Blog

I have been back from Berlin for just over one week, which has been very busy with interviewing expeditions for Miss Hawley and the Himalayan Database. Most teams have come safe and sound back from Cho Oyu and Manaslu, the sixth and eighth highest peaks in the world, respectively, and some expeditions are still on mountains, such as Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Baruntse, Himlung and others.

Very sadly, at the end of September three Sherpas were killed in an avalanche on Himlung Himal – a 7,126m-peak, which was only opened for climbing in the early 1990ies. As so often, it was the Sherpas who were most exposed to the avalanche danger as they were ahead of the commercial teams fixing the ropes. My friend Adrian Ballinger of Alpenglow Expeditions has written an article about avalanche education in the big mountains, which I would like to share with you. If you are interested in finding out more, please click here.

Also on Himlung, there is currently a big Swiss medical research expedition lead by Kobler & Partner, and I had the joy to write an article about their plans and medical ambitions. If you want to read it, click here.

On 17th October, I will be heading to attempt Ama Dablam, which is a 6,856m-peak in the Everest Region I have wanted to climb for a long time. If you have ever been trekking in the Khumbu, you will most definitely have seen this beautiful mountain, which towers above the Sherpa villages like the Matterhorn towers over Zermatt. It is also called the ‘Matterhorn of Asia’.

As usual, I will be climbing with Russell Brice and we will be in a very small team of six members and three guides but I am very much looking forward to heading out into the hills again. Being in Kathmandu is always a joy, however, with the road constructions that are still ongoing and the traffic, living here can sometimes be challenging. I consider myself very lucky that I repeatedly get to go into the hills and enjoy the fresh air, the stunning surroundings and, of course, the climbing.

I am planning to be back in the Nepalese capital on 9th November as we will be celebrating a great anniversary here. Miss Elizabeth Hawley will be 90 on that day and it is very important to me that I will make it back in time to congratulate her and express my gratefulness to her for giving me the opportunity to contribute to her amazing work.

Depending on the internet connection, I will try and update this site as interestingly and regularly as I can but in the meantime I hope you are all enjoying a lovely autumn – or a lovely spring if you are in the southern hemisphere.

Thanks for all your interest and support!