BwB Newsboard
South Dome, Arizona, USA - photo Adam Walker
(This picture file is licensed under the Creative Commons License)
Friday 19th July 2024
BwB now offers the facility for people appearing in the annual International Peak-baggers’ Tables to obtain e-certificates to mark reaching the Halls of Fame and/or gaining the Bronze, Silver, Gold and Emerald Achievement Awards.
The e-certificates are in pdf format, and are free.
If you would like to obtain one or more of these certificates, fill in the simple e-form which you can find on this page on this website. One form for each certificate.
Monday 6th May 2024
The 2023 Poly-baggers' Hall of Fame and Progress Register has been published - see here.
Check it out. There are some amazing feats in this niche area of peak-bagging.
Saturday 13th April 2024
The 2023 BwB International Peak-baggers' Tables have been published today.
This is the fifth year of these annual Tables, and the number of participants has grown to 147 people, with eight deceased peak-baggers also included. Nearly 6,500 ascents of peaks of at least P100m were made by those recorded in the 2023 Tables
You can read the 2023 Report here. You can access the Tables via the menu-bar on the left-side of the website, or by following the links given at the bottom of the report.
Thursday 29th February 2024
Eric Gilbertson gave the second BwB Zoom talk on his mountaineering and surveying trip to Uzbekistan in 2023. The talk was hosted by Denise McLellan. 23 people joined the video call.
By way of introduction, Eric said:
"Before 2023 it was thought that Peak 4643 (officially "Unnamed peak, formerly The 22nd Congress of the CPSU Central Committee Peak") was the country highpoint of Uzbekistan. I discovered that satellite-based digital elevation models put another peak, Alpomish, as within error bounds of the same elevation. Only a ground survey could definitively determine the true country highpoint.
My partner Andreas and I climbed and surveyed both peaks, using sight levels and GPS units. We made the first ascent of Alpomish (5.8, 7-pitch, 4668m), and discovered it is in fact the true country highpoint of Uzbekistan."
Tuesday 13th February 2024
The 2023 P-Index League has now been published on the BwB website at:
https://sites.google.com/view/baggerswithoutborders/home/p-index-league/2023
and also an updated Roll of Honour at:
https://sites.google.com/view/baggerswithoutborders/home/p-index-league/roll-of-honour
The P-Index League Tables started in 2022, and are normally the first of the annual BwB Tables to be published each year. Work has now begun in compiling the 2023 International Peak-baggers' Tables and reports. These will hopefully be published in late March or early April 2024.
Wednesday 31st January 2024
Denise Mclellan hosted the fourth BwB Zoom Meet at 17:00 GMT.
Eleven people dialled in for this online social gathering, discussing their highlights in 2023 and plans for 2024.
An extended trip bagging Ultras in South America in 2023 was discussed. Also Ultra-bagging in Mongolia. On another scale, one of those at the event said he had now definitively determined the high point of the Vatican City. It is at the base of the Torre San Giovanni in the Vatican Gardens.
Plans for 2024 included a trip to climb the two highest mountains on Svalbard in the Arctic Sea, nearly of equal height. The plan was to do both. One of the main risks was polar bear attack.
A future talk may be arranged about a 14-day trek through the Amazon Forest to climb Pico da Neblina 2995m, P2887m, the highest mountain in Brazil.
Aside from peak-bagging, one of those attending explained his project to develop a detailed topographical map of the whole planet. He also offered mapping assistance to any queries about little-known peaks.
The next online Meet will be on 29th February 2024, when there will be a talk about a climbing and survey expedition to determine the highest mountain in Uzbekistan.
Tuesday 26th December 2023
The second instalment of the 2023 BwB Journal has now been published on this website at:
https://sites.google.com/view/baggerswithoutborders/home/bwb-journal/december-2023
In this edition are articles on a favourite mountain in Italy, a trip to a remote Ultra in Tajikistan, Ultra-bagging in Greece, hiking in Poland in the Bieszczady Mountains, and an introduction to the geology of Wales.
The 2024 edition will be published in June or July 2024.
Monday 2nd October 2023
The 2023 edition of the BwB Newletter was published today, with a round-up of news and information about BwB.
You can find the Newsletter on the BwB Forum, and also on this website at:
https://sites.google.com/view/baggerswithoutborders/home/news/newsletters
Friday 18th August 2023
The first 2023 Edition of the BwB Journal has now been published on this website at:
https://sites.google.com/view/baggerswithoutborders/home/bwb-journal/august-2023
The BwB Journal is an annual or biannual publication with articles contributed by BwB Members, Associates and others on a variety of mountain topics.
In this Edition are articles on Rob Woodall's record year Ribu-bagging across the world, hikes in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa and Lesotho, peak-bagging in the Australian Capital Territory, scaling a great sand dune in Peru, the Teton Range in Wyoming, USA, the Picos de Europa in Spain and a comment piece on the ethics and psychology of peak-baggers.
