Jon Gupta

Kanchenjunga // SUMMIT SUCCESS! What. A. Moment. I am overjoyed to post that all 5 members of my team plus our 6 Sherpa reached the summit of Kanchenjunga at 8am on 12th May! 🇳🇵 Pemba Nuru Sherpa (Khumjung) 🇳🇵 Dawa Tenji Sherpa (Khumjung) 🇳🇵 Lhakpa Wongchu Sherpa (Pangboche) 🇳🇵 Ang Kame Sherpa (Makalu) 🇳🇵 Ang Tendi Sherpa (Bupsa) 🇳🇵 Mingmar Rinji Sherpa (Makalu) 🇬🇧 Jon Gupta 🇬🇧 Matt Elkin 🇬🇧 Adam Booth 🇬🇧 Nick Martiny-Roberts 🇬🇧 Tom Lawfield 🇬🇧 Rupert Jones-Warner Everyone absolutely fine albeit tired and with tired legs! Just got back to Basecamp. More to come very soon… ————————— • Kanchenjunga • ————————— — Sponsors — @rab.equipment @we_are_sungod @haxted @lifepass_eu @johnstonquarrygroup — Partners — @himguides @lhakpa_wongchu_sherpa @supportnepalschildren @reality.maps — Associations — @ami_professionals @youth_adventure_trust @trekandmountainmagazine @sidetrackedmag @mounteverestofficial @everestexpert @himalayanhigh @arnette.alan @8000ers.news @14mount8000 #kanchenjunga #kanch #nepal #himalayas #sherpa #kathmandu #discovernepal #visitnepal #everest #rab #wearerab #mountains #climbing #trekking #altitude #expedition #highaltitude #adventure #outside #extreme #travel #thegreatoutdoors #photooftheday #nature #outdoors #climb #mountaineering #montane #gopro #gopromax

Post Summit Selfie // Worked Time Poem // We arrived into the south col at 14:34. We drank, we rested and we prepared some more. We left at 22:40 up & out into the night. 10 hours went past, as we put up a fight. The sunrise came as we reached the south summit. We gazed at the summit ridge, we’d almost done it. We stayed for nearly an hour, soaking it all in. Before returning to the south col for a tonic & gin. (Only joking!) We rested and recovered as well as we could, and crashed out early to prepare as we should. The Lhotse alarm went off at 04:15, to early for me (!) but we were both keen. By 06:00 we were ready to go, out into the sunshine back to moving super slow. Lhotse was quiet and perfect in every way, we shuffled up slowly with not much to say. Words were not required as we climbed to the tip top. But time for high fives so close to the steep drop! It was 13:00 & we’d achieved the double, now time to descend & stay out of trouble. One step at a time, we climbed down through the storm. Right through to Camp 2 & back to the warm. 19:45. Done. ———————————————————— • Everest & Lhotse Expedition 2021 • ———————————————————— — Sponsors — @montaneofficial @we_are_sungod @fatmap_official @lifepass_eu @johnstonquarrygroup — Partners — @madisonmtng @lhakpa_wongchu_sherpa @supportnepalschildren @move_mountains_for_malcolm @himguides @reality.maps — Associations — @ami_professionals @teambmc @mtntraining @youth_adventure_trust @trekandmountainmagazine @sidetrackedmag @lyonequipment @petzl_official @lasportivagram @gopro @goprouk @mounteverestofficial @everestexperts @himalayanhigh @arnette.alan . . . #everest #lhotse #nepal #khumbu #himalayas #sherpa #kathmandu #discovernepal #visitnepal . #8000m #mountains #climbing #trekking #altitude #expedition #highaltitude #adventure #outside #extreme #travel #thegreatoutdoors #photooftheday #nature #outdoors #climb #mountaineering . #montane #everestexperts #gopro #gopromax

Lhotse Wingsuit 8K // A day spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted This expedition is unique. We’re attempting to access a point on the Lhotse Ridge that has never been climbed before. We’re searching for an exit above 8000m, a suitable ledge, where all the requirements are met. Here, Tim will switch uniforms from high altitude to wingsuit. We have discussed and rehearsed this dress change. It needs to be slick. To access the exit area we’ve located, we are planning to climb a new route to the ridge. A ~500m plumb line couloir directs to the ridge at ~8200m. From here, we need to climb 50-100m of technical climbing to reach what looks like a small platform. So many unknowns, so much hanging in the balance. So cool. - A few days ago, I went with Siddhi and Tendi Sherpa to try and fix a route to an exit ‘summit down’. We climbed the Lhotse Couloir (normal route) to ~8500m then began climbing a new line to the east. Siddhi smoothly dispatched a 60m length of mixed ground to reach the main ridge; I followed, reveling in the feeling of being on previously unclimbed ground. He complained that there weren’t any good pitons on his pitch and handed me the axes. After switching the rest of the gear, I took the lead out across a very exposed snow ridge to see what’s what. It looked sensational. Being belayed off a single snow stake at 8500m as I tiptoed out across the ridge sharpened my concentration. My down suit obscured the view of my feet, and my oxygen mask felt cumbersome as I breathed hard; I had to feel everything. I pushed in another snow stake and clipped the rope in; it was the only protection available. It went in far too easily; the snow was poor, and I knew there was no chance it would hold a fall. Inching further around a faint arete, the aspect changed, and the snow firmed up a little, and I relaxed, this situation was immense… …CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS!! #lhotse #everest #8000 #wingsuit @tim_howell_adventure @siddhi_ghising @himguides @rab.equipment @inigo_insurance

