Tessera

And the burning question is, did the Princess join the back of the queue for her summit photo on Snowdon, or did she barge to the front? 🤔 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Catherine shares photos reuniting with family after Three Peaks Challenge

The princess completed the challenge in aid of the hospital where she was treated for cancer.

bbc.co.uk

This made me laugh. Yes, me too. I remember getting thrashed by a team of Peruvian villagers while trekking the Huayhuash Circuit in 2002. ⚽ Not mentioned in this article: our football exploded while being carried up from a lower altitude. 💥 www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Facing Mexico at the Azteca? Suddenly our expectations of England are unusually realistic | Max Rushden

Thomas Tuchel’s side have problems aside from the altitude: defeat in a Mexican haze would be no embarrassment

theguardian.com

🌟 New blog post ✍️ With the Everest season over and the usual stories about traffic jams, it seems a good time to report on a far more heinous example of queuing on mountaintops that has emerged in recent years. 🙄 www.markhorrell.com/blog/2026/ho...

How to solve the problem of queuing for a summit photo on popular peaks like Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa

I only bring you the really important stories on this blog, and here’s one that will have you choking on your Kendal Mint Cake. With the Everest season over, along with the usual stories about traf…

markhorrell.com

Speaking as a high-altitude mountaineer I advise Tuchel to slow the game down against Mexico 🗻 Azteca Stadium is at 2,200m. England have just 3 days to acclimatise 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 The difference in performance once you're acclimatised is HUGE. If the game is played at a frantic pace, Mexico will win easily 🇲🇽

I'm not sure this bit's been fact-checked by the Guardian. It sounds like training in the birds and the bees may also be needed... 😳

🌟 New blog post ✍️ People talk a lot about whether oxygen should be used for notable ascents at high altitude. They don’t talk so much about HOW MUCH oxygen is used, and this is crucial. 😮‍💨 Here’s my take based on my own experience of using different flow rates. www.markhorrell.com/blog/2026/fa...

Fastest known times on Everest: how much oxygen is allowed?

Record claims require scrutiny. People talk a lot about whether oxygen should or shouldn’t be used at high altitude. They don’t talk so much about HOW MUCH oxygen is used, and this is absolutely cr…

markhorrell.com

"He described how he spent 2 days there waiting for someone to rescue him. Eventually, an avalanche fell into the crevasse and with fresh snow covering part of the hole, he managed to get out." A remarkable story. The words Joe and Simpson spring to mind. explorersweb.com/abandoned-on...

Abandoned On Everest, Sherpa's Case Triggers Investigations in Nepal » Explorersweb

While Hillary Dawa Sherpa recovers in the hospital from injuries sustained during six days abandoned on Everest, his family has demanded compensation.

explorersweb.com

Artificial, yes. But Intelligence? Not until it understands irony... 🤦‍♂️

You said: define verbosity

Gemini replied: Verbosity is the quality or state of being excessively wordy in either writing or speech. It refers to using more words than are necessary to convey an idea, which can mask the core message or confuse the recipient.Language and WritingIn general communication, verbosity is usually viewed negatively. Style guides often advise against it to keep language precise and impactful.Verbose version: "At this exact moment in time, it is highly recommended that you take into consideration the fact that you need to exit the building."Concise version: "Please leave the building now."Common Synonyms: Wordiness, verbiage, prolixity, and long-windedness.Antonyms: Succinctness, conciseness, and brevity.Computing and TechnologyIn computer science, verbosity is a neutral term used to describe the volume of data generated by a system.Verbose Logging: A troubleshooting setting that instructs an operating system or software program to output highly detailed status messages and data logs while processing tasks.Code Verbosity: A characteristic of certain programming languages (like Java or XML) that require many lines of structural code or syntax to execute simple tasks.Are you looking to reduce verbosity in a specific piece of writing, or are you looking at a software/command-line setting?AI responses may include mistakes.

You said: Yes, in your answer to this question

Tyler Andrews' fastest known time on Everest beats a 23-year-old record set by Lakpa Gelu Sherpa. The story of Sherpa rivalry to set that Everest speed record is one of the many interesting stories in @pdpbasyal.bsky.social's book Sherpa 📚 www.markhorrell.com/blog/2025/12...

12 inspiring stories about the lives of Sherpa mountaineers

There have been many books about Sherpa mountaineers over the years, but few have been written from the perspective of Sherpas themselves. One that comes close is Sherpa by Pradeep Bashyal and Anki…

markhorrell.com

This is an outstanding achievement by any criteria. But I can tell you from experience that oxygen at 4 litres/minute makes a HUGE difference to your performance, which matters if we're talking about records 🥇 explorersweb.com/tyler-andrew...

Tyler Andrews Back In Base Camp with FKT » Explorersweb

Tyler Andrews is safely down after summiting Everest in record time, using oxygen. He says he won't return to the South Side to try for the no-O2 record.

explorersweb.com

🌟 New blog post ✍️ Edita and I decided to start bagging the highest point in each of the UK’s counties 🪧 Last month, we finished the 13 historic county tops in Wales. Unlike the English tops, that include roadsides and junkyards, they are all good hills 🗻 www.markhorrell.com/blog/2026/ba...

