Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CBE (born 6 August 1934 in Hampstead, London) is an English mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest and the first ascent of the south face of Annapurna. In 1996, he was knighted for his services to the sport.
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Biography
Educated at University College School in Hampstead, he joined the Royal Fusiliers before attending Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and on graduation was commissioned in the Royal Tank Regiment in 1956. After three years in North Germany, he spent two years at the Army Outward Bound School as a mountaineering instructor. In 1958, Bonington was part of the party that made the first British ascent of the South West Pillar of the Aiguille du Dru in 1958, and the first ascent of the Central Pillar of Freney on the south side of Mont Blanc in 1961 with Don Whillans, Ian Clough and Jan Dlugosz. In 1960 he was part of the successful joint the British-Indian-Nepalese forces expedition to Annapurna II. On leaving the British Army in 1961, he joined Van den Berghs, a division of Unilever. But he left after nine months, and became a professional mountaineer and explorer. In 1966 he was given his first assignment by the Daily Telegraph magazine to cover other expeditions, including - climbing Sangay in Ecuador; hunting Caribou with Eskimos on Baffin Island. In 1968 he accompanied Captain John Blashford-Snell and his British Army team in the attempt to make the first ever descent of the Blue Nile.
Writing
He has written fifteen books, made many television appearances, and received many honours, including, since January 2005, the chancellorship of Lancaster University. He is honorary president of the Hiking Club and has a boat named after him among [Lancaster University Boat Club's] fleet. Furthermore he is the Honorary President of the British Orienteering Federation. He has lived in Cumbria with his wife, Wendy since 1974. He is a patron, and former president (1988-91), of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC).
Personal life
Married to Wendy, a freelance illustrator of children's books. The couple have two sons: Daniel and Rupert.
Notable climbs
- 1961 Central Pillar of Freney, Mont Blanc (First Ascent) with Ian Clough, Don Whillans and Jan Długosz
- 1962 North Wall of the Eiger (First British Ascent) with Ian Clough
- 1963 Central Tower of Paine, Patagonia (First Ascent) with Don Whillans[1]
- 1965 Coronation Street, Cheddar Gorge (First Ascent)
- 1966 Old Man of Hoy (First Ascent) with Tom Patey
- 1970 Annapurna South Face Expedition (Leader)
- 1972 British Everest Expedition (Leader)
- 1973 Brammah (6411m) (First Ascent)
- 1974 Changabang, Garhwal Himalaya (6864m) (First Ascent) with Don Whillans, Doug Scott & Dougal Haston
- 1975 British South West Face of Everest Expedition (Leader), The Ogre (7285m) (Leader) with Doug Scott; British K2 Expedition to West Face K2.
- 1981 Kongur Tagh (7719m) (first ascent)
- 1982 British Everest Expedition, North East Ridge (Leader)
- 1983 West Summit of Shivling, Gangotri (6501m) (First Ascent)
- 1983 Vinson Massif (4897m) (First British Ascent - solo)
- 1985 Ascent of Mount Everest (8850m) as member of Norwegian Everest Expedition
Bibliography
- I Chose to Climb (Gollancz) 1966
- Annapurna South Face (Cassell) 1970 (dedicated to the memory of Ian Clough, who was killed after the ascent)
- The Next Horizon (Gollancz) 1972
- Everest South West Face (Hodder and Stoughton) 1973
- Changabang (Heinemann)1974
- Everest the Hard Way (Hodder and Stoughton) 1976
- Quest for Adventure (Hodder and Stoughton) 1981
- Kongur: China's Elusive Summit (Hodder and Stoughton) 1982
- Everest: The Unclimbed Ridge (with Dr Charles Clarke) (Hodder and Stoughton) 1983
- The Everest Years (Hodder and Stoughton) 1986
- Mountaineer - Thirty Years of Climbing on the World's Great Peaks (Hodder and Stoughton) 2007
- The Climbers (BBC Books and Hodder and Stoughton) 1992
- Sea, Ice and Rock (with Robin Knox-Johnston) (Hodder and Stoughton) 1992
- Great Climbs (Ed with Audrey Salkeld) (Reed Illustrated Books) 1994
- Tibet's Secret Mountain, the Triumph of Sepu Kangri (with Dr Charles Clarke) (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) 1999
- Boundless Horizons (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) 2000
- Chris Bonington's Everest (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) 2002
