Ebook: Everest politics show: sorrow and strife on the world's highest mountain

The start of the everest trail -- My kingdom for a horse -- The seedy side of Namche -- The plot thickens -- Birthday peanuts -- Acclimatising on Pokalde -- The glare of the Khumbu -- Peace and solitude --Arrival at base camp -- Settling in at base camp -- The puja -- Ladder training -- A walk to Pumori base camp -- Icefall fears -- The icefall -- Tragedy -- A storm brewing -- The sherpa summons -- Rumours -- Rally -- Escape to the hills -- Summit meeting -- Bewilderment -- Escape from base camp -- The double Everest tragedy -- Epilogue one year on.;In April 2014 Mark Horrell went on a mountaineering expedition to Nepal, hoping to climb Lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain in the world, which shares base camp and climbing route with Mount Everest. He was also intrigued by the media publicity surrounding commercial expeditions to Everest. He wanted to discover for himself whether it had become the circus that everybody described. but when a devastating avalanche swept across the Khumbu Icefall, he got more than he bargained for. Suddenly he found himself witnessing the greatest natural disaster Everest had ever seen.