Stephen's Blog

8.02.2012 - Glen Esk

Back yesterday to Glen Esk with Duncan Tunstall. A beautiful day, with swans on the icy loch and birches purple in the winter sun. We biked in, crossed the river on dodgy ice (one wet boot), then climbed a nice little new route on Craig Maskeldie, tentatively named Snow Lake Reunion: it is 25 years since our Snow Lake trip to the Karakoram.

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31.01.2012 - Shipton review

Nice review of last night's show at the Lowry Theatre. "Venables is clearly a fan, and his engaging delivery and aptitude for telling a good story make Shipton a great subject. I don’t climb mountains, but I found The Legend of Eric Shipton a wholly compelling and satisfying experience." Full review at: http://www.thepublicreviews.com/stephen-venables-the-legend-of-eric-shipton-the-lowry-salford/ Amsterdam tomorrow, then Scotland next week.

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19.01.2012 - Leningrad

Back from the climbing wall this evening in time to get the tale end of Stephen Johnson, eloquent as ever, on the Leningrad Symphony. During rehearsals for the premiere, during the siege, the musicians were so malnourished that practice had to be kept to short bursts. As for Shostakovich's evocation of the triumph of the human spirit over a pitiless enemy, Johnson poses the question, was Hitler or Stalin the greater enemy of the Russian people? And then an epic live performance from the Royal Liverpool Philarmonic. Makes post-climbing-wall neurosis about elbow injuries seem rather petty.

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11.01.2012 - Tierra del Fuego

Breezy bracing walk this morning up High Pike with Steve Razzetti and his two lurchers, Lotte and Nesta. He (Razzetti) featured in the Karakoram section of last night's Shipton Country show, which seemed to go down well in Keswick. The real treat was including short clips from John Earle's beautiful, evocative Tierra del Fuego film, shot for the BBC in 1963 and featuring the grand old man, Eric Shipton, in his element. Fifteen more Shipton shows to come. Venues and details at 'Speaking Dates'.

TdeF63.Shipton4.jpg

Eric Shipton and john Earle in the Beagle Channel, 1963.

John Roskelley and Tim Macartney-Snape looking out to the Darwin Range from Monte Sarmiento, 1995.
Sarmiento95.Brocken.jpg

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6.12.2011 - 40 Years on Skis

Apparently the snow has started to fall in the Alps. Here, I am busy preparing my 'Forty-eight Years on Skis' talk for Saturday's Alpine Ski Club symposium in Wales.
http://www.skisymposium.co.uk/