Tag Archives: mountaineering

Something to listen to

Posted on 14 September, 2016 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

I’ve not yet read Laurence Fearnley’s Going Up Is Easy, but it’s on my reading list. It’s the biographical account of Lydia Bradey as the first woman to ascend Everest without oxygen, and the only New Zealander to do so. … Continue reading →

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A reflective account of an accident

Posted on 9 September, 2013 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

There’s an interesting article on the NZ Alpine Team blog. It’s courtesy of Rose Pearson (thanks!), one of two people who suffered an accident near Zit Saddle, within 1 km of Top Kokatahi Hut, late last month. The pair were … Continue reading →

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Terminal faces

Posted on 3 December, 2010 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

Radio New Zealand has the most detailed online report I can find about the coroner’s recommendations that follow the January 2009 accident where two Australian tourists died under the collapsing terminal face of Fox Glacier. The Coroner has recommended “restricted … Continue reading →

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Commemorative feature naming and South Ridge

Posted on 17 November, 2010 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

I’m not too surprised that there’s reported resistance to renaming South Ridge on Aoraki Mount Cook to be Hillary Ridge. The official proposal and request for submissions by the New Zealand Geographic Board, complete with a report of considerations and … Continue reading →

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High Misadventure by Paul Hersey (my thoughts)

Posted on 28 March, 2010 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

I’m not sure how I’ve come to have a fascination with outdoor accidents, but possibly it’s to do with wanting to find out as much as I can about how things can go wrong. It’s a sensitive issue to discuss, … Continue reading →

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Benefits of self-arrest

Posted on 3 September, 2009 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

A couple of very lucky people have been in the news in the last few days. Both involved slipping, sliding for hundreds of metres down icy mountain slopes, and unusually getting away with it. Reading about them both prompted a … Continue reading →

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I always knew they were crazy people

Posted on 11 January, 2009 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

Not that it’s a bad thing. I was browsing Bob McKerrow’s weblog this morning, which is typically fascinating reading, and he’s pointed out a 2005 study by Erik Monasterio, a psychiatrist, who suggests that over a four year period, 8.2% … Continue reading →

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Good avalanche assesment

Posted on 3 July, 2008 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

Glenn Pennycook has written an excellent article titled All about avalanches over at Mountainz. It looks like a good summary of the theory behind avalanches, and leads into what looks like some good guidelines about how to assess avalanche conditions. … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on the Barker Hut Trio

Posted on 17 February, 2008 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

I’m often behind on current events. I don’t spend much time listening to New Zealand’s news media, and I don’t have much respect for a lot of it. (Some of National Radio is an exception.) Over the weekend, I’ve been … Continue reading →

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