Mark Horrell

I quite enjoyed this book. Mark Horrell has a light fun touch in his writing making the reader feel as if he were a friend. He also gives us brief historical information on the different mountain treks/climbs he has been on and the colorful people he has met along the way. I feel he is quite honest in his assessment of his own and others achievements. This is not "disaster porn" but a well written adventure book. I look forward to reading more by this author and I do follow his blog.

I won't be able to restrain myself. This is a book about two commercial trekkers enjoying the luxuries of Westerners taking their consumerism to the Himalayas (and God knows where else - he seems to be doing it all the time, and I even support this, having bought the book). While he's at it, telling the story of not climbing an easy seventhousander (as easy as mountains can be at this altitude of course, which is hard enough), insisting he's not just one of these regular trekkers, he talks show more about the people who he employs. Not disparagingly (although the food really IS bad most of the time, and all these unnecessary long breaks are a bore, and having to wait for these porters is rather annoying), but through all his conversations you can sense a certain feeling of superiority. It is a simple customer - service provider relationship. And the customer is always right. A good book for those who want to walk in Horrell's footsteps, but to me, this book proves just how beaten the fotsteps of Hillary have become. show less