Mark Horrell
Mark Horrell

Mark Horrell

author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion

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Tim Moore

Swearing in travel writing: when is it acceptable?

March 27, 2019 My books and writing bill bryson, chimborazo, ecuador, redmond o'hanlon, seven steps from snowdon to everest, tim moore, travel writing 13 Comments
Swearing in travel writing: when is it acceptable?

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?

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Sherpa Hospitality as a Cure for Frostbite

The heroic story of how Sherpas stood up and took control of their destiny...

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Don't forget

Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest

My journey from hill walker to Everest climber: a must-read for aspirants and armchair fans...

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Recent posts

  • BREAKING NEWS: Solo trekkers in Nepal will have to carry a live chicken
  • Murder on the Nangpa La: why the 2006 Cho Oyu shooting should be remembered
  • Climbing up on Solsbury Hill, but is it a real place?
  • Did Rudyard Kipling’s explorer see Hamish MacInnes looking behind the ranges?
  • A short history of Everest by Kenton Cool

Recent comments

  • Eddy De Wilde on BREAKING NEWS: Solo trekkers in Nepal will have to carry a live chicken
  • Christian Burgess on When Prince Philip went tiger shooting in Nepal
  • Robert Crow on BREAKING NEWS: Solo trekkers in Nepal will have to carry a live chicken
  • Mike H on BREAKING NEWS: Solo trekkers in Nepal will have to carry a live chicken
  • SS on BREAKING NEWS: Solo trekkers in Nepal will have to carry a live chicken

