Sir Christian Bonington at his home in Cumbria, England, September 2010.

Chris Bonington is Britain’s best known mountaineer. He began climbing in 1951 and over the next 50 years did difficult first ascents in most of the greater mountain ranges of the world including:

1st ascent Annapurna II (26,041 ft)  1960

1st ascent Nuptse (25,850 ft) 1961

1st ascent Central Pillar of Freney 1961

1st British ascent North Wall of The Eiger 1962

1st ascent Central Tower of Paine (8760 ft), Patagonia 1963

Leader of successful Annapurna South Face Expedition 1970

1st ascent Brammah (21,030 ft) 1973

1st ascent Changabang (22,520 ft) 1974

Leader of successful Everest South West Face Expedition 1975

1st ascent, the Ogre (23,900 ft)1977

1st ascent Mount Kongur, Western Xinjiang, China (25,325 ft) 1981

1st ascent Shivling West (21,250 ft) 1983

1st ascent West Ridge, Panch Chuli II, Kumaon Himalaya, India, 1992

1st ascent The Needle, Greenland 1993

He has led and been on 19 Himalayan expeditions, including 4 to Everest which he summited in 1985 at the age of fifty. His partners were no slouches either, he frequently partnered with the likes of Ian Clough, Don Whillans, Tom Patey, Doug Scott, Dougal Haston and others. He’s also the author of 17 books.

Riccardo Cassin - Resinelli, Italy

© Jim Herrington

He lived to the ripe old age of 100. He died a week after I took this photo of him at his home high in the mountains above Lake Como in Italy. One of the greatest mountain climbers of all time.