My eyes lifted to the horizon and the unmistakable snowy outline of Everest.
Everest, the mountain of my childhood dreams. A mountain that has haunted me my whole life. A mountain I have seen hundreds of times in photographs and films but never in real life.
In April 2018, seasoned adventurer Ben Fogle and Olympic cycling gold medallist Victoria Pendleton, along with mountaineer Kenton Cool, took on their most exhausting challenge yet – climbing Everest for the British Red Cross to highlight the environmental challenges mountains face. It would be harrowing and exhilarating in equal measure as they walked the fine line between life and death 8,000 metres above sea level.
For Ben, the seven-week expedition into the death zone was to become the adventure of a lifetime, as well as a humbling and enlightening journey. For his wife Marina, holding the family together at home, it was an agonising wait for news. Together, they dedicated the experience to their son, Willem Fogle, stillborn at eight months.
Cradling little Willem to say goodbye, Ben and Marina made a promise to live brightly. To embrace every day. To always smile. To be positive and to inspire. And from the depths of their grief and dedication, Ben’s Everest dream was born.
Up, from here the only way was Up.
Part memoir, part thrilling adventure, Ben and Marina’s account of his ascent to the roof of the world is told with their signature humour and warmth, as well as with profound compassion.
Reviews
‘A peak performance from our favourite adventurer’ Telegraph
‘Ben Fogle has achieved something noble and profound’ Guardian
Praise for Ben Fogle:
‘A pleasant and lyrical read’ Guardian
‘Written with wit and affection, this light-hearted, yet
stirring narrative entertains and inspires with equal measure’ Countryside Magazine
‘Funny, entertaining and really rather inspiring, too’ Daily Mail
'A great escapade told with refreshing frankness' Independent on Sunday
‘Passionate and well-researched’ Tatler
‘Fogle's typical adventure-style storytelling keeps the narrative light and entertaining’ Independent
About the author
BEN FOGLE is a broadcaster and traveller. A modern-day nomad and journeyman, he has travelled to more than 100 countries and accomplished amazing feats from swimming with crocodiles to rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean; from crossing Antarctica on foot to surviving a year as a castaway on a remote Hebridean island. Ben is the adventurer next door, an everyday guy who hopes to inspire the ordinary to purse the extraordinary. He is the UN Patron of the Wilderness.
MARINA FOGLE is a writer and broadcaster. She produces a weekly podcast, The Parent Hood, has a monthly column in the Mail on Sunday and has written a bestselling book, The Bump Class (Ebury). Ben and Marina live in West London with their two children, Ludo and Iona, and their Labrador, Storm.
