I love the open geography of Ecuador’s central highlands, a high-altitude landscape of free-standing volcanoes. Six years ago I went there and climbed five of them. This Christmas I will be making a long overdue return visit.
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Is mountaineering in Nepal becoming too expensive?
Budget climbing on its way out, cried a headline in the Himalayan Times. Nepal has often been seen as a cheap destination for mountaineering, but this perception is changing. I look at the reasons, examine whether it’s true and make some predictions.
Read more7 mountainous places to escape to for Christmas
This post is for people who love the outdoors and find Christmas a tedious bore. I know there must be some of you out there, and those of you who love it, look away now. Over the years I’ve found
Read more5 reasons Ecuador’s mountains are great for beginners
When the Victorian mountaineer Edward Whymper visited Ecuador in 1879 – ostensibly to study the effects of high altitude, but in reality to polish off a few first ascents in the High Andes – he was far from impressed. In
Read moreWhat’s the definition of a mountaineer?
I’d been climbing for several years before I dared to call myself a mountaineer. I suddenly realised it one evening a couple of years ago when I got introduced to someone down a pub with the words, “here’s my friend
Read more5 great books about mountain exploration
If you like books about mountaineering, here are some of my favourites. I make no claims that these are the 5 best books about mountain exploration ever written, because I can’t claim to have read them all. They are simply
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