who like listening to the wind drowning out the sound of my voice are in for one final treat. Last Christmas and New Year, I journeyed to Colombia for a short trek in Los Nevados National Park.
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It’s time for my latest set of videos: Unexplored Ecuador. Last autumn Edita and I made our fourth trip to Ecuador, and decided to get a little off the beaten track by visiting some of the country’s lesser known volcanoes and mountain areas.
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It takes me so long to get round to editing my videos these days that I know some of you die of excitement waiting for the next one to appear. Lockdown has provided me with a window of opportunity and I’m hurtling though them like a snail. Here, finally, are the videos of my trip to Ojos del Salado a year and a half ago.
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