My 5 wettest mountain adventures

August 12, 2015 Humour africa, andes, bhutan, chile, himalayas, kyrgyzstan, manaslu, nepal, pamirs, patagonia, peak lenin, rwenzori mountains, snowman trek, torres del paine, uganda, weather 2 Comments

I expect most of us have experienced it at some time in our lives: escaping the office for a few weeks of sunshine, only to end up somewhere wetter than a haddock’s bathing costume. Nobody likes rain, but sometimes it just won’t stop.

Why would anyone spend Christmas in Patagonia?

December 18, 2013 Expedition dispatches alberto maria de agostini, andes, argentina, cerro san lorenzo, chile, patagonia, south america, southern patagonian ice field, tierra del fuego, torres del paine, weather 0 Comment

There’s not really a good time of year to visit Chilean Patagonia. Quite a lot of wind circulates the globe at that latitude and slams into its mountains with full force, producing severe and prolonged storms and freezing temperatures. So why will I be returning there this Christmas for the first time in ten years?

Sir Chris Bonington’s life in 90 minutes

October 16, 2013 Reviews and tributes aiguille du dru, alps, andes, annapurna, chris bonington, don whillans, doug scott, dougal haston, eiger, everest, grandes jorasses, hamish macinnes, himalayas, mick burke, mont blanc, mountain talks, nuptse, shivling, snowdon, the ogre, torres del paine 7 Comments

Britain’s greatest living mountaineer is currently touring the country with a series of lectures about his life, and I was lucky enough to see one of them. An important World Cup qualifier was taking place that evening, but if Chris Bonington’s life were a football match it would be a 22 goal thriller which ended 11 goals all and went into extra time.