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Mountain Kingdoms' founding fathers back together
Back in 1987, two friends and mountaineers, Steve Berry and Steve Bell, decided to give up their day jobs and forge a new career doing what they loved - climbing mountains and trekking. And so was born Mountain Kingdoms (then called Himalayan Kingdoms).
The company quickly developed a reputation for its expertise in creating and leading innovative and challenging treks in the Himalaya - including to the summit of Mount Everest. In fact, in 1993, they were the first company to successfully get paying clients to the summit, led by Steve Bell himself. In 1995 the company split when Steve Bell moved to Sheffield to focus on running mountaineering expeditions whilst Steve Berry continued with his passion for great trekking holidays.
Steve Bell, eventually moved to Australia but the two Steves have remained close friends and in 2014 Steve Berry flew to Australia for Steve Bell's wedding. On the way back he stopped off at Easter Island to recce our distinctive Easter Island walking holidays. This week, Steve Bell returned to the UK and the founding fathers were once again reunited at Mountain Kingdoms. The photo shows Steve Bell on the left with his wife and Steve Berry.
In recent times, both adventurers have written and published books about their thrilling, funny and often heart-stopping experiences as young mountaineers. Steve Berry's memoir is called Straight Up and Steve Bell's is Virgin on Insanity. Both make for highly entertaining reads.
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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.
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