From Hellifield to the Himalaya

So what do you do when you’ve ‘bagged’ all 282 scottish Munros and sampled the delights of Norway’s remote Lyngen Alps and Switzerland’s Valais Alps. Obviously, you head for the Himalaya ... in spite of the fact it was an area you vowed never to visit. Pugh never set out to conquer the great outdoors but, from enjoying strolls in her native Yorkshire, she progressed to winter mountaineering and evermore challenging adventures. In 2018, she and her husband, together with a group of loyal friends and a highly respected mountain guide (Martin Moran), set off to scale Brumkhangse (5635m) in a rarely visited area of Sikkim in the Indian Himalaya. (Moran disappeared in 2019 while guiding an unauthorized climb in India.) You'll also learn why a lipstick is essential on the Matterhorn, a use for a snowball that you’ve never even dreamed of, and how to skinny dip inthe Scottish mountains. If you want to know the best techniques for belaying or how to tie knots, this isn’t the book for you. But if you want to experience the excitement, humour, joy - and sometimes sadness - of taking on a great life challenge, then join Sue.