Ski Mountaineering in Kyrgyzstan
Cathy O'Dowd2023-06-13T19:15:48+02:00From 16 March to 6 April 2022 I joined two friends in exploring the Terskey Ala-Too, a mountain range in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan. It stretches south [...]
Access All Areas
Cathy O'Dowd2022-01-18T11:12:41+01:00Is it right to demand that everyone have access to all of the great outdoors? I am often asked how I feel about the photographs of queues on Everest. The [...]
Circumnavigating Menora in sea kayaks
Cathy O'Dowd2021-08-04T20:18:04+02:00The goal: to circumnavigate the island of Menorca in sea kayaks, a team of six friends and acquaintances. 29 May – 7 June 2021 The plan was, roughly, 8 [...]
Attempting SE ridge of Mount Steele 5073m
Cathy O'Dowd2021-08-04T20:18:38+02:00The goal: the SE ridge of Mount Steele 5073m, a peak in the Kluane National Park in the Yukon, Canada. 9 May – 2 June 2019 Six members set [...]
Kayaking Croatia & (at last?) Greenland
Cathy O'Dowd2022-03-16T11:18:12+01:002022 The Year of the Sea Kayak Despite living a life focused on mountains, I've always thought I would enjoy sea kayaking. It shares many of the elements that [...]
Why I ghosted social media for a year
Cathy O'Dowd2022-01-18T11:13:48+01:00In the middle of 2018 I ghosted cyberspace. I walked out on a blog I was writing. On The Business of Adventure newsletter and website that I was running. On [...]
‘What are you doing next?’
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T20:36:46+02:00“What are you doing next?” I hate that question. I know why you ask. I’ve asked it myself, talking to climbers or adventurers I admire, and winced inwardly as I [...]
‘Have you hashtagged your #adventure today?’
Cathy O'Dowd2020-04-30T18:58:21+02:00Recently I've found myself pondering what the rise of #adventure in our modern times really means. #Adventure has been used over 45 million times on Instagram, a platform that hasn’t [...]
Not all adventurers are born equal
Cathy O'Dowd2020-04-30T20:07:13+02:00There is a fashion right now for blog posts telling you that your dream/adventure/expedition is totally possible. Just Do It! Throw your fears to the wind! Believe in yourself! Stop [...]
What You Heard is Not What I Meant
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-19T16:11:47+02:00One Key Way Communication Breaks Down In Teams and What You Can Do About It A year ago I reached the summit of Mount Logan, the highest peak in Canada. [...]
30 years & counting
Cathy O'Dowd2020-04-27T21:15:44+02:00We had reached the short section of fixed rope below the Lower Saddle in the Grand Tetons when the youngster caught up with us. He had a huge rucksack and [...]
From Kilimanjaro to Everest
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:35:19+02:00Key moments in the journey of life. Looking back at the course of a lifetime, there are certain moments where, if you’d made a different choice, you’d be living [...]
Skiing Into Mordor – an ascent of Mount Logan
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-19T16:35:21+02:00The plateau. Despite the innocuous name, by the time we’d settled in to camp 4 it had acquired all the menace of Mordor. The Prospector col, the point of [...]
The art of focus – Ski the gaps, not the trees!
Cathy O'Dowd2020-04-28T10:32:48+02:00“Ski the gaps, not the trees.” That always seemed to be one of the silliest pieces of advice I was given as a novice skier. Let’s get real here. I [...]
The Art and Joy of Serendipity
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-18T18:09:50+02:00Why the power of serendipity means you should focus on gaining skills and experiences, rather than achieving goals. Mountain climbing would seem to be the ultimate goal-driven activity, everything resting on [...]
What is holding you back?
Cathy O'Dowd2020-04-30T23:55:46+02:00When to stop focusing forward and instead look at what is holding you back. With snow still sadly sparse in the Pyrenees, I found myself out rock climbing with friends on [...]
Risks too big to comprehend
Cathy O'Dowd2020-04-28T13:26:16+02:00“No climber ever expects to be in this position. When I was planning Lhotse, the word “earthquake” never entered my mind.” From Alan Arnette’s blog. [...]
Why to make it up as you go along
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-19T16:12:09+02:00The difference between ‘fluid decision-making’ and ‘making it up as you go along’ can be hard to detect. I’ve just returned home after a nine-day ski-tour in the Ecrins, a [...]
When past performance doesn’t predict future success
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:35:28+02:00Why super-star hires can be an expensive mistake In a culture that worships success, failed projects normally just sink out of sight, vanishing without explanation. One prematurely terminated adventure [...]
When keeping it simple leads to stupid
Cathy O'Dowd2020-04-28T13:26:29+02:00Yesterday an infographic from BBC World swirled pass in my twitter feed, celebrating the first free ascent of the Dawn Wall on El Capitan, done by Tommy Caldwell and Kevin [...]
