Billi Bierling – Journalist and Climber

This is just a very quick note to say Thank You to everyone who came to my Manaslu presentation and who supported the solar light project in the region. More than 100 people attended the event, which was hosted by Sport Conrad in Garmisch-Part., and it was great to see that so many of you [...]

On the second weekend in December, I will present pictures and a few stories about my two Manaslu expeditions. Manaslu, also called ‘Mountain of the Spirits’, is the eighth highest mountain in the world and is located in the Lamjung District in the northern Himalaya range. The region is very rich in variety and is [...]

In my last entry I was boasting that I would be doing a half-marathon in Lausanne on 30 October, however, these 21km were reduced to a 10km race due to various aches and pains by the participants.   A couple of weeks ago, my friend Ale, who I usually do these races with, pulled her [...]

Since I wrote my last entry, my life has literally rushed past me as it took me only five days to get from the summit of Manaslu to my new job in Bern. I am sure it is not the record but my poor body and mind were struggling to keep up with this rapid [...]

While I am writing this I am lying in my tent which is engulfed in a huge cloud and I can hardly see the tent next to mine. But despite this latest fog at base camp, the weather has improved hugely over the past two days and we are planning to summit on 4th and [...]

When I arrived in Kathmandu last Sunday, I had no idea that this was the day of the country’s general elections. I had long lost track of who was actually ruling the country as the seat of the prime minister has been swapped around a few times since the election of the Constitutional Assembly three [...]

I have been in Europe for two weeks and I am enjoying the good food, the clean air, the organised life and all the outdoor possibilities Europe has on offer. I have been swimming in lakes and rivers and have been hiking in the Alps.   Last week I went up the 3,768m-high Wildspitze, Austria’s [...]

I just got back from the beautiful region of Ladakh in northern India, where I was leading a trek to Tso Moriri and Lungser Kangri, a 6,666m peak, which unfortunately we did not get to the top of due to bad weather. However, despite the disappointment of not standing on the summit, the trek and [...]

This is just a quick update whilst in civilisation before I go off into the mountains again. I have just come back from trekking to Concordia and the K2 memorial site in Pakistan and even though I had rather climb mountains than just trek, this trip was simply amazing. The Karakorum is more dramatic and [...]

After having spent one week in the sweltering heat of Islamabad I am now off to K2 base camp – a trip I am leading for a British tour operator. I am really excited to finally see the Baltoro Glacier and discover another part of Pakistan – away from the suffering and plight I saw [...]

Just about two weeks after having left base camp and the cold, I am back in Islamabad, where temperatures are currently soaring up to about 45 C. Life happens so fast sometimes and my Lhotse expedition, which I utterly enjoyed, seems so far away when I ride my bike through the Pakistani capital. It is [...]

This is just a short note to let say that I am back in Kathmandu and I don’t think I have ever come back from the mountains so quickly. After having come down from Camp II on 27 May in the morning, I just had a shower, wrote the newsletter for Himalayan Experience, which you [...]

Apologies for the silence over the past week but I have been away from modern technology and have been unable to send any updates to my website. I have just come down from four days at Camp II and Camp III and enjoyed the dizzying heights of 6,400m and 7,300m.  The Lhotse team left base [...]

It is the 5th of May and while many teams are going down to the lower elevations to recover from having lived above 5,000m and prepare for their summit attempt, the Himalayan Experience Lhotse group is heading down the valley in order to climb Lobuche East for acclimatisation. It seems late in the season to [...]

Greetings from my little acclimatisation hike with my friend and mountain mentor Ellen from Vale!The rest of the Lhotse group is still on their way down from the 5,455m peak and Ellen and I are happy to be sitting in the lodge as it is snowing hard outside now!  Just heard that Osama bin Laden [...]

This is just a quick update on what has been happening here at Everest base camp. Our Everest group has gone off to Camp II and Camp III for the next six days, and the Himalayan Experience camp is very quiet with only Monica, Ellen, Russell, a team of Sherpas and I left. I am [...]

I am just sitting in the legendary White Pod – the igloo-like structure that dominates the Himalayan Experience base camp – and the thought of moving over to the prayer flags from where I have a good enough 3G connection to send this update for my website is already exhausting me. But despite all the [...]

After having wrapped up my job with the United Nations in Islamabad and said goodbye to the lovely people I met there as well as our CORE community, I am back in Kathmandu getting ready for Lhotse. I left Pakistan with a laughing and a crying eye but it was time for me to go. [...]

I have just come back to Islamabad after having spent a week in Kathmandu, where I was busy meeting mountaineering expeditions for Miss Hawley and starting writing the Newsletter for Himalayan Experience, who I will be climbing Lhotse with. It was good to be back and it was exciting to see all the usual suspects [...]

I have just noticed that time must have been flying over the past three months and even though it seems that I have only just got back to Pakistan after my visit to Europe, I am actually about to leave again. I have just been asked how I was feeling and even though the time [...]

I don’t think I have to say any more about the floods in Pakistan as I am sure you are all seeing daily pictures of these devastating waters that have submerged one fifth of Pakistan’s land – and it does not seem to be over yet. While I am writing this, sitting in my dry [...]

Most of you will have heard that Pakistan has been hit by severe floods following torrential rains that fell over one week ago, and the extent of these raging waters engulfing the country is still not quite clear. Here in Islamabad, the situation is ok but I remember that last Thursday I could not take [...]

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 [...]