Having the right guide can mean the difference between success and failure, particularly on a mountain like Aconcagua, where many guides don’t appreciate the great expense – financial, emotional and physical – that clients are putting into the climb, and
Read moreMonth: March 2012
The physio’s couch: essential Everest training
Since the early part of January I’ve been suffering from achilles tendonitis in my right ankle. This is a regular sporting injury that I suffer from intermittently ever since completely rupturing my left achilles tendon in 1995.
Read moreThe Manaslu oxygen mystery
When I set out from Camp 4 at 7460m on Manaslu, it was the first time that I’d climbed with bottled oxygen. My 700 metre climb from Camp 3 the previous day had been unremittingly steep and tiring, but I
Read more4 pairs of mountaineering boots
Mountaineering can be an expensive hobby, particularly if you end up buying the same things again and again. I’ve just bought my fourth pair of mountaineering boots in preparation for Everest next month, not because I need four pairs of
Read moreThe modern traveller’s obsession with gadgets
Here for your titillation is a photograph of some of the electrical equipment I’ll be taking to Everest next month. I use the word ‘titillation’ because I know there’s bound to be somebody reading this who loves gadgets, and much
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