Herbert Tichy’s amazing discovery on the first ascent of Cho Oyu

March 27, 2013 Humour 8000m peaks, annapurna, cho oyu, frostbite, herbert tichy, himalayas, history of mountaineering, maurice herzog, mera peak, namche bazaar, nepal, pasang dawa lama, sherpas, tibet 9 Comments

Mountaineering history is full of stories of heroic ascents which have come at a cost: loss of fingers and toes (or worse) due to frostbite. We understand how to treat frostbite injuries much better now, but one method of treatment discovered by a little known Austrian mountaineer in the 1950s, seems to have been neglected by the medical profession, and it’s one that sounds quite appealing.

Everest by the Venables Direct Route

March 20, 2013 Reviews and tributes 8000m peaks, altitude sickness, ed webster, everest, first ascents, frostbite, history of mountaineering, mountain talks, paul teare, robert anderson, stephen venables 4 Comments

In 1988 a ragtag quartet of mountaineers from the USA, Canada and the UK made one of Everest’s most intrepid ascents, and last Thursday I had the good fortune of attending a lecture at the Royal Geographical Society in London celebrating the 25th anniversary of their climb.

Is the death zone a myth?

March 13, 2013 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, acclimatisation, altitude sickness, babu chiri sherpa, bottled oxygen, death zone, edouard wyss-dunant, everest, history of mountaineering, reinhold messner 13 Comments

If you’ve read a few things about Everest or other 8000m peaks then you’ve probably come across the term death zone. If you have then it’s likely you reacted in one of two ways. Either your respect for the writer grew enormously or you imagined the sound of evil laughter accompanied by a dramatic organ chord.

Did Chinese climbers reach the summit of Everest in 1960?

March 6, 2013 History bottled oxygen, china, chris bonington, chu yin-hua, dougal haston, everest, false summit claims, first ascents, history of mountaineering, jim whittaker, pete boardman, tibet, tom hornbein, wang fu-chou, willi unsoeld

There has been a lot of gushing editorial written recently to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first American ascent of Everest in 1963. I could write a bit more about the expedition here, but I wouldn’t be adding anything to what’s already out there. Instead I’m going to talk about another expedition which took place on Everest’s north side three years earlier.

First ascent of Aconcagua: a story of self-inflicted altitude sickness

February 27, 2013 History aconcagua, altitude sickness, andes, argentina, chimborazo, edward fitzgerald, edward whymper, first ascents, history of mountaineering, matthias zurbriggen, mountain literature, seven summits 6 Comments

When the Swiss guide Matthias Zurbriggen stood on the highest point in South America in 1897, as far as anyone knew it was the highest place man had ever been, but he stood there alone. His expedition leader Edward Fitzgerald had been left behind with altitude sickness at 6000m.

Why I’m paying Nepal back for the good times

February 20, 2013 Good causes blogging, chance, digi comms, everest, hill walking, himalayas, john hunt, kathmandu, mark dickson, nepal, the responsible travellers, tina stacey, trekking, volunteering, web development, wordpress 9 Comments

In my spare time I’ve recently taken up the role of trustee for a charity which provides sustainable aid for education in Nepal. It’s a privilege to be able to give something back to a country which has given me so much, and how I ended up doing this role has been an interesting story in itself.

How reintroducing wolves benefits the whole ecosystem

February 14, 2013 Good causes mountain films, rewilding, tumblr post, united states, wildlife, yellowstone national park 0 Comment

I watched a fantastic documentary on BBC4 last night which demonstrated how the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in the United States benefited the entire ecosystem almost immediately.

Book review: Sacred Summits by Pete Boardman

February 13, 2013 Reviews and tributes boardman tasker prize, book reviews, carstensz pyramid, changabang, doug scott, gauri sankar, george band, indonesia, joe brown, joe tasker, john barry, kangchenjunga, mountain literature, nepal, pete boardman, seven summits 9 Comments

Pete Boardman was only 31 years old when he went missing with his climbing partner Joe Tasker on the Northeast Ridge of Everest in 1982, but already he was a climbing legend who had packed an enormous amount into his short life. He climbed Everest by a new route on the Southwest Face in 1975 at the age of only 24, and the world’s third highest mountain Kangchenjunga also by a new route in 1979.

Is the mountaineer Phil Crampton Richard III’s distant relative?

February 8, 2013 Humour altitude junkies, phil crampton, tumblr post 2 Comments

With the cities of York and Leicester engaged in an unseemly tug-of-war for the bones of King Richard III, I can exclusively reveal the city of New York has entered the contest to inter the corpse of the former English monarch, who died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

Is it OK for mountaineers to miss a puja?

February 6, 2013 Opinion and advice buddhism, everest, gasherbrum, himalayas, karakoram, mountaineering ethics, pakistan, puja, sherpas, tibet 6 Comments

An obscure subject for a blog post if ever there was one, but one of the perks of writing a mountaineering blog is every so often I get asked some very obscure and intriguing questions by email out of the