While I’m in Chile climbing the mountain with the most superlatives in the world, I thought it might be interesting to consider just how superlative a mountain can get.
Read moreWhat’s the highest mountain in the solar system?
Everest
The first ever successful Everesting of Everest
A Chinese cyclist has recently completed the first ever Everesting — where a cyclist repeatedly climbs the same hill until they’ve biked the height of Everest — on the side of Everest itself. It’s a story I first reported on a few months earlier.
Read moreFlashing on Everest: is it worth the money?
Last month I examined the practice of climbing Everest in a shorter period of time by acclimatising at home and using larger quantities of oxygen during the climb. In this week’s follow up post, I take a look at the cost of these expeditions.
Read moreFlashing on Everest: is it safe or sensible?
Many teams climbed the north side of Everest this season, but two seemed to get the lion’s share of the attention. These two teams were using new techniques to shorten their expeditions. But was their approach sensible or effective? Let’s have a look.
Read more7 fish who climbed Everest
Here at the Footsteps on the Mountain blog, we try to take a look at the quirkier side of mountaineering by highlighting stories that don’t get much attention elsewhere. I bet you can’t think of a single fish that has scaled Everest, but there are a few.
Read moreUK readers: Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest available for less than a quid
A quick plug to UK readers of my blog and other writing. If you or friends have not bought my book Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest yet, then Amazon are currently running a promo and flogging it for the bargain price of £0.99.
Read moreIn memory of Chongba Sherpa of Tate, a high-altitude superstar
While I was in Kathmandu last month, I learned that Chongba Sherpa passed away last year after a short battle with cancer. He climbed with me on Manaslu in 2011 and Everest in 2012, and we stood on both summits together. He climbed Everest a remarkable 14 times.
Read moreEveresting on Everest: how mountaineers differ from endurance cyclists
Everesting involves repeatedly cycling up and down a hill until you’ve ascended the height of Everest. I read an interesting article about Everesting on the Tibetan side of Everest, that shed light on how poorly adapted endurance training is for altitude.
Read moreMountain, The Movie: pornography for outdoor folk
On International Mountain Day last month, I watched the documentary film Mountain – an hour and a half of sheer, unadulterated mountain porn. It’s a must-see for anyone who loves mountains.
Read moreIt’s the Everest silly announcement season again
It was a slow news week over the Christmas period, and the mainstream media fell for the Everest silly announcement hoax for the umpteenth time. This particular stunt happens roughly once a year, and the process is described here.
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