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Best known as the only person ever to climb Mount Everest’s entire 8,874 metres from sea to summit, Tim reached the peak on 11 May 1990. Although he began the three month expedition with a small film crew on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, he climbed alone from Base Camp—without the assistance of sherpas, fellow climbers or bottled oxygen. The documentary of this achievement, Everest: Sea to Summit, won prizes in seven countries for the best mountain film.
This feat followed twelve years of successful Himalayan ascents on ten major expeditions, all of which were achieved without bottled oxygen in a lightweight style and, in most cases, up previously unclimbed routes.
In 1984, Australian climbing was put on the international map when Tim Macartney-Snape and a fellow climber reached the summit of Mount Everest by forging a new route up the North Face. The ascent—filmed by Tim—was also shown to world-wide television audiences.
In 1986, as part of a small US/Australian team, Tim climbed a new route on Gasherbrum IV in Pakistan. The documentary of this climb was also shown to audiences around the world. In addition to his extensive Himalayan experience, Tim has climbed throughout Australia, Africa and South America.
Tim is passionate about biology and the value of the outdoor experience in developing the individual, regularly introducing groups of novices to climbing.
A trained biologist with a Bachelor of Science from the Australian National University, Tim is also a qualified outdoor instructor and the author of three books: Mountain Adventurer 1992, Everest: From Sea to Summit 1992, and Being Outside 1993.
In 1987 Tim was awarded an Order of Australia medal (OAM) for services to mountaineering and in 1993 was awarded an AM for services to mountaineering and international relations.
Tim spent the first twelve years of his life in Tanzania, where he was born in 1956 to an Australian father and British mother (his father had gone there as a prospector and pioneer farmer in 1927). Tim occasionally returns to East Africa where he is active in developing walking expeditions in wildlife parks and reserves.
When he is not travelling the wilds of the Himalaya or Africa, Tim lives in the country, about 100 km south-west of Sydney, with his partner, Stacy Rodger.