Mission: Dufourspitze! (or not…)
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-19T16:12:17+02:00A team of five, a week to prepare - the goal: to ascend and ski the second highest peak in the Alps! Now the only thing that lay between failure [...]
When I met Nelson Mandela
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:35:36+02:00"I know you are going to succeed." The thing about camp two on Everest - at least back in the day when there were only 11 teams [...]
Sherpas attack climbers on Everest – what’s really going on?
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:35:50+02:00News that a group of Sherpas attacked three climbers, two of who are current international superstars in the mountaineering world, began to wash across my FaceBook feed yesterday and the [...]
Nanga Parbat Mazeno ridge expedition
Cathy O'Dowd2020-04-29T14:17:10+02:002012 was primarily the year of the Nanga Parbat Mazeno ridge expedition. From the invitation from Sandy Allan to join the team, back in January, to the expedition itself in [...]
The art of serendipity and skiing
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-19T16:12:26+02:00While I am very much a believer in planning and preparation, the fact remains that the adventures I enjoy most are often the ones that unfold spontaneously. I've just returned [...]
Video of the Everest North Ridge expedition ’99
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:36:01+02:00Jan Horn filming at base camp * Cathy O'Dowd filming at 7000 metres All the footage was taken on the Everest 1999 expedition, the mountain footage shot [...]
Bolivian Andes Corderilla Real
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-17T16:40:46+02:00In June 1991 I joined the Mountain Club of South Africa's Centenary Expedition to the Corderilla Real in Bolivia. There I climbed with Stephen Kelsey and Graham Wittaker, both [...]
En route to Everest via Aconcagua
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-17T15:54:06+02:00In February 1998 I attempted Aconcagua by the standard route but turned back at Berlin camp to help less experienced team members descend in bad weather. In January 2000 [...]
The Attraction of Climbing
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-01T00:03:18+02:00This article describes an ascent of the Angus-Leppan route on the Sentinel, one of the classic multi-pitch rock climbs in the Drakensberg. It was first published in Southern Rock #2 [...]
Ruwenzori: the mountains of the moon
Cathy O'Dowd2020-04-27T20:51:10+02:00In June 1990 I went on my first mountaineering expedition, to the Ruwenzori mountains in central Africa. This range has been linked with the fabled Mountains of the Moon, for [...]
Ribbon of Ice: climbing the Lhotse couloir
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-17T16:44:57+02:00Pemba’s headlight wavered weakly in the inky darkness. The snow glittered in its beam, the surface deceptively crisp. Once more he stepped upward. Once more the surface broke and [...]
Everest North-East Face Expedition 2003
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:36:11+02:00THE EXPEDITION REPORT The dream: to attempt of new route on the world's highest mountain in the 50th year of its first ascent. Our team of four, Ian Woodall, [...]
1st South African Ascent of the North Ridge of Everest
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:36:21+02:00This article appeared in edited form in the Mountain Club of South Africa Journal 1999. 24 May 1998 We had been climbing since 2.30 a.m., picking our way up [...]
Everest North Ridge 1999 expedition report
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:36:30+02:00Cathy O'Dowd (left) on the summit of Everest with Pemba Sherpa and Ian Woodall. 1999 Karrimor Everest Expedition Cathy O'Dowd and Ian Woodall flew out from Johannesburg on [...]
Everest North Ridge 1998 Expedition Report
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:36:40+02:00The Mr Price Himalayan Challenge Everest Expedition was the second South African team to attempt the North Ridge of Everest. Another South African team had reached 7400 metres in [...]
The Great Storm of 1996
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:36:49+02:00The most famous storm in the history of Everest. Four teams sitting on the South Col, wondering whether to go for the summit in the morning, despite the marginal weather. [...]
South African government tribute to 1996 Everest expedition
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:36:58+02:00RESOLUTION I have the honour to notify you that the National Assembly on 30 May 1996 adopted the following Resolution: That the House (1) recognises that there is nothing more [...]
Why take the risk?
Cathy O'Dowd2020-04-28T10:07:20+02:00In January of 1992 I was sharing a flat in London with Stephen Kelsey, Graham Wittaker and his girlfriend Carolyn. On the wall of our room I found a [...]
Standing on top of the world
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:37:06+02:00One of the questions I am most commonly asked is: what did it feel like to stand on the summit of Everest? The text below comes from my book [...]
My first time to the top of the world
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:37:16+02:00Wits University in Johannesburg was where I did my undergraduate degree and their Mountain Club was where I began climbing. This article was written for the Wits Mountain Club [...]
Joining my first Everest expedition
Cathy O'Dowd2020-05-23T16:37:23+02:00Most people I meet assume that Everest must have been childhood dream and my first Everest trip the culmination of years of planning. In fact it really hadn't occurred [...]