We crossed the glacier at the head of the valley in no time, aiming for a gap in the rock where the ice spilled down from a higher plateau. As we passed through this gap to the upper reaches of
Read moreWhy I’m not a big fan of rock climbing
Rock Climbing
Free Solo: my review of an Oscar-nominated climbing movie
I don’t often go to the movies, and last time I did the film started with a crazy man standing alone on a wall up a sheer cliff face. There was a feeling of déjà vu when I went to a local cinema again a couple of weekends ago.
Read moreBanished to Room 101: the Inaccessible Pinnacle
If you asked a group of UK hill walkers to nominate items for Room 101, some of them might suggest the Inaccessible Pinnacle, a narrow shark’s fin of rock that crowns the summit of Sgurr Dearg, a 978m mountain on the Isle of Skye in north-west Scotland.
Read moreScafell Pike, the highest peak in England, from Wasdale
I had only climbed the highest mountain in England once, from the east side 22 years ago. It was time for me to climb it from Wasdale on the west side, and it was time for Edita to climb it for the very first time.
Read moreWhy I don’t give a toss about the BMC renaming itself Climb Britain
Last month Britain’s top mountaineering organisation, the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), puzzled its 80,000 members by announcing out of the blue that it would be changing its name to Climb Britain.
Read moreWhen climbing documentaries were as popular as cookery shows
Last year fifteen million people, a quarter of the population of Britain, watched the final of a cake-baking competition. In 1967 the same number watched a live broadcast of the second ascent of an obscure sea stack off the coast of Orkney.
Read moreLeo Houlding does his bit for the Sherpas
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.
Read moreCarpe diem – Cheesewring, Cornwall
There are many things death can teach you, but one of the most rewarding is to seize the day because life can change in an instant. If there’s something you always wanted to do then start making plans to do it, because otherwise it may pass you by.
Read moreTop rock climber accuses sunbathers of cheating
This week the Footsteps on the Mountain team caught up with champion rock climber Bill Scheidt, who has completed many first ascents on bold new routes. Bill is known for a very pure style of climbing, and over the years has become an outspoken critic of climbers who employ artificial aids to enable them to complete an ascent. But it’s not just use of pitons and supplementary oxygen that make his blood boil.
Read moreUeli Steck’s ridiculous mountaineering career
If you read the title of this post and think I’m about to slag off the Swiss climbing superstar, famous for his speed ascents in the Alps and Himalayas, then you should know upfront that I’ll be doing precisely the
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