Himalaya | Trekking - Climbing

Travellers' tales, photos, climbing and trekking adventures in the Himalaya and Karakoram mountains. Plus stuff like news and politics. Things that matter if you spend time in the Himalayan countries - Nepal, India, Tibet and Pakistan. We mix genres that others won't.

Himalayan Climbs

Shiva - The Prow - 2012
Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden have made the first ascent of the north-east ridge ("the Prow") of Shiva, in the Indian Himalaya.The lower part of the ridge provided challenging snow and ice climbing,...
Broad Peak - West Ridge - 2013
Polish climbers Maciej Berbeka, Adam Bielecki, Tomasz Kowalski and Artur Małek have reached the summit of Broad Peak in the Karakoram, Pakistan. But Kowalski and Berbeka have disappeared during the...
Trango Tower - Eternal Flame - 2012
Rob Powell, Douard Le Roux and Alard Hufner have made the first South African ascent of Eternal Flame on Trango Tower (Nameless Tower) using some aid ( the route was climbed entirely free by the...

Our Ascent Book aims to be the most comprehensive record on the web of recent climbs in the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains.
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5 May 2013

Everest, Lawlessness and the expedition industry

Climbers Ueli Steck, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffith were attacked on Everest by a group of Sherpas. The aftermath reveals a lot about Nepal's political difficulties and the power of the expedition industry. But now ain't the time for your tears.
Everest, Lawlessness and the expedition industry

On the Blog...

Piolets d'Or row - response from jury President Stephen Venables
12 May 2013 Stephen Venables, President of the Piolets d'Or jury, drew fierce criticism from some sections of the climbing press for the jury's decision to award the mountaineering prize to all 6 of the teams nominated for it. Now he's fighting back, with a robust rebuttal of the criticism.
Everest - lawlessness and the expedition industry
5 May 2013 Climbers Ueli Steck, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffith were attacked high on the slopes of Everest last week by a mob of Sherpas. The aftermath reflects a culture of impunity in Nepal, and the growing power of foreign-owned expedition businesses.
Everest Violence - statement from Ueli Steck and Simone Moro
29 April 2013 Simone Moro and Ueli Steck have issued a statement about the violent imcident on Everest in which they were injured by Sherpas and threatened with death.

Himalayan Journeys >

Travelogue - a journey through the Indian Himalaya from Kumaon and Garhwal to Ladakh

Ganga's story

Granite crags pressed the township tight against the Bhagirathi River. Cold shadow rose up the valley like canal water behind a lock gate. The Bhagirathi is just one of a a skein of Himalayan streams that join to become the River Ganges. They run as wild as a woman's hair across the mountains because this where the river goddess Ganga fell to earth.
The Storm's Edge

December 1992. One after another, the domes of the Babri Masjid came tumbling down. Muslim homes near to the mosque began to burn. And then the riots began, all over India.
Kedarnath

A towering wall of rock and tumbled ice blocks ithe valley. At its base there is s a huddle of stone buildings, immeasurably tiny. This is Kedarnath. The temple is dedicated to the god Shiva. Some of the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi are scattered nearby.