Sir Christian John Storey Bonington,

CVO CVO may refer to: Science and technology * Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington, US * Chief veterinary officer, the head of a veterinary authority * Circumventricular organs, positioned around the ventricular system of the brain * Co ...

, 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, 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-terro ...

. Bonington first began climbing in 1951 at age 16. Educated at University College School in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, 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 wars ...

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 academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

, 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 First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as th ...

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 in 1958, and the first ascent of the Central Pillar of Freney on the south side of Mont Blanc in 1961 with Don Whillans, Ian Clough and

Jan Dlugosz Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

(Poland). In 1960 he was part of the successful joint British-Indian-Nepalese forces expedition to Annapurna II. On leaving the British Army in 1961, he joined Van den Berghs, a division of Unilever, 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 in Ecuador and hunting

caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

with Inuit on

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

. 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. 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 The 1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition was the first to successfully climb Mount Everest by ascending one of its faces. In the post-monsoon season Chris Bonington led the expedition which used rock climbing techniques to put f ...

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 appearances, and received many honours, including the chancellorship of

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

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 require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

Federation. He has lived in Cumbria since 1974. He is a patron, and former president (1988–91), of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC). He succeeded Edmund Hillary 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 (MND), inspiring Bonington to support MND charities. The couple had three children: Conrad (died 1966), Daniel, and Rupert. The family lived at Caldbeck, Cumbria. Bonington married Loreto McNaught-Davis on Saturday 23 April 2016. McNaught-Davis is the widow of mountaineer and television presenter Ian McNaught-Davis who died in February 2014. The ceremony took place in London in the presence of about 60 friends and family members, including Bonington's son, Rupert.

Tributes

In 1974 Bonington received the Founder's Medal 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 St Helen's School London is a British independent private day school for girls aged three to eighteen in Northwood, North West London. It is associated with the Merchant Taylors' Company and works in close collaboration with the local Merchant ...

, 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 This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' in 2003 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel at a hotel in Heathrow.

Honours

Bonington was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1976 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 knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1996 for his services to the sport. He was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the 2010 Birthday Honours for his services to the Outward Bound Trust. He was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Cumbria in 2004. In 2015, Bonnington 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, Mont Blanc (First ascent) with Ian Clough, Don Whillans and Jan Długosz * 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 a ...

(First British ascent) with Ian Clough * 1963 Central Tower of Paine, Patagonia (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 Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar, Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar show caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years ...

(First ascent) * 1966 Old Man of Hoy (First ascent) with Tom Patey * 1973 Brammah (6411 metres; 21,033') (First ascent) with Nick Estcourt * 1974 Changabang, Garhwal Himalaya (6864 metres; 22,520') (First ascent) with Don Whillans, Doug Scott and Dougal Haston * 1975 Southwest face of Mount Everest (8848 metres; 29,029') * 1977 Baintha Brakk (7285 metres; 23,900') (First ascent) with Doug Scott * 1981 Kongur Tagh (7719 metres; 25,325') (First ascent) with Joe Tasker, Al Rouse and Pete Boardman * 1983 West Summit of Shivling,

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 Bhagirathi � ...

(6501 metres; 21,329') (First Ascent) * 1983 Vinson Massif (4897 metres; 16,066') (First British ascent – solo) * 1985 Mount Everest as member of Norwegian Everest Expedition * 1987

Menlungtse Melungtse (Chinese language, Chinese: 门隆则峰; bo, Jobo Garu; Chinese language, Chinese: 乔格茹峰, Pinyin: ''Qiáogérú Fēng''; other English spelling: ''Menlungtse'') is the highest mountain of the Rolwaling Himal in the Himalayas. ...

(7181 metres; 23,560') 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

West (7023 metres; 23,041') 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. * 2014

The Old Man of Hoy The Old Man of Hoy is a sea stack on Hoy, part of the Orkney archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. Formed from Old Red Sandstone, it is one of the tallest stacks in the United Kingdom. The Old Man is popular with climbers, and was first c ...

(137 metres; 450') to mark his 80th birthday and to raise funds for motor neuron disease charities

Expedition leader

* 1970 British Annapurna South Face expedition, successful, summit reached by Dougal Haston and Don Whillans; death of Ian Clough * 1972 Mount Everest, (south-west face), unsuccessful *

, successful, summit reached by Doug Scott, Dougal Haston, Peter Boardman,

Pertemba Sherpa Pertemba (born 15 February 1948), also called Pertemba Sherpa, is a professional Nepalese mountaineer, trek leader and businessman. He reached the summit of Mount Everest by the Southwest Face on the first expedition to successfully take that rout ...

and Mick Burke; death of Burke * 1978 K2 (west face), unsuccessful; death of Nick Estcourt * 1982 Mount Everest (north-east ridge), unsuccessful; death of Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker :Although expedition leader, Bonington did not reach the summit of these peaks on these expeditions

Mount Everest record

Chris Bonington briefly became the oldest known person to summit Mount Everest in April 1985, at the age of 50. He was surpassed by Richard Bass (of Seven Summits fame), who summited later that same season at 55 years old, five years older than Bonington. The record has been surpassed multiple 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 Living people Royal Tank Regiment officers English mountain climbers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Bachelor People in sports awarded knighthoods People educated at University College School People from Hampstead Presidents of the Alpine Club (UK) British summiters of Mount Everest People associated with Lancaster University Deputy Lieutenants of Cumbria People from Caldbeck