Much ado about yetis: Nepal’s latest tourism blunder

February 26, 2020 Opinion and advice bruce chatwin, jon krakauer, legends and folklore, nepal, reinhold messner, tourism, wildlife, yetis 0 Comment

Nepal’s flagship tourism initiative Visit Nepal 2020 got off to a flying start when 20 yeti statues were removed by tourism officials because they didn’t look anything like yetis. But was this fair and does anyone know what a yeti looks like anyway?

How the Duke of Cornwall stole a footpath and I rediscovered it

February 19, 2020 Good causes bodmin moor, britain, cheesewring, cornwall, hill walking, ordnance survey, public access, public footpaths, ramblers association, walking 5 Comments

The Ramblers Association has launched a campaign to reclaim some of Britain’s lost footpaths before legislation comes into effect that turns them permanently into private land. The campaign was accompanied by the launch of a clever app which I had some fun with last weekend.

BREAKING NEWS: False alarm as climber’s tracking device suggests he is trapped inside toilet tent

February 12, 2020 Humour everest, media sensationalism, nepal, outdoor gear 9 Comments

There were several hours of mayhem on Everest yesterday when the tracking device of German climber Jurgen Kobblers showed that he had strayed off route into dangerous territory. Rescue parties sprung into action, but in the end it turned out to be a false alarm.

The true summit of Manaslu: a long-standing mystery solved

February 5, 2020 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, eberhard jurgalski, manaslu, nepal, stefan nestler, summit tolerance zones, toshio imanishi

A few days ago, a reader sent me the following video of a man climbing up a steep bank of snow, reaching the top and seeing two summits beyond. The video was a bit of an eye-opener for me, and solved a mystery that has been bugging me for several years.