Mountaineer, writer, broadcaster and public speaker
Stephen Venables is a writer and lecturer, former President of the Alpine Club and mountaineer, who has pioneered many new routes around the world. In the Himalaya his first ascents include Kishtwar Shivling, Solu Tower, Panch Chuli V and new routes on Kusum Kanguru and Pungpa Ri. In 1988, with a four man Anglo-American-Canadian team, he climbed a new route up the Kangshung Face of Everest, reaching the summit alone, without oxygen. He has also climbed in the Alps, North America, New Zealand, Africa, South America and on the sub-antarctic island of South Georgia.
Autor and lecturer
He has published twelve books, mostly about mountains. His first book, Painted Mountains, won the 1986 Boardman Tasker Prize. His most recent, Higher than the Eagle Soars, won the Mountain Literature Prize at the Banff Festival, and Himalaya Alpine Style, which was translated into Italian, German, French and Japanese, won the Grand Prize.
He has appeared in several television documentaries for BBC, ITV and National Geographic, and appeared in the IMAX film Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure with Conrad Anker and Reinhold Messner. He also wrote the screenplay for the IMAX film The Alps, which featured John Harlin following his father’s steps on the North Face of the Eiger.
He has lectured all the round and appeared at many mountain festivals. His 2009 tour took him to New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong and the USA. Plans for 2011 include lecturing in Chile, a possible return to South Georgia and a high mountain trek in Nepal.
Website of Stephen Venables:
www.stephenvenables.com
