Is this the world’s strangest summit cairn?

January 3, 2018 History africa, atlas mountains, jebel toubkal, morocco, tibherine east 11 Comments

I’ve seen all sorts of strange things on mountain summits, including crosses, prayer flags, statues of the Virgin Mary, radio masts, Ordnance Survey trig points, and even one or two restaurants, but this has to be the strangest thing yet.

The mystery of Ueli Steck’s last climb

July 5, 2017 History climbing fatalities, eiger, everest, himalayas, history of mountaineering, nepal, nuptse, reinhold messner, ueli steck

When I first heard about the death of Ueli Steck on Everest’s west peak, Nuptse, I was shocked, but not mystified. It sounded like a simple climbing accident, and nothing more. But an enlightening interview with the Nepalese climbing guide who found his body raised many new questions.

Tilman and Shipton’s travels in Africa

February 1, 2017 History africa, bill tilman, duke of abruzzi, eric shipton, first ascents, history of mountaineering, kenya, kilimanjaro, mount kenya, mount stanley, mountain literature, rwenzori mountains, tanzania, uganda 4 Comments

The Himalayan explorer Bill Tilman spent fourteen years of his life as a coffee planter in Kenya. During that time he and Eric Shipton made a number of exploratory treks and climbs on Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro, and in the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda.

The riddle of Snow Lake and the glacier with no outlet

September 28, 2016 History bill tilman, eric shipton, exploration, famous explorers, fanny bullock workman, history of mountaineering, karakoram, martin conway, pakistan, snow lake, yetis 2 Comments

When Bill Tilman travelled to the Pakistan Karakoram in 1937, he hoped to solve two unexplained geographical riddles: the existence of an icecap in Central Asia, and a glacier without any river outlet. He relished the opportunity to prove the scientists wrong.

Comparing Hillary’s and Tichy’s ascents of Cho Oyu

July 13, 2016 History 8000m peaks, cho oyu, edmund hillary, eric shipton, first ascents, herbert tichy, history of mountaineering, marcus schmuck, pasang dawa lama, tibet 7 Comments

Cho Oyu is generally considered the most achievable 8000m peak for amateurs to climb. Despite this, even the best mountaineers have had difficulties climbing it, and two of the early expeditions there experienced contrasting fortunes.

The first ascent of the South Face of Aconcagua

May 11, 2016 History aconcagua, annapurna, argentina, first ascents, martin conway, maurice herzog, reinhold messner, seven summits, seven summits treks 1 Comment

The South Face of Aconcagua, with its tumble of icy seracs and snow chutes, has long been attractive to extreme alpinists who need a liberal sprinkling of danger with their climbing. The first team to climb it certainly got that.

An early history of the 8000m peaks: the first ascent of Annapurna

March 30, 2016 History 8000m peaks, angtharkay, annapurna, dhaulagiri, first ascents, gaston rebuffat, history of mountaineering, lionel terray, louis lachenal, maurice herzog, mountain literature, nepal 7 Comments

In 1950 a French team led by Maurice Herzog made the first ever ascent of an 8000m peak when they climbed 8091m Annapurna, during one of the first mountaineering expeditions to Nepal. It’s possible to view their ascent in one of two ways.

Winter on Nanga Parbat: a good news story from Pakistan

March 2, 2016 History 8000m peaks, alex txikon, ali sadpara, first ascents, history of mountaineering, karakoram, nanga parbat, pakistan, raheel adnan, simone moro, stefan nestler 2 Comments

I’ve spent a disproportionate amount of time in the last couple of years blogging bad news from the Himalayas and Karakoram. It’s only fair I help to restore the balance by reporting on a mountaineering story with a happy ending.

An early history of the 8000m peaks: the Sherpa contribution

February 24, 2016 History 8000m peaks, alexander kellas, gaylay, himalayan club, himalayas, history of mountaineering, k2, kangchenjunga, mountaineering disasters, nanga parbat, pasang dawa lama, pasang kikuli sherpa, sherpas 3 Comments

The early history of the 8000m peaks has traditionally been seen as a competition between Europeans and Americans to become the first nation to climb one, but the Sherpa contribution should never be forgotten.

An early history of the 8000m peaks: Mummery, Crowley and the Duke of Abruzzi

November 11, 2015 History 8000m peaks, albert mummery, aleister crowley, duke of abruzzi, himalayas, history of mountaineering, k2, kangchenjunga, nanga parbat, norman collie, rwenzori mountains 1 Comment

The fourteen peaks over 8000 metres have enjoyed a special status throughout the 20th century and were subject to many races to climb them. In the first of a short series of posts about their early history I introduce three memorable characters.