Robert Mads Anderson's Blog

Where exactly is this place? Awake—where? Oh yes, a grass hut deep in the jungle. Bird calls echo over the hillside — chirps, caws, bassonic hoots, and what can only be described as the trumpet of something unseen flapping its way through the canopy.  The jungle is alive with sound, near and far, layered and […]

Robert Mads Anderson is one of the most accomplished professional mountain climbers of his generation and has brilliantly balanced those pursuits with a multi-decade run in the Creative Departments of advertising agencies around the world. He joins the podcast to discuss the characteristics that climbers have in common, what he learned from experiencing tragedy early […]

As much as real paper, type on the page, and the feel of a good book will always be something special, sometimes that digital edition – the instant, in your hands readability of a tale from the heights is quicker and more accessible. And it does save on trees, printing, shipping and storing – all […]

If you have just stepped off Everest, and feeling well acclimitised, rested and inspired, decide to head straight off to climb Denali, there are a few things that are different – very different. Here’s what you might want to prepare for. 1. The Transition: The easy access to Denali, piling out of the pubs and […]

For a quick listen, under 5 minutes of audio above will get you the highlights, and lowlights too perhaps, of Everest 2025. The 2025 Everest season was a dichotomy of technology and tradition on Everest. From record-breaking ascents in under a week, to no supplemental oxygen summits, to Sherpa climbers setting yet more benchmarks, to […]

The joy of trackers is you can almost live someone’s dream, or at least trace it vicariously. So as we watched Tyler climb rapidly higher and onto the upper slopes of Everest, all appeared from afar to be going to plan, and with a positive communication from 8,200 metres, he was headed relentlessly for the […]

As the Eastern parts of the world wander through the afternoon, Tyler Andrews is again seen high on Everest, undertaking the third of his attempts to set a new speed record on the South Side of Everest. And this time he is again attempting the ascent without oxygen. While the tracker, (as ever it seems) […]

Both Tyler Andrews and Karl Egloff have halted their attempted speed climbs this year on Mount Everest. With the need for ample acclimitasation time and then the need for near perfect weather, the late season variability this year has shut down both attempts. With the added challenge of needing to climb when the mountain is […]

We were headed for the summit, the 4 of us marching with suitably determined pace through the Western CWM, when we met up with my other 4 team members heading down the hill.  They were just returning from the summit, the brothers Ruairidh and Foo, and Tore and Angus. It hadn’t been easy they said, […]

High on Everest, the air thins and the margin for error disappears. For decades, climbers have turned to oxygen tanks, acetazolamide (Diamox), dexamethasone, and occasionally even sheer grit, to get them to the top of the world. But with the 4 British Climbers summiting today using Xenon Gas for the first time, now a new […]