Archive

  • [-] 2023 (6)
    • [-] March (2)
      • BREAKING NEWS: Solo trekkers in Nepal will have to carry a live chicken
      • Murder on the Nangpa La: why the 2006 Cho Oyu shooting should be remembered
    • [-] February (2)
      • Climbing up on Solsbury Hill, but is it a real place?
      • Did Rudyard Kipling’s explorer see Hamish MacInnes looking behind the ranges?
    • [-] January (2)
      • A short history of Everest by Kenton Cool
      • How to survive a wet and wintry week in Glen Coe, Scotland
  • [+] 2022 (20)
    • [+] December (3)
      • My favourite book of 2022: Snow in the Kingdom by Ed Webster
      • Did George Mallory climb Everest in 1924? I asked ChatGPT for an answer
      • Wham! Bam! Langtang! Chang! Four days of trekking joy
    • [+] November (2)
      • Dzo Jongo West: the world’s shortest 6,000m-peak summit day?
      • The strangest tale about Kangchenjunga ever told
    • [+] October (2)
      • Dzo Jongo East: a 6,000m peak so easy you can just walk up it
      • Markha Valley Trek: a perfect reintroduction to trekking in Ladakh
    • [+] August (2)
      • A return to the land of mountain passes
      • Life and Death on Mt Everest: a rare window into Sherpa culture
    • [+] July (1)
      • If Reinhold Messner wasn’t the first person to climb all the 8,000m peaks, who was?
    • [+] June (2)
      • Is Peaks and Bandits the world's funniest mountaineering book?
      • All 14 Welsh 3,000ers for the Queen's jubilee
    • [+] May (2)
      • Sherpa Hospitality now available as an audiobook
      • Snowdonia’s Nantlle Ridge the hard way
    • [+] April (1)
      • Plynlimon: traversing the five tops of the fruitiest mountain in Wales
    • [+] March (1)
      • A walk through the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine
    • [+] February (1)
      • A guided tour of Himalayan mountaintops by an Everest guide, from the comfort of your armchair
    • [+] January (3)
      • One and a half ascents of Ben Hope, Scotland’s most northerly Munro
      • 7 great books with Sherpa mountaineers at their heart
      • The Scottish coastline and the secret village across the loch
  • [+] 2021 (20)
    • [+] December (3)
      • Special offer: Sherpa Hospitality at a super low price
      • Kilimanjaro cable car: is it a good idea? That depends on its purpose
      • My new book is out! Sherpa Hospitality as a Cure for Frostbite
    • [+] November (3)
      • The story of Sherpa mountaineers from early expeditions to the present day
      • Review: The Farthest Shore by Alex Roddie - hiking the Cape Wrath Trail
      • The Ben Lawers Five: peak-bagging perfection
    • [+] October (2)
      • Review: The Last Mountain – the last days of Tom Ballard
      • Amazing drone photos of the summit of Manaslu help to set the record straight
    • [+] September (2)
      • The weirdness of a Highland heatwave: 3 strange incidents on Beinn Liath Mhor
      • Move over Jim Dale, there’s a new audiobook narrator in town
    • [+] August (1)
      • The Glen Spean Nine: peak bagging and bet hedging in Central Scotland
    • [+] July (2)
      • Nine Lives by Robert Anderson: Everest from all angles
      • The best review so far of the 2021 Everest season
    • [+] June (1)
      • When reaching the summit is just a tick in the box
    • [+] May (2)
      • Everest and COVID-19: Why don’t operators donate their oxygen to hospitals in Nepal?
      • Everest and COVID-19: climbers and operators need to come clean
    • [+] April (1)
      • When Prince Philip went tiger shooting in Nepal
    • [+] March (1)
      • The Chomolungma Varieties: struggles of an apprentice audiobook narrator
    • [+] February (1)
      • 10 high-altitude mountaineering lookalikes
    • [+] January (1)
      • Is the first winter ascent of K2 a turning point for Sherpa mountaineers?
  • [+] 2020 (53)
    • [+] December (5)
      • How I evolved as a writer by writing one blog post every week for 10 years
      • The Ghosts Above – 36 minutes of Everest porn, free on YouTube
      • Doug Scott’s expedition to the Tibesti Mountains in Chad
      • How not to do the Cuillin Ridge, by cyclist Danny MacAskill
      • What was Jan Morris’s secret code to say that Everest had been climbed?
    • [+] November (4)
      • Sgurr nan Gillean and Am Basteir: the Black Cuillin’s hair-raising finale
      • The best place on the internet to buy new paperback books
      • Sgurr na Banachdich to Sgurr a Ghreadaidh: touching cloth in the Black Cuillin
      • Should you get a refund if your Everest expedition ends early?
    • [+] October (5)
      • Sgurr Alasdair to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich: the secret of Collie’s Ledge
      • The Cuillin Traverse - to do or not to do?
      • How does climbing Everest compare with winning a Nobel prize?
      • Ascent Into Hell by Fergus White: An authentic account of climbing Everest
      • Beyond the Nevis watershed, part 2: the Grey Corries
    • [+] September (4)
      • Beyond the Nevis watershed, part 1: the eastern Mamores
      • The world’s most stupid navigational error
      • 5 surprising, educational facts about Everest, all for a good cause
      • 10 facts about Everest success and death rates, based on scientific data
    • [+] August (4)
      • When Joe Brown went hunting for Inca treasure in Ecuador’s Llanganates Mountains
      • If you climb a peak that collapses in an earthquake, did you still climb it?
      • His father, Frank Smythe – biography of a Himalayan legend
      • The volcanoes of Colombia's Los Nevados: the videos
    • [+] July (5)
      • What mountain summit has the world’s longest view?
      • My second audiobook – Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo, narrated by Philip Battley
      • What does Mount Everest look like from space?
      • Is Kate Harris the new Dervla Murphy?
      • The sorrowful tale of Little Mo the moorhen chick
    • [+] June (4)
      • Win a signed copy of The Baruntse Adventure
      • Llanganates, Tungurahua and unexplored Ecuador – the videos
      • My very first audiobook – Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest, narrated by Philip Battley
      • Why did a Chinese team climb Everest during the coronavirus pandemic?
    • [+] May (4)
      • Is The Last Great Mountain by Mick Conefrey the last great book about Kangchenjunga?
      • Can you really see Mount Everest from Kathmandu?
      • What a box of mountaineering books tells me about our post-coronavirus future
