A parting gift from the China Tibet Mountaineering Association

May 24, 2012 Expedition dispatches china tibet mountaineering association, everest, tumblr post 0 Comment

I don’t have that many certificates. This one was acquired after 40 days spent camped at the end of a glacier looking up at a quite frightening piece of black granite as it got battered by the jetstream. In true

With a little help from my friends

May 14, 2012 Expedition dispatches altitude junkies, everest, everest base camp, sherpas, tumblr post 0 Comment

Very soon we’ll be starting out on our Everest summit push. All our preparations have been done, and from now on it’s just one foot in front of the other; the rest is in the hands of the mountain gods.

The Tibetan Village

May 12, 2012 Expedition dispatches acclimatisation, everest, everest base camp, ian cartwright, tumblr post 0 Comment

Climbers on the south side of Everest have plenty of options if they want to descend for a few days to a place where the air is thicker. As snow falls in the Western Cwm many have decided to descend

The Junkies’ shower

May 2, 2012 Expedition dispatches altitude junkies, everest, everest base camp, tumblr post 0 Comment

We have a very comfortable setup here at Everest Base Camp, with all sorts of luxuries people camping for a couple of months beside a glacier have no right to expect. Take our hot shower, for example. The blue barrel

Prayer flags – what are they?

May 1, 2012 Expedition dispatches buddhism, everest, everest base camp, tibet, tumblr post 0 Comment

Distinctive and colourful, you’ll find them swinging from any high point or windy place across the Himalayas, but why? Tibetan Buddhist in origin, the 5 colours represent nature’s elements: earth (green), fire (red), water (blue), sky (white) and space (yellow).

In memory of George Leigh Mallory

April 20, 2012 Expedition dispatches climbing fatalities, everest, everest base camp, george mallory, memorials, sandy irvine, tumblr post 0 Comment

He may not have the grandest memorial at Everest Base Camp North, but of all the mountaineers who have died trying to climb Everest from the north side, George Mallory made the most significant contribution to future climbs. In three

The scenic drive to Everest Base Camp

April 16, 2012 Expedition dispatches everest, everest base camp, tibet, tumblr post 0 Comment

While climbers on the south side of Everest have a nine day trek up the Khumbu to Base Camp, on the north side it’s possible to drive in by bus. The sensible route involves a tarmac road most of the

Dispatches from Everest

April 7, 2012 Expedition dispatches alan arnette, altitude junkies, everest, explorersweb, travel blogging, tumblr post 0 Comment

I leave for Nepal today, from where we’ll drive across the border into Tibet. We should arrive at Everest Base Camp on the north side in about a week’s time. I’ll have a satellite connection at base camp as we

A mosaic of colourful sheep

April 6, 2012 Expedition dispatches chocolate fish, morocco, outdoor clothing, tumblr post 0 Comment

It’s become standard practice for people travelling in Central Asia or the Indian subcontinent to take a photograph from above of a mosaic of colourful spices at some market. As that’s now a cliché, I’m not going to do that.

In some ways mountain clothing is simpler these days

April 4, 2012 Expedition dispatches edward norton, everest, mountain hardwear, outdoor clothing, tumblr post 0 Comment

Here’s Edward Norton’s description of his clothing when he climbed Everest with George Mallory in 1924. Personally I wore a thick woollen vest and drawers, a thick flannel shirt and two sweaters under a lightish knickerbocker suit of windproof gabardine