author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
I was dimly aware of the Apennine mountains running down the spine of peninsula Italy, but I’d never given them much thought. I discovered the Gran Sasso massif is a hill walkers’ paradise, with attainable mountains even in the depths of winter.
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I thought I was done with the Atlas Mountains when I climbed Jebel Toubkal in Morocco 11 years ago. But the High Atlas in winter is very different from the sweltering dusty desert I experienced in the summer months, and I’m glad I returned.
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Although I’ve lived here for 17 years, I’ve never been a big one for taking advantage of London’s art galleries and exhibitions. Last weekend was an exception because it had a mountaineering theme. I spent the afternoon at two exhibitions celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest.
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Today is the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. I expect there will be quite a few editorial pieces published today reflecting on how the mountain has changed in the intervening years. I expect most of them will lament the changes as a bad thing, but I’m going to adopt a slightly different stance in this post.
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I recently had to lengthen my crampons to fit a new pair of a boots. This wasn’t the straightforward procedure I was expecting it to be: because of the design of the crampon I had to take the entire thing
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When I set out from Camp 4 at 7460m on Manaslu, it was the first time that I’d climbed with bottled oxygen. My 700 metre climb from Camp 3 the previous day had been unremittingly steep and tiring, but I
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Note: This post was written before the Argentine climber and mountain guide Rolando Garibotti debunked Cesare Maestri’s claim once and for all, by identifying the true location of his photos in 2015. It should be read in that context. Rising
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