Mountaineering | The Guardian

Record 274 climbers summit Everest from Nepalese side in single day

Peter Beaumont — Thu, 21 May 2026 11:06:25 GMT

Climbers take advantage of clear weather after threat of ice fall on normal route delayed start of spring season

A record 274 climbers have reached the summit of Mount Everest from the Nepalese side in a single day after a spring season that started late because of the threat of ice fall on the normal tourist route.

The climbers took advantage of the clear weather on Wednesday, said Rishi Ram Bhandari, of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal.

John Hancock obituary

Jonathan Morris — Wed, 20 May 2026 17:17:39 GMT

My brother-in-law, John Hancock, who has died aged 83, was a runner, climber, cyclist, socialist, naturalist and much loved village doctor. His most challenging adventure came in 1987 when he was expedition doctor on a UK attempt to climb Latok 2 in the Karakoram mountains in the Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The expedition photos show John relishing every moment. But it overran, and John was obliged to return to his practice, which led him to trek solo for several days back to civilisation. En route, he loved making contact with local people and was glad to hold impromptu clinics in the villages he passed through.

From mountain photography to ice-climbing – try it all at this summer festival in the French Alps

Kevin Rushby — Wed, 13 May 2026 06:00:21 GMT

Improve your mountain skills by day and party by night at the Arc’teryx Alpine Academy in Chamonix

After a day spent hiking across the Col d’Entrèves glacier, a sugar hit is required. I descend on the cable car and join the queue at the ice-cream counter. Above me, surrounded by jagged peaks, looms the huge white figure of Mont Blanc, serene and pure against a brilliant blue sky. Although it’s late afternoon, people are still heading up the mountain, and there are two clear groups. On one side are the tourists, who are about to be lifted into unfamiliar frozen realms at 3,375 metres (11,072ft), hoping to grab a picture and return. Mixed among them are the weathered faces of mountain experts: hikers confidently heading for a high-altitude hut, or climbers with coils of rope.

How many of those tourists, I wonder, are wishing they could be mountaineers, secretly regretting the twists of fate that kept them away from that path? But all is not lost. The aspiring adventurer, no matter what age or background, can begin the journey to competence in the mountains. The annual mountain festival I am attending aims to facilitate that by offering the chance to gain hands-on experience with experts.

Steve Lismore obituary

Sue Fraser — Sun, 10 May 2026 16:11:57 GMT

My partner, Steve Lismore, who has died aged 71 in a climbing accident in Italy, was a civil servant and local politician with twin passions for giving children a good start in life and establishing equality of access to employment. Steve’s energy and commitment to action has had a lasting impact across north Derbyshire.

Born in Toronto, Canada, to Violet (nee Greaves), a secretary, and Basil Lismore, a toolmaker, Steve loved reading and excelled at Bayview Heights school, Ontario, skipping a grade and winning awards at science fairs.

Ice block stalls hundreds of Everest climbers at base camp

Associated Press — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 08:06:16 GMT

Officials assessing route after serac between base camp and camp one deemed unstable and too risky for climbers

A large ice block on the route just above the Mount Everest base camp has forced hundreds of climbers and local guides to delay their attempt to scale the world’s highest peak.

The serac between base camp and camp one was unstable and risky for climbers, said Himal Gautam of Nepal’s department of mountaineering on Friday.

A moment that changed me: I was desperate to get off the mountain – and that gut instinct saved my life

Lucy Shepherd — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:45:00 GMT

From the moment I started climbing the 7,000-metre peaks of the Pamir mountains in Tajikistan, something felt off. What followed will stay with me for ever

I didn’t have a reason for my terrible feeling of dread – and that was part of the problem. From the moment I arrived in Tajikistan with my boyfriend, Tim, to climb two 7,000-metre (23,000ft) peaks, something felt off. It wasn’t a fear I could name: it was more like a constant, unnerving low hum.

A helicopter dropped us off – landing on a jagged glacier that was to be our base camp and act as a refuge from avalanches from the towering peaks that surrounded it. The helicopter flew far too low, skimming the glacier ice that looked sharp enough to tear it open. You could see it from the helicopter because there was a gaping hole in the back – a part was missing because it was so old.

David Hollinger obituary

Ruth Shedden — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:31:21 GMT

My brother, David Hollinger, who has died aged 50 from complications following a stroke, was a mountaineering guide and instructor; he embodied resilience and determination.

