First Everest rotation; puja to end all pujas

April 20, 2012 Expedition dispatches 8000m peaks, acclimatisation, andrew lock, blogging, digi comms, everest, everest base camp, google, grant rawlinson, ian cartwright, jamie mcguinness, mark dickson, phil crampton, puja, spam, youtube 3 Comments

After a week of rest and acclimatisation at Base Camp (5160m) tomorrow we leave for our first foray higher up the mountain, and will be gone for nearly two weeks. The plan is spend two days trekking up to Advanced

Everest Base Camp memorials

April 17, 2012 Expedition dispatches 8000m peaks, altitude junkies, climbing records, david sharp, everest, everest base camp, george mallory, joe tasker, marco siffredi, margaret watroba, memorials, pete boardman, snowboarding, tibet 7 Comments

An apology in advance: it’s going to be a philosophical post today instead of the usual waffle. It’s been another clear day at base camp, apart from the distinctive plume of cloud blasting off the summit. I wandered up a

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

Nyalam and Tingri

April 16, 2012 Expedition dispatches acclimatisation, cho oyu, everest, friendship highway, george mallory, grant rawlinson, ian cartwright, lhasa, mark dickson, nyalam, phil crampton, shegar, shigatse, shishapangma, tibet, tingri 2 Comments

There are two routes to the north side of Everest from Kathmandu. The more interesting one, and the one I took on my two previous visits to Tibet when I climbed to the North Col of Everest and made an

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.

My long and winding trail to Everest

April 4, 2012 Expedition dispatches 8000m peaks, achilles tendonitis, cho oyu, everest, gasherbrum, ian cartwright, kilimanjaro, manaslu, mark dickson, mera peak, muztag ata, nepal, phil crampton, puja, sherpas, tibet, trekking, work-life balance 14 Comments

I can’t quite believe it, but on Saturday I’ll be leaving for my fourth 8000 metre peak expedition in as many years, and this time it’s the big one. Two months of impossible jetstream winds meant my attempts on Gasherbrums

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

The King of Aconcagua

March 28, 2012 Reviews and tributes aconcagua, adventure travel, andes, argentina, augusto ortega, aventuras patagonicas, guided climbing, mountain guides, seven summits, trekking 0 Comment

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

The physio’s couch: essential Everest training

March 25, 2012 Expedition dispatches everest, medicine, physiotherapy, training, tumblr post 0 Comment

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.