The Spectator

Are there any mountains left unclimbed?

[iStock] 
issue 23 January 2021

Bad service

Economic growth fell by 2.6% in November, the month of the second lockdown, compared with falls of 7.3% in March and 18.8% in April. The pandemic has achieved what has eluded recent governments, in rebalancing the economy away from services. Since February:

— Services have contracted 9.9%
— Manufacturing has fallen 4.9%
— Construction is up 0.6%

The most affected sectors of the service economy were:

— Hair and beauty: 24.4% of businesses reported zero turnover
— Pubs: 27.4% reported zero turnover

Source: ONS

Unclimbed peaks

A team of Sherpas made the first winter ascent of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. Are there any mountains left to climb?

— Gangkhar Puensum, a 24,836ft peak in Bhutan, remains unclimbed. Bhutan banned attempts to reach its summit in 1994, for religious reasons.
— Muchu Chhish, a 24,591ft peak in Pakistan, defied attempts in 1999 and 2014.
— Karjiang I, a 23,691ft peak in Tibet, was the subject of an unsuccessful attempt in 2001.



Get Britain's best politics newsletters

Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in