One of the few shoots I was able to get out there and shoot during Covid. It was great to get in the hills, meet Ricky and be a part of this super project. The team behind the fantastic trail running mag ‘Like the Wind’ have created this beautiful new book for 2022 called ‘Running Wild’. I shot the Lake District section with runner Ricky Lightfoot in Buttermere a few months back, and the Great Himalaya Trail section with Lizzy Hawker.
Riding The Gosainkunda Trail
Filmer Will Nangle shot and cut together this fantastic little film of our adventure in Nepal earlier this year for adventure site ‘Mpora’ . Check out the film below and see the full article here: https://mpora.com/mountainbiking/mountain-biking-in-nepal-gosainkunda
In the first half of 2019 filmer Will Nangle, alongside photographer Alex Treadway and Himalayan Trails' Mads Mathiasen, rode Nepal's never been ridden 'Gosainkunda Trail'.
Heli Biking!
The idea was to helicopter up to 4000m near the lakes of Gosainkunda in the Langtang region of Nepal and bike a new route down. I was shooting, Mads Mathiasen and Prayash Tamang from Unique Trails riding, and Will Nangle riding and filming! An article of the trip is in this months Action Asia. Download a PDF of the article here. I’ll post a link to Will’s film when it’s ready : )
Pikey Peak (pronounced Peekay)
The best 3-day trek in Nepal? Probably.
Trekking in Nepal is usually associated with big peaks, icy terrain and high altitude. The big names of Everest and Annapurna draw huge numbers every year, but there are other opportunities to get away from the busy tea houses and cold nights to explore Nepal’s lower topography, which widely gets missed.
Breathtaking views from the top of Pikey Peak
Nepal’s mid-hills offer some of the most culturally rich and richly intact trekking regions in the Himalayas. Hillsides sculpted with terraces for growing rice, wheat and barley. Overgrown trails winding through forests, past chortens and beneath waterfalls. Traditional little villages perched on mountainsides and jaw-dropping views of the Himalayan range that stretch from one end of the country to the other. This is the real Nepal, and people are missing it.
If you're interested in trekking to Pikey Peak, Lost Earth Adventures can help you.
The Mid-hills bathed in a morning glow
Return to Nepal
A little article about my trip to Langtang last year goes into Travel + Leisure magazine this month. Here as a PDF also.
From the archives: Gokyo Ri
My first trek was to Nepal in 2007. I went to the Everest region and climbed Gokyo Ri – which my computer keeps auto-correcting to Tokyo Ri – but it's a world away from Tokyo. It was also my first experience in high altitude and the airlessness was immensely exhausting for a first timer. On that trip I climbed it in thick fog and all alone. I reached the top and could have been anywhere. I was freezing cold but I waited at least an hour hoping for the clouds to sweep away. I was rewarded. Just as I was about to make my way down, the clouds fell into the valley below and I was surrounded by then biggest mountains in the world. Entirely speechless, I was hooked.
My reward; sunset on Everest. Taken before I owned a digital camera with a Nikon FE2 and fixed 50mm lens.
Minutes after the cloud cleared, the moon rose between Cholatse and Taboche. Everest is the far peak on the left.
This image is from my second visit in 2008. A fellow photographer and writer (James Vlahos) was writing a story on the newly created 'Great Himalaya Trail' for National Geographic Adventure and invited me along. I didn't need asking twice.
This was the view from the summit of Gokyo Ri at 5350m. Everest (8890m) is the black triangular peak to the far left. Then moving to the right is Nuptse, Lhotse (the fourth highest in the world) and Makalu (the fifth). Further to the right and in the centre of the image are the peaks of Cholotse and Taboche. In the far distance is Kantega and Thermserku.
Shooting Scooters
The Last Resort
The Last Resort in Nepal goes into this months 'Himalayas Magazine'. The opening image is also being used on flyers and posters all over Nepal, you can see them all here. The magazine is available in the UK from WHSmith and throughout Nepal and India. You can also download a PDF of this article here.
Classical Nepal
The Inside back cover of this months Himalayas Magazine features a photograph I took of a woman in Dolpa last year. Dolpa is an extremely remote and richly traditional region of Nepal.
17-page Dolpa article in 'Himalayas Magazine'
This month sees a 17-page article from a trip to Dolpa last year go into Himalayas Magazine. Dolpa is an extremely remote and richly traditional region of Nepal. The article follows the trek chronologically starting with a hair-raising flight into Juphal, the trek to Phoksundo lake and then to the remote Kagmara valley over the Kagmara La. The story has been beautifully written by Annie Leeson, who together with Luke Everson were with me for the duration. Huge thanks to you both and also to Jane Poretsis at Himalayas Magazine for giving this feature such extensive coverage. Get yourself a copy in the UK at WHSmith and throughout Nepal and Asia. You can download a PDF of the article here.
SA Mountain Magazine
The Ama Dablam assignment I worked on in Nepal for The North Face last November has been published in South Africa Mountain Magazine this month. See the full series of images here.
SA Mountain Magazine, March-May 2014
SA Mountain Magazine, March-May 2014
Action Asia 'Hot Shot'
This image – which I took in November while on assignment for The North Face in Nepal – has gone into the March/April 'Hot Shots' section of Action Asia.
Action Asia 'Hot Shots' March/April 2014
Making a difference
NSI (Nick Simons Institute) is an organisation working in Nepal with a mission to train and support rural health care workers. They work in direct collaboration with a growing number of hospitals throughout the country. NSI really is making a difference in a country that really does need the help. It’s a compelling story and one that needs to be told with pictures as well as words. They invited me to travel to remote hospitals throughout Nepal to capture some of moments that tell these stories. It's been a fascinating journey for me to work with NSI during the last four years and see first-hand what it means to be a rural healthcare worker in Nepal. NSI are exhibiting a selection of these images in Kathmandu in March. Here's a sample of the exhibition.
Great Himalaya Trail posters
My photography gets used on a new series of posters to promote the Great Himalaya Trail in Nepal. They will be distributed to tour agencies and throughout Nepal.
Cover story!
Photography from my trip down the Karnali river in November goes into the July/August issue of Action Asia as a cover story.
This one was a challenge! I wanted to shoot the action from the raft, so I took specialist underwater housing equipment for the camera and spent eight days rafting the Karnali, which is Nepal's biggest river. Huge thanks to everyone onboard, especially Pat for getting me down the river and James, for smiling! You can download a PDF of the full article here.
Action Asia cover July/August 2013
“Flip N’ Strip is next and just as we’re pulling through the worst of the whitewater, I look up to see another raft right next to us. They’ve lost control and seem to be going down sideways. I aim the camera at them and perfectly on cue they flip over onto their side. They’re in a state of chaos, mid-capsize, when miraculously the next big wave flips them upright again. It’s a perfect near-catastrophe and everyone onboard is screaming with delight at how close they came to disaster.”
Jump
The Last Resort in Nepal is home to one of the world's most exciting bungee jumps. They invited me to shoot a new set of marketing pictures for posters and flyers etc. The challenge was finding someone who was prepared to look at the camera and smile while jumping off a very high bridge. In fact it proved near impossible. Step in Emily Polar. Being an adventure photographer herself, she knew exactly what to do to get the poster shot. And more importantly was happy to do it! Jump backwards, look at the camera and scream like crazy. Oh, and wear some pretty striking leggings for effect!
Silver lining
The day before I arrived at Everest base camp the weather changed dramatically. Clear skies washed over white and I initially thought my project was over. Then when I started to explore the glacier during a fall of snow, I realised base camp had adopted a stark beauty which I had not seen before. See the full series here.
