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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Christmas for me usually means some new ascents in a mountainous region of Africa or Latin America. When I received an email from Jagged Globe announcing a new trip to Ojos del Salado, I didn’t have any doubts that was the peak I wanted to climb.
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This weekend I’ll be departing for my annual New Year mountaineering trip, and this time I think it’s going to be a bit special. Edita and I will be attempting Ojos del Salado, a peak I’ve been wanting to climb for a few years now.
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