Guide Spotlight: @mountexpeds Name: Jon Gupta Instagram: @mountexpeds Home: N Wales / Passy (Chamonix) Qualified in: August 2025 Best mountain experience: Climbing the Dru North Face in winter with @jack.morris94 Incredible mixed climbing, world-class bivvy ledges, and a truly inspiring few days on a big face. Best guiding experience: Guiding on the five highest mountains in the world has been a real privilege. Kanchenjunga stands out - a brilliant mix of people, strong teamwork, total commitment, and a truly special summit day. What’s next? A Himalayan expedition film project, working on a wingsuit descent from 8350m on Lhotse. Then a long summer guiding in the Alps, and hopefully a return to Antarctica in November with ALE. Images: Jon Gupta Collection | 3&4 @brodiehoodmedia | 6&7 @danjones94 @rab.equipment @ifmgaofficial @dmm_wales @joebrownshops @climbersshop @factionskis

Antarctica // When The Noise Stops People often ask me what I want to climb next. Where I want to go. I usually pause before answering. Not because I don’t have ideas, but because the question assumes there’s always a next thing waiting, another line to draw forward. For a long time, that suited me. Movement gave shape to my life. Seasons, objectives, departures. I knew who I was when I was going somewhere, even if it sometimes meant leaving people behind. As I approach forty, I can see that this way of living has carried me further than I ever expected. I remember being twenty-one, newly qualified as a Mountain Leader, sitting around evening camp fires listening to senior instructors tell stories of expeditions to far corners of the world. Back then, it felt distant. Something other people did. Something you admired from the outside. Somehow, it became my life. I’m deeply proud of what I’ve achieved as a Guide. It remains my greatest privilege that people trust me to take them into wild places, to climb high peaks, to abseil into sea cliffs, to climb frozen waterfalls, to ski tour into the unknown. That trust carries weight, and I never forget it. Last year I passed the IFMGA British Mountain Guide. It demanded more of me than anything before it. It was a long period of saying no, of missing things, of committing everything I had to something larger than myself and living with the consequences. Some of those noes were easier to justify than others. I gave it everything. I passed. And when it was finally over, something unexpected happened. For the first time in a long while, I wasn’t sure what I was running towards anymore. — Then came Antarctica. For 76 days, from November 12th to January 26th, I lived on the ice. While you’re there, it becomes all-encompassing. Work, rest, weather, movement, purpose - all blur into one. Life narrows, and in that narrowing something sharpens… ⬇️⬇️ CONTINUED IN COMMENTS ⬇️⬇️ @antarcticlogistics @rab.equipment @rab.equipment.uk

Antarctica // I would do anything for love My fourth summit of Vinson, and the final one of the season. The expedition took six days in total. Six days of steady effort, small routines, early starts, long hours, and quiet persistence. Adrian and Jon gave everything they had, and in the end they were rewarded for it. We were the last team to head up. The day before, six guided groups reached the summit in full whiteout. A day later, the three of us stood on top entirely alone. Two rangers summited briefly before heading off to climb another peak, and then the mountain returned to stillness. Summit day was everything you could hope for - warm, calm, and bright. A high Antarctic sun with just enough cloud to give depth to the sky. We moved slowly, deliberately, not rushing the final steps. With each step higher I was aware that we were closing something out. When we arrived, there was no noise, no urgency, just space. We smiled, embraced, and then stood quietly. Thin cloud drifted through, opening and closing the views, turning the horizon into an ever-changing theatre. Ice crystals hung in the air and caught the light. Mini rainbows appeared and vanished. Standing there, I felt the stillness, and the weight, of being finished. A few months ago I stood on this summit for the first time. My crampons were the first to touch the top this season. I stood side by side with Tom, one of my best friends, just the two of us. Yesterday, I took a moment alone on the summit before descending. The last crampons to touch the top this season. Vinson will now sit quiet and untouched for the next ten months. ⬇️⬇️ CONTINUED IN COMMENTS ⬇️⬇️ @rab.equipment @rab.equipment.uk @antarcticlogistics @mymcoapp