      • Learning about the Manang Valley in the early days of the Annapurna Circuit
    • [+] April (6)
      • Ojos del Salado and the Puña de Atacama: the videos
      • Cool Conversations: experience the mountains during lockdown by social distancing Kenton Cool-style
      • Revised edition of The Baruntse Adventure available from all good e-bookstores
      • An interview and audio excerpt from Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo
      • An audio excerpt from my book Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest
      • What I’m learning from Robert Macfarlane’s reading group about Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain
    • [+] March (4)
      • Why the outdoor community should not ignore coronavirus restrictions
      • Kangchenjunga Base Camps Trek: the videos
      • Keep safe from coronavirus with namaste, the ‘Nepali handshake’
      • Introducing Wilderness Prime: a superb introduction to the Great Himalaya Trail
    • [+] February (4)
      • Much ado about yetis: Nepal’s latest tourism blunder
      • How the Duke of Cornwall stole a footpath and I rediscovered it
      • BREAKING NEWS: False alarm as climber’s tracking device suggests he is trapped inside toilet tent
      • The true summit of Manaslu: a long-standing mystery solved
    • [+] January (4)
      • The tragedy of Armero: the 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz
      • Los Nevados: exploring the volcanoes of Colombia’s Cordillera Central
      • How the Colombian páramo thwarted the Spanish conquistadors
      • Why I’m not a big fan of rock climbing
  • [-] 2019 (52)
    • [-] December (4)
      • The five days of Colombia's Cocuy Circuit trek on video
      • A return to the mountains of Colombia, with a volcanic twist
      • Climbing Cotopaxi: the ‘most beautiful of all the colossal peaks of the Andes’
      • Review: Touching the Void, on stage in London's West End
    • [-] November (4)
      • Climbing Tungurahua and entering the throat of fire
      • Paperback of Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo: the perfect gift to slip inside your Christmas stocking
      • Monte Amaro up the backside: a bittersweet ascent in the Apennines
      • Nirmal Purja’s ascent of all fourteen 8,000m peaks: why is it controversial?
    • [-] October (5)
      • An ascent of Imbabura, the dragon-back of Otavalo
      • Wanda Rutkiewicz: the mountaineer’s Google Doodle
      • Fuya Fuya, the most exciting mountain in Ecuador
      • Quilotoa: the easiest way in Ecuador to look into a volcanic crater?
      • How to recover from a big altitude misjudgement
    • [-] September (4)
      • Two volcano hikes in northern Ecuador
      • A short escape to Ecuador to climb some of its more obscure peaks
      • 10 great books about mountains that have nothing to do with climbing
      • What the North Coast 500 has in common with Everest
    • [-] August (4)
      • An ascent of Aukštojas Hill, the highest mountain in Lithuania
      • What was the highest mountain in the world before Everest was discovered?
      • The Ring of Steall: a Scottish hill walking classic
      • The only video on YouTube of the whole Antisana climb
    • [-] July (5)
      • In memoriam: Jeremy “Bunter” Anson, who put Twixes on the Himalayan map
      • My journey along the Great Glen Way on a mountain bike
      • Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo is OUT NOW, but why did it take so long?
      • An interview with … Mark Horrell (and why not)
      • Monte Camicia and the last snow of spring
    • [-] June (4)
      • Is it time to boycott the south side of Everest?
      • Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, via the CMD Arête
      • Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo: e-book available now to pre-order
      • Why I prefer hiking to biking
    • [-] May (5)
      • Three lucky breaks and one unlucky one
      • Remembering Michelle Pradhan and the Courtyard Hotel, Kathmandu
      • The Helvellyn and Fairfield Horseshoe via Striding Edge
      • Putting Chulu Far East on the Nepal trekking map
      • Pizzo di Camarda: a return to the Apennines
    • [-] April (4)
      • Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo: please give your feedback on my book cover
      • Did Edward Whymper make the first ascent of Carihuairazo?
      • Dreams of Maiella: a shepherd’s life in the Apennines
      • Drohmo Ri: The Movie
    • [-] March (4)
      • Swearing in travel writing: when is it acceptable?
      • Is Dervla Murphy most admired for her writing or her travelling style?
      • Undiscovered Ecuador: Cotacachi and the Guinea Pig Lake
      • What happened to Alison Hargreaves on K2?
    • [-] February (4)
      • Introduction to the Apennines – Part 5: Monti della Laga
      • Why I don’t give away free books to readers in exchange for reviews
      • What the devil is a circumhorizon arc?
      • Humboldt and Boussingault on Chimborazo: how high did they climb?
    • [-] January (5)
      • Free Solo: my review of an Oscar-nominated climbing movie
      • Salt before breakfast: an ascent of Ojos del Salado
      • Cerro Vicuñas, the world’s easiest 6,000m peak? Quite possibly
      • Ojos del Salado – the photos (and a quick message about cheating)
      • Happy 50th birthday to Cicerone guidebooks
  • [+] 2018 (53)
    • [+] December (4)
      • What’s the highest mountain in the solar system?
      • Ojos del Salado at last: climbing the world’s highest volcano
      • A short scramble up Rumiñahui, the stone-faced Inca warrior
      • Beautiful places are more crowded, but the world is getting better, not worse
    • [+] November (4)
      • The cause of Himalayan forest fires
      • A doctor’s advice on surviving the death zone
      • Introduction to the Apennines – Part 4: Sirente-Velino
      • Why do outdoor brands constantly dick around with perfectly good gear?
    • [+] October (5)
      • Peak bagging the Cuillin ridge on Scotland’s Isle of Skye
      • The strange life and death of Kim Chang-ho
      • An introduction to ExplorersWeb, the adventurers’ website on a new journey
      • Banished to Room 101: the Inaccessible Pinnacle
      • The first ever successful Everesting of Everest
    • [+] September (4)
      • A return to the Black Cuillin of Skye
      • Islands in the Snow is now available as a paperback
      • 7 countries with mountains on their flags
      • Cycling the North Coast 500: a teaser from my next book
