Nepal UK
File Photo
Kathmandu – Famous Scottish mountaineer, Henry Barclay Todd, passed away in Kathmandu on 3rd November after short illness. He was 80.
“An expedition leader, mountaineer and later an oxygen provider to climbers, Henry was a pillar of the Himalayan climbing community. He supported countless people across Nepal and Pakistan, making it possible for many to fulfil the dream of standing on the world's highest peaks. He believed deeply in the strength, skill, and potential of the Sherpa and offered them opportunities that might otherwise have remained out of reach,” his family said paying their tribute.
"Thank you, Henry. Your trust changed my life. Rest in peace, my leader, my teacher, my friend" said Dorjee Gyelzen Sherpa in his tribute to Henry.
Born on 3 March 1945 to Henry Todd, a Royal Air Force officer, and May Todd of the Women's Royal Air Force, Henry spent his early years in Singapore. After returning to Dundee as a teenager and attending seven different schools, he set off for London, where he began working for an insurance company before finding his true calling in adventure.
Todd organized over 70 major expeditions, including 45 to peaks above 8,000 meters.
Todd first joined an Everest expedition in 1989 and had visited Nepal almost every year since. The Scotsman attempted to climb Mt. Everest via the West Ridge in 1989 and successfully summited other major peaks, including Cho Oyu, Manaslu, Pumori, and Ama Dablam. He also attempted Annapurna in 1988.
Throughout his career, Todd climbed with legendary figures such as Jerzy Kukuczka, Anatoli Boukreev, and Scott Fisher among others. Through his UK-based company - Ice8000, his most notable first Everest expedition was in the spring of 1995, when eight team members reached the summit via the North Ridge. In Everest climbing, Todd was often referred to as “the mayor of Base Camp,” or “the governor.” A Canadian magazine once termed him “the Toddfather.”
The 6-foot-3-inch tall Todd considered Nepal his second home. “Nepal will not forget his contributions to Himalayan mountaineering, and his legacy will remain forever,” Iswari Paudel, Managing Director of Himalayan Guides Nepal Treks and Expeditions, told The Tourism Times.
Henry's life was filled with extraordinary experiences from surviving plane crashes, avalanches and earthquakes to quietly solving countless problems, which was one of his favourite past-times. His hands, famously large and steady, were always ready to help whether in the chaos of the mountains or the calm of a base camp. With his sharp sense of humour and his beloved exclamation "Whoopie!", he could bring lightness even to the toughest moments. He never tired of taking on challenges or helping when someone was in need, and he enriched so many people's lives with his endless stories.
His legacy is immense. He helped build the human backbone of Himalayan climbing, enabling generations of climbers to test themselves in the world's highest places. With his passing, an era of bold, spirited Himalayan guiding has come to a close.
Henry is survived by a loving family, many close friends and a global community of climbers and Sherpas who will never forget him and his endless tales. His strength, warmth and unyielding belief in others will live on far above the clouds.
He was indestructible in our eyes and in our hearts, he always will be.
A memorial service is being organised at Pashupati Nath Temple in Kathmandu on 8 November 2025.
