Mark Horrell's Blog, page 4

Murder on Aconcagua? The mystery of John Cooper and Janet Johnson

Last week, a request from a researcher to use some of my photography from Aconcagua sent me on a treasure hunt into the bowels of the internet, where I uncovered a long-forgotten murder mystery set high on the slopes of South America’s highest mountain.

The researcher was trying to get footage of Aconcagua’s east side for a documentary about an expedition that took place in 1973. It didn’t take me long to work out that they must be referring to an American expedition to climb the mountain by the...

Why The Salt Path is one of the great books about long-distance hiking

I don’t often read Sunday Times bestsellers, but this year I read three in quick succession, all by the same author. There aren’t that many Sunday Times bestsellers about long-distance hiking, a relatively niche genre, but there is one that has struck a chord with so many people over the last five years that it has transcended its niche and broken into the mainstream. Friends and neighbours who I wouldn’t have suspected to be fans of travel writing have been recommending it. Edita liked it so mu...

Is this the world’s most expensive boat trip? Climbing the Mullardoch Munros

This is the second of two posts describing our visit to Glen Affric in north-west Scotland a couple of months ago, for a spot of Munro bagging. After climbing the eight Munros surrounding Glen Affric itself, described in my previous post, we turned our attention to a northern side valley, Glen Cannich, where we faced a truly epic hike.

We left the longest walk of the trip until the second week, when we hoped to be more mountain fit. Even so, when we stood on the summit of Toll Creagach and looke...

The world’s best introduction to the George Mallory Everest mystery

A review of Fallen by Mick Conefrey

If you’re wondering why the legendary mountaineer George Mallory seems to be getting a lot of media attention lately, it’s because it’s exactly 100 years since he went missing on Everest, thereby creating one of the most enduring mysteries in the history of exploration.

George Mallory was on his third expedition to Everest when, on 8 June 1924, he set off from Camp 6 on the North-East Ridge with fellow climber Sandy Irvine. Later that day Noel Odell, who was c...

Peaks and pine forests: exploring the Glen Affric Munros

There are quite a few Scottish glens (or valleys) that get described as the most beautiful in Scotland. Obviously, they can’t all be, but Glen Affric, which is one of the ones that sometimes has the superlative attached to it, is certainly up there among the best.

To be honest, I didn’t know that much about it before I started planning our May holiday earlier this year, apart from the fact that it has a clutch of Munros that – as a part-time Munro bagger – I knew that I had to climb some day.

Si...

Win a pair of exciting books that could change your life

Yes, indeed. I’m not joking, these books could change your life. They could be the little ripple that becomes a tidal wave that you ride across the bay to meet your date with destiny. Or, less dramatically but rather more likely, they could just end up being an enjoyable read. But that’s no bad thing either, especially for a freebie.

Earlier this year I reviewed Cicerone’s outstanding new cycling guide to the North Coast 500 (NC500), called – you guessed it – Cycling the North Coast 500. Well, C...

Trekking Ladakh’s Langtang and Chang valleys: the videos

It’s time for the third and final instalment of my critically acclaimed… I mean chronically derided Ladakh video diaries. As you prepare to have your ribs tickled, here’s a quick reminder of the story so far.

Back in August and September 2022, Edita and I embarked on our first (and still our only) Himalayan trek since the COVID pandemic, to Ladakh in northern India. Also known as Little Tibet, Ladakh is a desert region north of the Himalayan divide, comprising red granite peaks rising above 6,00...

Walking the Preseli Hills and Pembrokeshire Coast

This time last year, the Easter holiday weekend fell a week later, and we enjoyed a period of blistering spring sunshine in the Lake District. We raced across hilltops around Grasmoor  and Buttermere in conditions as bright as any summer’s day.

A year later and we could be living in another country. It’s been so wet here in the Cotswolds that even the trout have been taking swimming lessons. The river through our garden is still a thundering torrent when it should be a bubbling brook by now. Our...

Dzo Jongo East and Dzo Jongo West: the videos

Yes, folks. It’s time for the next mesmerising instalment of my award-winning video diaries (I awarded myself a bottle of Cotswold Gold Ale after I posted the last set). But before I start, here’s a quick reminder.

Back in August and September 2022, Edita and I embarked on our first (and still our only) Himalayan trek since the COVID pandemic, to Ladakh in northern India. Also known as Little Tibet, Ladakh is a desert region north of the Himalayan divide, comprising red granite peaks rising abov...

At long last, a guidebook to cycling Scotland’s North Coast 500

If you’re a regular reader of this blog then you will know that I hate cycling. Yet – prize-winning fool that I am – three times I’ve embarked upon multi-day cycling adventures across mountainous terrain.

In 2017, Edita had the brilliant idea of quitting our jobs and cycling from sea level to the summit of Chimborazo, the furthest point from the centre of the earth (we didn’t actually cycle all the way – we got off our bikes to climb the last bit). I turned the adventure into a book, Feet and Wh...