Peter Boardman (25 December 1950 – 17 May 1982) was an English mountaineer and author. He is best known for a series of bold and lightweight expeditions to the Himalayas, often in partnership with Joe Tasker, and for his contribution to mountain literature. Boardman and Tasker died on the North East Ridge of Mount Everest in 1982. The Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature was established in their memory.
Early life and education Boardman was born in Stockport, Cheshire, England, the youngest son of Alan Howe Boardman (1920–1979) and Dorothy Boardman (1923–2007). He attended Stockport Grammar School from 1956 to 1969, going on school trips to Corsica in 1964 and 1965, and to the Swabian Alps in 1966. Boardman first began climbing with school friends at Windgather Rocks in the Peak District National Park. After joining the Mynydd Climbing Club in 1966, Boardman's climbing progressed quickly and he went on to climb in the Pennine Alps in 1968.Boardman, Peter (1981) "1956–69: Thirteen years of SGS rule" (unpublished notes) Pete Boardman memorial calendar and Stockport Grammar memories . Accessed 10 November 2012
From 1969 to 1972, Boardman studied English at the University of Nottingham where he was President of the Mountaineering Club from 1971 to 1972. While at university Boardman climbed extensively in Britain and Europe and embarked on his first expedition, to Afghanistan, in 1972.For details of Boardman's climbing activities while at Nottingham, see Nottingham University Mountaineering Club Journal 1969–70; 1970–71; and 1971–73. Retrieved 24 March 2012. After Nottingham, Boardman obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (English and outdoor activities) from the University College of North Wales in 1973.
Personal life Boardman married Hilary Collins in August 1980. They first met in 1974 when Hilary attended a course at Glenmore Lodge instructed by Boardman. After the Changabang expedition in 1976 Hilary arranged for Boardman to give a slide show at Belper High School where she was the teacher responsible for outdoor activities. Soon after they began climbing together in Derbyshire and Scotland. Hilary shared Boardman's passion for mountains and they climbed together on Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and Carstensz Pyramid. Hilary left Britain to take up a teaching position in Switzerland where she was later joined by Boardman when he took over as Director of the International School of Mountaineering in Leysin.Boardman, Peter (1982) Sacred Summits London: Hodder and Stoughton. pp17-18.
Career With his postgraduate qualification, and climbing and mountaineering experience, Boardman was set on the path to becoming a professional mountaineer. In 1973, he became an instructor at Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore. He moved on to become the National Officer at the British Mountaineering Council in 1975. In 1978 Boardman took over as Director of the International School of Mountaineering in Leysin, Switzerland, after Dougal Haston's death, a position he held until his own death in 1982. Other positions and qualifications held by Boardman include: Mountain Guide Carnet – September 1977. Vice-president, British Mountaineering Council. Elected in 1979. President, Association of British Mountain Guides. Elected in 1979.
Mountaineering Europe Boardman climbed extensively in Europe throughout his career. His early climbs included: 1970 Petit Dru, SW PillarWith Chris Fitzhugh. See "Climbs and regional notes", Alpine Journal 1971. p194. 1971 First British ascents of the North Face Direct of the Olan, WNW face of Pic Sans Nom and SW face of Aiguille de Sialouze.With Chris Fitzhugh. See "Notes 1971 The Alps" Alpine Journal 1972, pp235-236. Boardman also climbed the north face of the Matterhorn, and met Joe Tasker and Dick Renshaw for the first time on the North Spur of the Droites.Matterhorn climb with Martin Wragg. For both climbs see Peter Boardman (1978)The Shining Mountain London: Hodder. pp14-15. 1973 First British ascents of the North Face of the Nesthorn and the North Face Direct of the Lauterbrunnen Breithorn.Both climbs with Bob Barton. For Nesthorn climb see "Notes 1973 Europe" Alpine Journal 1974, p253. For Breithorn climb see B. Barton, "Lauterbrunnen Breithorn – North face" Alpine Journal 1974, pp71-73.
