How I made an Everest notebook to track my niche interest

I have a large collection of notebooks and journals that I write in regularly. There is my day to day journal, my garden journal, my book recording notebook, a small notebook where I collect quotes and a rough notebook for general thoughts and ideas. I'm also about to start a media journal to keep track of my media consumption. 

Another new notebook that I've recently added into the mix is my Everest journal, and I thought I'd share that one today. I do love when people have a niche interest, maybe Everest isn't that niche, but I would imagine that most people in my demographic aren't that interested! 

Luckily I've collected plenty of blank notebooks, so I usually have one to hand when I need one. This is just a basic lined notebook, with a picture stuck on the front to cover up company branding. 

I always leave a few pages blank at the front of a new notebook, as I find this helps me to feel less intimated. I'm numbering the pages as I go along, so these front pages will become a contents page, an index, or a place to add stickers and random images. 

I've also started the journal from the front, the back and the middle! I add new information at the front as I go along. At the back I've started writing book reviews from my Everest bookshelf, and in the middle I've been making notes on the Everest films and documentaries that I've been watching.

Here is the sort of information that I've been collecting in my notebook:

Maps - both detailed and more general. It's a really good reference to be able to look at when I see a mention of a location.

Lists - like a list of all the 8000m peaks, a list of the highest mountains on each continent, and other facts and figures. This helps when a writer refers to other, similar peaks and I can remind myself about them.

Photocopies of interesting paragraphs from books I've read - for example I have a couple of pages from Ed Viestur's No Shortcuts to the Top when he writes about all the equipment that he uses.

Pictures and photographs - sometimes from travel guides but usually ones that I've printed out and stuck in.

Reviews of books, films and other media - sometimes written as I go along, sometimes when I've finished. I find that this really helps the information that I've learned to stick in my mind.

Anything else that I've found interesting - for example I did some reading about hypoxic tents that are used for acclimatising to altitude, and gathered information about famous climbers.

Planning for hypothetical adventures - I know that I'll never hike to Everest Base Camp but I still sent off for some brochures, researched different itineraries, and watched videos from people that have done it!

As the notebook has filled up I added tabs to some sections. I've also added a pocket at the back to store any loose pieces of paper before I decide what to do with them.

During the climbing season this year I enjoyed a daily ritual where I watched a short update video and made a few notes on what had happened that day. I enjoyed reading it back at the end of the season, and maybe I'll compare it to next year!

I've really enjoyed putting together this notebook. As well as being a good reference guide it's also helping me to remember and learn from all the Everest media that I've consumed. Now I'm thinking about making them for more of my interests!

The most dramatic thing that happened on Mount Everest this 2026 Season

I've mentioned a few times about my somewhat niche and unusual (for someone in my demographic at least!) interest in Mount Everest. I've been reading about it on and off over the years, but this year I've really grown my interest. I've built a collection of new and second-hand books, I've watched documentaries, I've listed to podcasts, and this year I followed along with the 2026 Everest climbing season.

There is a very short window for an Everest summit attempt. The main route (on the South/Nepal side) only opens once a team of local climbers have cleared a path and fixed ropes to the camps and summit. This year it was delayed, with the first Nepali climbers on the rope fixing team only reaching the summit on 13th May. Then the ropes and ladders were removed on the 29th May, meaning that everyone had to be down from the mountain by this date. With frequent periods of bad weather on the mountain, there are only a few days during this already short period when a safe summit can be attempted.

The reason that the mountain closes around this date every year is because this is when the monsoon arrives, and conditions because extremely dangerous. There have been a few risky summits later in the year in September or October time after the monsoon when it is less crowded, but it's not something that is undertaken by many climbers.

I spent a month following along with the season, in particular watching a daily dispatch video from Everest Live, reading articles, and making some notes in my Everest notebook. I enjoyed learning more about the different people attempting the summit this year, and marvelling at the sheer numbers of people that were on the mountain. I love finding out about the logistics of an expedition.

Photo credit Tom Cleary via Unsplash

The 2026 season came to a particularly dramatic end this year with the story of Hillary Dawa Sherpa. A local guide, he was part of a small team attempting a very late summit just before the mountain closed on the 29th May accompanying British climber Chris Thrall and a Polish climber. The information is sketchy, but it looks as though they were descending when they all got into difficulties. Chris Thrall went ahead to help the struggling Polish climber, leaving Dawa Sherpa lying high up on the mountain.

Thrall believed that the sherpa was dead, or very close, and knew that if he attempted to rescue him there was a very high chance that all three would die. They would all have been aware that the chances of a descent would be next to impossible once the mountain closed and the ropes and ladders through the icefall were removed. He had to make an impossible decision, affected of course also by his own deteriorating condition.

Dawa Sherpa was presumed dead and his family had begun funeral rites when he was spotted crawling down the base of the icefall. Miraculously he survived six days on the mountain, much of it in the 'death zone' without sufficient oxygen. He spent two days trapped in a crevasse and was only able to escape after an avalanche brought enough snow down to enable him to climb out. He had very little food, and only ice for water. 

