STEPHEN VENABLES, the renowned British mountaineer and explorer, will present an illustrated talk titled, Mountains of Seven Continents, at the Unite Lecture Theatre, UKZN campus, on Friday 22 November at 7pm. Stephen was the first Briton to climb Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen. He reached the summit alone, after climbing with a small American-Canadian team, by a new route up the gigantic Kangshung Face.
Everest was a thrilling highlight in a career which has taken Stephen right through the Himalayas, from Afghanistan to Tibet, making first ascents of many previously unknown mountains. His adventures have also taken him to the Rockies, the Andes, the Antarctic Island South Georgia, East Africa, South Africa and of course the European Alps, where he had climbed and skied for more than 40 years.
He has written for all the London broadsheet newspapers, covering exploration and adventure, as well as more diverse subjects such as transport, gardening, music and sculpture.
Painted Mountains, Stephen’s first book, won the 1986 Boardman Tasker Prize for mountain literature. Subsequent books have won the Grand Prize at the Banff International Mountain Festival and the King Albert Award. His ninth book, published in 2006, is the Sunday Times bestseller Ollie, a touching story of his elder son who had autism and who died from a brain tumour.
Two further books were published in 2007, which also saw the release of the IMAX movie The Alps, for which Stephen wrote the screenplay. He was also busy that year as president of the Alpine Club, celebrating its 150th anniversary. In 2008 he returned again to South Georgia, guiding a party on the Shackleton Traverse and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University.
In 2011 he led the crux section of World Expeditions’ Great Himalayan Trail. In 2013, celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of his Everest climb included an expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Entrance to his lecture at UKZN’s Unite Lecture Theatre is through Gate 3, Rick Turner Road, (formerly Francois Road), Durban. Tickets cost R80 each and are payable at the door.
Pre-booking of tickets can be done through Scott Sinclair on 083 235 4938 or e-mail: scott.sinclair.za@gmail.com
