Review: The Farthest Shore by Alex Roddie – hiking the Cape Wrath Trail

Review: The Farthest Shore by Alex Roddie – hiking the Cape Wrath Trail

Back in September my editor Alex Roddie was launching his own book The Farthest Shore, about his winter hike of the Cape Wrath Trail in north-west Scotland, at the Highland Bookshop in Fort William. I attended the launch and then read the book.

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Nine Lives by Robert Anderson: Everest from all angles

Nine Lives by Robert Anderson: Everest from all angles

I don’t often accept books for review – not because I’m not interested, but because life is short and there are too many books I want to read. Sometimes, however, I make an exception, like when Robert Anderson offered me a copy of his latest book Nine Lives.

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The Ghosts Above – 36 minutes of Everest porn, free on YouTube

The Ghosts Above – 36 minutes of Everest porn, free on YouTube

In 2019, the mountaineering film maker Renan Ozturk and climbing writer Mark Synnott led an expedition to the north side of Everest to look for the body of Sandy Irvine. They didn’t find him, but they brought back a sumptuous feast of photography.

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How not to do the Cuillin Ridge, by cyclist Danny MacAskill

How not to do the Cuillin Ridge, by cyclist Danny MacAskill

In today’s post I’m going to show you the most terrifying thing you’ve ever seen (at least on this blog). If you’ve been following my series of posts about the Cuillin Ridge, you will know that it’s not a place to venture without a rope – or with a bike.

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Ascent Into Hell by Fergus White: An authentic account of climbing Everest

Ascent Into Hell by Fergus White: An authentic account of climbing Everest

When I published The Chomolungma Diaries in 2012, there were very few books about climbing Everest written from the perspective of a commercial client. Now there are several and one runaway success has been Ascent into Hell by Fergus White.

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His father, Frank Smythe – biography of a Himalayan legend

His father, Frank Smythe – biography of a Himalayan legend

It’s been a while since I wrote at length about Frank Smythe, the legendary British mountain explorer who was something of a celebrity in the 1930s when he became one of the first people to make a career of climbing,

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Is The Last Great Mountain by Mick Conefrey the last great book about Kangchenjunga?

Is The Last Great Mountain by Mick Conefrey the last great book about Kangchenjunga?

It’s not clear why Kangchenjunga should be considered the last great mountain, but whatever: this book is a comprehensive history of all expeditions up to its first ascent in 1955. I learned a lot from it, and I can thoroughly recommend it, however well acquainted you are with Kangchenjunga’s history.

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