    • [+] August (5)
      • The great Nepal helicopter rescue fraud: an introduction
      • 5 stepping stones on the path to high altitude
      • Cadair Idris by the Minffordd Path
      • Introduction to the Apennines – Part 3: Abruzzo National Park
      • Revised digital edition of Islands of the Snow is now available
    • [+] July (4)
      • Flashing on Everest: is it worth the money?
      • Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England, from Wasdale
      • Where are the humorous mountaineering books?
      • The Manaslu Adventure is now available as a paperback
    • [+] June (4)
      • Monte Marsicano up the back side: 8 summits in one day
      • Flashing on Everest: is it safe or sensible?
      • The Ennerdale Horseshoe: a Lake District gem
      • Cotopaxi, a short climbing history: a teaser from my next book
    • [+] May (6)
      • Kangchenjunga base camp trek: Oktang and the south side
      • 7 fish who climbed Everest
      • Kangchenjunga base camp trek: Pangpema and the north side
      • UK readers: Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest available for less than a quid
      • In memory of Chongba Sherpa of Tate, a high-altitude superstar
      • Revised edition of The Manaslu Adventure available from all good e-bookstores
    • [+] April (4)
      • Drohmo Ri, the world’s easiest 6,000m peak? Not quite
      • Introduction to the Apennines – Part 2: Maiella
      • Archive footage of the 1955 first ascent of Kangchenjunga
      • My first visit to Kangchenjunga
    • [+] March (4)
      • Why I’m supporting the BMC’s Mend Our Mountains appeal
      • A peek inside the Himalayan Database, the archives of Elizabeth Hawley
      • High Atlas 4,000ers: the videos
      • Introduction to the Apennines – Part 1: Gran Sasso
    • [+] February (4)
      • Everesting on Everest: how mountaineers differ from endurance cyclists
      • The Brecon Beacons: our Welsh Apennines
      • Chimborazo’s role in proving Newton’s theory of gravity
      • Tomek Mackiewicz and Nanga Parbat: a Shakespearean mountaineering tragedy
    • [+] January (5)
      • Chimborazo Sea to Summit Challenge: the videos
      • Mountain, The Movie: pornography for outdoor folk
      • Bagging 4,000m peaks in Morocco
      • It’s the Everest silly announcement season again
      • Is this the world’s strangest summit cairn?
  • [+] 2017 (53)
    • [+] December (4)
      • A return to the Moroccan High Atlas
      • Sea to summit on Chimborazo, part 3: the climb
      • An evening with Mick and Vic, British climbing's answer to Vic and Bob
      • Sea to summit on Chimborazo, part 2: Carihuairazo and the circumnavigation
    • [+] November (5)
      • Adventure-loving Guardian readers hit back at couch-potato Guardian writers
      • Sea to summit on Chimborazo, part 1: the bike ride
      • North Coast 500 bike ride: the videos
      • Sore bums and saddlebags: cycling the North Coast 500
      • The best guidebook to Nepal is now available as a paperback
    • [+] October (4)
      • The kindness of strangers is helping a young Sherpa recover from frostbite
      • A short walk in the Sesto Dolomites
      • 5 beginner’s tips for cycling up mountains
      • Is Cotopaxi now safe to climb?
    • [+] September (4)
      • Is this the world's first ascent of Chimborazo from sea to summit?
      • Ice needles and guinea pigs: acclimatising in Ecuador
      • The truth about the first Lithuanian ascent of Sgurr a’ Chaorachain
      • The peat-bog method of training for a big adventure
    • [+] August (2)
      • Get me off this bike and back on my feet
      • Some thoughts on hiking in the Dolomites and via ferrata
    • [+] July (5)
      • Unfinished business on Corno Piccolo
      • The long road to Chimborazo on legs and wheels
      • The Corno Grande and Corno Piccolo traverse
      • Monte Acquaviva: the Maiella massif from both sides
      • The mystery of Ueli Steck's last climb
    • [+] June (4)
      • The Lithuanian conquest of the Apennines
      • An evening with Kenton Cool … Aha!
      • Helambu, Langtang and Ganesh: the videos
      • Keeping one’s shirt on up Monte Camicia
    • [+] May (6)
      • BREAKING NEWS: British man arrested for Photoshopping pictures of Mount Everest’s Hillary Step
      • The great Everest self-fulfilling prophecy
      • Thieves, Liars and Mountaineers is now available as a paperback
      • Exploring Monti della Laga after the Italian earthquake
      • Move over Lonely Planet – here are the best travel guidebooks to Nepal
      • What Ueli Steck meant to ordinary people like me
    • [+] April (5)
      • The fate of Langtang village two years after the Nepal earthquake
      • For busy executives: the world’s shortest 8,000m peak expedition
      • Thieves, Liars and Mountaineers has been fully revised in digital format
      • From wasteland to wonderland: a trek in Langtang
      • Reality Check: Will there be a huge clear up of garbage on Everest this year?
    • [+] March (5)
      • The 3 curses of the Himalayan snow
      • The climate zones of Kilimanjaro from space
      • The story of Gosainkund, the sacred mountain lake
      • My first visit to the Langtang Valley
      • In Ladakh two men tackle climate change by making artificial glaciers
    • [+] February (4)
      • A night on Kilimanjaro’s summit: the videos
      • Introducing Grant Axe Rawlinson, the human-powered adventurer
      • Should outdoor and mountaineering writers talk about politics?
      • Tilman and Shipton’s travels in Africa
    • [+] January (5)
      • A brief introduction to Kilimanjaro’s volcanic crater
      • The best way to climb Kilimanjaro
      • The Everest Politics Show is out now in paperback
      • The Tanzanian Mount Meru
      • Why I'm not a fan of night-time ascents
  • [+] 2016 (52)
    • [+] December (4)
      • A hill walking comedy classic
      • Kilimanjaro: returning to the crown of Africa
      • How to report a missing trekker in Nepal
      • Book review: A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby
    • [+] November (6)
      • Nepal's scramble for first ascents - or are they?
      • You don’t have to win the Boardman Tasker Prize to be a no.1 Amazon bestseller
      • My new diary The Everest Politics Show is out tomorrow!
      • Nawang Gombu: Heart of a Tiger
      • The BBC Top Gear Chimborazo fiasco
      • The Ascent of Rum Doodle vs. The Ascent of Nanda Devi – how similar are they?
    • [+] October (4)
