sherpas

So you’ve done a few high altitude mountaineering expeditions and you’re ready to climb your first 8000 metre peak, but there are many options and companies offering their services at a bewildering disparity of prices. How do you tell them

The story of the 2012 Altitude Junkies expedition to climb Everest by the North Ridge Sometimes you get lucky in life, and everything just seems to fall into place like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. These times are rare and

There’s nothing some journalists like more than a bit a death. It generates controversy, helps sell copy, and gives them an opportunity to drum up hatred against people who live more interesting lives than they do. And this year on

Very soon we’ll be starting out on our Everest summit push. All our preparations have been done, and from now on it’s just one foot in front of the other; the rest is in the hands of the mountain gods.

The waiting, the resting and the acclimatisation is over. Tomorrow we move up to Advanced Base Camp (ABC) to get ourselves in position for our summit push. Our exact schedule is not yet confirmed as there still remain a few

Yesterday afternoon Everest wore the biggest plume of cloud I’ve ever seen, extending the entire length of the Northeast Ridge and beyond. I don’t know what the mountain gods were doing up there, but it was obvious they didn’t want

Apart from the occasional brief hour of silence, I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have to listen to the roar of the wind. Here at Base Camp it manifests itself in the form tent canvas bashing against our

I can’t quite believe it, but on Saturday I’ll be leaving for my fourth 8000 metre peak expedition in as many years, and this time it’s the big one. Two months of impossible jetstream winds meant my attempts on Gasherbrums

When I set out from Camp 4 at 7460m on Manaslu, it was the first time that I’d climbed with bottled oxygen. My 700 metre climb from Camp 3 the previous day had been unremittingly steep and tiring, but I

The story of Manaslu, autumn 2011 Sir Ranulph Fiennes eventually reached the summit of Everest on his third attempt. After suffering a heart attack during his first one in 2005, turning back with exhaustion during his second in 2008, and

How to choose an 8000m peak expedition company

Everest 2012: Climbing and alcohol

5 media myths about Everest busted

With a little help from my friends

The Everest weather window

The mountain gods are mellowing

Roar of a thousand tigers; the North Col Wall

My long and winding trail to Everest

The Manaslu oxygen mystery

Manaslu 2011: Ice axe and Cramptons