Meet a Local: Tim Macartney-Snape
Highlife Magazine, Oct/Nov 2023
ON OCTOBER 3, 1984, Tim Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer became the first Australians to climb Mount Everest, climbing without supplementary oxygen, and in 1990 Tim achieved his Sea to Summit climb, becoming the first person to walk from the Bay of Bengal to Everest's peak. At 67, the famous mountaineer is still climbing, leading treks and speaking in Australia and internationally, but in his downtime you'll find him at the Colo Vale property he has called home for 31 years.
My life in five words is... see all, lean towards danger.
I moved to a 16 hectare bush property near Colo Vale in 1992 because... as a lifelong student of forest ecology I could see the potential of turning a relatively unremarkable, indeed neglected, parcel of bush into a secluded haven.
My favourite part of living in the Highlands is... wonderful natural surroundings, proximity to Sydney and the coast, and it's on the right side of Sydney to the Snowy Mountains.
When I'm home, I typically climb... once or twice a week on my lovely neighbour's cliff or at the increasingly popular climbing area on Mount Alexandra (Mittagong) and sometimes on Mount Gibraltar (Bowral), where the views take your breath away.
I maintain fitness by... regular mountain biking, trail running and climbing. It's much easier to get fit and maintain it if you can find an activity that you enjoy.
My most exciting climb was... for sheer adventure and diversity of conditions and challenges, the expedition my friends and I undertook to the southern ramparts of Annapurna II in central Nepal in 1983.
The climb started in a gorge choked with temperate rainforest. To reach the summit involved climbing 5000 vertical metres through Gardens of Babylon style cliffs, a maze of teetering glacial seracs, corniced ridges and unstable cliffs. The hardest climbing was at nearly 8000 metres, where we had to bivouac for two nights sitting precariously on an icy collapsing ledge. We reached the summit as storm clouds amassed. On the descent we battled the storm for five days on empty stomachs, avoiding avalanches that poured down. Getting back to the hospitality of local shepherds to be plied with potato curry and fresh yoghurt was like descending into paradise.
Other climbing highpoints have been... my first trip to the Himalaya with my ANU Mountaineering Club cohorts in 1978 - I still climb and ski with some of them today; our oxygen tank-free climb of a new route on Mount Everest in 1984; the second ascent of Gasherbrum IV in Pakistan in 1986; becoming the first and only person to walk and climb all of Everest's 8848 metres on my 1990 Sea to Summit Expedition.
And other career highpoints include... being a founding director and patron of the World Transformation Movement, a global not-for-profit movement dedicated to bringing biological understanding to the underlying problem in all human affairs, which is the human condition. Instigating and co-owning the outdoor adventure equipment brand Sea to Summit (Tim sold his share in 2017) and being a member of the Fred Hollows Foundation, helping to establish the renowned Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in Kathmandu.
I'd still like to climb... more in Patagonia, Greenland and classic climbs in the Alps (despite the crowds).
One thing few people understand about climbing is... it is mostly about how to transfer your weight to your feet through body position and tension. Your arms are secondary, though finger strength can come in handy.
The first thing I say to people who tell me they want to climb Everest is... sadly commercialisation and commodification have brought big changes. Find another mountain, of which there are hundreds, where you can enjoy beauty and solitude.
When it comes to climbing, one truth I know is... the first half is usually harder, but the summit is still only halfway.
Something people might find surprising about me is... I don't like being cold.
The best piece of advice I ever received was... don't panic.
My most precious loves are... my lovely partner Stace, my family - three sisters and their spouses, one niece and four nephews - my life participating in helping to bring psychological maturity to humans.
When friends visit, we always take them to... a clifftop picnic overlooking the Nattai gorge.
My favourite place in the Highlands is... home.