A second 2023 edition of the BwB Journal will be published in November 2023.
Sunday 13th August 2023
The first edition of the new BwB Achievements Register has been published today here.
Its aim is to provide a more rounded picture of the BwB community's peak-bagging achievements, not only internationally, but also in their home countries. It will be updated periodically as new information becomes available.
Wednesday 14th June 2023
The winners of the 2022 BwB Awards were announced today. There are four awards available, and winners in each category for 2022, which is the first year for these awards.
You can find out the winners here, including a short biography. On the awards themselves, see here.
Tuesday 11th April 2023
The 2022 BwB International Peak-baggers' Tables have been published today. This is the fourth year of these annual Tables, and the number of participants has grown to 134 people, with eight deceased peak-baggers also included. Over 6000 ascents of peaks of at least P100m were made by those recorded in the 2022 Tables
You can read the 2022 Report here. You can access the Tables via the menu-bar on the left-side of the website, or by following the links given at the bottom of the report.
Thursday 9th March 2023
The first BwB Zoom Talk took place, featuring Petter Bjørstad - the current leading peak-bagger of the Ultras - the P1500m peaks of the world. 26 people joined the Zoom call.
Petter gave a fascinating account of his two expeditions in 2012 and 2014 to Papua New Guinea to climb the remote Mount Boising 4150m, P3710m, the peak with the highest prominence on earth not yet climbed - before his successful summitting on the second visit to the country.
He described his precarious sea-crossing by leaky boat, faint trails through the jungle with local guides, and tortuous negotiations with the indigenous people to gain permission to scale the peak.
It is hoped more BwB online talks will be arranged in the future.
Saturday 25th February 2023
A new section has now opened on the BwB website hosting the P-Index League Tables.
These are Tables published annually showing the P-Index of the participants at 31st December in the previous year.
The 2022 P-Index League Table and Roll of Honour have now been published.
An introduction explaining 'P-Index' and the new Tables can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/baggerswithoutborders/home/p-index-league
Thursday 15th December 2022
The process for compiling the 2022 BwB International Peak-baggers' Tables began today. All BwB Members and Associates have been asked to send in their 2022 bag-totals for new peaks climbed around the world in 2022. For further details, see the BwB Forum at https://groups.google.com/g/baggingwithoutborders/c/I3XOBOJdftU.
Tuesday 22nd November 2022
Denise McLellan hosted the third BwB Zoom Meet at 16:00 GMT
Eleven people dialled in for this online social gathering. There was some discussion on recent peak-bagging trips to Mexico - lots of Mexicans seem to be bagging their peaks these days. Also of a recent single day trip to climb Königstein 2573m, P1769m in Namibia.
There was also some talk about Scottish hill names, and the difficulties the Gaelic language presented to those nor familiar with it [Editor: the Walkhighlands website often includes audio-clips with pronunciation and meaning].
With news that wolves are likely to be re-introduced into Central Europe, there was some discussion on what to do if encountered. The general view was that fierce shepherd dogs were more of a risk than wolves. Leeches, common in south-east Asia, were also mentioned - it took weeks for the wounds they caused to heal.
The next Zoom Meet will be in February 2023, when Petter Bjørstad will give a talk on his trip to Papua New Guinea.
Saturday 22nd October 2022
The October 2022 Edition of the BwB Journal has now been published on this website at:
https://sites.google.com/view/baggerswithoutborders/home/bwb-journal/october-2022
The BwB Journal is a six-monthly publication with articles contributed by BwB Members, Associates and others on a variety of mountain topics.
In this Edition are articles on a 7000m peak in China, the little-known Ligurian Alps in Italy and the prominent peaks of Nevada, USA. Also trip reports about the Karakoram, Azerbaijan, Central America, Java and on Ultras in France, Turkey and Romania.
Thursday 8th September 2022
Denise McLellan hosted the second BwB Zoom Meet at 16:00 GMT.
She writes:
"It was a pleasure to welcome about a dozen baggers without borders to our open chat.
We had representation from Derbyshire, UK, a Norwegian mountain hut, the Spanish Pyrenees, the Italian Alps, Vienna, California and Alaska, amongst other places.
We shared brief reports of a busy bagging summer. There have been lots of ascents, as well as the inevitable frustrations with such matters as access, weather and forest fires. Now COVID is subsiding, there is an ambitious range of future plans, including another trip to Greenland, the ultras of Baja California and Americans coming to Europe. Some baggers will be linking up by email with a view to planning joint trips.
Everyone said how helpful it is to share trip information via the Peakbagger website, and others offered specific local assistance/ knowledge - such as on Georgia and Central America.
It was agreed that we would hold a third session in a few months time, and that Petter Bjørstad would do a short presentation on a specific mountain- related topic ( TBC) .
Thanks to all for being so inspiring!"
Denise Mclellan
Saturday 9th July 2022
BwB 2021 International Peak-baggers’ Tables – Second Edition published
The Second Edition of the 2021 BwB International Peak-baggers’ Tables has now been published on this website.
