mount kenya

I’ve recently been reading The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs by the unusually named Tristan Gooley. It’s an excellent book that will cause you to look at nature in a different light (to paraphrase climbing writer Jim Perrin

The Himalayan explorer Bill Tilman spent fourteen years of his life as a coffee planter in Kenya. During that time he and Eric Shipton made a number of exploratory treks and climbs on Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro, and in the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Kilimanjaro this year. I first climbed it in 2002, and I was long overdue a return. Back then I didn’t know whether I would be strong enough. This time it should be a different story, and we hope to explore a bit of the crater while we’re up there.

Shipton was a legendary mountain explorer who travelled through the Himalayas and Karakoram at a time when many peaks and valleys remained unmapped. His books were evocative and humorous, and provide a window into another world.

With a drip feed of FIFA corruption allegations hitting the headlines, I’ve decided to use this week’s blog post to highlight a case of sporting integrity beyond the call of duty, and in doing so salute Italian mountaineers.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the history of Nepal and how it came to open its doors to tourism. In the second post in this series I introduce you to Nepal’s very first trekking tourist, who was already a Himalayan veteran and an interesting character.

Last month the Italian climber Hans Kammerlander became the first person to climb the Second Seven Summits, in other words the second highest peak on each continent. According to 7summits.com, 348 people had climbed the main Seven Summits, the highest

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

What mountain summit has the world’s longest view?

Tilman and Shipton’s travels in Africa

Kilimanjaro: returning to the crown of Africa

Shipton’s mountain travel classics now available as sensibly priced ebooks

An extraordinary case of mountaineering integrity

Bill Tilman: Nepal’s very first trekking tourist

Which is harder, the Second Seven Summits or the first one?

5 great books about mountain exploration