Chris Bonington
Sir Christian "Chris" John Storey Bonington , CVO , CBE , DL (born August 6, 1934 in Hampstead , England ) is a British mountaineer . He is one of the most famous and versatile mountaineers of the 20th century and was knighted in 1996.
In his career he has undertaken 19 expeditions to the Himalayas , four of them to Mount Everest . In 1975 he was the first to climb the south-west face under his direction.
Bonington has written 15 books and has appeared on television frequently. Sometimes he is praised for his modesty and for upholding the “British climbing ethos” and dreaming of ascents without technical aids and climbing hooks. However, his involvement in the death of Australian mountaineer Anthony Tighe on Everest in 1972 gave rise to criticism. Bonington had allowed Tighe to climb to a high camp without the permission of the Nepalese government, although Tighe was not a member of the expedition.
From January 2005 to the end of 2014 he held the office of chancellor (roughly equivalent to a rector ) at the University of Lancaster .
Important ascents
- 1960 First ascent of Annapurna II with Ang Nyima and RH Grant
- 1961 Central Frêneypsteiler, Mont Blanc (first ascent) (with Ian Clough , Don Whillans , René Desmaison )
- 1962 Eiger north face (British first ascent) (with Ian Clough ), Central Tower of Paine, Patagonia (first ascent, with Don Whillans )
- 1966 Old Man of Hoy (first ascent)
- 1970 Annapurna south face (expedition leader, first ascent by Don Whillans and Dougal Haston )
- 1972 British expedition to Mount Everest (expedition leader)
- 1973 Brammah I (6416 m) (first ascent)
- 1974 Changabang , Garhwal Himalaya (6864 m) (first ascent)
- 1975 British expedition to Everest (expedition leader) with first ascent of the southwest flank, Ogre (7285 m) (expedition leader) with Doug Scott , British expedition to the western slope of K2 .
- 1977 First ascent of the Ogre (7285 m) with Doug Scott
- 1980 Kongur (7649 m) (first ascent)
- 1982 British Everest Expedition, North East Ridge (expedition leader)
- 1983 West summit of Shivling , Gangtori (6501 m) (first ascent)
- 1983 Mount Vinson (4897 m) (British first ascent single-handedly)
- 1985 Ascent of Mount Everest (8848 m) as a member of the Norwegian Everest Expedition
bibliography
(works in English)
- I Chose to Climb (Gollancz) 1966
- Annapurna South Face (Cassell) 1970
- The Next Horizon (Gollancz) 1972
- Everest South West Face (Hodder and Stoughton) 1973
- Changabang (Heinemann) 1974
- Everest the Hard Way (Hodder and Stoughton) 1976
- Quest for Adventure (Hodder and Stoughton) 1981
- Kongur: China's Elusive Summit (Hodder and Stoughton) 1982
- Everest: The Unclimbed Ridge (with Dr. Charles Clarke) (Hodder and Stoughton) 1983
- The Everest Years (Hodder and Stoughton) 1986
- Mountaineer - Thirty Years of Climbing on the World's Great Peaks (Hodder and Stoughton) 1989
- The Climbers (BBC Books and Hodder and Stoughton) 1992
- Sea, Ice and Rock (with Robin Knox-Johnston ) (Hodder and Stoughton) 1992
- Great Climbs (edited with Audrey Salkeld) (Reed Illustrated Books) 1994
- Tibet's Secret Mountain, the Triumph of Sepu Kangri (with Dr. Charles Clarke) (Weidenfeld and Nicholson) 1999
- Boundless Horizons (Weidenfeld and Nicholson) 2000
Web links
- Literature by and about Chris Bonington in the catalog of the German National Library
- Chris Boningtons homepage
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bonington, Chris |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bonington, Sir Christian John Storey |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British climber |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 6, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hampstead (London) , England |