What’s the world’s best mountain for cheating?

August 21, 2013 Humour aconcagua, bottled oxygen, denali, douglas freshfield, elbrus, everest, kilimanjaro, machapuchare, mont blanc, mountaineering ethics, pico de orizaba, snowdon, vinson massif, wilfrid noyce 17 Comments

Climbing purists should look away now. This post is for those with a more laid back approach to getting up mountains. I thought it might be interesting to compare some of the world’s high mountains to see how far you can get up them using mechanical transport, and so I give you the Mountains for Cheating infographic.

4 ways to climb Denali

July 31, 2013 Opinion and advice alaska, bradford washburn, denali, first ascents, history of mountaineering, hudson stuck, mountain flights, ricardo cassin, route descriptions, seven summits, united states 6 Comments

One advantage of failing to climb a mountain like Denali is that you have an excuse to go back there. Mountains have many facets, and by choosing an alternative route you can feel like you’re climbing a different mountain. There are some great options on Denali, depending on your talent and fortitude. Here are four of them.

A good year to climb Denali (if you’re lucky)

July 24, 2013 Trip reports alaska, american alpine institute, commercial mountaineering, denali, mount foraker, mount hunter, mountain flights, seven summits, sledging, united states, weather 9 Comments

It looked like a good year to come to Denali. Prior to our arrival there had been an unprecedented spell of good weather and people were climbing straight up and reaching the summit without a hitch. But the good weather was certain to break eventually. Would it continue long enough for us?

When the mountain is trying to tell you something

July 9, 2013 Opinion and advice aconcagua, alaska, american alpine institute, belmore browne, commercial mountaineering, denali, first ascents, history of mountaineering, hudson stuck, seven summits, united states, weather 16 Comments

When Belmore Browne and Herschel Parker had to turn around just 50m short of the summit of Denali during a storm in 1912, it would have been hard for them to imagine there could be any consolation in such bad luck. But sometimes the mountain is trying to tell you something, and when that happens it’s always worth listening.

The High One: my attempt on Denali

June 19, 2013 Expedition dispatches alaska, bradford washburn, denali, false summit claims, first ascents, frederick cook, history of mountaineering, hudson stuck, seven summits, training, united states, weather 10 Comments

If everything goes to plan then by the time you read this I’ll be freezing my nuts off on a glacier in Alaska. In January my friend Dan and I decided we would book to climb Denali, the highest mountain in North America, also known as Mount McKinley.

Which is harder, the Second Seven Summits or the first one?

February 8, 2012 Opinion and advice aconcagua, carstensz pyramid, denali, dychtau, elbrus, everest, hans kammerlander, k2, kilimanjaro, mount kenya, mt logan, mt tyree, mt vinson, ojos del salado, peak bagging, puncak trikora, rock climbing, seven summits, trekking 11 Comments

Last month the Italian climber Hans Kammerlander became the first person to climb the Second Seven Summits, in other words the second highest peak on each continent. According to 7summits.com, 348 people had climbed the main Seven Summits, the highest

Would you sacrifice a digit for a summit?

May 30, 2011 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, baruntse, cho oyu, denali, everest, frostbite, gasherbrum, muztag ata, phil crampton, richard parks, seven summits 0 Comment

It’s an old cliché that there’s nothing quite like reaching the summit of a mountain, but the feeling of elation when you return to base camp and the achievement begins to sink in can be just as satisfying in a