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Hi Kickstarters, but this is wrong in so many ways
I don’t know too much about the organisation Kickstarter, so I hesitate to be too critical about them, but this morning an item appeared in my Twitter feed about a campaign of theirs which appeared to...
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Is it OK for mountaineers to miss a puja?
An obscure subject for a blog post if ever there was one, but one of the perks of writing a mountaineering blog is every so often I get asked some very obscure and intriguing questions by email out of...
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Top rock climber accuses sunbathers of cheating
This week the Footsteps on the Mountain team caught up with champion rock climber Bill Scheidt, who has completed many first ascents on bold new routes. Bill is known for a very pure style of climbing,...
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Everest is not for climbers – you’re joking aren’t you!
There's nothing like a negative Everest story to trigger a flurry of publishing absurdity. For example, some people say Everest has now become so crowded with commercial expeditions there is no longer...
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Is it a bad thing the world is becoming more accessible?
Today is the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. I expect there will be quite a few editorial pieces published today reflecting on how the mountain has...
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What’s the world’s best mountain for cheating?
Climbing purists should look away now. This post is for those with a more laid back approach to getting up mountains. I thought it might be interesting to compare some of the world's high mountains to...
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Everest: The Return of the Mavericks
The government of Nepal has slashed permit fees for individuals climbing Everest from $25,000 to $10,000. But the group permit system that provided discounts for larger teams has been abolished, and...
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Getting married is the peak of hubris
With vicars treated like lapdogs by cretinous narcissists, a crisis in church matrimony was inevitable. This week on the Footsteps of the Mountain blog we welcome Tony Gould as our special guest...
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4 ways to improve the south side of Everest
I'm going to finish my series of posts on this year's Everest season on a positive note by looking at some possible ways forward for commercial mountaineering on Everest. The aim is not just to make...
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Everest’s deadliest day – debating Everest’s future
Everest's Deadliest Day was the title of a debate at the RGS in London last week, about the April avalanche and what it meant for the future of Himalayan climbing and the economy of Nepal. Here is my...
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Poo in the Everest region: is it such a big problem?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a satirical piece about a fictional washroom being erected at Everest Base Camp. The post was a reaction to sensationalised media reporting of an inexplicable announcement...
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An extraordinary case of mountaineering integrity
With a drip feed of FIFA corruption allegations hitting the headlines more or less daily, I’ve decided to use this week’s blog post as an opportunity to highlight a case of sporting integrity beyond...
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Everest is not piled high with dead bodies
When Prince Siddhartha was born, a prophecy foretold that he would renounce his inheritance and become a great teacher. Terrified of the prophecy coming to pass, his father the king surrounded him with...
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How to verify a Manaslu summit claim
There was another big controversy on 8163m Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, this year. It was widely reported that record numbers reached the summit during a two-day weather window on...
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Should outdoor and mountaineering writers talk about politics?
First things first. This is not a political post, and you’ll see why later. It is, however, a post about shared, international values by someone who has travelled a lot in different countries. Last...
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For busy executives: the world’s shortest 8,000m peak expedition
We try to steer away from controversy here on the Footsteps on the Mountain blog, but sometimes difficult subjects have to be tackled. It’s been a while since we did our last interview. You may...
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Is it time to boycott the south side of Everest?
Most readers of this blog will be aware that there were one or two problems on Everest this year. These problems have existed for many years, but they have now reached such a degree, with no end in...
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Nirmal Purja’s ascent of all fourteen 8,000m peaks: why is it controversial?
Every so often a story emerges in the world of mountaineering that is so big that it makes it into the popular press alongside stories about Brexit, Brexit and even Brexit. Last week was one of those...
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