Mark Horrell's Blog, page 39

Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest out on Monday!

A quick note to let you know that those of you who pre-ordered my book from Amazon should receive it on your Kindle on Monday (9th). If you’ve bought it elsewhere, such as Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Smashwords, then you should receive it the following Monday, 16th. This is ahead of my original release date of 1st December.

I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support over the last five years, either as readers of my blog or diaries. Thanks to you I can be confi...

The Abruzzo Quartet: an autumn feast of mountains

It’s been a few weeks since I last reported on our continuing adventures in the mountainous Abruzzo region of Italy. This isn’t because there’s been nothing to report, but I didn’t want to risk boring you by detailing every visit.

But over the course of two weekends we visited Abruzzo National Park and climbed the four main peaks in the area: La Meta (2242m), Monte Petroso (2249m), Monte Greco (2285m) and Monte Marsicano (2253m). Abruzzo has provided a feast of mountains for us throughout 201...

Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest: read the complete prologue

I’m making good progress and on track to publish my book Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest well ahead of my 1 December deadline. It’s been over three years in the making and I’m very happy to be so close.

If you pre-ordered it then it should be appearing on your e-readers early in November. If you haven’t pre-ordered it yet, here is the complete prologue from the book to whet your appetite and tempt you to buy the whole thing.

The book is available HALF PRICE for a limited period, so hurry!...

Book review: The Ghosts of K2 by Mick Conefrey

“It’s a savage mountain that tries to kill you.”
George Bell, upon returning from K2 in 1953

Of all the 8000m peaks 8,611m K2, straddling the China-Pakistan border in the Karakoram, seems to be the one that arouses public interest more than any other besides Everest. I don’t believe this is simply because it’s the second highest. Nor is it because it’s the most dangerous – arguably that title goes to Annapurna, which takes one life for every three successful summiteers. Possibly, just possibl...

The first ascent of the Southwest Face of Everest

At 6pm on 24 September 1975, Doug Scott and Dougal Haston, staggered up the final slopes of Everest’s Southeast Ridge and became the first two Brits to stand on top of the world’s highest mountain. They had also become the first to ascend by the Southwest Face, joining the standard Southeast Ridge route close to the South Summit, in a classic siege-style expedition led by Chris Bonington.

At 7pm on 24 September 2015, forty years later, ten members of that expedition assembled at the Royal Geo...

The Snowdon Horseshoe: Britain’s classic hill walk

It’s possible Snowdon is one of the most popular hills in Britain simply because it’s the highest in all of England and Wales, but I like to think it’s because it’s also one of the best: a giant massif of individual summits joined by ridges broad and narrow, and separated by towering cliff faces and secluded cwms speckled with colourful lakes.

Its intricate nature means there are many ascent routes, each with their own character. I’ve hiked up most of them: the Pyg Track, Miners Track, Crib G...

Snowdon’s Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel: a little piece of Everest history

Earlier this month I completed a long-held ambition, when I stayed at the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel, at the foot of the Pen-y-Pass on the flanks of Snowdon, the highest peak in England and Wales.

The Pen-y-Gwyrd Hotel stands by the roadside at the foot of Snowdon

Staying for a couple of nights in a hotel may not sound like much of an achievement, but this one is extra special. Trapped in a time warp, its stone walls are hung with ivy, the floor boards creak, the fittings could grace a BBC period dram...

BREAKING NEWS: People with size 14 feet can no longer climb Mount Everest

Responding to recent reports in the media that Everest has become far too easy to climb, the government of Nepal has announced a new set of arbitrary criteria in an effort to limit the numbers and produce a better quality of climber on the world’s highest mountain.

People with very big feet will no longer be allowed to climb Everest, a government spokesman has announced

A list of those who will no longer be issued permits to climb Mount Everest in future include:

People with size 14 feet. Bi...

I’m giving The Chomolungma Diaries away FREE, and here’s why

The release of a major Hollywood movie about the 1996 Everest tragedy (see my review of it here) means Everest has been generating a lot of interest recently.

Traffic to my blog has virtually doubled in the space of a few days, but the interest is very narrow. I’ve written a great many posts about Everest (some would say too many!) since I started this blog five years ago, but of the 123 posts tagged with “everest” three in particular have been receiving the lion’s share of the traffic:

5 me...

Everest the Movie: my review of the Hollywood blockbuster

I’m going to start this post with a couple of warnings. Firstly, I should point out that I don’t watch much telly, and the last time I went to the cinema was October 2013, to watch the re-released version of John Noel’s 1924 silent movie The Epic of Everest. Many of the big name superstars who I understand fill the cast of Everest the Movie like the guest list at a Playboy Mansion party mean absolutely nothing to me.

With this in mind, if you still feel my film review is worth reading then go...