Should you get a refund if your Everest expedition ends early?

November 4, 2020 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, commercial mountaineering, everest, jagged globe, madison mountaineering, mountain hardwear, nepal earthquake, simon lowe, sir ranulph fiennes 11 Comments

A case is currently passing through the US legal system that may have immediate implications for Everest expedition operators, and wider implications for guided mountaineering in general. Here’s my take on it.

Sgurr Alasdair to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich: the secret of Collie’s Ledge

October 28, 2020 Trip reports alexander nicolson, britain, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, edita, hill walking, isle of skye, munros, norman collie, scotland, sgurr alasdair, sgurr mhic choinnich 3 Comments

In last week’s post, I explained how we had hired a mountain guide to do Skye’s infamous Cuillin traverse, over 11 Munros with many technical sections. I had injured my knee backpacking the previous week, but I was determined to give it a try. Would I cope?

The Cuillin Traverse – to do or not to do?

October 21, 2020 Trip reports andy hogarth, britain, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, edita, hill walking, inaccessible pinnacle, isle of skye, mamores, munros, scotland 6 Comments

We’d hired a mountain guide to do the Cuillin traverse, a 12km ridge on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, which takes in 11 Munros and many subsidiary peaks. But with injuries in both legs and a knee that couldn’t bend more than 90 degrees it seemed inconceivable for me.

How does climbing Everest compare with winning a Nobel prize?

October 17, 2020 Good causes emergency response, everest, hunger, nepal earthquake, world food programme 4 Comments

I’ve not won many things in my life. I don’t write the sort of books that will ever be considered for an award and I’ve never been good enough to win a prize for being clever. As for winning something really prestigious? Don’t be silly. But then this happened.

Ascent Into Hell by Fergus White: An authentic account of climbing Everest

October 14, 2020 Reviews and tributes altitude junkies, anne-mari hyryläinen, book reviews, commercial mountaineering, everest, fergus white, jon krakauer, mountain literature, peak freaks, the chomolungma diaries, tim rippel 10 Comments

When I published The Chomolungma Diaries in 2012, there were very few books about climbing Everest written from the perspective of a commercial client. Now there are several and one runaway success has been Ascent into Hell by Fergus White.

Beyond the Nevis watershed, part 2: the Grey Corries

October 7, 2020 Trip reports backpacking, grey corries, hill walking, mamores, munro bagging, munros, scotland, scottish highlands, weather, wild camping 0 Comment

Our plan for the second day of our backpacking trip beyond Glen Nevis was to climb the Grey Corries on the north side of the valley. We had a long day ahead of us, and an ambitious plan to complete a full traverse of the ridge across four Munros and eight summits.

Beyond the Nevis watershed, part 1: the eastern Mamores

September 30, 2020 Trip reports backpacking, grey corries, hill walking, mamores, munro bagging, munros, ring of steall, scotland, scottish highlands, wild camping 2 Comments

When I hiked the Ring of Steall last year, I saw an emerald valley to the east, accessible only by foot and surrounded by Munros. I imagined wild camping in that idyllic location, and picking off the mountains one by one. Barely a year later, my dream came to fruition.

The world’s most stupid navigational error

September 23, 2020 Humour britain, edita, grey corries, hill walking, munros, navigation, scotland, stob choire claurigh, weather 3 Comments

After a promising start to the day, the clouds moved in and the rain started pounding against them as they ascended the south ridge of Stob Choire Claurigh, the highest point in the Grey Corries, a ridge of quartz-laden peaks

5 surprising, educational facts about Everest, all for a good cause

September 9, 2020 Good causes acclimatisation, community action nepal, death zone, everest, melanie windridge, mountain films 3 Comments

While I was busy publishing last week’s blog post, physicist Dr Melanie Windridge, who climbed Everest in 2018, published this short educational video that describes five surprising facts about Everest in a way that’s fun, educational and accessible all in one.

10 facts about Everest success and death rates, based on scientific data

September 2, 2020 Opinion and advice alan arnette, climbing fatalities, commercial mountaineering, everest, himalayan database, media sensationalism, seven steps from snowdon to everest 13 Comments

How much does overcrowding, experience, age and sex affect how likely a climber is to reach the summit of Everest or die trying? A scientific paper was published last week that addressed these very questions. So what did it conclude?