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Digital presentations available

 
The Middle Hills of Nepal & the Invention of Everest.
The presentation covers my return to Nepal in 2024 to explore the Middle Hills of eastern Nepal where Mt Everest can be seen to the north. Half of the talk covers the discovery, surveying, photo surveys, climbing attempts & subsequent creation of the phenomenon of Mt Everest.
A Photographic Journey through History:
Using photography to document history, enhance new technology and social media. A personal view.
Failure and success in the Himalayas of Nepal and Sikkim.
After failing to reach the Goecha La in Sikkim in 1988 I returned almost 30 years later for another attempt. This time I succeeded and this presentation includes some of my original images on film converted to digital.
Three Centuries of Photography – a personal view.
Illustrating how photography through the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries has been used to document history and enhance new technology and social media. The presentation includes the work of amateur photographers Edward Hodkinson (1894-1975) from Wheelton and Les Chapman (1907-2008) from Chorley.
People & Mountains of North East Nepal and 18th century invasions.
Trekking over the Lumba Sumba La (5,157m) between Kangchenjunga & Makalu areas to visit the remote valleys where the people consider themselves more Tibetan than Nepali.
People and Mountains of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan.
Bhutan is a remote country to the east of Nepal. Its sacred mountain Chomolhari 7,326 m (24,035 ft) was first climbed in 1937 by Freddy Spencer Chapman (1907-1971) and Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama. This presentation covers their ascent and my further exploration into the North West area of the Bhutanese Himalayas and its remote villages.
Social History of Withnell Fold, a Lancashire Village and Paper Mill (1843 to today). The use of photography in the recording and presentation of people and history.
Withnell Fold village and paper mill were built on a green-field site in 1843. The owner and builder was Thomas Blinkhorn Parke (1823-1885). Thomas kept detailed diaries about the mill & village. They give a first hand account of rural and industrial life from the mid 1840s.
People and mountains around Dhaulagiri, Nepal.
The first attempt to climb Dhaulagiri was by a French team lead by Maurice Herzog in 1950. They failed but went on to climb Annapurna 1. Dhaulagiri wasn't climbed until 1960. This presentation visits the people who live in it's shadow.
 
Diving into History.
Excavating the underwater wreck of the first Royal Yacht Mary. Sunk off the Skerries, Anglesey in 1675 and discovered in 1971.
Excavations by Chorley Sub-Aqua Club and Merseyside Sub-Aqua Club.
Also diving on the sunken wrecks of the German Fleet scuttled in Scapa Flow, Orkney Isles 1919.
People and Mountains of Inner Dolpo and Shey Gompa, Nepal.
For many years this remote region of north-west Nepal was off limits to trekkers. It is now possible to trek there with a special permit. It was visited in the 1970s by the travel author Peter Matthiessen who’s subsequent book of his trek ‘The Snow Leopard’ won national book awards in 1979 and 1980.
Dolpo preserves one of the last remnants of traditional Tibetan culture. It can only be accessed via high passes which are closed by snow for almost half of the year.
People and Mountains of Upper Mustang, Nepal. The Forbidden Kingdom.
To the north of the Annapurna Mountain range is the ancient Kingdom of Mustang. It has been off limits to trekkers but recently has started to allow travellers in. The landscape is remote and stark and the villages incredibly picturesque. The capital town is Lomanthang which has existed since 1380. The King still lives in the town and he is a direct descendant of the town's founder; a lineage of 25 generations. Part of my route was in the footsteps of an exploratory trek made by Major Bill Tillman (1898 - 1977) around 1950. He was an English mountaineer, author and explorer and renowned for his Himalayan climbs.
People and Mountains of the Makalu region, Nepal.
Makalu is the 5th highest mountain in the world and the southern approach is through forests, deep valleys and isolated settlements that few trekkers visit. The people are some of the friendliest I have encountered on my travels.
Kangchenjunga – The Untrodden Peak. Kangchejunga, Nepal is the third highest mountain in the World. I trekked through remote villages to the base camp area accompanied by George Band on the 50th anniversary of the first ascent in 1955. George Band and Joe Brown made the first ascent.
People and Mountains of the Bolivian Andes.
People and Mountains of Ladakh, northern India.
People and Mountains of Manaslu, Nepalese Himalayas.