The Chomolungma Diaries: Climbing Mount Everest with a commercial expedition (Footsteps on the Mountain Diaries)

I have read most of Mark Horrell's "footsteps on the mountains" series and have enjoyed them all and have been looking forward to him writing and releasing this one since he stepped off that Big Himalayan giant 6 months ago. I have read many Everest books and I like them all as I am very interested in the subject matter. They are however very similar in that they usually concentrate on a tragedy that occured or are a bit over dramatic and you cannot help but feel that there is a touch of exaggeration and am left wondering if all you read is really an accurate account of what happened. This is where this book is different as, like the title suggests it is an accurate account of what many commercial trips up Everest must be like. It is a diary of events that have ups and downs with feel good moments mixed with the events of sadness that occur high up the mountain. None of these are written for dramatic effect, they simply occured. I particularly enjoyed the way that the respect towards his main Sherpa, Chongba, came across. Mark makes no hesitation in suggesting he could climb the beast without the help he gets from the team and would not class himself as a the greatest mountaineer in the world but he is highly skilled and experienced and it clearly comes across that however much assistance you get, its still you that has to put one foot in front of the other and risk your life to accomplish your dreams. I was expecting this to be my favourite book in the series and was not dissapointed. They are all good, but this was great. If you have a slight interest in climbing, trekking or Everest you have to download this. Its a great read. Can't wait for the next one.

Mark Horrell has evidently written several books relating his climbing exploits but this is the first I have read. Based on his diary entries, it is the account of his climb of the north side of Everest (Cholmolungma) with a commercial organisation in 2012.To start with, I found the narrative a little pedestrian and even wondered whether I might bother to finish it. But as the story unfolded, its pace quickened and became quite gripping. I guess much of the content of the tale was rather old hat to those with experience of this kind of venture or who have read much on the subject, but to me, as a complete novice, it was a revelation.I had not realised before reading this, how many were each day attempting the climb, how commercial was the overall enterprise, how much the terrain had been despoiled by the paraphernalia and detritus which countless expeditions had left behind, how much of a 'highway' routes up the mountain had become, with ropeways and ladders semi-permanently in place, but most of all, how many each year, despite safety arrangements, lose their lives on the mountain and whose bodies are frequently left. It made me realise how truly magnificent was the 1953 conquest of Everest by Hillary and Tenzing.I felt that Horrell could have done a little more to explain to newcomers to the subject, some of the technical aspects of climbing at high altitudes. For instance, I took some while to get to grips with the concept of 'rotations' which I came to understand are repeated limited ascents, followed by descents in order to acclimatise to the reduction in the availability of oxygen as altitude increases. But these were minor matters. Despite the commercial nature of much of the climbing, the book succeeded in convincing me of two things - that the Sherpas who provide the support network for the climbers are truly magnificent beings, and the climbers themselves are brave souls with real expertise and undoubted courage.In addition, as the book progressed, I increasingly came to appreciate the quality of the writing - so much so - that despite only limited interest in the subject, I am tempted to read more of Mark Horrell's offerings.

