If Reinhold Messner wasn’t the first person to climb all the 8,000m peaks, who was?

If Reinhold Messner wasn’t the first person to climb all the 8,000m peaks, who was?

There have been rumours in the mountaineering world for a few years now that all the records about ascents of the world’s fourteen 8,000m peaks might need to be rewritten, including whether the great Reinhold Messner was first to climb them all.

Read more

7 great books with Sherpa mountaineers at their heart

7 great books with Sherpa mountaineers at their heart

With Nirmal Purja’s book and film riding high, the profile of Nepali mountaineers is at an all-time high. But where do you go if you want to find out more? Here are seven insightful and entertaining books that have Sherpas at their heart.

Read more

Is the first winter ascent of K2 a turning point for Sherpa mountaineers?

Is the first winter ascent of K2 a turning point for Sherpa mountaineers?

It’s not very often that the ascent of an 8,000m peak makes international news headlines, but earlier this month something rather special happened when a team of 10 Nepali climbers stood on the summit of K2.

Read more

Nirmal Purja’s ascent of all fourteen 8,000m peaks: why is it controversial?

Nirmal Purja’s ascent of all fourteen 8,000m peaks: why is it controversial?

Last week was one of those weeks when a mountaineering story is so big that it makes it into the popular press. On the face of it, it was a straightforward story of someone smashing a record to smithereens. But if you dig a little deeper, there is another side to it.

Read more