Is Kate Harris the new Dervla Murphy?

July 8, 2020 Reviews and tributes boardman tasker prize, central asia, cycling, dervla murphy, kate harris, mountain literature, tibet, travel writing 5 Comments

I can confidently say that Lands of Lost Borders by Kate Harris is my favourite of all the Boardman Tasker Prize winners that I’ve read. It reminded me of Dervla Murphy, but how similar is it? I read Dervla Murphy’s book Full Tilt to find out.

The sorrowful tale of Little Mo the moorhen chick

July 1, 2020 Good causes animal rescue, britain, edita, wildlife, wildlife photography 2 Comments

This post doesn’t have anything to do with mountains, so please forgive the indulgence, but it’s a salutary tale about interaction with nature that may interest you. It contains some useful lessons (for me, at least) and a few schoolboy errors that I expect will have some of you shaking your heads in despair.

Win a signed copy of The Baruntse Adventure

June 24, 2020 My books and writing baruntse, competitions, edmund hillary, mountain literature, the baruntse adventure, travel diaries, travel writing 0 Comment

I am giving away a signed copy of my book The Baruntse Adventure to three lucky people who are willing to help me out by posting a review.

Llanganates, Tungurahua and unexplored Ecuador – the videos

June 17, 2020 Trip reports andes, cotopaxi, ecuador, fuya fuya, imbabura, llanganates mountains, mountain films, tungurahua, volcanoes 0 Comment

It’s time for my latest set of videos: Unexplored Ecuador. Last autumn Edita and I made our fourth trip to Ecuador, and decided to get a little off the beaten track by visiting some of the country’s lesser known volcanoes and mountain areas.

My very first audiobook – Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest, narrated by Philip Battley

June 10, 2020 My books and writing audiobooks, everest, john d burns, kangchenjunga, mountain literature, philip battley, seven steps from snowdon to everest, travel writing 0 Comment

Exciting news! I’m delighted to say that my book Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest is now available as an audiobook. I’ve been enormously privileged to work with a highly experienced, professional stage and screen actor as my narrator, and I would like to introduce you to him in this post.

Why did a Chinese team climb Everest during the coronavirus pandemic?

June 3, 2020 Opinion and advice china, everest, global health, nepal, records, tibet, yarla shampo expeditions 8 Comments

Last week a team of Chinese surveyors climbed Everest and were among only a handful of people to climb it during the coronavirus pandemic. But aren’t we all supposed to be in lockdown? Not all of us, it turns out. I will try to explain.

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

May 27, 2020 Reviews and tributes 8000m peaks, aleister crowley, charles evans, douglas freshfield, frank smythe, gunther dyhrenfurth, himalayas, history of mountaineering, joe brown, kangchenjunga, mick conefrey, mountain literature, norman hardie, paul bauer 1 Comment

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.

Can you really see Mount Everest from Kathmandu?

May 20, 2020 Opinion and advice everest, ganesh himal, global health, himalayas, kathmandu, langtang lirung, nepal, nepali times 16 Comments

One of the side effects of coronavirus lockdown that many people have been talking about is the clarity of the air. Less traffic means less pollution. Nowhere illustrates this better than Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. Last week the Nepali Times posted a photo that purported to show a view of Everest from the city. Could it be true?

What a box of mountaineering books tells me about our post-coronavirus future

May 13, 2020 My books and writing alliance of independent authors, amazon, global health, mountain literature, travel writing, vertebrate publishing 4 Comments

Publishing is one of the industries that could adapt to a new world that might emerge in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But traditional publishers and indie authors share a common threat that promises an uncertain future.

Learning about the Manang Valley in the early days of the Annapurna Circuit

May 6, 2020 Reviews and tributes annapurna, annapurna circuit, great himalaya trail, himalayas, mountain environment, mountain films, nepal, responsible tourism, trekking 2 Comments

Now that the pubs are all closed, I’ve been spending Saturday nights searching for mountain gems on YouTube. Here’s one. In the Shadow of Annapurna offers a glimpse into an earlier age in Nepal, when things were rapidly changing but many of the old ways remained.