Would you sacrifice a digit for a summit?

May 30, 2011 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, baruntse, cho oyu, denali, everest, frostbite, gasherbrum, muztag ata, phil crampton, richard parks, seven summits 0 Comment

It’s an old cliché that there’s nothing quite like reaching the summit of a mountain, but the feeling of elation when you return to base camp and the achievement begins to sink in can be just as satisfying in a

On bog hopping and jungle treks

March 21, 2011 Opinion and advice bog hopping, carstensz pyramid, henry morton stanley, indonesia, jungle trek, mount baker, mount speke, mount stanley, mountain photography, richard parks, rwenzori mountains, seven summits, trekking, uganda 3 Comments

Why experiencing something unique is worth sacrificing a camera for I’ve just been reading the former Welsh rugby international Richard Parks’ latest post following his ascent of Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia last Tuesday. I’ve been following his attempt to climb

Up to Camp 2 on Cho Oyu

September 23, 2010 Expedition dispatches cho oyu, dehydration, expedition food, headache, richard parks, steve williams, tibet 0 Comment

Back at base camp again after three days on the mountain, including a night at Camp 2 (7100m), the highest I’ve ever slept. We started out for Camp 1 on Monday morning (20th). As usual the weather started clear, but

Initial forays on Cho Oyu

September 17, 2010 Expedition dispatches cho oyu, expedition food, glaciers, himalayas, kathmandu, richard parks, robert anderson, steve williams, tibet 0 Comment

It’s now been a few days since our puja and it feels like our ascent of Cho Oyu has truly begun. On Monday we made an initial foray up to Camp 1 at 6400m. This involves a three hour crossing