Summit day on Manaslu: what’s it really like?

September 25, 2013 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, alan arnette, altitude junkies, commercial mountaineering, first ascents, gyalzen norbu sherpa, himalayas, jagged globe, manaslu, nepal, reinhold messner, toshio imanishi

Variable snow conditions mean summits of mountains can differ from year to year. One mountain whose summit is unrecognisable from when it was first climbed in 1956 is Manaslu in Nepal. Its summit has changed so much that modern mountaineers could almost be climbing a different mountain.

World firsts are meaningless, personal firsts are profound

September 18, 2013 Opinion and advice adventure travel, alastair humphreys, everest, exploration, media sensationalism, microadventures, sir ranulph fiennes, travel diaries, travel writing 6 Comments

Some people think adventure is dead because most of the world has now been explored, and there aren’t many genuine firsts in exploration still remaining. But is this true, or is it just the meaning of adventure that needs to be redefined?

Where on earth are Tenzing Peak and Hillary Peak anyway?

September 11, 2013 Opinion and advice annapurna, cho oyu, denali, edmund hillary, everest, hillary peak, himalayas, k2, lhotse, maurice herzog, nepal, sir george everest, tenzing norgay, tenzing peak 8 Comments

Two mountains in Nepal are to be named after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, according to a number of baffling media reports last week. Is this really true, and what mountains are they? Once again I will rummage through the detritus of mainstream media waffle, and try to shed some light on the story.

Snowdon via the Llanberis Path

September 4, 2013 Trip reports britain, chris bonington, hill walking, llanberis path, media sensationalism, microadventures, moel eilio, snowdon, snowdon mountain railway, snowdon ranger path, wales 0 Comment

Good weather was forecast in the Welsh hills last weekend, so I headed up to Snowdonia, where I completed a fine circular walk of Snowdon via the Llanberis Path and the long whale-backed ridge of Moel Eilio. I expected it to be busy, but not as busy as the media would have you believe.