kurt diemberger

There are not many films about mountaineering that tackle questions about risk and death by trying to understand rather than by being evasive or dismissive. It’s a dark and poignant film, but it’s also thought-provoking and worth watching for its interesting characters.

I’ve recently finished reading Cho Oyu by Herbert Tichy, an account of the first ascent of Cho Oyu in 1954. The book is hard to get hold of, but it’s as good as Maurice Herzog’s Annapurna, regarded by many as one the best mountaineering books ever written.

There were remarkable events on K2 this week, with record numbers of climbers reaching the summit. K2 is regarded as one of the hardest mountains in the world, but has it now become within the range of less experienced commercial climbers?

Climbing has as much in common with public speaking as it does with hosting a dinner party. I’ve seen some great lectures by mountaineering legends over the years, but last week I attended a lecture that was about as slick as a mountaineer’s chin after two weeks in an ice cave.

K2: Touching the Sky — a film review

Battle of the blockbusters: Herzog’s Annapurna vs. Tichy’s Cho Oyu

Is K2 the new Everest?

How not to do a mountaineering presentation