      • How to verify a Manaslu summit claim
      • How starting a blog turned me into a mountaineering writer
      • The Everest Politics Show: available for pre-order now
      • Is acclimatising at home the future of Himalayan mountaineering?
    • [+] September (4)
      • The riddle of Snow Lake and the glacier with no outlet
      • Monte Corvo: Crow Mountain
      • Why a crowdfunded mountain rescue raised $200,000 in under a week
      • The Guardian prints another self-righteous opinion piece about Everest by some couch potato
    • [+] August (5)
      • K2: Touching the Sky – a film review
      • Pizzo d’Intermesoli, Gran Sasso’s forgotten sister
      • Shipton’s mountain travel classics now available as sensibly priced ebooks
      • Why I don’t give a toss about the BMC renaming itself Climb Britain
      • The Manaslu Circuit: a bridge lover's paradise
    • [+] July (4)
      • Monte Gorzano, the highest point in Lazio
      • On summit certificates, liaison officers and funny mountaineering rules
      • Comparing Hillary’s and Tichy’s ascents of Cho Oyu
      • Monti Ernici: a taste of the Scottish Highlands a short drive from Rome
    • [+] June (5)
      • Nepal stories: the monk, the witch and the mountain guide
      • The Chomolungma Diaries now available as a paperback
      • Why The Economist thinks Mount Everest is so dangerous
      • Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa - a film review
      • A long overdue, heroic story of rescue high on Everest
    • [+] May (4)
      • Did Everest’s Hillary Step collapse in the Nepal earthquake?
      • Book review: Summit 8000 by Andrew Lock
      • The first ascent of the South Face of Aconcagua
      • Are western operators right to complain about cheap Nepali operators on Everest?
    • [+] April (4)
      • When climbing documentaries were as popular as cookery shows
      • Feeling at home in the Apennines
      • Sherpa: They Live, We Come Back
      • Everest is not piled high with dead bodies
    • [+] March (5)
      • An early history of the 8000m peaks: the first ascent of Annapurna
      • A 250-page love letter to Nepal
      • Win a pair of Scarpa Phantom 8000 boots that have been to the summit of Manaslu
      • 2Mbps broadband available on Mount Everest, claims UK cable company
      • Winter on Nanga Parbat: a good news story from Pakistan
    • [+] February (4)
      • An early history of the 8000m peaks: the Sherpa contribution
      • My review of Sherpa - Trouble on Everest
      • Vesuvius and the Path of the Gods
      • 5 reasons to buy the paperback of Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest
    • [+] January (3)
      • Chimborazo: the furthest mountain from the centre of the Earth
      • Peak bagging on the Equator
      • My 5 most epic mountain days
  • [+] 2015 (56)
    • [+] December (4)
      • Cayambe and Chimborazo: Why Ecuador's volcanoes are worth a second visit
      • Nepal announces cuts to Sherpa safety to attract more tourists
      • A stroll up Monte Terminillo and the Elephant Mountain
      • Vanity has been dogging Everest expeditions since 1972
    • [+] November (5)
      • What does the Nepal Mountaineering Association do?
      • Death of the Nepal trekking peaks?
      • An early history of the 8000m peaks: Mummery, Crowley and the Duke of Abruzzi
      • Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest out on Monday!
      • The Abruzzo Quartet: an autumn feast of mountains
    • [+] October (4)
      • Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest: read the complete prologue
      • Book review: The Ghosts of K2 by Mick Conefrey
      • The first ascent of the Southwest Face of Everest
      • The Snowdon Horseshoe: Britain's classic hill walk
    • [+] September (7)
      • Snowdon's Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel: a little piece of Everest history
      • BREAKING NEWS: People with size 14 feet can no longer climb Mount Everest
      • I'm giving The Chomolungma Diaries away FREE, and here's why
      • Everest the Movie: my review of the Hollywood blockbuster
      • Monte Amaro, a mountain worth drinking to
      • Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest: a writer's journey to a perfect book cover
      • Why are mountaineering book covers so terribly dull?
    • [+] August (4)
      • The marvellous story of Boris of Kathmandu
      • Hell or high water: a Peak Lenin modern pentathlon
      • Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest: please give your feedback on my book cover
      • My 5 wettest mountain adventures
    • [+] July (4)
      • The Corno Grande aperitivo: highest mountain in the Apennines
      • Sunshine and optimism in the High Pamirs: my attempt on Peak Lenin
      • Walking the Aran Ridge, another Snowdonia secret
      • To climb or not to climb? Those last 50 metres
    • [+] June (4)
      • Nepal earthquake gets the BBC Panorama treatment
      • Is disaster reporting becoming too violent?
      • An extraordinary case of mountaineering integrity
      • Everest 2014-15: A personal tale of two tragedies
    • [+] May (4)
      • The house that can be carried on porter back
      • Colonel Jimmy Roberts and the first ascent of Mera Peak
      • Aconcagua and a first taste of expedition life: an extract from my book
      • As climbers wring their hands about Everest, Nepal quietly rebuilds
    • [+] April (6)
      • Nepal earthquake: who should I donate to?
      • Remembering the avalanche: a tribute to all Sherpas
      • Trailblazing up Monte Sirente
      • 5 steps to taking better mountain photographs
      • Tilman's Everest south side reconnaissance
      • Farewell Samuli Mansikka, the fearless Finn
    • [+] March (5)
      • A fascinating journey across Tibet
      • Poo in the Everest region: is it such a big problem?
      • Battle of the blockbusters: Herzog's Annapurna vs. Tichy's Cho Oyu
      • Tilman's expedition to the Annapurnas
      • BREAKING NEWS: Flushing Toilet To Be Built At Everest Base Camp
    • [+] February (5)
      • When expedition operators should be taken with a pinch of salt
      • The Corno Grande Saga, Part 2
      • Learning the alpine skills: another update about my book
      • Is mountaineering in Nepal becoming too expensive?
      • Tilman's expedition to Langtang
    • [+] January (4)
      • A Gran Sasso reconnaissance
      • Creative peak bagging is the way forward
      • Toubkal and Ouanoukrim: a High Atlas winter wonderland
