Article · 28 Sept 2016
The history of the Jordan Trail
Tony Howard tells us about the fascinating history of the Jordan Trail from the first inklings of an idea to the trail becoming official.
Check out our festive offers and get 15% off these selected guidebooks using the code XMAS15.
Tony Howard
Tony Howard started climbing in 1953 and was on the first ascent (simultaneous to a Norwegian team) of Europe's tallest and steepest north face, the Troll Wall, in 1965. He became a British Mountaineering Council guide that year and founded Troll Climbing Equip, soon to be one of the world's leading brands of climbing equipment. He designed the world's first rock climber’s sit harness – the template for most of today's designs.
He helped with trail development in Nagaland and Bodoland’s Manas National Park, North East India, and along with Di Taylor discovered and developed Wadi Rum in 1984. The story was one of the subjects of BBC Two series The Face.
Elsewhere, he had first ascents in the UK, Norway, Greenland, the Middle East and North Africa. Along with Di Taylor, he conceived the idea of the 650km Jordan Trail in the 1990s and continued with its exploration, participating in its inaugural through walk in 2017.