Andy Fanshawe (1963 in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

–

Lochnagar Lochnagar or is a mountain in the Mounth, in the Grampian Mountains, Grampians of Scotland. It is about south of the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, River Dee near Balmoral Castle, Balmoral. It is a popular hill with hillwalking, hillwalkers, and i ...

1992) was a British

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

Biography

He started climbing as a student at Wilmslow County Grammar School for Boys. Whilst studying geology at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

, he led his first expedition to the Ecuadorian Andes where he made first British ascents within the

El Altar El Altar or Capac Urcu (possibly from Kichwa ''kapak'' principal, great, important / magnificence, ''urku'' mountain) is an extinct volcano on the western side of Sangay National Park in Ecuador, south of Quito, with a highest point of . Spaniard ...

massif as well as assisting David Kirke of the

Dangerous Sports Club The Dangerous Sports Club was a group of adventurers and extreme sports pioneers based in Oxford and London, England. They were active from the late 1970s for about ten years, during which they developed modern bungee jumping and experimented wi ...

glide from the summit of

Chimborazo Chimborazo () is a stratovolcano situated in Ecuador in the Cordillera Occidental (Ecuador), Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known Types of volcanic eruptions, eruption is believed to have occurred around AD 550. Although not ...

. In 1986, he was made a National Officer of the

British Mountaineering Council The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers. The BMC ...

. Shortly after his appointment, he led a bold traverse of

Chogolisa Chogolisa ( derived from ''Chogo Ling Sa''; literally "Great Hunt") is a trapezoidal mountain located in the Karakoram range within the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. It is situated near the Baltoro Glacier in the Concordia region, which i ...

and Bride Peak in the

Karakoram The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...

which was later documented in his book ''Coming Through''. The book also gave an account of his ascent of Menlungtse with

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...

and

Alan Hinkes Alan Hinkes OBE (born 26 April 1954) is an English Himalayan high-altitude mountaineer from Northallerton in North Yorkshire. He is the first British mountaineer to claim all 14 Himalayan eight-thousanders (mountains above in height), a fe ...

in 1988. Other climbing achievements included winter ascents of the Croz Spur on the

Grandes Jorasses The Grandes Jorasses (; 4,208 m; 13,806 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, on the boundary between Haute-Savoie in France and Aosta Valley in Italy. The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (''Pointe Walker'') was by H ...

and the

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends ...

North Face. On 14 March 1992, he fell while climbing Eagle Ridge in

, the

Cairngorms The Cairngorms () are a mountain range in the eastern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national parks of Scotland, national park (the Cairn ...

, claiming his life. At his funeral, Chris Bonington gave the

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term o ...

. His book ''Himalaya Alpine-style'', co-authored with

Stephen Venables Stephen Venables (born 2 May 1954) is a British mountaineer and writer, and is a past president of the South Georgia Association and of the Alpine Club (UK), Alpine Club. He is the first Briton to ascend the summit of Mount Everest without bottle ...

, was published after his death in 1995.

The Andy Fanshawe Memorial Trust

His widow Caroline and a group of friends established The Andy Fanshawe Memorial Trust after his death which provides grants to allow disadvantaged young people to experience the outdoors. The Trust also acts as a memorial to Jane Thomas, who died in the Cairngorms in 1994.

Notable ascents

*1988 Menlungtse West (7023 m) FA via West Ridge. Summit attained with

(UK), with

(UK),

David Breashears David Finlay Breashears (December 20, 1955 – March 14, 2024) was an American mountaineer, filmmaker, author and motivational speaker. In 1985, he reached the summit of Mount Everest a second time, becoming the first American to reach the summi ...

and Steve Shea (both USA) in support.

References

External links

Andy Fanshawe Memorial Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanshawe, Andy 1963 births 1992 deaths English mountain climbers Alumni of Imperial College London Mountaineering deaths People from Wilmslow Sport deaths in Scotland Mountaineering deaths in Scotland

Biography

The Andy Fanshawe Memorial Trust

Notable ascents

References

Further reading

External links