On the 6th of June 2018, the British team of Guy Buckingham, Malcolm Bass and Paul Figg succeeded in making the 1st ascent of the Janhukot in the Garhwal region of the Indian Himalaya via the south west buttress onto the south ridge. This remote and difficult to access mountain lies beyond the well-known peak of Shivling (6543m), at the end of the long Gangotri glacier, 19 km beyond Base Camp.
The Alpine Club is working with the BMC to look at ways of helping young, talented British climbers to improve their skills and knowledge about expedition climbing. This group is known by various names including the ‘Young Alpinists’ and will hopefully transform in the near future into a revitalised Alpine Climbing Group within the Alpine Club. I have been willingly roped in to process to act as an expedition mentor for anyone willing to listen to the ‘Old Bloke’.
Uisdean Hawthorn and Tom Livingstone went to the Central Alaska Range for 7 weeks in May/June 2017. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful in all their objectives (a new route on the Father and Sons Wall, reaching the summit of Mt. Hunter/Begguya via the Moonflower, and the Slovak Direct on Denali).
The Avellano Towers are an incredible place in the Patagonian wilderness of Chile. Taking Jim Donini up on his offer of, “something a little different”, 5 years ago is one of the best things I’ve ever done.