You can find the Tables at:
where there are links to each of the Tables for 2021.
Eighteen new people are featured in the Second Edition, bringing the total number of living participants to one hundred and twenty-three, with, in addition, eleven who were deceased on or before 2021.
The Second Edition of the P100m, P300m, P500m, P600m and P1000m Tables also contain a new feature – Junior Progress Registers for those participants in the Tables under eighteen. All BwB Juniors are awarded e-certificates each year if they have made progress in one or more of the P-categories mentioned above. The 2021 certificates will be emailed to each junior’s parent or guardian shortly.
There will be no more editions of the 2021 Tables. Any new participants for the Tables who enrol this year will feature in the 2022 Tables.
From 2022 we will move to one edition of the Tables each year. This will be published each April of the following year from the Tables – e.g the 2022 Tables will be published in April 2023.
Friday 24th June 2022
The Second Edition of the 2021 Poly-baggers' Hall of Fame and Progress Register has been published at:
There are new people, and new features.
Check it out. There are some amazing feats in this niche area of peak-bagging.
Tuesday 7th June 2022
A new section has been opened on the BwB website called 'BwB Journal'. It contains new content - a series of articles about hills and mountains, and the people who climb them, contributed by BwB Forum members, associates and others.
The 2022 edition of the Journal starts here.
Monday 9th May 2022
The first ever BwB Zoom Meet was held on Monday 9 May 2022 at 17:00 British Summer Time (GMT+1).
Sixteen people zoomed in for an online session of over an hour. Everyone introduced themselves and talked about what peak-bagging they had done so far this year, and what their plans were for the rest of the year.
It was agreed that the BwB Forum would be used for members to publish their bagging plans, if they wanted to seek fellow peak-baggers to share in them. A BwB Facebook page might be considered in future if there was felt to be a need for it.
The BwB HoFClerk mentioned a number of topics:
As a result of an ongoing recruitment drive new people had joined the Forum and Tables, so a second expanded edition of the 2021 Tables would be published this summer. The second edition would also feature a new section for juniors.
No new Halls of Fame and Progress Registers would be introduced for 2022, although there might be a P-Index League, in a different format to the Tables.
A new section on the website would open this summer for articles on mountains and those who hike/climb them. It will be called the 'BwB Journal'. If anyone has an old article they would like to send in, or to write a new one, contact the BwB HoFClerk at the email address given at the bottom on the website's home page.
The BwB HoFClerk is currently running three Halls of Fame & Progress Registers - P100m, P500m and P1000m. He would like to reduce that to one for the 2022 Tables, so there will be two HoFMeister vacancies. If anyone is interested and would like further information on the work, contact him.
It was agreed that the session had been very useful and that another should be set up in the next two months or so.
Friday 18 March 2022: BwB website goes live
Baggers without Borders ('BwB') previously published its annual International Peak-baggers' Tables on the Europeaklist website at https://sites.google.com/site/europeaklist/international-peak-baggers-registers-halls-of-fame, and sub-pages.
In time for the publication of the first edition of the 2021 Tables, this new website (https://sites.google.com/view/baggerswithoutborders/home) has been set up to house the Tables, and other related content. It is the official public face of the BwB 'brand'.
The 2019 and 2020 Tables are also included - see the menu bar. All BwB content on the Europeaklist website has now been removed.
The peak picture on the home page will be changed when each edition of the Tables is published.
The website will be expanded further in due course.
Friday 18th March 2022: BwB 2021 International Peak-baggers' Tables published
The First Edition of the 2021 Tables have been published today on this website.
The Tables have been expanded to include P-Top 100 - catering for those who climb the one hundred most prominent peaks in the world, in addition to P100m, P300m, P500m, P600m, P1000m, P1500m and P2000m. There is now a BwB 'stable' of eight Tables, designed to provide a wide range of challenges to international peak-baggers.
The 2021 Report can be found here.
The Tables themselves can be accessed from the links in the 2021 Report, or by using the menu bar on this website.
Friday 18th March 2022: BwB 2021 Poly-baggers' Hall of Fame and Register published
The First Edition of the annual Poly-baggers' Tables were previously published on the Europeaklist website at https://sites.google.com/site/europeaklist/poly-baggers-register-hall-of-fame, and sub-pages.
All of the Poly-baggers' content for 2019 and 2020 has now been removed from the Europeaklist website and is published here on the BwB website instead.
The 2021 Report and Table are published on the BwB website here.
All future reports and Tables will be published on the BwB website.
Monday 14th March 2022: BwB now on Instagram
As of today, BwB is also now on Instagram, as a second social media presence in addition to the Forum.
Search for 'baggerswithoutborders' (https://www.instagram.com/baggerswithoutborders/).
The Instagram account will be used to make announcements, and as a growing photo library of hill and mountain hikes and climbs contributed by BwB members and associates. If you are on Instagram and posting photos of your hikes, remember to #baggerswithoutborders.