In the years following university he climbed the Shroud on the Grandes Jorasses, the north face of the Eiger, the north face of the Matterhorn, and hard winter ascents in the Scottish Highlands such as Unicorn in Glencoe and Cornucopia on Ben Nevis. He travelled farther afield to make a second ascent of the west face of Ama Dablam, in the Nepalese Himalayas, and first ascents in China’s Sichuan province, before settling in Sheffield in the UK and co-founding a business, Peak Mountain Training, with two fellow guides in 2011.

‘The costs could rise’: Austria manslaughter ruling could alter climbing in Europe

Peter Beaumont — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 16:23:13 GMT

Amateur climber’s conviction over girlfriend’s death could put people off activity, say experts

Climber convicted of manslaughter after leaving girlfriend on Austria’s highest peak to seek help

The decision of an Austrian court to convict an amateur climber of manslaughter after he had left his girlfriend behind to die on an Alpine peak in winter is certain to be examined closely throughout Europe.

In his decision in Innsbruck, the judge, Norbert Hofer – a climber, and an expert in Austrian law relating to the mountains – ruled that the “galaxies-wide” disparity in experience and skills between Thomas P and his late girlfriend Kerstin G meant he had been de facto acting as her mountain guide “as a favour” despite no financial arrangement having been involved.

Climber convicted of manslaughter after leaving girlfriend on Austria’s highest peak to seek help

Kate Connolly — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 13:45:54 GMT

Thomas P given five-month suspended prison sentence and €9,400 fine over death of Kerstin G by gross negligence

Europe live – latest updates

An amateur mountaineer has been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter over the death of his girlfriend, whom he left behind on Austria’s highest peak after they got into difficulty on their climb.

Thomas P, 37, was handed a five-month suspended sentence and fined €9,400 (£8,200) for causing the death of Kerstin G in January 2025 by gross negligence, an offence that carries a maximum prison term of three years.

Austrian mountaineer ‘endlessly sorry’ for girlfriend’s death but denies criminal wrongdoing

Deborah Cole — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:10:33 GMT

Thomas P gives evidence on first day of trial in case that could shape standards for mountain sports

An Austrian mountaineer has said he is “endlessly sorry” his girlfriend froze to death on a joint climb to the country’s highest peak, but denied criminal wrongdoing as his trial began in Innsbruck.

The 37-year-old defendant, identified only as Thomas P, gave evidence on the first day of the high-profile proceedings over the tragedy on Großglockner, in a case that could shape international standards for liability in mountain sports.

Climber faces manslaughter charge after leaving girlfriend on Austria’s tallest peak

Kate Connolly in Berlin — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:35:56 GMT

Kerstin G froze to death on Großglockner when Thomas P descended mountain to fetch help

An Austrian mountaineer is to appear in court accused of gross negligent manslaughter after his girlfriend died of hypothermia when he left her close to the summit on a climb that went dramatically wrong.

The 33-year-old woman, identified only as Kerstin G, froze to death on 19 January 2025, about 50 metres below the summit of the Großglockner, Austria’s tallest mountain, after an ascent of more than 17 hours with her boyfriend, Thomas P, 36.

Cairn review – obsession, suffering and awe in a climbing game that hits exhausting new heights

Keza MacDonald — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:00:21 GMT

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox; The Game Bakers
A punishing, beautiful survival game that turns mountaineering into an intimate test of endurance, fixation and emotional resolve – you’ll be in tears by the end

Mountaineers and climbers, especially the free-solo kind, are humanity’s most fascinating maniacs: single-minded, daring souls who throw themselves into profoundly optional life-endangering feats. It is hard not to be compelled, and appalled, by someone like Alex Honnold. Even with ropes, a single wrong move can mean death in mountaineering, a mad activity that puts you at the full mercy of nature. You cannot help but wonder what kind of person willingly chooses this: what kind of person looks at a towering cliff face, or a wall of wind-whipped ice, and thinks, I bet I can get up there.

Aava, Cairn’s protagonist, is that kind of person: a champion climber, a woman who has conquered summit after summit, but for some reason can’t walk away. Before her stands Mount Kami, an ice-tipped, Himalayan-style peak that has never before been climbed. Kami was once home to a tribe of people, whose remnants you find as you pull yourself up each section of the mountain, but now you are very much alone. Controlling Aava’s limbs, you move her hands and feet towards imperfections in the rock, jamming her fingers into cracks and her toes on to tiny ledges. You quickly learn to read the mountain, as Aava would.

Rescued Scafell Pike hikers urged to pay hotel bill and return head torches

Mark Brown North of England correspondent — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 09:30:27 GMT

Wasdale mountain rescue team says ‘we struggle to understand when the rescued take advantage of hospitality’

A mountain rescue team has appealed for two rescued walkers to pay a hotel bill they owe, return head torches they took and collect a hospital crutch one of them used to climb Scafell Pike in treacherous conditions.

