Nepal earthquake gets the BBC Panorama treatment

June 24, 2015 Reviews and tributes climbing fatalities, ed douglas, emergency response, everest, everest base camp, gurkhas, mountain films, nepal, nepal earthquake 0 Comment

I was a little apprehensive when I heard there was a BBC Panorama documentary about the Nepal earthquake called Disaster on Everest, by a journalist who accompanied climbers to Base Camp. I need not have worried.

Southwest ridge of Cholatse: the videos

November 26, 2014 Trip reports ama dablam, cholatse, mountain films, nepal, trekking peaks 5 Comments

Last week I posted a trip report about our Cholatse ascent that was so long I imagine a few of you couldn’t be bothered to read it. Luckily for those of you who prefer to watch a bit of action I also have some spine tingling video footage.

Leo Houlding does his bit for the Sherpas

June 11, 2014 Reviews and tributes antarctica, chance, climbing fatalities, conrad anker, edmund hillary, everest, first ascents, george lowe, george mallory, himalayan trust, leo houlding, mountain films, mountain talks, nepal, rebecca stephens, rock climbing, sandy irvine, sherpas, ulvetanna 6 Comments

Last week one of Britain’s top rock climbers did a lecture at the RGS in London. Rock climbing isn’t generally my thing, but this talk had an Everest theme, and one of its aims was to raise money for the families of the Sherpas who died in the 18 April avalanche.

The Epic of Everest – Captain John Noel’s film of the 1924 expedition

October 30, 2013 Reviews and tributes edward norton, everest, george mallory, history of mountaineering, john noel, mountain films, mountain photography, sandy irvine, sherpas, tibet 2 Comments

If I had one word to describe The Epic of Everest, John Noel’s historic record of the 1924 expedition, which has recently been restored, then it would be atmospheric. If I had a second one then it would be weird, but then I’m not that familiar with 1920s silent movies and I expect they were all like this back then.

The first winter ascent of Broad Peak – a tribute

October 25, 2013 Reviews and tributes 8000m peaks, broad peak, climbing fatalities, first ascents, karakoram, krzysztof wielicki, mountain films, pakistan 5 Comments

Poland has produced some of the world’s toughest and bravest mountaineers, none more so than Krzysztof Wielicki, who earlier this year led a team of his fellow countrymen to attempt the first winter ascent of Broad Peak in Pakistan. A gripping film about the climb has recently been published on Vimeo.

How reintroducing wolves benefits the whole ecosystem

February 14, 2013 Good causes mountain films, rewilding, tumblr post, united states, wildlife, yellowstone national park 0 Comment

I watched a fantastic documentary on BBC4 last night which demonstrated how the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in the United States benefited the entire ecosystem almost immediately.

BBC proves not all Everest documentaries have to be crap

February 1, 2013 Reviews and tributes everest, jochen hemmleb, mountain films, nepal, sherpas, tibet 0 Comment

Congratulations to the BBC for their fantastic documentary Climbing Everest with a Mountain on My Back, shown on BBC4 last night, which provided insight into the lives of the Sherpas who help western mountaineers climb Everest every year.

Hi Kickstarters, but this is wrong in so many ways

October 24, 2012 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, climbing fatalities, crowdfunding, everest, himalayas, kickstarter, mountain films, mountaineering ethics, sponsorship 0 Comment

I don’t know too much about the organisation Kickstarter, so I hesitate to be too critical about them, but this morning an item appeared in my Twitter feed about a campaign of theirs which appeared to be taking bad taste

Why glaciers are amazing in 3 minutes 17 seconds

October 19, 2012 Reviews and tributes glaciers, mountain films, tumblr post 0 Comment

Every once in a while you see something that reminds you what an amazing place the natural world is, and that happened to me today. This video by glaciologist Allen Pope (@PopePolar) from the Scott Polar Research Institute is so

Why did Harry’s Mountain Heroes leave Everest early?

August 29, 2012 Opinion and advice climbing fatalities, commercial mountaineering, everest, himex, manaslu, marco siffredi, mountain films, prince harry, russell brice, sherpas, walking with the wounded 0 Comment

On the eve of the Paralympics there was a timely film on UK television this week about a group of remarkable disabled mountaineers on an expedition to the Himalayas, which also provided some insight into one of the most talked