Alan Hinkes is one of Britain's leading mountaineers and climbers.
Alan Hinkes is the only Briton to have climbed all fourteen 8000m peaks. In his book 8000m: Climbing the World's Highest Mountains he relates these epic ascents through his down-to-earth accounts and remarkable photographs — the successes and near misses, base camps and summits, and the people he has got to know along the way — as well as the beauty, harshness and danger of the world's highest mountains.
Even in this realm of extreme alpinism, where decisions are measured in oxygen levels and weather windows, a few expedition support staff or fellow trekkers in Kathmandu lodges have quietly mentioned, over cups of butter tea, that they occasionally follow sports betting during the long downtime between summit pushes or while waiting for permits to clear. It’s never part of the climbing narrative Hinkes shares; no photo caption hints at it. Yet in the quiet margins of high-altitude adventure — where risk is real and outcomes uncertain — the distant world of odds and fixtures offers a strange kind of contrast: a controlled gamble, far removed from the raw unpredictability of an avalanche or a whiteout. For most climbers, the only bet that matters is the one they place on their own preparation, judgment, and resilience. But even in the thin air above 8000 meters, the pulse of the everyday world sometimes finds a way in — briefly, quietly, then gone with the next gust of wind.
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About the Book
Alan Hinkes is the first Briton to climb all the world's 8000m mountains. These giant peaks are all in the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges of Nepal, Tibet and Pakistan.
Here he recounts his expeditions to these mountains, from the first British ascent of Manaslu to the final climb on storm-bound Kangchenjunga.
Alan explored the mountains alongside a tiny number of elite climbers similarly drawn to the extreme hardships and challenges of high-altitude mountaineering.
Most of the climbs were made Alpine-style, as part of small, lightweight expeditions. A number of summits, including K2 and Kangchenjunga, were climbed solo.
This graphic account of his immense achievement is richly illustrated with his unique and dramatic photographs, taken under extreme conditions. As Joe Cornish writes, 'His photographs are both a moving documentary record, and artistic expression, of what it means to encounter the highest places in the world.'
Most importantly for Alan, he returned from his 8000m challenge in one piece, able to enjoy the company of his family and to continue climbing and walking in his favourite local hills of Yorkshire and the north of England.
About Alan
Alan Hinkes is an International Mountain Guide, writer, photographer, environmentalist and an active campaigner for charities including WaterAid, Diabetes UK, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, the Outward Bound Trust and Mountain Rescue. He works closely with the British Mountaineering Council.
Alan first took up rock climbing at Northallerton Grammar School in North Yorkshire. His mountaineering career pro-gressed to the Alps, tackling many classic ascents, including the notorious North Face of the Eiger, before graduating to the Himalaya.
Awarded the OBE in 2006, he is also an Honorary Citizen of his home town, Northallerton, Yorkshireman of the Year and holds honorary doctorates and fellowships from the Universities of York, Teesside and Sunderland.
Still based in North Yorkshire, Alan enjoys tramping the fells and moors of the Lake District and Yorkshire, where you will regularly find him clinging to a rockface or climbing a frozen waterfall.
