The mother of all avalanches: an eyewitness account

May 16, 2014 Reviews and tributes climbing fatalities, everest, everest base camp, george mallory, history of mountaineering, howard somervell, nepal, sherpas 8 Comments

At approximately 6.45am on Friday 18 April, 2014 I was walking with team mates through Everest Base Camp on the way to my first foray into the Khumbu Icefall. It was a climb I wasn’t to start, for at that moment a huge chunk of ice fell off Everest’s West Shoulder, triggering an avalanche which swept across the entire width of the Icefall.

A last desperate bid for Everest glory … by helicopter

May 14, 2014 Humour altitude junkies, edita, everest, kathmandu, lhotse, margaret watroba, mountain flights, nepal, phil crampton, russell brice, sherpas

It’s been a terribly unhappy 2014 Everest season for many reasons, so here’s something to cheer us all up. We all thought the season on the south side of the mountain finished two weeks ago, but reports in the Himalayan Times have fuelled speculation that the Southeast Ridge may yet be climbed this year.

Salvaging good from a disastrous season

May 9, 2014 Good causes climbing fatalities, everest, kathmandu, lhotse, mountain flights, nepal, sherpas, volunteering 1 Comment

One consequence of the Everest season ending early is that I’ve spent an unusually long time in Kathmandu catching up with things and contemplating a surreal season. I’ve even managed to salvage some good from three weeks of tragedy and conflict which have dashed hopes and dreams and trashed reputations.

The double Everest tragedy

April 27, 2014 Expedition dispatches altitude junkies, climbing fatalities, commercial mountaineering, dorje sherpa, everest, everest base camp, lhotse, nepal, phil crampton, sherpas 15 Comments

I’m back in Kathmandu again at the end of what has effectively been a very expensive Everest Base Camp trek. All expeditions have been cancelled, and there will not be a single summit from Everest’s south side this season. This

The Sherpa sacrifice

April 20, 2014 Expedition dispatches altitude junkies, climbing fatalities, dorje sherpa, everest, everest base camp, howard somervell, lhotse, media sensationalism, nanga parbat, nepal, phil crampton, sherpas 15 Comments

I don’t know whether this is going to post successfully, as we have been without meaningful internet communications since we arrived at Everest Base Camp over a week ago. I have wandered down to Gorak Shep in search of 3G

10 great Sherpa mountaineers

March 19, 2014 History angtharkay, annapurna, apa sherpa, babu chiri sherpa, cho oyu, chris bonington, darjeeling, eric shipton, everest, fritz wiessner, gaylay, gyalzen norbu sherpa, herbert tichy, himalayas, jimmy roberts, john hunt, k2, manaslu, nanga parbat, nawang gombu, nepal, pasang dawa lama, pertemba sherpa, phurba tashi sherpa, russell brice, sherpas, tenzing norgay

As the Everest season approaches we will be hearing a lot about the successes of western climbers in the Himalayas over the next few months, but very little about the superstars of high altitude mountaineering. It’s time this was rectified, so here are ten of the greatest tigers of the snow.

A media guide to Mount Everest

March 12, 2014 Humour commercial mountaineering, everest, media sensationalism, nepal, sherpas, the guardian, tibet, waste management 12 Comments

With the Everest climbing season nearly upon us there will soon be a flurry of articles in the mainstream media. With journalists under pressure to knock together something emotive at short notice by pasting from websites or phoning up random mountaineers for soundbites, I thought I would put together a media guide to help save time.

How not to do a mountaineering presentation

November 27, 2013 Reviews and tributes broad peak, cathy o'dowd, chogolisa, dhaulagiri, doug scott, first ascents, hermann buhl, himalayas, k2, kurt diemberger, ladakh, mick fowler, mountain talks, nanga parbat, robert schauer, royal geographical society, sandy allan, sherpas

Climbing has as much in common with public speaking as it does with hosting a dinner party. I’ve seen some great lectures by mountaineering legends over the years, but last week I attended a lecture that was about as slick as a mountaineer’s chin after two weeks in an ice cave.

The Epic of Everest – Captain John Noel’s film of the 1924 expedition

October 30, 2013 Reviews and tributes edward norton, everest, george mallory, history of mountaineering, john noel, mountain films, mountain photography, sandy irvine, sherpas, tibet 2 Comments

If I had one word to describe The Epic of Everest, John Noel’s historic record of the 1924 expedition, which has recently been restored, then it would be atmospheric. If I had a second one then it would be weird, but then I’m not that familiar with 1920s silent movies and I expect they were all like this back then.

The new Everest Base Camp police force

August 7, 2013 Opinion and advice climbing records, commercial mountaineering, elizabeth hawley, everest, everest base camp, mountain environment, nepal, nepal mountaineering association, sherpas, simone moro 9 Comments

The government of Nepal is to set up an integrated service centre at Everest Base Camp to regulate mountaineering activities, the BBC reported last week. But is this necessary, practical or even true? Let’s delve into the story in more detail.