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Gasping Thin Air – a new book by Jo Bradwell
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Birmingham Medical Research Expeditionary Society (BMRES), their President, Jo Bradwell, has written a book documenting the organisation’s many medical expeditions over the years
A unique organisation, the BMRES was formed in 1977 by a group of young doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham who were looking to combine a passion for adventure with medical research. Their very first expedition took them to the Annapurna mountains of Nepal to test the effects of low oxygen, since then they’ve completed 14 further expeditions to many of the planet’s most challenging mountain ranges. The pioneering research they have carried out along the way has contributed significantly to the world’s medical knowledge of the impact of extreme environments on the human body.
Mountain Kingdoms has organised expeditions for the BMRES to Ecuador in South America, Bhutan in the Himalaya and Sikkim in India, and next year they are hoping to head back to where it all started on our Grand Annapurna Traverse.
If you’d like to find out more about the thrilling work and adventures of the BMRES take a look at Jo Bradwell’s enthralling new book – Gasping Thin Air. With 450 pages, over 350 photographs, 100 line drawings and detailed maps, it’s sure to capture your imagination and make a great Christmas gift. You can pre-order from the society’s website here.
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Autumn Inspiration
If the summer's let you down and you're still in need of some sunshine and good walking, then look no further than our latest enews. It features loads of holidays with autumn availability from Croatia to Nepal to Patagonia, so you could soon be out on the trail enjoying your next great adventure.
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Farewell to Wilderness Lectures
One summer’s day in 1987 Steve Berry (our MD) and fellow adventurer, Steve Marriott, were standing at the foot of the cliffs in Avon gorge. Having agreed that it was too hot to climb, they had been killing time in a ‘Wouldn’t it be great if…’ competition. This was when the fantasy of listening to the epic stories of their favourite heroes became a solid plan…
Since then, the two Steves and their caving friend Dick Willis, have organised more than 400 lectures whose general theme has been ‘Worldwide Adventure’. These epic stories have taken the audiences from the deepest point of the deepest ocean to the summit of Mount Everest, and from darkest, dankest inner spaces of our planet to even darker journeys in Outer Space. There have been mountaineers, sailors, cyclists, divers, balloonists, and even a man who cycled around the world on a penny farthing, and another who flew his car from Europe over the Straights of Gibraltar to Africa. There have been world famous explorers, record breakers, and people who have headed out into the remote unknown just for the hell of it.
Having run Wilderness for 36 years the three friends have decided to step back and retire so there will be no series this winter. However, they would be really happy if a younger individual, or a group of friends, would step forward to take over Wilderness and pick up where they are leaving off. If anyone is interested contact Wilderness Lectures here.
NEW Naar Phu Circuit Trek
We've just launched new tea house trek in the heart of the Annapurna Mountains in Nepal. An exhilarating, 18-day trekking trip, the Naar Phu Circuit takes you away from the popular trails of the Annapurnas, into a genuinely remote and truly spectacular region where access remains restricted.
Take a look at the full trip details here or speak to Harry in the Mountain Kingdoms office who completed the Naar Phu Circuit Trek earlier this year and rates it as the best he's ever done.