Mark Horrell's Blog, page 6

The four summits of Sgurr a Mhadaidh: another Cuillin reconnaissance

It was time for another reconnaissance of the Black Cuillin. We arrived at the youth hostel in Glen Brittle still harbouring an outside chance of doing a full traverse later in the week.

We’ve been toying with the idea of doing the grand traverse of the Cuillin ridge for about five years now, but things have never quite fallen into place. Towering above the southern shoreline of the Hebridean island of Skye like a set of dragon’s teeth, the Black Cuillin has the reputation of being Scotland’s mo...

First British man to climb Manaslu then narrate an audiobook about it from a converted stable in the Cotswolds

Yes, that’s right. A sensational headline, I know, but it’s absolutely true.

It’s been quite the year for records on Everest and the other 8,000m peaks. As Alan Arnette reported last month, we’ve had the first Cuban who lives in Iceland to climb Everest, the richest politician couple from Ukraine, the first person to abseil into an active volcano and then climb Everest, and the first Vietnamese-American billionaire to climb it.

‘As for the records, I’ll leave it to Guinness to sort these out,’ A...

The Buttermere Round: an epic walk for sensible people

Up to Robinson, round to Hindscarth,
Over Dale Head, magic viewpoint.
Don’t touch! Don’t touch!
The wild mushrooms, wild mushrooms.

Down to Honister, giant eyesore,
Up to Brandreth, have a sandwich.
Get lost! Get lost!
In the big bog, in the big bog.

On to Hay Stacks, down the big gap,
Back up High Crag, on the staircase.
High Stile! Red Pike!
I’m exhausted, have a sit down.
The Buttermere Round by Alfred Knottwright

If you belong to my generation then you may remember having to sing Alfred Knot...

A Grasmoor and Grisedale Pike horseshoe via Grasmoor End

Time flies quickly now. I was amazed to discover that, thanks to successive lockdowns and a focus on Scotland in the last few years, it has been a full four years since my last visit to the Lake District, England’s best hillwalking area.

A return visit was long overdue and the Easter weekend offered a good opportunity. After a March that only ducks could feel happy about, the weather was set to be fair that first weekend in April. Edita found a cottage in Kirkland, on the west side of the mounta...

The first 7 British people to climb Mount Everest

I’ve recently been reading The Everest Years by Chris Bonington, during which he states that he was the 7th Brit to climb Everest. In fact, on official lists he is usually described as the 6th. One of his predecessors’ ascents is uncertain (though Sir Chris himself obviously has no doubts).

So who were the 7 and what were their stories?

Clockwise from top left: Chris Bonington, Pertemba Sherpa (an honorary Brit), Dougal Haston, Doug Scott, Pete Boardman, Brummie Stokes, Bronco Lane, Mick Burke (...

BREAKING NEWS: Solo trekkers in Nepal will have to carry a live chicken

Solo trekking will be banned in Nepal’s national parks starting from next month, unless hikers carry a live chicken strapped to their backpacks. The move was announced by the Department of Oversight for Nepal’s Tourism (DON’T), the country’s main tourism body. A spokesman said that it would reduce the risks for the millions of thrill seekers who travel to the Himalayan country every year. It is understood that the crowing of the chicken will deter thieves and cutthroats from attacking trekkers, ...

Murder on the Nangpa La: why the 2006 Cho Oyu shooting should be remembered

On Saturday 30 September, 2006, foreign climbers at Cho Oyu Base Camp in Tibet watched a line of around 70 local people zigzag up a steep snow slope a short distance away from their tents. They were about to witness something that would become headline news across the world.

At the top of the slope was the Nangpa La pass on the international border between China and Nepal. The pass had been a trade route for centuries. It is likely that Sherpas migrated into Nepal over the Nangpa La in the 16th ...

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill, but is it a real place?

This blog is not just about mountains but small hills too, and today I’m going to talk about a very small hill indeed.

I was listening to the Easy 70s playlist on Spotify when I picked Edita up from the airport a couple of weeks ago.

As we drove back to the Cotswolds that Friday, Peter Gabriel’s 1977 hit Solsbury Hill popped up on the car stereo, which prompted Edita to remark:

“Peter Gabriel is British, isn’t he. Is Solsbury Hill a real place? If it is then we should climb it.”

“Good idea. Actu...

Did Rudyard Kipling’s explorer see Hamish MacInnes looking behind the ranges?

Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges —
Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!
Rudyard Kipling, The Explorer

The occupation mountaineer or even explorer doesn’t begin to describe the life of Hamish MacInnes, who in his 90 years pioneered the art of mountain rescue, invented an ice axe, a tent and a stretcher, made many first ascents all over the world, engaged as a cameraman in umpteen films and documentaries, and somehow managed to write nearly...

A short history of Everest by Kenton Cool

The two things I miss most since moving from London to the Cotswolds are live jazz and mountaineering lectures. Imagine my delight then, to learn that Kenton Cool would be giving a lecture about Everest a few fields away from where I live.

The venue in question was the Far Peak Climbing Centre in Northleach, a town best known as the setting for the hilarious BBC comedy series about life in the Cotswolds, This Country.

Northleach is a sleepy little market town with all the basic facilities such a...