Billi Bierling – Journalist and Climber

Last night I rang Dell in Germany as I am trying to buy one of their Mini Laptops with a solid state drive (SSD). The reason why I need  SSD is that computers with a normal hard drive often die (forever) at high altitude. A hard drive sits on a cushion of air and the air above [...]

I never thought I would enjoy being cold as I spend a lot of time freezing in the mountains, wishing for warmer weather. However, trying to lead an outside life in Islamabad, where the thermometer sometimes hits 48 degrees Celsius, is pretty tough. Everyone who tells me that the heat is not that bad usually [...]

One of the comments to my last entry said: “Billi, you are a master of making lemonade when life hands you lemons.” This was a note from Beth, who has followed my website since I climbed Mount Everest last year and it referred to me changing my plans from working for the UN in the [...]

After having thought that my next adventure would take me back to Islamabad to do another three-months stint for the United Nations there, I was bitterly disappointed to find out that my contract could not get extended due to United Nations regulations. However, the disappointment lasted only for about a day or two as I [...]

After a manic four to five days, during which most mountaineering expeditions descended on the Nepali capital after their successful or unsuccessful trips to mountains like Mount Everest, Manaslu, Dhaulagiri I, peace and quiet has now returned to Kathmandu. Well, relatively speaking as it is difficult to find piece and quiet in this city, unless [...]

Last week, I was honoured with being invited to a Nepali engagement party. The girl to be married was the daughter of my good Nepali friend, Mr Puru, who I met through my even better Australian friend, Judy. It was an interesting and very Nepali affair – and don’t think that the party was in [...]

A few days ago, the penultimate 8,000m peak to be conquered in the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first ascent – or rather the Swiss, Austrians and Nepalis did. Dhaulagiri I, the seventh highest mountain in the world, was first climbed by a Swiss/Austrian/German/Nepali team on 13th May 1960 – almost seven years [...]

Long time, no update! Well, not quite true as I have been writing for the Himex Newsletter and even though I am back in Kathmandu I will continue to be writing about the team, what is happening at base camp and more stories from the Khumbu. I returned to the heat, pollution and dust of [...]

I have just got back from Lobuje base camp, where part of our team is waiting to tackle the mountain and the other half is currently camping on the summit to acclimatise. I will be going up in a couple of days and I am very much looking forward to it. It has been great [...]

After a busy season in Kathmandu during which I interviewed dozens of teams going to mountains, such as Everest, Makalu, Dhaulagiri and many more, I left the Nepalese capital about one week ago and managed to walk to base camp in three days. This is something that should not really be repeated as it defies [...]

Life in Kathmandu has been quite hectic over the past two weeks, with dozens of expeditions coming through to climb the world’s highest peaks. For me that meant whizzing around my bike from hotel to hotel trying to catch expedition leaders guiding teams to mountains, such as Mount Everest, Makalu, Manaslu, Ama Dablam, Baruntse, etc. [...]

This is just a quick update on what has been happening in the expedition life of Kathmandu. Since I have been back I have been running around, more or less non-stop, trying to catch expeditions intending to climb one of the many expedition peaks of Nepal. The main bulk of the climbers are going to [...]

Well, up until last week I could proudly claim that I had never run a marathon or more than 35km in my life – but little did I know that this would change after my Saturday run. I hooked up with a few people who are getting ready to run a 71k Ultramarathon race in [...]

Now, here is a thought on coffee on expeditions. It has always boggled my mind why most expeditions still use instant coffee, when good coffee is available in Nepal. I guess the problem is, or rather was, the availability of good coffeemakers in Kathmandu – but that has changed now. A very good friend of [...]

I have arrived in Kathmandu and it is good to be back! I literally went straight from the plane to see Miss Hawley to discuss, who is interviewing which expedition this season. Despite the economic crunch this spring looks pretty busy, at least when it comes to big expeditions in Nepal, which we cover in [...]

My amazing friend and Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington talked to a journalist about a bonkers bike trip we did in Argentina a year ago. It was actually the honeymoon of our close friend Tina, who got married to Seba in Mendoza in November 2008. Tina, Chrissie, Helen and I used to bike together in [...]

If you think Valentine’s Day is only big in the ‚Western World’ then you are wrong. Here in Pakistan, people also make an effort to get married on this day, which was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496. On Sunday, 14 February, our office took the opportunity to go on an outing to [...]

Those who know me from Kathmandu will know that I hardly ever – or rather never – leave the house without my bike. My two-wheeled companion is my best friend and I would not know how to get around Kathmandu, or as a matter of fact any other city in the world. My bike gives [...]

Those who know me also know my motto in life: Life is beautiful. However, in times like these, this motto is hard to believe and I sometimes wonder whether I can keep on saying it. Tragedies will always happen in our lives – they happen all over the world, however, we are often far away [...]

Apparently the series, the Discovery Channel shot on our Everest expedition, has been aired in the States. There are five episodes and our team, led by Russell Brice, is on episode five. It is weird not having seen it as a lot of people have contacted me saying that they had no idea that my [...]

This is just a quick note to say happy New Year to everyone and to apologise for the malfunctioning of my website. I guess it also needed a rest over the Christmas period but it is back up and running and waiting to be filled with more interesting news. I guess it was probably a [...]

Sunday was another big event for the sporty folks in Islamabad. The Canadian Club in the Diplomatic Enclave had organised a fun race comprising a 3km, 5km and 10km race. A few friends of mine and I took part in the event and this time around it went through and was not cancelled because of [...]

Last Friday, another piece of mountaineering history died when Lino Lacedelli passed away in his Italian hometown of Cortina d’Ampezzo. Lacedelli, who died of a heart condition at the age of 83, was one of the first two men to conquer K2, Pakistan’s highest peak and the second highest mountain in the world. I was [...]

After having written about normalcy in times of war last week, this week I went to a camp, where internally displaced people from Swat, Buner, Malakand and Shangla Districts are currently living. And I guess, for them life is everything but normal at the moment. We went to Jalozai Camp just outside of Peshawar, the [...]

On Sunday once again, at least 10 people died in a suicide bomb attack near the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar – and, once again, it happened in a busy market place. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and these violent strikes are expected to continue as long as the Pakistani military carries on [...]

Last week I was writing about my amazing friend Chrissie Wellington, who has probably made the male triathlon world shiver with her latest performance at the Ironman Triathlon event in Kona. Well, this week I want to write about my own little triathlon experience in Islamabad, which is a lot less impressive but also very [...]

I am back in Pakistan and the country seems to be falling to pieces. Last week, a suicide bomber blew up the United Nations World Food Programme offices killing five people, and on Thursday, 15 October, there were several bomb attacks across the country. Life in Islamabad still seems reasonable quiet, however, it could be [...]

On Monday, 5th October, a suicide bomber entered the building of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and blew himself up. Sadly, five people lost their lives in the attack and the United Nations are now on high alert. This is just a short note to say that I am [...]

I seem to have confused a few people with my sudden return to Nepal but I guess I did not explain why I am actually back in Kathmandu. I have taken a two-week holiday from my job in Islamabad and have come back here to help Miss Hawley with interviewing expeditions.  Spring and autumn are [...]

I got back to Nepal on Saturday, 26th September and I arrived right in the middle of Dashain, which is the biggest festival in the Himalayan country and I guess it is comparable to our Christmas time. The country virtually stops for the duration of the holiday, which is about 10 days, however, the eighth, [...]