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. In all, expedition members climbed five new peaks and five new routes. Their main objective, the unclimbed North Face of Koh-i-Mondi (6,234m), was climbed relatively uneventfully. 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. īoardman'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.
President, Association of British Mountain Guides.Vice-president, British Mountaineering Council.Mountain Guide Carnet – September 1977.Other positions and qualifications held by Boardman include: 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. He moved on to become the National Officer at the British Mountaineering Council in 1975. In 1973, he became an instructor at Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore.
With his postgraduate qualification, and climbing and mountaineering experience, Boardman was set on the path to becoming a professional mountaineer. 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. Hilary shared Boardman's passion for mountains and they climbed together on Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and Carstensz Pyramid. Soon after they began climbing together in Derbyshire and Scotland. 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.
They first met in 1974 when Hilary attended a course at Glenmore Lodge instructed by Boardman. Personal life īoardman married Hilary Collins in August 1980. After Nottingham, Boardman obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (English and outdoor activities) from the University College of North Wales in 1973. While at university Boardman climbed extensively in Britain and Europe and embarked on his first expedition, to Afghanistan, in 1972. įrom 1969 to 1972, Boardman studied English at the University of Nottingham where he was President of the Mountaineering Club from 1971 to 1972. 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 first began climbing with school friends at Windgather Rocks in the Peak District National Park. He attended Stockport Grammar School from 1956 to 1969, going on school trips to Corsica in 19, and to the Swabian Alps in 1966.