author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
I would like to pay tribute a mountaineering friend of mine who passed away last month. He is not someone you will have heard of, but I believe that it’s important to remember such people, for they are the ones most like ourselves.
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Nepal has brought many wonderful memories, but it is also a place that reminds me of the fragile nature of life. This was brought home last month when I was saddened to learn of the early death of Michelle Pradhan of the Courtyard Hotel, Kathmandu.
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The Korean Kim Chang-bo is one of only a handful of climbers to have climbed all of the world’s 8,000m peaks. His ascent of Everest is one of the more unusual ones. But his extraordinary life has been overshadowed by the mystery of his death earlier this month.
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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.
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The word inspirational has been used a lot in tributes to Ueli Steck, who died last weekend. Ueli did things which no ordinary person could do, but there was something about him that appealed to people both inside and outside the climbing community. Here’s what he meant to me.
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There’s no better way to mark the anniversary of the avalanche on Everest last year than by remembering one of the Sherpas who died. Here’s a post that is a tribute not just to him, but to all Sherpas who work the high mountains.
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It’s time once again to pay tribute to a friend who has sadly lost his life in the mountains. Last week Samuli Mansikka stood on the summit of Annapurna, his tenth 8000m peak, but he did not return.
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There are many things death can teach you, but one of the most rewarding is to seize the day because life can change in an instant. If there’s something you always wanted to do then start making plans to do it, because otherwise it may pass you by.
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It’s time to say goodbye to another friend from South America who has lost his life in the mountains. The Argentine climber Leonardo Rasnik was found dead in the Peruvian Andes on Thursday. He was assistant guide when I climbed Aconcagua in 2010, and a more cheerful and enthusiastic human being you couldn’t wish to meet
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It made me very sad to hear about the last fatality on Manaslu this year before the weather closed in and the Himalayan climbing season ended for the winter. Eleven people had already died in a huge avalanche on the
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