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Stephen Venables (born 1954) is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 mountaineer
Mountaineer

Mountaineer may refer to:...
 and writer
Writer

A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms....
, currently president of the South Georgia Association and a past President of the Alpine Club
Alpine Club (UK)

The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first Alpine Club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'....
.

988, Venables became the first Briton to ascend the summit of Mount Everest
Mount Everest

Mount Everest, also called Sagarmatha or Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Zhumulangma is the List of highest mountains on Earth, as measured by the height of its Topographical summit above sea level, which is ....
 without bottled oxygen. His ascent, as far as the South Col
South Col

The South Col usually refers to the southern mountain pass between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the first and fourth highest mountains in the world....
, was by a new route up the Kangshung Face from Tibet
Tibet

Tibet is a Tibetan Plateau in Asia, north of the Himalayas, and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people and its related ethnic groups. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres , it is the highest region on Earth and has in recent decades increasingly been referred to as the "Roof of the World"....
, with just three other climbers, Americans
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 Robert Anderson and Ed Webster, and Canadian
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 Paul Teare.






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Stephen Venables (born 1954) is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 mountaineer
Mountaineer

Mountaineer may refer to:...
 and writer
Writer

A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms....
, currently president of the South Georgia Association and a past President of the Alpine Club
Alpine Club (UK)

The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first Alpine Club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'....
.

Mountaineer

In 1988, Venables became the first Briton to ascend the summit of Mount Everest
Mount Everest

Mount Everest, also called Sagarmatha or Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Zhumulangma is the List of highest mountains on Earth, as measured by the height of its Topographical summit above sea level, which is ....
 without bottled oxygen. His ascent, as far as the South Col
South Col

The South Col usually refers to the southern mountain pass between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the first and fourth highest mountains in the world....
, was by a new route up the Kangshung Face from Tibet
Tibet

Tibet is a Tibetan Plateau in Asia, north of the Himalayas, and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people and its related ethnic groups. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres , it is the highest region on Earth and has in recent decades increasingly been referred to as the "Roof of the World"....
, with just three other climbers, Americans
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 Robert Anderson and Ed Webster, and Canadian
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 Paul Teare. All four reached the South Col but Teare decided to descend from here, concerned about incipient altitude sickness
Altitude sickness

Altitude sickness, also known as acute mountain sickness , altitude illness, or soroche, is a pathological condition that is caused by acute exposure to low air pressure ....
. The other three continued up the final section of the normal 1953 route, but Anderson and Webster were forced to turn back at the South Summit. Meanwhile Venables reached the summit alone, at 3.40 pm. Descending late in the day, he decided to bivouac
Bivouac sack

A bivouac sack is an extremely small, lightweight, waterproof shelter, and an alternative to traditional tent systems. It is used by Climbing, Mountaineering, Hiking, ultralight backpacking, soldiers and minimalist campers....
 in the open at about 8,600 metres, rather than risk a fall by continuing in the dark. Anderson and Webster spent the night slightly lower in an abandoned Japanese
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 tent. In the morning all three were reunited and continued down to their own tents on the South Col. It took them a further three days to complete an epic retreat down the Kangshung Face. All three climbers suffered some frostbite
Frostbite

Frostbite is the medical condition wherein localized damage is caused to skin and other biological tissue due to extreme cold.Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas....
, with Webster affected worst.

Venables's other Himalayan
Himalayas

The Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow" ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau....
 first ascents include new routes in the Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush

The Hindu Kush is a mountain range located in eastern and central Afghanistan, northwestern Pakistan and northeastern India.The origin of the name Hindu Kush is disputed, despite its coinage apparently dating back no further than c.1330....
 (1977), Kishtwar Shivling (1983), Solu Tower (1987), the south-west ridge of Kusum Kanguru (1991) and Panch Chuli V (1992). During the descent from Panch Chuli V Venables broke both his legs in a fall, when an abseil
Abseiling

Abseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rope in rock climbing, mountaineering, caving, and canyoneering; the technique is used when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection....
 anchor failed; thanks to his Indian
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 and British team mates and the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is the airforce of the Armed Forces of India of India and has the prime responsibility of conducting aerial warfare and securing the Indian airspace....
, he was rescued. This expedition was recorded in his book A Slender Thread and in Victor Saunders's No Place to Fall. He has also made first ascents in Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Bolivia
Bolivia

The Republic of Bolivia , named after Sim?n Bol?var, is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil on the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina on the south, and Chile and Peru on the west....
, Patagonia
Patagonia

Patagonia is a geographic region containing the southernmost portion of South America. Located in Argentina and Chile, it comprises the Andes mountains to the west and south, and plateaux and low plains to the east....
 and South Georgia. He has appeared in several BBC television documentaries and the IMAX
IMAX

IMAX is a film film format and projection standard created by Canada's IMAX Corporation. The traditional version of IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and than conventional film display systems....
 film Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure. He is currently president of the South Georgia Association and is a past President of the Alpine Club
Alpine Club (UK)

The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first Alpine Club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'....
.

Venables is also the father of the only known child in the UK to suffer from both autism
Autism

Autism is a Neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior....
 and leukaemia. His son, Ollie (born June 1991), was diagnosed with autism aged two and leukaemia aged four. After several cancer-free years, he developed a brain tumour and died, aged twelve years old. His life was the subject of Venables's tenth book Ollie, published in 2006.

Author

The award for Best Book — Mountain Literature at the 2007 Banff Mountain Book Festival
Banff Mountain Book Festival

The Banff Mountain Book Festival is an annual literary festival held at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, Canada.The following prizes are awarded:...
 went to Venables for his Higher Than the Eagle Soars: A Path to Everest.

Further reading

  • Venables, Stephen, Painted Mountains: Two Expeditions to Kashmir, Mountaineers Press, 1987, (ISBN 0898861365)
  • Venables, Stephen, Everest, Kangshung Face, Pan, 1991, (ISBN 0330315595)
  • Venables, Stephen, Island at the Edge of the World: South Georgian Odyssey, Hodder and Stoughton, 1991, (ISBN 0340556005)
  • Venables, Stephen, Everest - Alone at the Summit, Odyssey, 1996, (ISBN 0952937506)
  • Venables, Stephen and Fanshaw, Andy, Himalaya Alpine Style: The Most Challenging Routes on the Highest Peaks, Baton Wicks, 1999, (ISBN 1898573395)
  • Venables, Stephen, A Slender Thread: Escaping Disaster in the Himalaya, Arrow, 2001, (ISBN 0099279061)
  • Venables, Stephen, To the Top: The Story of Everest, Walker, 2004, (ISBN 1844287254)
  • Venables, Stephen, Ollie: The True Story of a Brief and Courageous Life, Hutchinson, 2006, (ISBN 009947879X)
  • Venables, Stephen, Voices from the Mountains, Reader's Digest, 2006, (ISBN 076210810X)
  • Venables, Stephen and Bonington, Chris
    Chris Bonington

    Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, Order of the British Empire is an United Kingdom Mountaineering.His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest and the first ascent of the south face of Annapurna....
    , Meetings with Mountains: Remarkable Face-to-face Encounters with the World's Peaks, Cassell, 2006, (ISBN 1844034496)
  • Venables, Stephen, Higher Than the Eagle Soars: A Path to Everest, Random House, 2007, (ISBN 0091795613)