Mark Horrell's Blog, page 34

The Ascent of Rum Doodle vs. The Ascent of Nanda Devi – how similar are they?

Two of the best mountaineering books ever written were designed to be read side by side, but I wonder if anyone ever has.

I set myself the challenge of reading alternate chapters of The Ascent of Nanda Devi by H.W. Tilman and The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W.E. Bowman, first a chapter of one, then a chapter of the other, and so on, until I’d finished both books.

Has anyone ever done it before? Probably not. I have no idea, but I knew it would be fun to give it a try.

The Ascent of Rum Doodle and...

How to verify a Manaslu summit claim

There was another big controversy on 8163m Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, this year. It was widely reported that record numbers reached the summit during a two-day weather window on 30 September and 1 October, with around 100 reaching the top on the first day, and a further 50 on the second.

But it was reported in The Himalayan Times last week that the majority of those climbers didn’t reach the main summit at all, but one of the two foresummits. So what happened and why?...

How starting a blog turned me into a mountaineering writer

Something slightly different this week. A few weeks ago I was asked to write a post about blogging by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), a membership organisation for writers who, for one reason another, have decided to eschew the traditional publishing route and go “indie”.

Once upon a time, if you wanted to publish a book, it was necessary to persuade an agent to sell your book to a publisher, who would take it off your hands, edit it for you, and publish it on their terms. It invo...

The Everest Politics Show: available for pre-order now

It’s been aaaaages since I last published a travel diary; more than two years, in fact. But I’m pleased to announce The Everest Politics Show, the diary of my traumatic expedition to Lhotse in 2014, is now available for pre-order from Amazon, iBooks, Kobo and Barnes and Noble, and will be released in time for Christmas.

The book covers the controversial 2014 Everest season, when a tragic avalanche led to a labour dispute which threatened to close down Everest for the year. For a week our frie...

Is acclimatising at home the future of Himalayan mountaineering?

A few weeks ago, I received the following email:

I read Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest and The Chomolungma Diaries and really loved both. It’s fantastic to have such a frank insight into the path to Everest without all the swank. I now feel like my own tentative ten year plan to get there myself may not be such a ridiculous idea after all. I’d be keen to hear your thoughts on high altitude centres and whether they are an effective tool / conditioning time saver?

It’s always nice to know...

The riddle of Snow Lake and the glacier with no outlet

When the British explorer Martin Conway stood on top of the 5128m Hispar La pass in the Pakistan Karakoram in 1892, he described the landscape before him as one of the finest mountain views he had ever seen.

He was expecting to see another valley like the one he had ascended up the Hispar Glacier. Instead they found themselves looking down on a vast basin of snow that he named the Great Snow Lake.

From the midst of the snowy lake rose a series of mountain islands white like the snow that buri...

Monte Corvo: Crow Mountain

This little massif, belonging to Gran Sasso Western part, is one of the highest mountains of the whole Apenninic chain and from its lonely summits the view is unlimited toward the rest of Gran Sasso group and the main ranges of Central Apennines. Summitpost

My first view of Monte Corvo was from the west, on a cold winter’s day in January. Edita and I had slogged our way up Monte San Franco, a gentle grassy ridge that looked easy from the contours on the map.

It was a windy day, but there were...

Why a crowdfunded mountain rescue raised $200,000 in under a week

There is a moment in Kyle Dempster’s short film The Road from Karakol, where he is confronted with yet another dangerous river crossing and, as he sees it, his own death.

Before he sets off across, he makes a short statement to the camera that he’s been carrying with him to record his journey.

I’m pretty scared, so I just want to let everyone know that if something shitty happens I love you all an incredible amount, and I want you to know that if I die I was definitely doing something that I’...

The Guardian prints another self-righteous opinion piece about Everest by some couch potato

Forget the bucket list, forget the ego. If you want to be a hero, stop conquering Everest was the clickbait headline that appeared in The Guardian last week (you will notice I’ve doffed my hat to the headline writer by tossing a similar one back at them).

The Guardian provides some advice to Everest aspirants, but who the hell is Brigid Delaney?

The article was a response to the story about the Indian couple who doctored their Everest summit photos. Although it was originally reported in The...

K2: Touching the Sky – a film review

Saturday, 13 August was, for me, all about Pakistan. I was back in London to watch the cricket: England vs. Pakistan at the Oval. England were 2-1 up, but Pakistan had an opportunity to fight back and level the series. Which they did, quite comprehensively. By the end of the day Younus Khan had hit a double century, and Yasir Shah had taken three cheap England wickets. Pakistan went on to win the match easily.

But apologies to my American readers. I realise I might as well be talking about pa...