In April/May 2012 Mark went with a commerical outfit to the north side of Everest and the book is basically his diary entries, as-is almost. The writing is fluid and easy going and I soon disappeared into the story, which seemed to be one of the grinding tedium of base camp broken often by outrageous alcohol consumption, or so it seemed. It was a bit of a shock to find out how large these base camp areas are, while up at Advanced Base Camp (ABC) you can't even escape the noise of thumping stereos.But this boredom and frustration is just the necessary backdrop to the eventual summit push, wonderfully written over several chapters and vividly perceptive in that the descent is always in the back of his mind rather than the summit as the end in itself. The characters aren't fleshed out in any detail as it's a fairly short book but this means the action is constant once the summit attempt is underway. Mark's character observation fills in just enough to place himself in context and as I skipped over the fast moving prose each sketch would come back to me as that particular character came and went on the climb and bits clicked into place. Very subtle writing in places that I really enjoyed.What really astounded me was the almost total reliance on others in order to get anywhere. It seemed to be a tale of pay your money, turn up and follow the fixed ropes. The entire north side of Everest was in limbo while the Chinese/Tibet rope fixing crew worked their way up the ridge with all the teams following behind and being allocated their departure time on summit day to leave camp 3 and go for it. Having said that, following fixed ropes is no easy task for anyone and Mark puts this nicely in context at the end of the book with a fitting commentary on the process. One of personal achievement rather than the mountaineering world domination of the big hitters. It's his story, his struggle and his achievment told in his own, inimitable way.The fast pace is no doubt down to the source material coming direct from his diaries but one thing I found a little jarring was the inclusion of photographs. The writing is wonderfully descriptive in just the right amount. None of the gushings of Mallory he quotes when on the north col, just enough for you to paint a picture of the terrain to feed your imagination. For instance, I was gripped reading of the ascent to the 'Ladder of Death', only to be jolted back to the living room by a picture of it. I quickly forgot what it looked like though and continued with my own imaginative version constructed from the vivid writing.There is wry humour aplenty and I laughed out loud quite a few times, almost spilling my cuppa at some of the scenes and characters while the account of the ascent reminded me of the time I climbed the Matterhorn and I came very close to understanding some of the feelings he describes on that day.The book ends with terribly poignant observations of events during summit day. Personal reaction to what occurred and what might have been, if only...This isn't a book for the gung-ho. There are no injections direct into the ganglia on Annapurna to save frostbitten body parts. There are no dragging of severed limbs across jagged rocks or manly chested chisel chinned guides hauling wailing clients to their doom. But there are arse feathers flying, near disaster thawing a frozen pee bottle and a mad Russian trying to drag a six foot cross to the top without the Chinese finding out.This book is an honest account of one bloke's trip to Everest, the hard way, for him and told beautifully. I'm so glad I got it!

Well written down-to-earth journal giving an insight into a seemingly ordinary guy doing an extraordinary thing which serves as an inspiration for those who are living to live their dreams. Thank yoy

In 2012 Mark Horrell takes us along on his trek up Everest with a commercial climbing expedition. Even though he has a significant advantage compared to the early Everest explorers -- such as safety lines all along the route and an experienced Sherpa looking after him -- the grueling ordeal still takes everything he has, and the narration just about left me gasping for oxygen along with him. He does a great job of making the danger of the undertaking very clear and real -- 2012 was a deadly year on Everest and Horrell's encounters with people who don't survive the attempt brings home the tragedy of these failures.My quibbles with the book are minor and easy to work around. Climbing Everest is a much more complex undertaking than “Climb to the top, climb back down,” and Horrell never really explains the plans ahead of time. I highly recommend that you do a quick web search (something such as “Everest north face route”) before getting too far into the book to get a quick overview of what’s ahead. On YouTube you can find a 3D simulation of the entire route, which will give you an excellent appreciation for what Horrell is attempting. I kept a map of the route handy while reading and found it very useful.My other quibble is that Horrell occasionally uses climbing terms without explanation, such as jumar (a rope-climbing device) and serac (a column of glacial ice). This casual use of terms that a non-climber probably won’t know is probably a consequence of the book being written as a diary. The use of these terms without explanation would have been a bit more annoying in a printed book, but thankfully the Kindle dictionary was always there with a definition.A final tip for the reader: The book contains some photos, but it turns out that Horrell’s web site has a large collection of his photos (from his Everest trip and others), and thankfully his Everest photos are organized into sections that parallel the book pretty well. Sadly I didn’t discover this fact until late in the book -- it would have been nice to read about a part of his trek and then check out his photos on his web site. The web site address is in the back of the book, and you want the 2012 Everest photos. They’ll add a lot to your enjoyment of the book.Despite the minor quibbles, this was a very enjoyable and exciting read, and I had a hard time putting it down. I highly recommend it. The essence of the book is contained in a line spoken by one of Horrell’s fellow climbers, Ian, beaten and spent after his ordeal: "I don't think I respected Everest enough before," he says, "but I do now."

A simple description of events (not a real book in term of narrative) about a personal, human great achievement.Exciting because it is transparent, real, not-fiction.

Purchased via kindleWas interested to know about Everest expeditionsThis book gave me a great insight into what it takes to climb mount Everest.Book is divided into 48 bite sized diary entries on day to day events leading upto summit.Authors personalized views on deathzone made an interesting read.His humerous take on difficulties he faced as an amateur climber was funny.Highly recommended for any body interested in mt.everest expeditions.

Das Buch liest sich gut und der Klient als Author führt zu einem interessanten Perspektivwechsel. Die Geschichte ist gut aber eben nichts Außergewöhnliches.