Sir Chris Bonington, Britain’s most famous mountaineer, is marking his 90th birthday this week by vowing to fulfil a promise for a friend.
The Cumbrian icon, who turns 90 today, August 6, is now unable to climb in the great ranges of the world, but will instead support a project that is aiming to preserve and celebrate the traditions and way of life in the Himalaya.
Sir Chris’ latest quest for adventure is to help complete the work started by fellow climber Doug Scott before he died, to fund the restoration of the Sherpa Heritage House, devastated by an earthquake nine years ago.
With a climbing career that stretches back to the 1950s and includes first ascents and major expeditions around the world, Sir Chris is the UK’s most famous mountaineer and a global climbing icon.
He will celebrate his birthday with close family and friends at home in the Lake District, and has plans for a walk around his favourite local fell, High Pike.
Over seven decades of adventure, Sir Chris led or was part of many expeditions to the Himalaya, which would have not been possible without the contributions of the local Sherpas. These included the south west face of Everest expedition in 1975, which put the first Brits on the summit of the world’s highest mountain, when Doug and Dougal Haston stood on the top of the world on September 24.
On that expedition, the head Sirdar was Pertemba Sherpa, who went on to support Sir Chris and Doug on many other trips. He remains a close friend of Sir Chris.
Doug subsequently founded the charity Community Action Nepal to improve the standard of living in remote Himalayan communities and give something back to the mountain people who had helped him to achieve his mountaineering goals.
In 2015, the Sherpa Heritage House, in the village of Khumjung in the Khumbu region of Nepal, was badly damaged in the devastating earthquake that hit the area. The house is the ancestral home of Pertemba Sherpa and following the disaster, Doug promised him that CAN would raise funds to rebuild it, and also increase its support of the local people in other ways.
CAN has so far raised £150,000 for the house and completed phase one, the construction of the complex religious wing, but Doug died of cancer in 2020, before he was able to fulfil his promise.
The work continues, with funding needed to complete phase two, which will see the house transformed into a museum, photography gallery, and tea house to raise the income of the local community. As a patron of CAN, Sir Chris is playing his part.
Sir Chris said: “I can’t climb like I did any more, but that doesn’t mean that my spirit of adventure has diminished. My dear friend Doug made a promise to our great friend Pertemba, and I intend to see that it is kept. Community Action Nepal has been doing wonderful work for 30 years, and the restoration of the Sherpa Heritage House is of critical importance. I was so fortunate to be immersed in the traditional Nepalese and Sherpa culture during my expeditions to the Himalaya, and it is vital to preserve that during a modern era where so much about climbing has changed.
“We must never let the pivotal role that the Sherpa community plays in Himalayan expeditions go unseen. The house is a physical demonstration of that and a crucial part of sustaining the relationship between visiting climbers and local Sherpas, which plays such a fundamental role in the Nepalese economy.”
Reflecting on reaching the age of 90, Sir Chris added: “I’m grateful that I’ve had such a full, and fulfilling life, and have been able to spend so much of it indulging in my love of climbing and the outdoors. Through that, I have met so many great people and organisations, and formed some deep friendships.
“Having reached the age of 90, I have seen a huge amount of national and political change, and I think that gives me a balanced view of the challenges that we all face today.
“As for my birthday celebrations, I look forward to spending time with my wife Loreto, my wonderful family, and some of my closest friends. We all share a love of the outdoors, so I’m sure that they will join me for a Lakeland walk at some point during the day!”
To donate to CAN to celebrate Sir Chris’ birthday, visit www.canepal.org.uk/support-us
Sir Chris Bonington: A mountain life
Sir Christian Bonington started climbing in 1951, aged 16, and it has been his passion ever since.
During over 70 years of adventure, Sir Chris has undertaken and led 19 Himalayan expeditions, including four to Everest. He has made numerous first ascents around the world, while also continuing to indulge his love of hillwalking and rock climbing when back at home in the Lake District, or exploring other parts of the UK and Ireland.
At the age of 25 in 1960, Chris made his first Himalayan trip, on the British, Indian, and Nepalese Services Expedition that made the first ascent Annapurna II. A decade later, Chris led his first expedition, this time to Annapurna.
Sir Chris went on to lead the successful expedition that made the first ascent of the south west face of Everest in 1975, which also saw Doug Scott and Dougal Haston become the first British mountaineers to reach the summit of the world’s highest peak.
Sir Chris reached the highest point on Earth himself at the aged 50 in 1985, as a member of a Norwegian expedition, and for a time was the oldest known person to have made that climb.
Sir Chris has led or been part of many other expeditions and climbs that have hit the headlines. In 1977, with Doug, he made the first ascent of the Ogre in Pakistan.
Their dramatic six days long descent, during which Doug broke both legs and Sir Chris broke ribs, has become the stuff of legend. The peak was not climbed again for another 24 years.
In 1966, with Tom Patey and Rusty Baillie, Sir Chris completed the first ascent of the Old Man of Hoy, the iconic sea stack in the Orkneys. A year later, he returned for a project that became a famous BBC outside broadcast over three nights, that was co-ordinated by Chris Brasher, and which attracted around 15 million viewers.
For this, Sir Chris and Tom repeated their original route, while two new lines were climbed by Joe Brown and Ian McNaught-Davis, and by Pete Crew and Dougal Haston.
In 2014, at the age of 80, Sir Chris returned to climb the Old Man of Hoy again with fellow adventurer Leo Houlding. He had recently lost his wife Wendy to motor neurone disease (MND) and used the trip to improve awareness of the condition and raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and two other local charities.
A few years later, Sir Chris found love again, and together with his wife Loreto, remains active, walking regularly in the Lake District, and while travelling around the UK and abroad. He spends as much time as he can with his sons Joe (Daniel) and Rupert, and their families, including his four grandchildren and extended family.
Sir Chris also continues to play a role in the outdoor industry. He has been working closely with the UK brand Berghaus for 40 years, as an athlete, ambassador and consultant on product.
Sir Chris has contributed a great deal of time and energy to other aspects of the outdoor community, and has held roles in organisations such as the British Mountaineering Council, Outdoor Industries Association, Council for National Parks, Outward Bound Trust, and the Bendrigg Trust. He is also very active with Community Action Nepal, with which there will be a number of events in 2025 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ‘Everest The Hard Way’.
