author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
Acclimatisation is a funny thing. On the face of it, it seemed like we had a good plan. After a full day acclimatising at 2850m in Quito, we would climb a 4258m volcano followed by a 4640m volcano. Then we
Read more
A quick update from the road in Ecuador. Edita and I have finished our first two acclimatisation hikes exploring the northern part of the country. We started with Mojanda, a sprawling massif a 2-3 drive northeast of Quito. Mojanda has
Read more
Life has been hectic in the Horrell household recently and I’ve been finding it hard to keep on top of my writing. It is time for a holiday. We are returning to Ecuador for a couple of weeks to hike and climb some less-frequented peaks.
Read more
A chance meeting at Refugio Carrel on Chimborazo on the evening before our second ascent reminded me of another favourite climb in Ecuador a few years earlier. It was a climb that produced a unique video that lives long in the memory.
Read more
Those of you who have been kind enough to pre-order Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo will hopefully have seen it appear on your devices sometime last week. The entire project, from push off to launch has taken about two years.
Read more
The sharp-eyed among you may have noticed that my second full-length book, Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo, has started to appear half price on Amazon. If if you’re a regular reader then I would be super grateful if you can spare some loose change to buy it.
Read more
I’m reaching the final stages with my follow up to Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest, and I’m keen to have your feedback about the book cover to ensure it conveys my story and reaches an even bigger audience.
Read more
Nobody knows if Edward Whymper made the first ascent of Carihuairazo in 1880. Nor was Whymper very sure himself. He made an ascent of a summit, but whether it was the main one is open to debate. In this post I examine the evidence.
Read more
Like most normal people, I swear from time to time. More unusually, I also swear quite a lot in my writing, and recently I received some feedback that it might be excessive. So when is swearing acceptable in travel writing, and when is it too much?
Read more
In the process of editing my new book about Chimborazo, I’ve had to chop the following excerpt. But it’s an interesting read, about a couple of places in northern Ecuador that are rarely visited by tourists, but should be: the mountain Cotacachi and its picturesque crater lake.
Read more