Victor Saunders is a British

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. He trained as an architect at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. His first book, ''Elusive Summits'', won the

Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature The Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature is an annual prize of £3,000 awarded by the Boardman Tasker Charitable Trust to an author or authors for "an original work which has made an outstanding contribution to mountain literature". The pr ...

in 1991. He became as a

UIAGM The ''Union Internationale des Associations de Guides de Montagnes'' is the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, known alternatively by its French, German and English English usually refers to: * English language * Engl ...

/IFMGA ski and

mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...

in 1996 and joined the SNGM (National Syndicate of French Mountain Guides) in 2003. Saunders first reached the summit of

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

in May 2004, and went on to climb it several more times. In 2020 he became president of the

Alpine Club The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as: :"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of whi ...

. He lives in

Les Houches Les Houches () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Eastern France. In 2017, it had a population of 2,943. Overview Les Houches, located 6 kilometres from Chamonix, is a ski resort with a domain wh ...

, near

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

, France.

Notable climbs

The climbs are listed in date order. * 2017 -

Mount Tyree Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

* 2016 - Sersank Peak * 2016 -

Carstensz Pyramid Puncak Jaya (; literally "Glorious Peak") or Carstensz Pyramid, Mount Jayawijaya or Mount Carstensz () on the island of New Guinea, with an elevation of , is the highest mountain peak of an island on Earth. The mountain is located in the Sudi ...

-Puncak Java * 2014 - Mount McKinley-Denali * 2013 -

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the Southern Hemisphere with a summi ...

* 2013 - Chamsen * 2012 - Mount Elbrus * 2012 - Dykh-Tau * 2010 - Everest * 2007 -

Ama Dablam Ama Dablam is a mountain in the eastern Himalayan range of Province No. 1, Nepal. The main peak is , the lower western peak is . Ama Dablam means "Mother's necklace"; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother (''ama'') protecting her ...

* 2007 - Everest * 2006 - Everest * 2005 - Everest * 2004 -

* 2004 - Everest * 1997 - Cho Oyu * 1996 - Mustagh Ata * 1995 - Bhutan * 1995 - Ecuador Volcanoes,

Chimborazo Chimborazo () is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D. Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point on the Earth's surface from t ...

and

Cotopaxi Cotopaxi () is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located in Latacunga city of Cotopaxi Province, about south of Quito, and northeast of the city of Latacunga, Ecuador. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador, reaching a h ...

* 1994 - Panch Chuli Trek * 1994 - Hatezan Zom * 1993 - Bhutan Basingtang * 1993 - Gondoro La * 1993 - K2 - Saunders returned from 8000m during rescue operations. * 1992 - Panch Chuli V - first ascent, with Dick Renshaw, Stephen Sustad & Stephen Venables * 1992 - Rajramba - New route up SE Ridge with Dick Renshaw, Stephen Sustad & Stephen Venables * 1991 - Elbrus * 1991 - Karakoram * 1991 -

Ultar Ultar Sar () (also Ultar, Ultar II, Bojohagur Duanasir II) is the southeasternmost major peak of the Batura Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range. It lies about northeast of the Karimabad, a town on the Karakoram Highway in the Hunza Val ...

* 1989 - Kangchuntse, a subsidiary summit of

Makalu Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...

- First ascent of West Face with Stephen Sustad * 1988 - Jitchu Drake - First ascent * 1987 - Golden Pillar of Spantik,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

- First ascent with

Mick Fowler Michael Fowler (born 1956) is a British rock climber, ice climber, mountaineer, and climbing author. Fowler was voted the "Mountaineers' Mountaineer" in a poll in ''The Observer'', and with Paul Ramsden, won the 2002 Piolet d'Or (or Golden Ice ...

* 1986 -

Ushba Ushba ( ka, უშბა) is one of the most notable peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. It is located in the Svaneti region of Georgia, just south of the border with the Kabardino-Balkaria region of Russia. Although it does not rank in the 10 high ...

- West Face Direct * 1986 - The Icicle Factory and White Wedding

Cuillin The Cuillin ( gd, An Cuiltheann) is a range of mostly jagged rocky mountains on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The main Cuillin ridge is also called the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin ('), which lie to the east of Glen Slig ...

, Isle of Skye - First ascents, with Mick Fowler * 1985 -

Rimo I Rimo I is the main summit of the Rimo massif with an elevation of . Geography It lies in the northern part of the remote Rimo Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range. It is located about 20 km northeast of the snout of the Siachen Gla ...

- attempt with Stephen Venables * 1984 - Bojohagur Duanisir - attempt with Phil Butler * 1978 - Eiger - North Face in winter, with Stevie Haston * 1978 - Shield Direct,

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. The summit is above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for . Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian ...

- the first route on Ben Nevis to be graded VI

Publications

*''Elusive Summits: Four Expeditions in the Karakoram'', 1990 *''Trekking and Climbing in the Andes'' (Trekking and Climbing Guides), 2002, by Kate Harper, Val Pitkethly and Victor Saunders *''Alpes Occidentales: Trekking y Alpinismo'', 2002, by Victor Saunders and Hilary Sharp *''Himalaya: The Tribulations of Mick & Vic'' co-written with Mick Fowler, which won the Grand Prize at the Passy International Mountain Book Festival, 2015 *''No Place to Fall: Superalpinism in the High Himalaya'', 2017 *''Structured Chaos: The Unusual Life of a Climber'', Vertebrate Publishing, 2021

References

External links

Company websitePersonal website
Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Boardman Tasker Prize winners English mountain climbers English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers English non-fiction outdoors writers {{climbing-bio-stub

Notable climbs

Publications

See also

References

External links