Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, including four to

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

Early life and expeditions

Bonington's father, who left the family when Christian was nine months old, was a founding member of L Detachment,

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

. Bonington first began climbing in 1951 at age 16. Educated at

University College School University College School, also known as UCS, is a private day school in Frognal, Hampstead, London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views. ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, Bonington joined the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

before attending

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

, and on graduation was commissioned in the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the World War I, First World War. Today, it is an Armoured warfare, armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks ...

in 1956. After serving three years in North Germany, he spent two years at the Army Outward Bound School as a mountaineering instructor. Bonington was part of the party that made the first British ascent of the South West Pillar (aka Bonatti Pillar) of the

Aiguille du Dru The Aiguille du Dru (also the Dru or the Drus; French, Les Drus) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is situated to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley. "Aiguille" means "needle" in French. The ...

in 1958, and the first ascent of the Central Pillar of Freney on the south side of

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

in 1961 with Don Whillans, Ian Clough and Jan Dlugosz (Poland). In 1960 he was part of the successful joint British-Indian-Nepalese forces expedition to Annapurna II. On leaving the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1961, he joined Van den Berghs, a division of

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

, but he left after nine months, and became a professional mountaineer and explorer. In 1966 he was given his first assignment by '' The Daily Telegraph Magazine'' to cover other expeditions, including climbing

Sangay Sangay (also known as Macas, Sanagay, or Sangai) is an Volcano#Active, active stratovolcano in central Ecuador. It exhibits mostly Strombolian eruption, strombolian activity. Geologically, Sangay marks the southern boundary of the Northern Volc ...

in Ecuador and hunting

caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

with

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland), and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is (slightly smal ...

. In 1968 he accompanied Captain John Blashford-Snell and his British Army team in the attempt to make the first-ever descent of the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major Tributary, tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the wa ...

. In 1972 he was unsuccessful on the south-west face of Mount Everest, but reached 27,300 feet. He had another shot at that route in 1975, and the 1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition that he led was successful—it put four climbers on the summit, but Mick Burke died during his summit attempt.

Writing

Bonington has written or edited numerous books, made many

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

appearances, and received many honours, including the chancellorship of

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

from 2005 to 2014. He is honorary president of the Hiking Club and

Mountaineering Club and has a boat named after him among Lancaster University Boat Club's fleet. Furthermore, he is the Honorary President of the British

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

Federation. He has lived in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

since 1974. He is a patron, and former president (1988–91), of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC). He succeeded

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the Timeline of M ...

as the Honorary President of Mountain Wilderness, an international NGO dedicated to the preservation of mountain areas, in their natural and cultural aspects.

Personal life

Bonington's first wife, Wendy, a freelance illustrator of children's books, died on 24 July 2014 from

motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

(MND), inspiring Bonington to support MND charities. The couple had three children: Conrad (died 1966), Daniel, and Rupert. The family lived at

Caldbeck Caldbeck is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, historically within Cumberland, it is situated within the Lake District National Park. Part of the parish lies within the Skiddaw Group SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). T ...

, Cumbria. Bonington married Loreto McNaught-Davis on Saturday 23 April 2016. McNaught-Davis is the widow of mountaineer and television presenter

Ian McNaught-Davis Ian McNaught-Davis (30 August 1929 – 10 February 2014) was a British television presenter best known for presenting the BBC television series ''The Computer Programme'', ''Making the Most of the Micro'' and ''Micro Live'' in the 1980s. He was a ...

who died in February 2014. The ceremony took place in London in the presence of about 60 friends and family members.

Tributes

In 1974 Bonington received the

Founder's Medal The Founder's Medal is a medal awarded annually by the Royal Geographical Society, upon approval of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, to individuals for "the encouragement and promotion of geographical science and discovery". Foundation From ...

of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. In 1985 he received the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. St. Helen's School, Northwood, England has named one of its four houses after him. Bonington was presented with the Golden Eagle Award for services to the outdoors in 2008 by the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 2003 when he was surprised by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such as '' Crackerjack!'', '' Ask Aspel'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', '' This Is Your Life'', '' Strange ...

at a hotel in Heathrow.

Honours

Bonington was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 1976 New Year Honours "for services to Mountaineering", in recognition of the previous year's successful ascent of EverestWillis, Clint (2006). The Boys of Everest: Chris Bonington and the Tragic Story of Climbing's Greatest Generation. London: Robson Books, p 335. and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 1996 New Year Honours, again for his services to the sport. He was appointed

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

(CVO) in the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, The Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

for his services to the Outward Bound Trust. He was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of

in 2004. In 2015, Bonington was awarded the 7th Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award.

Notable climbs

* 1960 Annapurna II (First ascent) with Richard Grant and Sherpa Ang Nyima * 1961 Central Pillar of Freney,

(First ascent) with Ian Clough, Don Whillans and

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

* 1962 North Wall of 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 ...

(First British ascent) with Ian Clough * 1963 Central Tower of Paine,

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

(First ascent) with Don Whillans * 1964 Cime de l'Est NE Ridge, Dents du Midi, (First ascent) with John Harlin and Rusty Baillie * 1965 Coronation Street, Cheddar Gorge (First ascent) * 1966 Old Man of Hoy (First ascent) with Tom Patey * 1973 Brammah ( (First ascent) with

Nick Estcourt Nicholas John Estcourt (1942 – 12 June 1978) was a British mountaineer and alpinist who was killed in an avalanche on the West Ridge of K2. Early life and education Estcourt spent his childhood on the south coast of England, in Eastbourne a ...