After years guiding in the Himalaya and the Alps, I’ve learned one thing: a rope team is only as strong as its people. That’s why I have joined @mymcoapp as an Athlete. It's a mobile application built around something I care deeply about. As an IFMGA Mountain Guide, I’m constantly assessing fit: matching clients to the right climbs, choosing the right co-guides, and making sure people are placed in situations where they can move safely and confidently. The mountains demand that level of care. I’ve seen what makes a rope team strong, and what puts it at risk. And as climbing culture shifts, indoor gyms and bouldering walls have opened the door to thousands of newcomers. It’s brilliant for the sport, but with accessibility comes a challenge: more people are heading into the mountains without the same depth of experience. For me, that shift makes trust and transparency more important than ever. Confidence alone cannot replace skills. In the mountains, knowing your limits and being honest about them can be the difference between safety and real risk. Self-reported experience is never enough. Cross-check it. Normalize safety conversations so they feel encouraging, not judgmental. What's more, technical ability is only half the equation. I believe that a strong rope team also depends on fit: respect, openness and a willingness to share responsibility. The social dynamic can either strengthen a team or put it under strain. That’s why I’m proud to support MYMCO’s mission: a vision of climbing, where skills and social fit go together, creating rope teams that move with trust, balance, and purpose. If you haven’t checked out MYMCO yet, now’s a good time. The app just launched a couple of weeks ago in Apple Store and Google Play, and is improving and growing week by week.

Antarctica // Vinson & The 7 Summits Many people begin their high-altitude mountain journey on Kilimanjaro. You rise through jungle and cloud, step above the world for the first time, and something shifts inside you. There is untold magic on Kilimanjaro—it’s hard to explain. And then the question appears. What’s next? It lingers quietly, following you everywhere. For many, that question leads to the 7 Summits - the highest mountain on every continent. A staircase of bigger, colder, higher mountains, including Everest. Most start and stop after a few peaks. Costs rise. Interests shift. Other mountains call. There is nothing wrong with that. I never chased the list, but I liked having it quietly in the background. Not as a goal in its own right, but as a by-product of a job I love so much. Over the years I found myself busy elsewhere. Himalaya, Karakoram, Alps, Scotland. Guiding seasons, personal climbing, high-altitude expeditions. Around one hundred and thirty of them at last count. In 2018 I helped Steve Plain climb the 7 Summits in world-record time. I organised and climbed all of them beside him, except Vinson, which waited quietly in the back of my mind. - Antarctica is not like anywhere else. It feels ancient and untouched. Empty. Honest. Step off the plane and the first thing you notice is the silence. Not the usual silence of windless mountains, but a deeper, heavier one, pressing against your skin. The continent is endless white, but every shade is different. Blue ice glowing like old glass. Deep shadows stretching for miles. Light sharp enough to cut. Nothing moves. Nothing makes noise. Yet it does not feel lonely. It feels clean, stripped of everything unnecessary. You hear your own breath. Your own thoughts. Nowhere to hide from either. Guiding for ALE this season means living in that world. The cold is permanent and the air so dry it feels like it could break. Frost crawling across sleeping bags in slow motion. Sun circling the sky without ever setting. It gets inside you in ways I did not expect. ⬇️⬇️ CONTINUED IN COMMENTS ⬇️⬇️ @antarcticlogistics @rab.equipment.uk

Khumbu // Alex Buisse [My friend Alex recently asked if I would like to contribute to his new book - specifically a short piece to go with the chapter on the Khumbu. I hope you like it!] I lie awake in the tent on the South Col, cocooned in my sleeping bag at nearly 8,000 metres. The air is thin. Moisture from my breath freezes instantly against the tent fabric, just inches from my face. Sleep evades me. Outside, the wind hammers the tent, and the stove hisses as it melts snow in the porch. I am very much alive. Calm, yet my mind races. Six hours until we climb. This was my fifth time in Nepal, my fourth in the Khumbu. I was twenty-six, on Everest, the biggest of them all. Six years guiding and climbing high altitude mountains had prepared me, yet nothing matched this gravity. It felt different. The journey from Lukla through the Khumbu to Basecamp is a rite of passage, and each time I return, I see another layer. The trail winds past tea houses and villages where the hum of daily life wraps around you like old friends. Sherpa families laugh together, children play in dusty courtyards, yaks shift their loads up granite steps. Faces start to become familiar. People with lives, rhythms, quiet stories. Each return deepens my understanding of Sherpa culture and the lifeblood sustaining expeditions. At the head of the valley, Basecamp awakens. Cooks stir pots at dawn. Tea boys dart between tents. Porters arrive and depart in endless waves. Behind it all, a tireless web of Sherpas carries loads through the Icefall, fixes ropes high on the mountain, enduring endless, thankless hours to enable climbers’ ambitions. It humbles me every time. We left the tent around 10 pm, climbing through darkness under the beam of my headtorch, Jabu Sherpa just behind. At the Balcony I swapped oxygen cylinders. Eerily quiet. Where was everyone? For a moment, the mountain felt empty. I pressed on. Crampons crunching on hard, frozen snow. Lungs drawing rhythmically with the hiss of oxygen. ⬇...CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS...⬇ Post for @alexbuisse Images by @brodiehoodmedia @rab.equipment.uk @rab.equipment @climbingthesevensummits @tag_nepal