      • Bill Tilman: Nepal's very first trekking tourist
  • [+] 2014 (53)
    • [+] December (4)
      • Merry Christmas from Morocco
      • The Denali concession: is it good for customer choice?
      • How Nepal first came to open its doors to tourism
      • Expedition insurance: why I'm ditching BMC for another provider
    • [+] November (3)
      • Southwest ridge of Cholatse: the videos
      • Cholatse 11, Ama Dablam 0 (Everest arrested for streaking)
      • When is a summit not a summit?
    • [+] October (6)
      • How many aitches in Machapuchare?
      • Chillaxing on Cholatse: a return to Nepal
      • It’s normal to say you're going to break someone’s legs, Sherpa admits
      • Everest's deadliest day - debating Everest's future
      • Legends of Mulanje, Africa's misty mountain
      • Climbing Sapitwa Peak, Mulanje, the highest peak in Malawi
    • [+] September (4)
      • Mafinga South and Mafinga Central: the highest peaks in Zambia
      • Climbing Kilimanjaro: a taster from my forthcoming book
      • Finding the highest points in Zambia and Malawi
      • 5 of the silliest mountain firsts
    • [+] August (5)
      • How photographs revealed Frederick Cook's Denali hoax
      • Why a highway to Everest is long overdue
      • My new e-book Denali Nights out now
      • Looking back on Everest as the dust settles
      • Exploring the Cordillera Blanca's high altitude playground
    • [+] July (4)
      • Is K2 the new Everest?
      • Peruvian icefall doctors: a case study
      • A return to the Peruvian Andes, in very different circumstances
      • 4 ways to improve the south side of Everest
    • [+] June (4)
      • The cod science of Everest hate
      • Getting married is the peak of hubris
      • Leo Houlding does his bit for the Sherpas
      • A funny name for a mountain
    • [+] May (7)
      • The Everest Base Camp summit meeting: an eyewitness account
      • A mountain of deceit: introducing Nepal's Ministry of Tourism
      • Lhotse 2014: The world's most expensive Everest Base Camp trek
      • The Everest avalanche: how did it happen?
      • The mother of all avalanches: an eyewitness account
      • A last desperate bid for Everest glory ... by helicopter
      • Salvaging good from a disastrous season
    • [+] April (4)
      • The double Everest tragedy
      • The Sherpa sacrifice
      • Namche Bazaar and the start of the Everest trail
      • A briefing at the Ministry
    • [+] March (4)
      • South Peak: my attempt on Lhotse
      • 10 great Sherpa mountaineers
      • A media guide to Mount Everest
      • Don't be fooled by disaster porn
    • [+] February (4)
      • What do Prince Philip, an Everest summiteer and a Nepali rock star have in common?
      • Everest: The Return of the Mavericks
      • Nepal's top 5 most valuable mountains
      • Climbing big mountains isn't everyone's cup of tea
    • [+] January (4)
      • Ueli Steck's guide to the 8000m peaks
      • When the mountain gods are angry
      • Cerro San Lorenzo and the Patagonian summer
      • Everest's magic miracle highway
  • [+] 2013 (54)
    • [+] December (4)
      • The first man ever to have got on top
      • Why would anyone spend Christmas in Patagonia?
      • The Eighth Summit: the highest mountain in Central America
      • Frank Smythe is more interesting than George Mallory
    • [+] November (4)
      • How not to do a mountaineering presentation
      • Everest's most extraordinary false summit claim
      • George Mallory was murdered ... by Jeffrey Archer
      • Carpe diem - Cheesewring, Cornwall
    • [+] October (6)
      • The Epic of Everest - Captain John Noel's film of the 1924 expedition
      • The first winter ascent of Broad Peak - a tribute
      • Do we really need more 8000m peaks?
      • Sir Chris Bonington's life in 90 minutes
      • 5 ways to prove a summit claim
      • Book review: Everest The First Ascent by Harriet Tuckey
    • [+] September (4)
      • Summit day on Manaslu: what's it really like?
      • World firsts are meaningless, personal firsts are profound
      • Where on earth are Tenzing Peak and Hillary Peak anyway?
      • Snowdon via the Llanberis Path
    • [+] August (4)
      • What's next? The mountaineer's most frequently asked question
      • What's the world's best mountain for cheating?
      • A dark year in the Karakoram
      • The new Everest Base Camp police force
    • [+] July (4)
      • 4 ways to climb Denali
      • A good year to climb Denali (if you're lucky)
      • Adiòs Leo Rasnik, guide of Aconcagua
      • When the mountain is trying to tell you something
    • [+] June (3)
      • The High One: my attempt on Denali
      • How Mardale came to be flooded and the Lake District drowned in silly names
      • Everest comes to London: celebrating the 1953 Everest expedition
    • [+] May (6)
      • Is it a bad thing the world is becoming more accessible?
      • Farewell to the Pilgrim's Book House, Kathmandu
      • A tribute to Sherpas, the tigers of the snow
      • The Mynydd Du microadventure
      • Everest is not for climbers - you're joking aren't you!
      • How civilised does an expedition base camp have to be?
    • [+] April (5)
      • All you need to know about the Everest fist fight
      • Following the Everesters
      • Top rock climber accuses sunbathers of cheating
      • Why Tenzing is the greatest Everest climber
      • A winter wonderland above the Bridge of Orchy
    • [+] March (4)
      • Herbert Tichy's amazing discovery on the first ascent of Cho Oyu
      • Everest by the Venables Direct Route
      • Is the death zone a myth?
      • Did Chinese climbers reach the summit of Everest in 1960?
    • [+] February (6)
      • First ascent of Aconcagua: a story of self-inflicted altitude sickness
      • Why I'm paying Nepal back for the good times
      • Book review: Sacred Summits by Pete Boardman
      • Is the mountaineer Phil Crampton Richard III's distant relative?
      • Is it OK for mountaineers to miss a puja?
      • BBC proves not all Everest documentaries have to be crap
    • [+] January (4)
      • Touching Doug Scott's void: a crawl down The Ogre
      • Kenton Cool and the Olympic gold medal for climbing Everest
      • Peak bagging in Central America
      • Two great histories of Himalayan mountaineering
  • [+] 2012 (54)
    • [+] December (3)
      • Christmas in Guatemala
      • Ueli Steck's ridiculous mountaineering career
      • The snows of Kilimanjaro, and why seeing is believing
