While I’m in Chile climbing the mountain with the most superlatives in the world, I thought it might be interesting to consider just how superlative a mountain can get.
Read moreWhat’s the highest mountain in the solar system?
Year: 2018
Ojos del Salado at last: climbing the world’s highest volcano
This weekend I’ll be departing for my annual New Year mountaineering trip, and this time I think it’s going to be a bit special. Edita and I will be attempting Ojos del Salado, a peak I’ve been wanting to climb for a few years now.
Read moreA short scramble up Rumiñahui, the stone-faced Inca warrior
Rumiñahui is an extinct volcano 14km north-west of Cotopaxi, Ecuador’s highest active volcano. Rumiñahui the mountain is named after Rumiñahui the Inca warrior, whose name translates as ‘stone face’ – as appropriate a name as any for this particular mountain.
Read moreBeautiful places are more crowded, but the world is getting better, not worse
The rise of social media means the world’s most beautiful places are becoming busier. Is this a bad thing, and does it mean we should think twice about visiting them? In this posts, I use data to argue these developments are part of a changing world that is getting better.
Read moreThe cause of Himalayan forest fires
Forest fires have been in the news recently. Some are natural, but many people believe that climate change is causing them to occur more frequently. Earlier this year, we witnessed a Himalayan forest fire that we believe was entirely man-made.
Read moreA doctor’s advice on surviving the death zone
I was recently approached by Dr Jeremy Windsor, one of the doctors who climbed Everest as part of the Caudwell Xtreme Everest Expeditions. Jeremy has started up a new blog called Surviving the Death Zone to promote interest in high-altitude medicine.
Read moreIntroduction to the Apennines — Part 4: Sirente-Velino
Sirente-Velino has only regional park status, but don’t let this put you off. It’s easily the equal of the three surrounding massifs with national park status. There is great variety to be found here, from emerald-green paradise, to bare moonlike landscapes and dramatic cliff faces.
Read moreWhy do outdoor brands constantly dick around with perfectly good gear?
I recently bought a new version of a jacket that I’ve always liked, but when it arrived in the mail, I found that it had a feature so annoying that I had to send it back. This perplexed me so much that I decided to write this 900-word rant and post some silly photos.
Read morePeak bagging the Cuillin ridge on Scotland’s Isle of Skye
Our aim was to climb as many of the 11 Munros on the main Cuillin ridge as we could in a series of day hikes, including the infamous Inaccessible Pinnacle, the only Munro that’s a technical rock climb. But the weather forecast was dreadful, and I knew from experience that would make a big difference on these peaks.
Read moreThe strange life and death of Kim Chang-ho
The Korean Kim Chang-bo is one of only a handful of climbers to have climbed all of the world’s 8,000m peaks. His ascent of Everest is one of the more unusual ones. But his extraordinary life has been overshadowed by the mystery of his death earlier this month.
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