South Peak: my attempt on Lhotse

March 26, 2014 Expedition dispatches 8000m peaks, altitude junkies, chance, everest, everest base camp, first ascents, himalayas, ian cartwright, island peak, jerzy kukuczka, krzysztof wielicki, lhotse, media sensationalism, mera peak, nepal, phil crampton, reinhold messner, ricardo cassin, tibet, tomo cesen 8 Comments

Good times are approaching again. On Sunday I leave for Nepal for my fifth 8000m peak expedition, and it’s fair to say I’m just a teeny bit excited. My objective this time is 8516m Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain in the world and the one next to Everest, as I’ve been telling everyone who has asked.

10 great Sherpa mountaineers

March 19, 2014 History angtharkay, annapurna, apa sherpa, babu chiri sherpa, cho oyu, chris bonington, darjeeling, eric shipton, everest, fritz wiessner, gaylay, gyalzen norbu sherpa, herbert tichy, himalayas, jimmy roberts, john hunt, k2, manaslu, nanga parbat, nawang gombu, nepal, pasang dawa lama, pertemba sherpa, phurba tashi sherpa, russell brice, sherpas, tenzing norgay

As the Everest season approaches we will be hearing a lot about the successes of western climbers in the Himalayas over the next few months, but very little about the superstars of high altitude mountaineering. It’s time this was rectified, so here are ten of the greatest tigers of the snow.

A media guide to Mount Everest

March 12, 2014 Humour commercial mountaineering, everest, media sensationalism, nepal, sherpas, the guardian, tibet, waste management 12 Comments

With the Everest climbing season nearly upon us there will soon be a flurry of articles in the mainstream media. With journalists under pressure to knock together something emotive at short notice by pasting from websites or phoning up random mountaineers for soundbites, I thought I would put together a media guide to help save time.

Don’t be fooled by disaster porn

March 5, 2014 Opinion and advice commercial mountaineering, everest, history of mountaineering, jon krakauer, k2, lincoln hall, media sensationalism, mountain literature, mountaineering disasters, the chomolungma diaries

Since Jon Krakauer’s seminal disaster porn classic Into Thin Air came out in 1997 publishers have flocked to release books about mountaineering disasters, but every time I see a new book like this I can’t help wishing they had never been published. Why? For me there are two reasons.

What do Prince Philip, an Everest summiteer and a Nepali rock star have in common?

February 26, 2014 Good causes chance, everest, hill walking, himalayas, jhamak ghimire, john hunt, nepal, volunteering 2 Comments

A year ago I explained how I have taken up a voluntary position as trustee of a charity providing educational support in Nepal. I thought it was time I provided an update, as there is an interesting Everest connection to report as well as an amazing story of stoic determination that would impress even the hardiest Sherpa.

Everest: The Return of the Mavericks

February 19, 2014 Opinion and advice climbing permits, commercial mountaineering, everest, jagged globe, mountaineering ethics, nepal, tibet 6 Comments

The government of Nepal has slashed permit fees for individuals climbing Everest from $25,000 to $10,000. But the group permit system that provided discounts for larger teams has been abolished, and the fee for a team member has increased to $11,000. What does this mean for the spring climbing season on the south side of Everest?

Nepal’s top 5 most valuable mountains

February 12, 2014 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, ama dablam, cho oyu, climbing permits, commercial mountaineering, edmund hillary, everest, griffith pugh, himlung, lhotse, manaslu, nepal, trekking peaks 19 Comments

The government of Nepal recently published figures about the revenue it earned from climbing permits in 2013, including a list of the five most valuable peaks for tourist income. There are few surprises, but the extent to which four mountains dominate is a bit of an eye opener.

Climbing big mountains isn’t everyone’s cup of tea

February 5, 2014 Opinion and advice aconcagua, andes, argentina, high altitude mountaineering, mera peak, seven summits, south america, travel writing, trekking 7 Comments

We’re all different; some of us enjoy walking all day up a steep hill and going to sleep in a tent, while others prefer lying on a beach or partying all night. Luckily the world is big enough to accommodate all of us, but there seems to be a surprisingly large number of people who climb big mountains when they’re really not enjoying themselves.

Ueli Steck’s guide to the 8000m peaks

January 29, 2014 Reviews and tributes 8000m peaks, annapurna, climbing fatalities, eiger, erhard loretan, everest, first ascents, gasherbrum, makalu, mountain talks, royal geographical society, shishapangma, ueli steck 8 Comments

A short while ago I attended a lecture by the Swiss climber Ueli Steck, known affectionately as the Swiss Machine, and later wrote about how ridiculous his mountaineering career has been. Last week I went to see him again after he had done something even more ridiculous.

When the mountain gods are angry

January 22, 2014 Reviews and tributes 8000m peaks, book reviews, broad peak, climbing fatalities, first ascents, galen rowell, gasherbrum, jon krakauer, karakoram, mountain literature, nanga parbat, pakistan 0 Comment

I’ve been pretty lucky with my adventures so far. Although they don’t always go according to plan I’ve never experienced a major disaster. I had a chance to reflect on this while I was sheltering in a mountain hut in Patagonia reading John Quillen’s account of his attempt on Broad Peak last year.