Julian Sands said mountaineering had become ‘too dangerous’ in last UK interview

In his last UK interview, actor Julian Sands, who died on a hike in the California mountains, said many of his friends had stopped going mountaineering partly because it had become too dangerous. 

His remains were found last week, six months after he went missing. Poor weather conditions made the search efforts difficult when he first went missing. 

Speaking to Radio Times late last year, he said: “Pals I used to climb with have stopped going to the mountains”.

He said that was “partly because they find, with climate change, the rock faces have become much more unstable”.

Also, “partly, it’s age”, he told the magazine.

The British actor, 64, said friends no longer wanted to dedicate themselves to a climb. 

“If you don’t really have the desire, the focus for climbing a route, if you’re not absolutely committed, it becomes much more dangerous and it’s a much more deflating experience,” he said.

“Finding folk whose company I enjoy in such stressful and intimate conditions is not easy.”