author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
It’s ages since I last published a book, and I’m very excited about my latest one. Sherpa Hospitality as a cure for frostbite takes us from the early years of Himalayan mountaineering to the present day when Sherpas have become superstar climbers in their own right.
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I’m super excited to make two big announcements in today’s post – a rare public appearance and a new book that explores the journey of Sherpas from the porters of early expeditions to the superstar climbers of the present day.
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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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A quick message to announce something that I know some of you will have been waiting for as eagerly as when you used to wonder what colour socks your gran was knitting you for Christmas. Yes, that’s right, I’ve narrated my first audiobook!
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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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If you did a double take when you read this headline then that’s OK: so did I. I can’t quite believe it, but today I’ve reached an important milestone. When I first started this blog in August 2010, I had no idea where it would go.
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In 1953, Jan Morris was the Times correspondent entrusted with sending the exclusive news that Everest had been climbed for the very first time. With rival journalists snooping around the Everest region, she decided to invent a secret code.
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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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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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More excitement ! I’m delighted to say that my book Feet and Wheels to Chimborazo is now available as an audiobook. Once again, I’ve been enormously privileged to work with highly experienced, professional stage and screen actor Philip Battley as my narrator.
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