Hindu Kush, 1972 Boardman's first expedition outside Europe was with fellow members of the Nottingham University Mountaineering Club who drove overland to the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan in the summer of 1972. A training climb on the North Face of Koh-i-Khaaik (5,860m) turned into an epic when the climbers underestimated the difficulty of the Face, taking longer than planned to reach the summit and necessitating a 50-mile walk back to Base Camp. Boardman wrote "A Westerner's luxury" about this particular climb as a script for the BBC television series "In the Light of Experience". The 15-minute segment screened on BBC2 in March 1978."Kabul:City Number One", bbc.co.uk, 18 September 2009. (Video of "A Westerner's luxury retrieved from BBC archive by documentary-maker Adam Curtis.) Their main objective, the unclimbed North Face of Koh-i-Mondi (6,234m), was climbed relatively uneventfully. In all, expedition members climbed five new peaks and five new routes.Wragg, Martin "Realisation of a Dream", Nottingham University Mountaineering Club Journal, 1971–73 , pp5-8.Boardman, Peter (1974) "Hindu Kush – Alpine Style", Alpine Journal 1974, pp110-114.Boardman, Peter "Long Necks in the Hindu Kush", Mountain No. 36, June 1974, pp15-21.
Mount Dan Beard, Alaska, 1974 In May 1974, Boardman and Roger O'Donovan made the first ascent via the South Face, and the second ascent overall, of Mount Dan Beard (3,127m) in the Alaska Range.O'Donovan, Roger "The South Face of Mount Dan Beard" Alpine Journal 1975, pp63-66.Mount Dan Beard. Retrieved 26 March 2012. An attempt on Denali was abandoned when O'Donovan became ill.Boardman, Peter (1978)The Shining Mountain London, Hodder and Stoughton. p23
Everest, South West Face, 1975 When Chris Bonington was recruiting for the large, siege-style expedition to climb the South West Face of Everest, Boardman was recommended by Paul Braithwaite as a talented climber who would be compatible with other team members. The expedition was successful in placing the first two Britons, Doug Scott and Dougal Haston, on the summit on 24 September 1975. Boardman and Pertemba, the expedition's head Sirdar, reached the summit on 26 September. On their descent, they met Mick Burke a short distance below the summit and still ascending. They waited for him at the South Summit in deteriorating weather, but Burke was never seen alive again.Boardman, Peter & Richards, Ronnie (1976) "British Everest expedition SW face 1975" Alpine Journal 1976, pp3-15.Bonington, Chris (1976) "Everest Southwest Face" American Alpine Journal, 1976, pp345-357.Bonington, Chris (1976) Everest the Hard Way, Hodder and Stoughton, London.Boardman, Peter (1978) "Everest is Not a Private Affair" in Ken Wilson (ed)(1978) Games Climbers Play, Diadem Books, London.Documentary film: Everest the Hard Way
Changabang, West Wall, 1976 Boardman and Joe Tasker, on their first expedition together, made the first ascent of the West Wall of Changabang (6,864m) in the Garhwal Himalaya in India. The climb took 25 days during September and October 1976.Tasker, Joe "Changabang, West Wall" in "Climbs and Expeditions" American Alpine Journal 1977, pp248-249.Tasker, Joe (1977) "Changabang West Wall" Climber and Rambler January 1977, pp15-21.Boardman, Peter (1977) "Changabang Commentary" Mountain No. 55, May/June 1977, pp18-27. It was considered "probably the most outstanding lightweight Himalayan climb so far achieved"."Notes – Asia" Alpine Journal 1977, p239. Changabang had been Joe Tasker's idea; he had seen it the previous year while on Dunagiri with Dick Renshaw. As Renshaw was recovering from frostbite Tasker had asked Boardman if he was interested in a new route on Changabang. Boardman had agreed readily with Tasker's proposal: "This climb would be all that I wanted. Something that would be totally committing, that would bring my self-respect into line with the public recognition I had received for Everest."Boardman, Peter (1978)The Shining Mountain London, Hodder and Stoughton. p17.Tasker, Joe (1982) Chap. 4 "Figures on a Screen: Changabang" in Savage Arena London, Methuen.
