|
|
||||
|
Stephen Venables, Mountaineer and Writer
Stephen has gone on to develop many pioneering climbs throughout the Himalaya and other mountain ranges around the world. Many of his expeditions have seen him team up with other celebrated climbers such as Sir Chris Bonington, Conrad Anker, Reinhold Messner and John Roskelley. His climbs have been filmed by National Geographic and he was one of the three expert climbers featured in the IMAX film Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure. He also appeared recently in the BBC’s Race for Everest and in the Mountain Men series, for which he climbed the Matterhorn in Victorian tweeds and nailed boots! Stephen has won the prestigious Boardman Tasker Award and the Grand Prize at the Banff Festival for Mountain Literature. He is president of the world’s oldest mountaineering association, the Alpine Club. TalksWith a gift for communicating his passion for wild places, Stephen is also a skillful photographer and his talks are beautifully (and often dramatically) illustrated. He has lectured around the world for over 25 years. Whilst often asked to share his skills and offer motivation within the Corporate sector, he is just as happy talking to general audiences who appreciate the outdoors and all it has to offer. Higher than the Eagle SoarsThe Mountaineer Stephen Venables is famous for his groundbreaking new route up Everest, climbed without supplementary oxygen in 1988. In his new autobiography, 'Higher than the Eagles Soar', which recently won the Banff Mountain Literature Award, he describes some of the many adventures which led ultimately to Everest - early climbs in the Alps, explorations in Afghanistan, the North Face of the Eiger, the Karakoram wilderness of Snow Lake, Africa's 'Mountains of the Moon' and the Tibetan peak of Shishapangma. In a stunning new slideshow based around this latest book, Stephen illustrates some of the journeys which have shaped his life as an award winning author, broadcaster and photographer. Enchanted Island - In Shackleton’s Steps Across South GeorgiaSouth Georgia will forever be associated with the polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. In 1916 he and five companions made one of the most remarkable open boat journeys of all time, 850 miles from Elephant Island, to make a miraculous landfall on South Georgia’s uninhabited south coast. Three of the men then had to continue on foot, crossing thirty miles of unknown, unmapped glacial mountains, with no mountaineering equipment, before they could reach the whaling station of Stromness. Only then could they summon a rescue for their 22 companions left on Elephant Island after the expedition ship, Endurance, was crushed by the Antarctic ice. It is a truly remarkable and compelling story. Shackleton’s odyssey remains one of the greatest escape stories of all time and was made into a screen film which opened to great acclaim in February 2001. To put Shackleton’s journey in a modern context for the film, Stephen Venables followed Shackleton’s route across South Georgia with the outstanding American climber, Conrad Anker, and the legendary Tyrolean, Reinhold Messner. Retracing Shackleton’s steps, seeing first hand the wild landscape he had crossed, the three modern mountaineers were astounded at what Shackleton had achieved in 1916. Stephen Venables’s stunning slideshow recounts the story of this 2000 journey and the making of the IMAX film. Into this recent adventure, he also weaves threads from an earlier expedition to South Georgia, when he explored the virtually unknown southern end of the island, making the first ascent of Mt Carse after sheltering for 21 days in an ice cave. Shipton Country - In the Steps of the Twentieth Century’s Greatest Mountain ExplorerEric Shipton was a legend in the world of mountain exploration and his lightweight, highly mobile approach has inspired the exploits of many modern climbers. From the Dauphiné Alps to Mount Kenya, from the Karakoram to Tierra del Fuego, from Garwhal to Everest, Stephen Venables has often found himself following in the steps of Shipton and, occasionally, making first ascents of some of the peaks Shipton missed out. In this lecture Stephen mixes readings from Shipton’s inspirational books with stories of his own journeys through the same mountain ranges, illustrated by stunning photography.
What others have had to say‘Venables is too thoughtful and intelligent a man ever to be anything other than interesting in his description of what happened to him and his analysis of how he reacted emotionally.’
Sunday Times ‘We have had many excellent lectures, some outstanding, but few so enthralling as yours.’
Darlington Lecture Association |
 |
Stephen Venables is one of the most renowned mountain climbers in the world today. In 1988 he was part of an expedition which pioneered a new route up Everest , where he became the first Briton to climb Everest without oxygen. But the expedition was wrought with difficulties and danger. Caught out by darkness at 8,600 metres, and being the only member of the team to reach the summit, he was totally exposed to the elements. He survived a long, harrowing night on the mountain - an experience retold in his acclaimed book Everest – Alone at the Summit.