John Tyson

Record of the first John Tyson's expedition to explore the Kanjiroba Himal Region. Tyson’s quest began in 1961 when he led the first of several small surveying missions to the region, with the aim of mapping the principal mountain ranges and locating, and if possible climbing, the highest summit, Mount Kanjiroba (22,580ft). The expedition succeeded in making the first ascents of several 20,000ft peaks which gave excellent views for map-making, but they were unable to locate a viable route on to the Kanjiroba Himal along the sheer-sided scree-covered gorge of the Jagdula river. The film was produced to be shown in David Attenborough's Adventure BBC series.

Record of John Tyson's third expedition to Kanjiroba, which he led in 1969. The team explored the northern side of the Kanjiroba Himal, but had to abandon attempts on the north-west and north-east ridges as too dangerous. The expedition came close to disaster when, climbing a smooth rocky rib above a lateral moraine, they looked up to see a huge avalanche thundering towards a gully beside them. In 1998 at 70 years old, John Tyson returned to the mountain for the last time. The story of this return is shown in the documentary 'Journey to Kanjiroba'.

A group of peaks in the north-western part of Nepal, called the Kanjiroba Himal, has been John Tyson's obsession for over 40 years. A modest schoolmaster, by profession, he returned to the Himalayas, again and again. His quest was to venture where no one had dared to explore in order to map uncharted territory. The risk of such exploits can be great, even leading to the ultimate price. However, between 1961 and 1969 John faced these risks in three different expeditions to this remote region. In 1998 at 70 years old, he returned to the Kanjiroba Himal, for the last time.

Record of John Tyson's second expedition to Kanjiroba, which he led in 1964. The team attacked from the north-west down the Langu Khola, an even more forbidding gorge, and managed to reach the mouth of a side-stream that looked promising. Hacking a route up it, they eventually scaled a 20,000ft peak called Bhulu Lhasa which gave a good vantage point. From there they could see that two knife-edge ridges, overlooking glaciers, made their route to Kanjiroba impassable. In 1998 at 70 years old, John Tyson returned to the mountain for the last time. The story of this return is shown in the documentary 'Journey to Kanjiroba'.