“We avoid judging those we rescue,” said Wasdale mountain rescue team in a statement. “But we struggle to understand when the rescued take advantage of hospitality provided by our supporters in the valley.”

‘It’s unforgiving’: California park officials grapple with recent deaths on Mount Baldy

Nick Visser — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 16:00:01 GMT

Calls are renewed for permitting to hike the Los Angeles-area mountain that looks deceptively accessible

The peak is just there in the distance, hovering above Los Angeles, snow-capped and tantalizing to the city-bound.

About an hour from the sands of the Pacific coast, Mount Baldy and the surrounding Angeles national forest have long been a wilderness playground to millions who call the greater Los Angeles area home.

Remembering Harry Griffin, doyen of the Guardian’s Country Diarists

Richard Nelsson — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 06:30:02 GMT

It is 75 years since Harry’s first Lakeland diary appeared in the Guardian, something he was to go on to write for over half a century. Read about this remarkable journalist and a selection of his diaries

Seventy five years ago, Harry Griffin’s first Country Diary first appeared in the Manchester Guardian. Possibly the most famous, and certainly the longest serving diarist, his missives from the English Lake District were to appear every other Monday from January 1951 to July 2004.

The story begins towards the end of 1950 when Guardian editor AP Wadsworth wrote to the largely unknown Kendal based journalist to ask if he would like to take on the Lakeland diary following the death of previous incumbent, George W Muller. His instructions were simple and to the point:

College freshman identified as one of three hikers found dead on California’s Mount Baldy

Abené Clayton in Los Angeles — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 19:38:39 GMT

Marcus Alexander Muench Casanova, 19, died on the Devil’s Backbone trail after reportedly falling 500ft

A 19-year-old college freshman has been identified as one of the hikers whose remains were found on California’s Mount Baldy on Monday.

The San Bernardino county sheriff announced this week that Marcus Alexander Muench Casanova, a resident of Seal Beach, California, was discovered along a mountain trail known as the Devil’s Backbone.

Three hikers found dead on southern California’s Mount Baldy

Abené Clayton and agencies — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 21:30:36 GMT

One person had made an emergency call after companion fell 500ft, but rescue copter couldn’t land due to high winds

Three people are dead after high winds prevented rescue crews from responding to a report of an injured hiker near a southern California mountain trail, the San Bernardino county sheriff’s department announced on Monday.

The three bodies were discovered Monday evening along the Devil’s Backbone trail at Mount Baldy, which rises more than 10,000ft and sits just east of Los Angeles, according to a statement from the San Bernardino county sheriff’s department.

Child abuse victim of Jackanory presenter tells how climbing saved him

Jamie Grierson — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 14:00:39 GMT

Iain Peters waited more than 50 years before going to the police but hopes he can be a beacon for other survivors

A man who was sexually assaulted by a children’s television presenter has spoken of how climbing and mountaineering saved his life and “sanity” during the 50 years in which he kept the abuse secret.

Iain Peters, 77, who has waived his right to anonymity, was between nine and 13 years old when he was abused weekly by John Earle, when he was a geography teacher and deputy head at a now-closed boarding school in Okehampton, Devon.

The moment I knew: it was tender but complicated – then we decided not to hide any more

Allie Pepper — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 19:00:46 GMT

When mountaineer Allie Pepper met Mikel Sherpa at Manaslu base camp in Nepal, their romance began with stolen kisses and whispered conversations

Find more stories from the moment I knew series

I discovered a passion for mountaineering in 2000 on a technical climbing course in New Zealand. For two decades I dedicated my life to the mountains, climbing some of the world’s highest peaks including Everest.

In early 2022 my marriage ended and I threw myself completely into my dream of climbing the world’s 14 highest peaks without supplemental oxygen. By September I reached Manaslu base camp in Nepal. I was focused on the mountain ahead, not on love.

‘Fearing for our lives’: Australians tell of Chilean mountain horror where five hikers perished

Caitlin Cassidy — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 14:00:27 GMT

Hikers say authorities should have closed popular trail due to horrendous weather conditions, and camp staff offered minimal assistance

About 100 metres below the most challenging summit in a remote nature reserve in Chilean Patagonia, Australian woman Emily Dong was among a group of hikers who feared they were going to die.

Less than a day later, five hikers would be confirmed dead in the Torres del Paine national park after winds hit 190km/h and temperatures plummeted to –5C. Taking into account wind chill, it felt like –20C.