simone moro

Tomek Mackiewicz’s death on Nanga Parbat carries a number of characteristics of a Shakespearean tragedy. It has a tragic hero with a tragic flaw that will ultimately lead to his downfall. It involves a tragic waste, an external conflict, and even a catharsis.

The Apennines were our home from home while we lived in Italy, but I always wanted to visit the Dolomites at some point too. I finally had the opportunity in the very last week before I moved back to London.

I’ve spent a disproportionate amount of time in the last couple of years blogging bad news from the Himalayas and Karakoram. It’s only fair I help to restore the balance by reporting on a mountaineering story with a happy ending.

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.

This is a post I have been meaning to write for a while. Much has been written by westerners about Sherpas over the last hundred years, but the voice of the Sherpas themselves is rare. I can’t provide it, but I can provide my own perspective of a people who have given me many happy memories, taken me to places I could never have been without them, and put their lives at risk to help me.

Tomek Mackiewicz and Nanga Parbat: a Shakespearean mountaineering tragedy

A short walk in the Sesto Dolomites

Winter on Nanga Parbat: a good news story from Pakistan

The new Everest Base Camp police force

A tribute to Sherpas, the tigers of the snow