Mountains – Stanfords Blog

The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering by Daniel Light

In his book The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering, Daniel Light uncovers the true story of the thrill-seekers, map-makers, soldiers, occultists, artists and porters who paved the way for modern mountaineering. Ahead of his event here at Stanfords, Covent Garden on Thursday 21st November, Daniel gives us a snippet of mountaineering history as he looks at some attempts at the Himalayan region.

-by Daniel Light

The American climber and explorer Fanny Bullock Workman arrived in Darjeeling in the dying days of the nineteenth century intent on leading an expedition into the heart of the Sikkim Himalaya. There, she and her husband Hunter hoped to reach record-breaking heights on some of the highest mountains on Earth.

Book of the Month: Time on Rock

Stanfords Book of the Month for January 2022 is Time on Rock: A Climber’s Route into the Mountains by Anna Fleming. Available for £16.99.

This is a rock-climber’s eye view of the natural world, tracing a geological and personal journey across the British Isles over ten years. In Time on Rock Anna Fleming charts two parallel journeys: learning the craft of traditional rock climbing, and the new developing appreciation of the natural world it brings her.

Nims Purja shares 5 important lessons

Nims Purja is a Nepalese mountaineer who has climbed all 14 of the world’s tallest mountains and recently made history by summiting K2 in winter.

We have signed copies of his book ‘Beyond Possible‘, here he shares some lessons he’s learned along the way:

Matt Dickinson: The Death Zone: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020

Matt Dickinson talks to Phoebe Smith about his first-hand experience of living through one of the most devastating storms ever to hit Mount Everest, a storm in which many lost their lives. Tackling issues at the very heart of mountaineering, Matt tells an extraordinary story of human triumph, folly and disaster.

The Death Zone by Matt Dickinson

5 Reasons Why Mountain Huts Are Special

Huts are more than just shelters. They can be meeting places for climbers. They can be staging posts for trekkers on a multi-day tour. Or they can be somewhere to visit on a there-and-back day’s hike from a valley base; somewhere to stop for lunch perhaps, to sit outside in the sunshine, enjoy the view, and then move on. In The Mountain Hut Book, author Kev Reynolds draws on his vast experience of mountain exploration, giving examples of huts throughout the Alps, outlining his favourites and suggesting hut-to-hut routes. Here he tells us why mountain huts are so special: Continue reading 5 Reasons Why Mountain Huts Are Special