Our grading system explained
Steve Berry's book, 'Straight up' - add it to your reading list!
Full of tales of high mountain adventures, encounters with bears, escapes from avalanches, summit successes and failures, near death accidents and blossoming romances.
The Book
Born in the foothills close to the Himalaya Steve Berry had from an early age an urge to become a traveller, an adventurer, an explorer, and until the age of 38 years he tried hard to satisfy two opposing forces. Half of him wanted to find a satisfactory career path while the other half wanted to be free and specifically explore the Himalaya. In the end he found a compromise to satisfy both needs. In 1987 with his climbing friend Steve Bell he founded Himalayan Kingdoms, a travel company specialising in trekking and expedition holidays.
This book is a collection of stories from his early expeditions to the Himalaya prior to 1987. There are tales of encounters with bears, escapes from avalanches, summit successes and failures, love stories, mystical connections, Himalayan storms, near death accidents, raw travel across the Indian sub continent, and grapples with bureaucracy. It is told warts and all. It starts with tales ofyouthful naivety in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh, progresses to what Steve describes as his best ever adventure, the first British ascent of Nun, 7,135m/23,410ft, in Kashmir, and finishes with the truth of what happened on the failed attempt to climb Bhutan’s highest peak, Gangkar Punsum, 7550m/24,770ft.
Of Straight Up Steve says, “I just really wanted people to enjoy reading of our adventures the way they were”.
The Author
Steve Berry has always had a peculiar fascination for the Himalaya. He grew up with his father’s stories of India, and was beguiled by black and white photos from his dad’s expedition to the Nun Kun massif in Kashmir. From an early age the ambition to explore in the greatest mountain range on earth grew and grew. He has taken part in nine mountaineering adventures to the Himalaya and has now completed some 60 treks in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and various other parts of the Himalaya. He is author of one previous book ‘The Thunder Dragon Kingdom’ published by Crowood Press (ISBN: 1852231467). He is a life member of the Himalayan Club, and has memberships of the Alpine Club and the Climbers Club. He is married with two daughters. His wife puts up with him by degrees for which he is immensely grateful.
Add Steve Berry's book, about his early expeditions to the Himalaya, to your reading list - 'Straight up' is now on sale from our office for £12.99
Related News
Farewell to Wilderness Lectures
One summer’s day in 1987 Steve Berry (our MD) and fellow adventurer, Steve Marriott, were standing at the foot of the cliffs in Avon gorge. Having agreed that it was too hot to climb, they had been killing time in a ‘Wouldn’t it be great if…’ competition. This was when the fantasy of listening to the epic stories of their favourite heroes became a solid plan…
Since then, the two Steves and their caving friend Dick Willis, have organised more than 400 lectures whose general theme has been ‘Worldwide Adventure’. These epic stories have taken the audiences from the deepest point of the deepest ocean to the summit of Mount Everest, and from darkest, dankest inner spaces of our planet to even darker journeys in Outer Space. There have been mountaineers, sailors, cyclists, divers, balloonists, and even a man who cycled around the world on a penny farthing, and another who flew his car from Europe over the Straights of Gibraltar to Africa. There have been world famous explorers, record breakers, and people who have headed out into the remote unknown just for the hell of it.
Having run Wilderness for 36 years the three friends have decided to step back and retire so there will be no series this winter. However, they would be really happy if a younger individual, or a group of friends, would step forward to take over Wilderness and pick up where they are leaving off. If anyone is interested contact Wilderness Lectures here.
NEW Naar Phu Circuit Trek
We've just launched new tea house trek in the heart of the Annapurna Mountains in Nepal. An exhilarating, 18-day trekking trip, the Naar Phu Circuit takes you away from the popular trails of the Annapurnas, into a genuinely remote and truly spectacular region where access remains restricted.
Take a look at the full trip details here or speak to Harry in the Mountain Kingdoms office who completed the Naar Phu Circuit Trek earlier this year and rates it as the best he's ever done.
Holidays with Festivals
If you love a festival, but hate muddy fields, tent villages and rubbish food then it may be time to look beyond Glastonbury and Reading. In our latest enews we reveal alternative festivals in the Himalaya and Mongolia that offer amazing music, unusual sports and unique cultural experiences.
Sign up here to receive our next enews and be kept up to date with all the latest new and destination information. We promise not to bombard you and we will never share your details.