* 1974

Changabang Changabang is a mountain in the Garhwal Division, Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand, India. It is part of a group of peaks that form the northeast wall of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. It is a particularly steep and rocky peak, and all routes on it ...

Garhwal Himalaya The Garhwal Himalayas are mountain ranges located in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Geology This range is also a part of the Himalayan Sivalik Hills, the outer most hills of the Himalaya located in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Major p ...

( (First ascent) with Don Whillans,

Doug Scott Douglas Keith Scott (29 May 19417 December 2020) was an English Mountaineering, mountaineer and climbing author, noted for being on the team that made the 1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition, first ascent of the south-west fac ...

and Dougal Haston * 1975 Southwest face of Mount Everest ( * 1977 Baintha Brakk ( (First ascent) with Doug Scott * 1981

Kongur Tagh The Kongur Tagh (meaning 'Brown Mountain' in English) is the highest peak in the Pamir Mountains, and also the highest mountain wholly within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. With an elevation of , it is also the highest mountain out ...

( (First ascent) with

Joe Tasker Joe Tasker (12 May 1948 – 17 May 1982) was a British Climbing, climber, active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He died while climbing Mount Everest. Early life Born into a Roman Catholic family in 1948, Tasker was the second of ten ...

, Al Rouse and Pete Boardman * 1983 West Summit of

Shivling A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Upanishads and epic literature, wher ...

Gangotri Gangotri is a town and a ''Nagar Panchayat'' (municipality) in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is 99 km from Uttarkashi, the main district headquarter. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bha ...

( (First Ascent) * 1983

Vinson Massif Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located ab ...

( (First British ascent – solo) * 1985

as member of Norwegian Everest Expedition * 1987 Menlungtse ( attempted FA of main peak via South Buttress, to 6100 metres; 20,013'; w/ Odd Eliason, Bjorn Myrer-Lund, Torgeir Fosse, Helge Ringdal (all Norwegian) and Jim Fotheringham (UK). * 1988 Menlungtse West ( FA via West Ridge, (expedition leader). Summit attained by Andy Fanshawe and Alan Hinkes (both UK), with David Breashears and Steve Shea (both USA) in support. * 1995 Drangnag Ri ( (First ascent) with Ralph Høibakk, Pem Dorjee Sherpa, Bjørn Myrer Lund''Asia, Nepal, Drangnag-Ri, First Ascent''
Chris Bonington, 1996, publications.americanalpineclub.org, Retrieved April 22, 2025. * 2014 The Old Man of Hoy ( to mark his 80th birthday and to raise funds for

charities

Expedition leader

* 1970 British Annapurna South Face expedition, successful, summit reached by Dougal Haston and Don Whillans; death of Ian Clough * 1972

, (south-west face), unsuccessful * 1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition, successful, summit reached by

, Dougal Haston, Peter Boardman, Pertemba Sherpa and Mick Burke; death of Burke * 1978 K2 (west face), unsuccessful; death of

* 1982 Mount Everest (north-east ridge), unsuccessful; death of Peter Boardman and

:Although expedition leader, Bonington did not reach the summit of these peaks on these expeditions

Mount Everest record

Bonington briefly became the oldest person to summit

in April 1985, at the age of 50. He was surpassed by Richard Bass of

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...

fame, who summited later that same season at 55. The record has been surpassed many times since.

Bibliography

* ''I Chose to Climb'' (Gollancz) 1966 * ''Annapurna South Face'' (Cassell) 1971 * ''The Next Horizon'' (Gollancz) 1973 * ''Everest South West Face'' (Hodder and Stoughton) 1973 * ''Changabang'' (Heinemann) 1975 * ''Everest the Hard Way'' (Hodder and Stoughton) 1976 * ''Quest for Adventure'' (Hodder and Stoughton) 1981 * ''Kongur: China's Elusive Summit'' (Hodder and Stoughton) 1982 * ''Everest: The Unclimbed Ridge'' (with Dr Charles Clarke) (Hodder and Stoughton) 1983 * ''The Everest Years'' (Hodder and Stoughton) 1986 * ''Mountaineer: Thirty Years of Climbing on the World's Great Peaks'' (Diadem) 1989 * ''The Climbers'' (BBC Books and Hodder and Stoughton) 1992 * ''Sea, Ice and Rock'' (with Robin Knox-Johnston) (Hodder and Stoughton) 1992 * ''Great Climbs'' (Ed with Audrey Salkeld) (Reed Illustrated Books) 1994 * ''Tibet's Secret Mountain, the Triumph of Sepu Kangri'' (with Dr Charles Clarke) (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) 1999 * ''Boundless Horizons'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) 2000 * ''Chris Bonington's Everest'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) 2002 * ''Chris Bonington's Lakeland Heritage'' (with Roly Smith) (Halsgrove) 2004 * ''Chris Bonington Mountaineer'' (Vertebrate Publishing) 2016 * ''Ascent'' (Simon & Schuster UK) 2017

References

External links

*
Chris Bonington Home Page

Interview with WideWorld magazine

The Everest Years: Reflections of a mountaineer while climbing in the Lake District.
BBC Radio 4 documentary first broadcast in 1988. Accessed 26 November 2012.
Mount Everest Interview with Chris Bonington

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonington, Chris 1934 births 20th-century British Army personnel Living people British summiters of Mount Everest Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Deputy lieutenants of Cumbria English mountain climbers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Knights Bachelor Military personnel from the London Borough of Camden People associated with Lancaster University People educated at University College School People from Caldbeck People from Hampstead Piolet d'Or winners Presidents of the Alpine Club (UK) Royal Tank Regiment officers Sportspeople awarded knighthoods