mountaineering ethics

As Martin Luther King once said, “I have a dream”. Mine perhaps isn’t quite as worthy as his, but in its own way it’s just as heartfelt. I dream that one day everyone who climbs Everest will enjoy it, not just for the climb itself, but the whole experience of being in the mountains.

I suspect I’m going to shock a few people with this post. During my ascent of Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, last month I took not only performance enhancing drugs (aspirin, diamox and — I’m told — Russian vodka) but a cable car, a chairlift and, most shocking of all, a snow cat (that’s a tracked vehicle, not a clawed feline).

“We’re a couple of high-altitude junkies.” Pete Boardman This is a follow up to last week’s post about choosing an 8000 metre peak expedition operator. In that post I offered up some pointers to help you make the right choice

So you’ve done a few high altitude mountaineering expeditions and you’re ready to climb your first 8000 metre peak, but there are many options and companies offering their services at a bewildering disparity of prices. How do you tell them

There’s nothing some journalists like more than a bit a death. It generates controversy, helps sell copy, and gives them an opportunity to drum up hatred against people who live more interesting lives than they do. And this year on

When I set out from Camp 4 at 7460m on Manaslu, it was the first time that I’d climbed with bottled oxygen. My 700 metre climb from Camp 3 the previous day had been unremittingly steep and tiring, but I

As the rain continues to hammer on the roof of my tent, as it has every day since arriving at Manaslu base camp, I think about the last few days, our first sleeping on the mountain. It’s been a struggle

The people who give Everest a bad name

Climbing Elbrus by any means

Why Altitude Junkies is my choice for the 8000m peaks

How to choose an 8000m peak expedition company

5 media myths about Everest busted

The Manaslu oxygen mystery

On parasitic climbers; Manaslu’s serac maze