Simon McCartney, author of the book ‘The Bond’, poses for a photograph on Kowloon Peak, Fei Gno Shan, Hong Kong. Photo: Antony Dickson
The Adventure Trail: Simon McCartney discusses ‘The Bond’ and his return to mountain climbing
- Once a rockstar of mountain climbing in the 1970s, Simon McCartney discusses the emotional journey that lead him to write the cult classic book ‘The Bond’
- He reveals how he became the designer of Hong Kong’s nightly harbour light show, and why he intends to make a return to mountain climbing decades after quitting
Simon McCartney, author of the book ‘The Bond’, poses for a photograph on Kowloon Peak, Fei Gno Shan, Hong Kong. Photo: Antony Dickson
This is an in-depth, at times confronting discussion where Simon McCartney talks about his life as a world-famous ‘rockstar’ of mountain climbing in the 1970s. How a near fatal experience in Alaska altered his perspective and made him quit climbing, move to Australia and change his life. Also, how making a tragic discovery about his rockclimbing partner on an online forum inspired him to write the book, The Bond, which has since become a cult classic of non-fiction adventure.
Another part of McCartney's extraordinary life story is how he came to Hong Kong, and became the designer of the nightly light show that illuminates Victoria Harbour. He talks about how the show came to be, and the very first time he sat on a rooftop, watching the dress rehearsal of the show, and listening to the gasps of the audience below.
Listen in as he makes the astonishing revelation that decades after giving up mountain climbing, he is going to make a comeback - to climb a mountain in Alaska that is opposite Denali, the one he almost died on in the 1970s.
