Recall the Epicoun:
Night, welling up so soon,
At the stiff frozen dawn,
When time had ceased to flow
-The glacier ledge our unmade bed –
I hear you through your yawn:
’Leaping crevasses in the dark,
That’s how to live!’ you said.
No room in that to hedge:
A razor’s edge of a remark.
I A Richards (from ‘Hope’)
Mountaineering is a passion of mine and I have been an active rock climber, alpinist and skier since the late 1960’s. During that time I have led twelve expeditions to the world’s great mountain ranges. I was one of the ten British Mountain Guides to first receive the International Mountain Guides (UIAGM) carnet in 1978, and was the inaugural Chair of the Mountain Guides Professional Standards Committee. In recent years, I have led a number of expeditions to Nepal in support of charities for those with disabilities. Amongst these was the MacIntyre ‘An Everest to Climb’ expedition where four mentally disabled mountaineers, together with MacIntyre’s Patron The Duchess of York, reached the summit of Pokalde (5800m). More recently, in April 2004 I guided a group from MacIntyre to the North Col of Everest (7033m).
• 1978 - Denali, Alaska, 6194m
• 1978 - Nanda Devi, Garhwal Himalaya, 7816m
• 1980 - Mexican Volcanoes – Popocatepl 5452m, Ixtaccihuatl 5286m, Orizaba 5700m
• 1981 - Ecuador Volcanoes - Cotopaxi 5911m and Chimborazo 6310m
• 1983 - Kusum Kanguru, Nepal, 6356m
• 1986 - Peak Lenin, Pamir 7134m
• 1987 - Mt Kenya North Face, 5199m
• 1992 - Kahn Tengri, Tien Shan, 7010m
• 1993 – Pokalde, Nepal 5806m
• 1995 – Pokalde 5806m, Imja Tse 6160m, Lobuje 6119 and Gokyo Ri 5483m, Nepal
• 1999 - Helambu Circuit, Nepal
• 2004 – Mt Everest, North Col, Tibet, 7033m
• “Stories from a ‘half-life’ spent in the mountains” (December 2024)
David Hopkins has been fortunate to have had two careers. One as an academic, policy maker and educational activist; with his other half-life, the focus of this presentation, as an International Mountain Guide. David’s first real exposure to the mountains was as a student at the Eskdale Outward Bound School, where he was later an instructor. This formative experience began a life-long love affair with the mountains. Early climbs in the Peak District including Stoney Middleton led to the Alps, the rock walls of Yosemite and then onto the Greater Ranges. In the presentation, David talks of his early Peak District climbs and then tells some stories and gives brief cameos from five of his expeditions: to Denali (Mckinley) Alaska, 6194m; Nanda Devi, Garhwal Himalaya, 7816m; Kahn Tengri, Tien Shan, 7010m; Pokalde, Nepal 5806m; and Mt Everest, North Col, Tibet, 7033m
• "The Adventure of Leadership” (February 2009)
In this presentation David begins by describing his ascent to the North Col of Mt Everest where he guided Paul Sillitoe from MacIntyre Care and presents his framework for Adventure. He then recounts his conversations with Sir Chris Bonington about his leadership of the successful expedition that made the first ascent of the South West face of Mt Everest. Using Chris’s images, he describes the leadership challenges that Bonington faced on this successful expedition and relates these lessons to the challenge of school leadership.
• “Adventure Summit” (February 2010)
The focus of this presentation to the Heritage Trust’s ‘Adventure Summit’ is the Adventure Curriculum that David had developed for his educational charity Adventure Learning Schools. He begins by describing his ascent of the North Col of Mt Everest where he guided Paul Sillitoe from MacIntyre Care. He then shares the discussions that he has had with Sir Chris Bonington about the challenges of leading the expedition that climbed the ‘last great problem’ of Mt Everest, the South West Face. Using these adventure challenges as context, David then outlines the curriculum framework that he developed for Adventure Learning Schools.
• Hiraeth for Ahwahnee, The Climbers Club Journal, 1975
An account of an early ascent of the North West Face of Half Dome in the Yosemite Valley
• Further thoughts on the expedition climbing game, The Canadian Alpine Journal 1980
A reflection of the death of my friend Ben Beattie on Nanda Devi
• Zen in the Art of Climbing, The Climbers Club Journal, 1982
An initial attempt to make some sense of why we climb.
• Volcano Climbing in Ecuador, The Canadian Alpine Journal 1983
An account of climbing Cotopaxi and failing to summit on Chimborazo
• Professor Falls, The Climbers Club Journal, 1984
Ice climbing in the Rockies
• Kusum Kanguru, a lightweight expedition, Alpine Journal 1985
A new route done alpine style in the Khumbu, Nepal
• Descending Peak Lenin, Alpine Journal 1991/92
In 1986 I was caught in a storm just beneath the summit of Peak Lenin during an alpine style attempt; this is the story of the descent.
• The Boardman - Tasker Award, 2003
My speech as Chair of the Judges when we gave the prize to Simon Mawer for The Fall
• A message from advance base camp on the north side of Mt Everest, April 2004
The email message I sent following our descent from Everest North Col
• An Everest to Climb
The television documentary made for Carlton that Matt Dickinson directed of our MacIntyre ‘An Everest to Climb’ expedition where four mentally disabled mountaineers, together with MacIntyre’s Patron, Sarah, The Duchess of York, reached the summit of Pokalde (5800m).
Available from the IMDb website: An Everest to Climb
• Arête des Cosmiques
When he was 12 my son Jeroen made an ascent of the Arête des Cosmiques on the Aiguilles du Midi, Chamonix, Sam Coward filmed the climb.
Ascent of the Arête des Cosmiques
• Tom Price - Biopic
Tom Price was a long time Warden of Outward Bound Eskdale, as well as being a consummate adventurer, educator and mountaineer. His book Travail so Gladly Spent describes many of his adventures and captures the spirit of his age. In this biopic filmed by John Whittle, we talk to Tom about Outward Bound, his adventures and philosophy and share with him the genesis of our Adventure Learning Schools charity.
Tom Price - Biopic
For further information see – www.profdavidhopkins.com