growing wild

The tale of Don Clampon

Don Clampon raised his eyes from the oily confines of his pit and warily surveyed the chaos outside the open tent door that was Everest Base Camp. What had gone wrong?

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Going on holiday in 1992 in the former Soviet Union.

‘Be careful out there,’ the man from Sovenz warned us as we prepared to leave Moscow. ‘They’ll slit your throat for a thousand bucks.’
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How many small mountainous countries can you name with a population of three and a half million people and quite a few more sheep? (more…)

The Donne face of Tutoko
I feel so high, I even touch the sky
Above the falling rain
I feel so good, in my neighbourhood
So here I come again… (more…)

John Pascoe by Chris Maclean

As climbers, we learn early in our pursuit of alpine sports that the rest of the world cares little for what goes on above the snowline – excepting, of course, the media storms that obscure our view of the mountains whenever tragedy or national tub-thumping are involved. (more…)

Sea kayaking off Kapiti
We’re rocking. Four two-person sea kayaks are bobbing and weaving among the rock towers beneath the stupendous sea cliffs at the south end of Kapiti Island. (more…)

Wellington’s west coast scene
We would borrow steel carabiners and lots of old tape and old ropes and stuff from school, and drive off in the Valiant to Mt Cooper, Titahi Bay, playing songs from the fifties on the tapedeck. (more…)