    • [+] November (4)
      • Why most books about Everest are irrelevant (but not all of them)
      • Joe Brown provides a rare glimpse of Kangchenjunga
      • Snowdon via the Snowdon Ranger Path
      • In memory of Victor Correa of Guican
    • [+] October (6)
      • Snowdon via the Watkin Path
      • Hi Kickstarters, but this is wrong in so many ways
      • Why glaciers are amazing in 3 minutes 17 seconds
      • In defence of Manaslu (and commercial mountaineering)
      • Safe return doubtful: Was Shackleton's advert apocryphal?
      • The Yorkshire 3 Peaks Walk
    • [+] September (4)
      • The Manaslu avalanche: a short analysis
      • The people who give Everest a bad name
      • What climbing Everest taught me about George Mallory's final hours
      • How the whim of Eric Shipton shaped the history of Everest
    • [+] August (5)
      • Why did Harry's Mountain Heroes leave Everest early?
      • Why Nepal is the world's best destination for solo trekking
      • Climbing Elbrus by any means
      • Anatomy of a crampon
      • A short history of Nanga Parbat, the Naked German Mountain
    • [+] July (4)
      • What's next? Elbrus, I suppose
      • Backpacking in the Black Mount: a high level route for midges
      • A menagerie of mad mountaineers
      • Mystery of the vanishing Himalayan lake
    • [+] June (5)
      • 5 Everest horror stories
      • Why Altitude Junkies is my choice for the 8000m peaks
      • How to choose an 8000m peak expedition company
      • Everest 2012: Climbing and alcohol
      • 5 media myths about Everest busted
    • [+] May (5)
      • The world's most terrifying ridge walk
      • The Everest weather window
      • Mallory and Somervell, 13 May 1922
      • The North Col and the Ladder of Death
      • The mountain gods are mellowing
    • [+] April (5)
      • Roar of a thousand tigers; the North Col Wall
      • First Everest rotation; puja to end all pujas
      • Everest Base Camp memorials
      • Nyalam and Tingri
      • My long and winding trail to Everest
    • [+] March (4)
      • The King of Aconcagua
      • The Manaslu oxygen mystery
      • 4 pairs of mountaineering boots
      • The modern traveller's obsession with gadgets
    • [+] February (5)
      • 5 off-the-beaten-path treks in Nepal
      • The great great grandfather of mountaineering
      • A short history of Cerro Torre, the world's most controversial mountain
      • Which is harder, the Second Seven Summits or the first one?
      • The high-altitude slow plod
    • [+] January (4)
      • Colombia's glaciers will soon be gone
      • Two strange plants of the Colombian paramo
      • Cocuy Circuit trek: You say cojones, I say cojines
      • Is Prince Harry really going to climb 'Mount' Everest?
  • [+] 2011 (52)
    • [+] December (2)
      • 7 mountainous places to escape to for Christmas
      • Ethiopia's Simien Mountains: great trekking, unusual wildlife, and a summit
    • [+] November (5)
      • Swimming with polar bears
      • 5 reasons Ecuador's mountains are great for beginners
      • How to measure the height of a mountain
      • The Lukla flight: is it really that scary?
      • 7 things to know about Mera Peak
    • [+] October (3)
      • Is the Manaslu Circuit the new Annapurna Circuit?
      • Manaslu 2011: Ice axe and Cramptons
      • Manaslu: a tale of two mountaineers
    • [+] September (6)
      • Manaslu - The time has come
      • The joys of Samagaon, gateway to Manaslu
      • The best weather forecast is to look out of your tent
      • First Manaslu summit push
      • On parasitic climbers; Manaslu's serac maze
      • A monsoon trek and first foray onto Manaslu
    • [+] August (5)
      • Spirit Mountain: my attempt on Manaslu
      • How to escape from a yeti
      • 8 useful web tools for expedition base camp
      • What's the definition of a mountaineer?
      • A walk in the clouds
    • [+] July (4)
      • Drukpa Kunley's Rhubarb: an extraordinary Himalayan vegetable
      • 5 reasons why Bhutan is *NOT* worth the $200 per day tourist fee
      • 5 reasons why Bhutan *IS* worth the $200 per day tourist fee
      • The Welsh Wilderness: backpacking in the Cambrian Mountains
    • [+] June (6)
      • What price an outdoor gear reviewer?
      • All experience is an arch: a traveller's motto
      • Backpacker’s Britain: walking guides for people who like it tough
      • The Rhinogs: Snowdonia’s best kept secret
      • The Krakauer Syndrome
      • The Buddhist Wheel of Life
    • [+] May (4)
      • Would you sacrifice a digit for a summit?
      • When does trekking become mountaineering?
      • The trials of keeping a travel diary
      • In praise of Cumbria's northern fells
    • [+] April (4)
      • The joys and perils of off-piste walking
      • Is this the finest view in the Himalayas?
      • A weekend escape to the Brecon Beacons
      • My friends on Makalu, Everest's deadly neighbour
    • [+] March (4)
      • Book review: Savage Arena by Joe Tasker
      • On bog hopping and jungle treks
      • BBC Human Planet: amazing photography, shocking script
      • Turning mountains into trash heaps
    • [+] February (4)
      • Yippee! Our forests are safe, for now
      • 5 great books about mountain exploration
      • My response to that blasted Sell Our Forests consultation
      • Is the Annapurna Circuit still a Must-See?
    • [+] January (5)
      • How the sale of England's forests drove me back into politics
      • Will the Coalition government protect the UK's forests?
      • Putting together an adventure travel kit list
      • 2010, a year of walks across Britain
      • Aconcagua: when returning is better in every way
  • [+] 2010 (16)
    • [+] December (3)
      • From snowy London to sunny Mendoza
      • The Stone Sentinel: return to Aconcagua (as usual)
      • 8 reasons why false summit claims are made
    • [+] November (2)
      • Cho Oyu 2010: Climbing high on steak and kidney pie
      • Baruntse post mortem: bad luck or bad decision-making?
    • [+] October (1)
      • Reflections on Cho Oyu
    • [+] September (8)
      • Hope fading on Cho Oyu
      • Rest and relaxation at Base Camp
      • Up to Camp 2 on Cho Oyu
      • Avalanche above Camp 3
      • Initial forays on Cho Oyu
      • Base Camp Puja
      • Arrival at Cho Oyu Base Camp
      • The Forbidden City
    • [+] August (2)
      • Goddess of Turquoise: my attempt on Cho Oyu
      • Implementing WordPress for an adventure travel company

