Mark Horrell's Blog, page 44

How many aitches in Machapuchare?

Machapuchare, the celebrated 6,993m peak in Nepal's Annapurna range, is often given the ludicrous spelling Machhapuchhare, with two sets of double aitches. This post is all about how to spell the mountain correctly. Continue reading →

Chillaxing on Cholatse: a return to Nepal

Last year was the first since 2005 I didn't go to Nepal, so in 2014 I'm making up for it by going twice. By the time you read this I will be heading to the Khumbu region to attempt 6440m Cholatse. It's likely to be the hardest climb I've ever done. Continue reading →

It’s normal to say you’re going to break someone’s legs, Sherpa admits

National Geographic has just published a series of articles about this year's Everest avalanche when 16 Sherpas died. Buried further down the story is one startling statement that leapt out of the page at me. Continue reading →

Everest’s deadliest day – debating Everest’s future

Everest's Deadliest Day was the title of a debate at the RGS in London last week, about the April avalanche and what it meant for the future of Himalayan climbing and the economy of Nepal. Here is my account and thoughts about the event. Continue reading →

Legends of Mulanje, Africa’s misty mountain

Mountains that are rich in history have a special attraction, but finding out about them isn't always easy. Many of the stories about Mulanje in Malawi are as hazy as the legendary mists that sweep across its upper reaches. Continue reading →

Climbing Sapitwa Peak, Mulanje, the highest peak in Malawi

Not only does the Mulanje Massif in southern Malawi contain some of the loveliest trekking you will find anywhere, but to climb its highest point, 3002m Sapitwa Peak, involves a very unusual scramble indeed. Here's my account of our ascent. Continue reading →

Mafinga South and Mafinga Central: the highest peaks in Zambia

A couple of weeks ago I reported from Africa on my mission to find, measure, ascend and name the highest point in Zambia, and how identifying which peak to climb wasn't as straightforward as you might think. This is the story of our quest. Continue reading →

Climbing Kilimanjaro: a taster from my forthcoming book

I promised to provide an update on where I'm at with the book I've been threatening to publish about my journey from lowly hill walker to Everest summiteer. Here it is, along with a short teaser from the book in the hope that you might be tempted to buy it when it comes out. Continue reading →

Finding the highest points in Zambia and Malawi

You would think in this age of satellite mapping and websites like Google Earth the highest point in every country has been calculated by a machine, and you can just look it up somewhere. This isn't the case, as I discovered when I tried to find the highest peak in Zambia. Continue reading →

5 of the silliest mountain firsts

With the news that a man climbed Snowdon pushing a brussels sprout with his nose, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at what other silly things have been done on mountains. So here are some of the world's more improbable first ascents. Continue reading →