author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
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.
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Today I’m going to tell you a moving story that I stumbled across while researching the mountains of Los Nevados after my trip to Colombia over the new year. It concerns a 13-year old girl called Omayra Sanchez whose plight came to worldwide attention following the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in 1985.
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The Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) has recently lost a significant part of its annual income. In this week’s post I look at the NMA’s work to see what programmes will be affected and what this change is likely to mean for mountain tourism in Nepal.
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I was a little apprehensive when I heard there was a BBC Panorama documentary about the Nepal earthquake called Disaster on Everest, by a journalist who accompanied climbers to Base Camp. I need not have worried.
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One of the best examples of Nepalese resourcefulness I’ve seen since the earthquake last month is the Himalayan Climate Initiative’s portable earthquake-proof house that can be carried to mountainous areas on porter back.
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While the climbing community were busy bickering about Everest, the Nepalese were quietly rebuilding their lives after the devastating earthquake. As trustee of a development charity I was given a privileged insight into what they’ve been up to.
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People have been asking me to recommend a charity to help victims of the Nepal earthquake. It’s a difficult question, because it depends on personal preferences and priorities, but I know a little about Nepal, and though I’m no expert on disaster response, I’ll do my best to answer.
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