Bagging all 13 historic county tops in Wales

About four years ago, Edita and I decided to start bagging the highest point in each of the UK’s counties. A couple of weeks ago, we finished the last of the thirteen historic county tops in Wales.…

markhorrell.com

"He had just touched the summit point and heard someone say 'you should be ashamed of yourself'." Handbags on Snowdon 👜 IMO, they need 2 summit cairns now: one for people happy to wait in line, and another for old-school folk like me who used to enjoy the scrum ⛰️⛰️ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Charity hikers booed for dodging queues at summit of Yr Wyddfa

The pair say they were jeered when they avoided queues as they just wanted to tap the trig point.

bbc.co.uk

🌟 New blog post ✍️ A recent TV show on Channel 4 claimed that a well-known peak in South Wales resembled a set of trouser cushions, without producing photographic evidence 📸 Was it true? There was only one way to find out: to climb it and see 👀 www.markhorrell.com/blog/2026/do...

Does The Skirrid mountain in Wales look like a pair of buttocks?

A recent TV show on Channel 4 claimed that a well-known peak in South Wales resembled a set of trouser cushions, without producing photographic evidence. Was it true? There was only one way to find…

markhorrell.com

🌟 New blog post ✍️ Last year, a dog followed us for 3 days from the park entrance to the summit of Pico Duarte, the highest peak in the Caribbean, and back down again 🐶 Here’s the dog’s ascent video. You may just spot me in some of it too 📽️ www.markhorrell.com/blog/2026/my...

My video of our ascent of Pico Duarte, highest mountain in the Caribbean

If you lived a comfy life at the park entrance, why would you follow a pair of strangers for three days up 2,000m of mountain and back down again? That’s precisely what a dog did when we clim…

markhorrell.com

"Three Colombian alpinists have made an outstanding addition to the climbing history of Chimborazo." The Ecuador mountain guides won't be happy about this. It's *their* mountain 😲 At least they named the route after local legend Marco Cruz 💪 explorersweb.com/new-route-on...

A New Route on Ecuador's Highest Peak » Explorersweb

Three Colombian alpinists have just opened a new direct line up the demanding South Face of 6,241m Chimborazo in pure alpine style.

explorersweb.com

"Since the boom of commercial expeditions, the route to Camp 1 on Everest has never been opened so late. Teams will barely have any time for one rotation before their summit push." explorersweb.com/everest-khum...

Everest: Khumbu Icefall Finally Opens » Explorersweb

Sherpas from several teams have found a path through the seracs and crevasses of the Khumbu Icefall. They have fixed the route and have now reached Camp 2.

explorersweb.com

"Essentially, the snow slab was resting on a very fragile house of cards, always at risk of collapse." Death toll from avalanches in the Alps this season is 146, more than double that recorded in some years 🗻☠️ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Avalanche deaths have surged in the Alps this season. Here’s why | Johan Gaume

As an ex-pro snowboarder and an avalanche researcher, I know how easily people can get into trouble, says alpine mass movements professor Johan Gaume

theguardian.com

TechCrunch @techcrunch.com · 4mo ago

🌟 New blog post ✍️ The Arenigs are a lesser known area of mountains in south-east Snowdonia. Most of the peaks are quite low, but one, Arenig Fawr, rises head and shoulders above the rest ⛰️ Its isolation makes it a nice hill walk with views for miles 🎨 www.markhorrell.com/blog/2026/fa...

Fawrnicating in North Wales: Arenig Fawr from the north side

The Arenigs are a lesser known area of mountains in south-east Snowdonia. Most of the peaks are quite low, but one, Arenig Fawr, rises head and shoulders above the rest. It was only a short drive w…

markhorrell.com

This sentence construction ("It's not just this — it's that") has become so common in AI-generated writing that it's no longer just a clue that a piece of writing may be synthetic — it's almost a guarantee.

It's not just one thing — it's another thing | TechCrunch

techcrunch.com

"I like to meander down my own primrose path... That’s why I am making a f*ck it list." Agree with the sentiment, but this list's going to be a bit too long. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The hill I will die on: Put that bucket list in the bin | Rose Rouse

As I age, there are loads of things I want to do, but none are the kinds of bland, commodified ‘adventures’ that these lists imply, says Rose Rouse, editor and co-founder of Advantages of Age

theguardian.com

“Nothing beats the modest triumph of standing on top of a trig point in a brisk wind and we hope these two modern obelisks of concrete in the countryside will soon be recognised.” They should list all 6,000. It would be nice if some were more accessible too 📐 www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

Campaigners seek listed status for historic trig points that mapped Britain

Pillars at Cold Ashby, Northamptonshire, and Thorny Gale, Cumbria, bookended the project that modernised mapping

theguardian.com

Outside Magazine@outsidemag.bsky.social · 4mo ago

And in case you're wondering about the subtitle, the missing words are "line rescue"... 🤔

As Everest grows more crowded, a new factor is reshaping the mountain’s fatal calculus. Read more: bit.ly/3Q8Sgi4

The Alpine Club @alpineclub.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Sad to hear that Jim Whittaker, first American to climb Everest, has gone. I've just finished reading two classic books about the great American K2 expeditions of the 1970s, both led by him, which give good insights into his character 📚 www.markhorrell.com/blog/2026/th...

The two great American kiss-and-tell K2 mountaineering books

In the early 1970s, the slopes of K2 were still relatively untouched. Although Italians had first set foot on the summit, American climbers considered it to be their mountain. Two expeditions in 19…

markhorrell.com

We were saddened to read of the passing of Jim Whittaker, an accomplished mountaineer, conservation advocate and businessman who in 1963 became the first American to reach the summit of Everest.

Jim Whittaker, first American to Mount Everest summit, dies aged 97

The lifelong outdoors advocate and former president of retailer REI returned to Everest decades later with his son.

bbc.co.uk