Pyramid Peak 2029m, P1129m, California, USA - photo Rob Woodall

On this page you will find short summaries of previous BwB online talks, and also matters talked about at e-meets.  Both are e-talks and e-meets are free to join, like all other BwB facilities.  We are hoping to record future e-talks, and publish the recordings on this page.

BwB e-Talks

Wednesday 15th January 2025

The third BwB e-Talk was given by Daniel Quinn on his new book The Relative Mountains of Earth.  28 people joined in on the call.

The book was published by Pedantic Press in November 2024. It lists all 7,150 peaks on Earth with a thousand metres of topographic prominence, known as Ribus - from the  Indonesian word for 'thousand'. 

Along with the list are a collection of photographs of Ribus around the world, plus articles and anecdotes. 

The project began in 2019 with a team of international researchers and mountain enthusiasts, including lead author Daniel, a UK-based teacher, writer and musician.  He created the original Ribu concept in Indonesia in 2009 with Andy Dean.  Daniel talked about both the research project and the book.

The book can be purchased here.  The Ribus database can be found here.  The database is updated on a regular basis, as further information is obtained.  

It is hoped the Ribus list will be appearing on the Peakbagger website in due course.

Thursday 29th February 2024

Eric Gilbertson gave the second BwB e-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."   

Thursday 9th March 2023

The first BwB e-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.

BwB e-Meets

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.

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 not 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.

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.  

Thanks to all for being so inspiring!"

Denise Mclellan 

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.