Water boils at a lower temperature at altitude which means that whatever you are cooking takes longer and consequently needs more fuel; that in turn means more loads to carry on a high altitude expedition – unless there is plenty of yak dung available! No surprise then, that Himalyan mountaineers take a pressure cooker with them on expeditions since, logically, pressure is increased in the cooker, food cooks quicker, less fuel is required and dinner is ready in minutes! Our old friend and mountain guide, Smiler Cuthbertson, took this particular cooker on his various expeditions to the Himalyas and his wife, Clare, kindly passed it on to us when Smiler headed off to the Greater Ranges a few moons ago.