K2, West Ridge, 1978 Boardman was invited by Chris Bonington to join an expedition to K2 (8,611m) in 1978. The team was composed of climbers Paul Braithwaite, Nick Estcourt, Doug Scott and Joe Tasker, as well as a doctor, Jim Duff, and cameraman Tony Riley. At the time, K2 had been climbed successfully only twice and the West Ridge not at all.In September 1978, an American team reached the summit via a different route. See Reichardt, Louis (1979) "K2: The End of a 40-Year American Quest". American Alpine Journal 1979, pp1–18. Boardman and Tasker reached a height of approximately 6,700m, but the expedition was abandoned when Estcourt was killed in an avalanche.Bonington, Chris (1979) "British K2 Expedition", American Alpine Journal 1979, pp19-23.Scott, Doug (1992) Himalayan Climber London, Diadem. p122.Tasker, Joe (1982) Savage Arena London, Methuen. pp127-158.Documentary film: K2: The Savage Mountain
Carstensz Pyramid, 1978 In December 1978 Boardman and Hilary Collins made the first ascent of the South Face of Carstensz Pyramid (4,884m) in the Indonesian province of Papua on the island of New Guinea. In early January 1979 they climbed the nearby peak Dugundugu and, with two French climbers, traversed the three summits of Ngga Pulu.Boardman, Peter (1982) Sacred Summits London, Hodder and Stoughton.Collins, Hilary The Snow Mountains of Irian Jaya, Alpine Journal 1980, pp118-121
Kangchenjunga, North Ridge, 1979 On 16 May 1979 Boardman, together with Doug Scott and Joe Tasker, reached the summit of Kangchenjunga (8,586m) via the North Ridge. This was the third ascent overall and the first via this route. Two earlier attempts by the team (which included French mountaineer Georges Bettembourg) were thwarted by storms high on the mountain.Boardman, Peter (1979) "No More Himalayan Heroes", Climber and Rambler November 1979. pp34-41Boardman, Peter (1979) "The Untrodden Peak" Observer Magazine, 11 November 1979.Boardman, Peter (1982) Sacred Summits London: Hodder and Stoughton.Scott, Doug (1980) "Kangchenjunga from the North", American Alpine Journal 1980, pp437-444.Scott, Doug (1992) Himalayan Climber London: Diadem Books. pp92-103.Tasker, Joe (1980) "Kangchenjunga North Ridge 1979", Alpine Journal, 1980. pp 49–58.Tasker, Joe (1982) Savage Arena London: Methuen. pp 159–213.Bettembourg, Georges (with Michael Brame) (1981) The White Death Seattle: Reynard House. pp103-177.
Gauri Sankar, South Summit, 1979 Boardman led an Anglo-Nepalese expedition to make the first ascent of the southern summit of Gauri Sankar, a twin-peaked mountain in Nepal. The team composed of Boardman, Pemba Lama, Tim Leach and Guy Neithardt reached the South Summit (7,010m) on 9 November 1979 via the West Ridge. Fellow expedition member John Barry, who had been injured in a fall, waited at a lower camp.Boardman, Peter (1980) "Gauri Sankar Report", Climber and Rambler, April 1980. pp40-42.Boardman, Peter (1980) "Gaurishankar, South Summit", American Alpine Journal, 1980. pp616-618.Boardman, Peter (1982) Sacred Summits London: Hodder and Stoughton.Barry, John (1981) "Come on lads: it's no worse than the Midi-Plan", Alpine Journal, 1981. pp39-47.
K2, West Ridge and Abruzzi Spur, 1980