Tags

8000m peaks abruzzo acclimatisation aconcagua africa altitude junkies andes apennines britain chimborazo cho oyu climbing fatalities commercial mountaineering ecuador edita eric shipton everest everest base camp first ascents gasherbrum hill walking himalayas history of mountaineering italy jagged globe kangchenjunga kilimanjaro manaslu media sensationalism mountaineering ethics mountain films mountain literature munros nepal pakistan phil crampton scotland seven summits sherpas tibet travel writing trekking trekking peaks volcanoes wildlife

Blog categories

  • Expedition dispatches
  • Good causes
  • History
  • Humour
  • My books and writing
  • Opinion and advice
  • Reviews and tributes
  • Trip reports

About my website

Read more about my aim to provide an alternative voice in mountain writing.

Author bio

For more info about my books and writing see my author bio.

Books

  • Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest
  • Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo
  • Sherpa Hospitality as a Cure for Frostbite
  • The Chomolungma Diaries
  • The Everest Politics Show
  • Thieves, Liars and Mountaineers
  • The Manaslu Adventure
  • Islands in the Snow
  • The Baruntse Adventure

Recent posts

  • BREAKING NEWS: Solo trekkers in Nepal will have to carry a live chicken
  • Murder on the Nangpa La: why the 2006 Cho Oyu shooting should be remembered
  • Climbing up on Solsbury Hill, but is it a real place?
  • Did Rudyard Kipling’s explorer see Hamish MacInnes looking behind the ranges?
  • A short history of Everest by Kenton Cool

Blog categories

  • Expedition dispatches
  • Good causes
  • History
  • Humour
  • My books and writing
  • Opinion and advice
  • Reviews and tributes
  • Trip reports
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