The Ascent of Rum Doodle vs. The Ascent of Nanda Devi — how similar are they?

November 2, 2016 Reviews and tributes bill tilman, charles houston, eric shipton, himalayas, history of mountaineering, mountain literature, nanda devi, noel odell, pasang kikuli sherpa, the ascent of rum doodle, vertebrate publishing 2 Comments

The Ascent of Rum Doodle vs. The Ascent of Nanda Devi — how similar are they?

Two of the best mountaineering books ever written were designed to be read side by side, but I wonder if anyone has. I set myself the challenge of reading alternate chapters of The Ascent of Nanda Devi by H.W. Tilman and The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W.E. Bowman.

An early history of the 8000m peaks: the Sherpa contribution

February 24, 2016 History 8000m peaks, alexander kellas, gaylay, himalayan club, himalayas, history of mountaineering, k2, kangchenjunga, mountaineering disasters, nanga parbat, pasang dawa lama, pasang kikuli sherpa, sherpas 3 Comments

An early history of the 8000m peaks: the Sherpa contribution

The early history of the 8000m peaks has traditionally been seen as a competition between Europeans and Americans to become the first nation to climb one, but the Sherpa contribution should never be forgotten.