Eric Shipton was one of the greatest mountain explorers of the twentieth century. He took part in five expeditions to Everest, twice as leader, and it was only at the last minute that he was sacked, controversially, from leading the successful 1953 expedition that put his protegés, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, on the world’s highest summit. But Everest was just one part of Shipton’s extraordinary career, roaming all over the world, from the mountains of East Africa – where he worked as a coffee planter in the late twenties – to the untouched icefields of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, where he was still exploring right at the end of his life in the 1970s.

Shipton was admired hugely by fellow explorers and adored by women, some of whom helped him write his inspirational books such as 'Blank on the Map' and 'That Untravelled World'. He produced the most famous published photograph of a Yeti footprint, although some people think that he may have fabricated the print himself as a practical joke on The Times.

Shipton’s highly adventurous style of exploration – fast, bold, flexible and low budget – has been an inspiration for modern mountaineers like Stephen Venables, who was the first Briton to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen.  In his lecture he will mix readings from Shipton’s books with stories of his own journeys in the explorer’s footstep, illustrated with stunning photography and film clips.

Stephen is the award-winning author of twelve books and an accomplished photographer.  He has appeared in several television documentaries and in the IMAX film Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure.  He is a past president of the South Georgia Association and the Alpine Club.

Find out more about Stephen on Wikipedia.

Sokha glacier, Karakoram, Pakistan

Hongu descent, Nepal

Solu Tower ice climb, Karakoram, Pakistan

River crossing in the Karakoram, Pakistan

Isla Navarino, Tierra del Fuego, Chile