10 high-altitude mountaineering lookalikes

February 17, 2021 Humour 8000m peaks, doug scott, ed viesturs, hermann buhl, krzysztof wielicki, mingma gyalje sherpa, nirmal purja, phil crampton, reinhold messner, ueli steck 14 Comments

I know some people found my previous post a bit heavy. So to cheer everyone up at the end of a dark season in difficult times, and to prove that this isn’t just another serious climbing blog, here’s something a little more light-hearted.

Remembering Michelle Pradhan and the Courtyard Hotel, Kathmandu

May 22, 2019 Reviews and tributes altitude junkies, courtyard hotel, kathmandu, mark dickson, nepal, obituaries, phil crampton 18 Comments

Nepal has brought many wonderful memories, but it is also a place that reminds me of the fragile nature of life. This was brought home last month when I was saddened to learn of the early death of Michelle Pradhan of the Courtyard Hotel, Kathmandu.

An introduction to ExplorersWeb, the adventurers’ website on a new journey

October 17, 2018 Good causes exploration, explorersweb, gasherbrum, interviews, phil crampton, rowan white 1 Comment

ExplorersWeb has been one of the leading sources of news about adventurous expeditions for many years now. But as they say in the pub trade, it’s now under new management. This means that some important changes are taking place. There is a new team of editors and a new design, but this is just the start.

Flashing on Everest: is it safe or sensible?

June 20, 2018 Opinion and advice acclimatisation, adrian ballinger, alpenglow expeditions, altitude chambers, altitude junkies, ben fogle, commercial mountaineering, everest, furtenbach adventures, griffith pugh, harriet tuckey, kenton cool, lukas furtenbach, phil crampton, robert anderson, tibet 35 Comments

Many teams climbed the north side of Everest this season, but two seemed to get the lion’s share of the attention. These two teams were using new techniques to shorten their expeditions. But was their approach sensible or effective? Let’s have a look.

A peek inside the Himalayan Database, the archives of Elizabeth Hawley

March 21, 2018 Reviews and tributes baruntse, billi bierling, cho oyu, cholatse, elizabeth hawley, eric shipton, himalayan database, himalayas, history of mountaineering, manaslu, nepal, phil crampton 12 Comments

A couple of weekends ago, I did something I’ve been meaning to do for a while: install the Himalayan Database on my computer and play around with it. The Himalayan Database is a comprehensive record of expeditions to peaks in Nepal, based on the archives of Elizabeth Hawley.

Farewell Samuli Mansikka, the fearless Finn

April 2, 2015 Reviews and tributes 8000m peaks, annapurna, cholatse, climbing fatalities, dreamers destination, himalayas, maurice herzog, mountain guides, nepal, obituaries, phil crampton, samuli mansikka 3 Comments

It’s time once again to pay tribute to a friend who has sadly lost his life in the mountains. Last week Samuli Mansikka stood on the summit of Annapurna, his tenth 8000m peak, but he did not return.

Cholatse 11, Ama Dablam 0 (Everest arrested for streaking)

November 19, 2014 Trip reports altitude junkies, ama dablam, cho oyu, cholatse, climbing fatalities, climbing grades, commercial mountaineering, dorje sherpa, everest, nepal, pasang ongchu sherpa, phil crampton, samuli mansikka, sherpas, trekking peaks 2 Comments

If ever I used omens as a means of determining my next holiday destination, then it’s likely I would have spent this autumn sunning myself on a beach. Luckily I’m not superstitious, and my climb of Cholatse proved as happy and successful as an expedition can be.

When is a summit not a summit?

November 12, 2014 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, cholatse, false summit claims, nepal, pasang ongchu sherpa, phil crampton, samuli mansikka, trekking peaks 7 Comments

Last week I managed to reach the summit of 6440m Cholatse in Nepal, which has a reputation for being one of the country’s most challenging technical peaks. But there’s a bit of a twist, and if you look closely you might notice something funny about my summit photo.

Exploring the Cordillera Blanca’s high altitude playground

August 6, 2014 Trip reports altitude junkies, andes, cordillera blanca, huaraz, huascaran, ishinca, palcaraju, pasang ongchu sherpa, peru, phil crampton, ranrapalca, tocllaraju, trekking, urus este 5 Comments

Peru’s Cordillera Blanca mountain range offers a veritable playground for the mountain lover, be they a trekker, alpinist or high altitude snow plodder, with glorious scenery and a range of different climbing. Here’s what happened when I went there last month.

Peruvian icefall doctors: a case study

July 24, 2014 Opinion and advice andes, cordillera blanca, mountain safety, pasang ongchu sherpa, peru, phil crampton, tocllaraju 0 Comment

The photograph below shows Pasang Ongchu Sherpa crossing a ladder over a crevasse on Tocllaraju in Peru. A Himalayan veteran with multiple ascents of Everest and Manaslu to his name Pasang is no stranger to using ladders to get across crevasses, but even he looked a little nervous crossing this one.

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