🥇RECORD // Guiding the Top 5 highest mountains in the world! 1. Everest 2. K2 3. Kanchenjunga 4. Lhotse 5. Maklau To the best of public record (and research) it appears that I am the first/only non-Nepali to have guided clients on the Top 5 highest mountains in the world. I had no idea until a friend recently told me (as he’d been looking into the same record). I don’t climb these big peaks for records, infact I’m often helping facilitate them for someone else, but it’s nice to accidentally get one occasionally! I’m proud of this one too. Ps. I have actually guided on the Top 8 now 🙂, but didn’t reach the true summit on Manalsu or Dhaulagiri so will have to go back. Video is from my 2021 summit with Bex. The fourth time on top of Everest. YOUTUBE // You can watch climbs of all 5 summits on my YouTube channel - link in Bio 🙌 @explorersweb @arnette.alan @rab.equipment @rab.equipment.uk #everest #8000

Cho Oyu 8201m // Hope & Altitude After a week sat at Advance Basecamp (5,700m), doubt crept in. The endless waiting, the uncertainty, the isolation, I started asking myself, what’s the point? I escaped the monotony of the dining tent and sipped hot ducha (milk tea) in the kitchen, sharing a few rare, quiet words with Raj Kumar, our cook. We’d worked together back in 2017 on Everest’s north side. I love that connection. Searching for some meaning in all the noise, I asked if he enjoyed spending months of his life cooking in a tent at high altitude. He smiled. “Yes, Jon Dai, of course.” He could see the restlessness in me, the struggle with waiting. He refilled my cup and continued preparing dinner. I sat, watched, and thought. Here in Tibet we also had two Tibetan kitchen staff. Tenzing rarely spoke, but he never stopped smiling. He worked late into the night and inspired quietly through his dedication. During the storm he even fashioned waterproof trousers from grain sacks, ingenious. His hard work didn’t go unnoticed. The weather hit us hard. A huge storm dumped vast amounts of snow; I thought it could end the trip. It should have. Thirty-six hours of snow, thunder and lightning, it was wild. And then, as quickly as it began, it passed. Under crisp blue skies came the wind: sixty kilometres per hour or more for five straight days, ripping off the summit, scouring the upper mountain and shifting the new snow. ⬇️ CONTINUED IN COMMENTS ⬇️ @sarahisted1 @rab.equipment.uk @adventureconsultants @himguides

IFMGA // British Mountain Guide Sometimes I wonder why I keep returning. To the mountains. The cold. The grind. To these vast, remote places that have taken so much, and yet somehow given me everything. The truth is, I don’t know how not to return. This world of snow, ice and rock raised me. It’s where I first learned to suffer well. To move through fear. To endure. To find a strange kind of solace in silence and exposure. There’s a clarity up there that strips everything back. No noise, no lies, no illusion. Just you and the truth of what you’re made of. The mountains ask everything of me. And I give it, again and again. Not out of duty. But because, in some deep, inarticulate way, I belong to them. For the last three years, the British Mountain Guides scheme took that belonging and stretched it taut. It pushed me beyond what I thought I could hold. Physically. Emotionally. Logistically. It demanded sacrifice — time, sleep, relationships, presence. And I gave it all. There were moments I questioned everything. Not out loud. Not publicly. But in the quiet margins of 2am alpine starts. On lonely, tired drives home. In the ache of missing birthdays. The strain of always being away. I’ve doubted myself more times than I can count. But still, I kept going. Because beneath all of it, this has also been a privilege beyond words. To carve a life out of something I love this much. To call the high places of the world my workplace. To guide others through the terrain that has shaped me. That’s not a job. That’s a gift. And now, that chapter ends. The scheme is complete. I passed. And with that comes a strange kind of weightlessness. A freedom I haven’t felt in years. I’m getting time back. Choice. Space. And honestly, I don’t know what comes next. Maybe I don’t need to. Not yet. Maybe being is enough for now. In the meantime, I feel something rare: Pride. Quiet, honest pride. Not only for the badge or the title, but for having stayed the course and got through everything on the first attempt. This life in the mountains…it’s not always easy. It never was. It has broken me open and put me back together, again and again… …continued in the comments!