This is a story that I'm definitely going to be following over the next weeks and months as more information is released. As well as the story of his survival there are many questions to be answered, not least why a helicopter rescue wasn't implemented and whether the rescue efforts would have been more efficient for a foreign climber. He was involved with two expedition companies, neither of which seemed prepared to take any responsibility for him when it came to paying for a rescue. 

Disclaimer - I'm in no way an expert on this subject. If you are looking for more detailed information I'd definitely recommend doing some further reading from people that are far more knowledgeable!

Find out more:

BBC News - Watch: Guide stranded on Everest for six days rescued

BBC News - Everest guide survived six-day ordeal by eating chocolate and 'chewing ice'

Everest Live - Hillary Dawa Update (video)

The Tourism Times - Everest survivor Dawa Sherpa stable as HAMS Hospital confirms frostbite, fracture and severe dehydration

Everest Chronicle - Miracle and Shame: The two faces of Everest

From me:

Five excellent long-form Everest documentaries on YouTube

My "Odd Shelf', inspired by Anne Fadiman - my growing collection of Everest themed books

Five excellent long-form Everest documentaries on YouTube

As I've mentioned before, recently I have become very interested in learning more about Mount Everest. I believe the modern term is 'deep dive', and I've been indulging myself with lots of buying and reading books, listening to podcasts and watching long documentary videos.

I've discovered that the amount of content on YouTube in particular can be quite overwhelming, and far too much of it is either shorts or clickbait videos that lack depth. A much better source of information are long-form documentaries, and luckily there are a wealth of excellent ones available to choose from. 

I'm going to share a few of my favourites, in what may well be part one of a series!

Everest 1998: IMAX (1998)

This film contains the first IMAX images from the summit. It makes it all look easy - if you want a behind the scenes description you can read No Shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs which really goes into the practicalities of making the film! The film covers the preparations for the climb, the trek to the summit and the return to Base Camp. The footage is beautiful, even when watched on a small screen. The film crew was on the mountain during the 1996 disaster and so shares some of the stories from that day (see the next video to find out more about that event).

The 1996 Disaster - Storm over Everest (2008)

This is a documentary and dramatisation of the events of the 1996 climbing season, when a storm trapped climbers high up in the mountains, leading to eight deaths including two experienced expedition leaders. It features interviews with many of the climbers that were there that day, along with  reconstructions of events. It's not that deep in terms of insight, but it's a good introduction to what happened and introduces you to some of the key players and timelines that you can then go and research further.

Summit Fever (1996)

This is the second Everest film featuring Brian Blessed (the first is Galahad of Everest which is also available on YouTube) and his exuberant enthusiasm for reaching the summit of Everest. This is his third and final attempt, and even though (spoiler alert) he doesn't actually make it to the top himself the film is very entertaining to watch. This team was also on the mountain during the 1996 disaster, and so you can see some footage of that event. The making of this film is chronicled in the book The Other Side of Everest by Matt Dickenson, director.

A Deadly Ascent (2019)

In two parts, this is the story of the 2019 Everest season, when 11 people died. It focuses on the problems of overcrowding on the mountain, and the issues of inexperienced people attempting to climb. It features interviews with Sherpa guides, climbers, and those who lost loved ones. It's a critical look at how people can buy their way to a summit attempt, and the impossibility of trying to help when something goes wrong at high altitude.

The Wildest Dream - Mallory and Everest (2010)

In 1999, Conrad Anker discovered George Mallory's body on the slopes of Everest. It's unknown whether or not Mallory and his climbing partner Sandy Irvine reached the summit in 1924 before they died, and Anker attempts to prove that they could have made it. He returns with climber Leo Holding and they recreate parts of the climb, wearing clothing from Mallory's time and attempting the Second Step, the trickiest part of the climb, without using the ladder that has been in place for almost all other attempts via that route. There's a clever mirroring of the historical story of Mallory and Irvine with the modern ascent story, and a poignant dramatisation imagining what it could have looked like if they had made it to the top.

Do let me know if you've found any others that I should watch!

My "Odd Shelf', inspired by Anne Fadiman

A book that I've re-read many times over the years is Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. I love it! The book is a wonderful collection of essays about books and reading. I first encountered it through Bookcrossing, which I took part in longer ago than I care to remember, and many thoughts from the essays have remained with me through the years.

One chapter that I particularly enjoy is My Odd Shelf. From the essay:

"It has long been my belief that everyone's library contains an Odd Shelf. On this shelf rests a small, mysterious corpus of volumes whose subject matter is completely unrelated to the rest of the library, yet which, open closer inspection, reveals a good deal about its owner."

Anne Fadiman's Odd Shelf holds sixty-four books about polar exploration, including narratives, journals and photo collections. I wonder if reading about her frozen odd shelf is what inspired me to create my own, similar in theme, collection of books relating to Mount Everest.

My odd shelf is very much a work in progress, and I only began its curation a few months ago. I have many random books on my shelves, but no more than a couple on a particular topic. However my Everest collection is building up nicely. Some of these books I have bought new or received as gifts, but most of them I have bought second hand. This is mainly because many of them are a bit niche and difficult to find new! 

I'm not sure what my odd shelf reveals about me. I'm not a particularly adventurous person, and although I enjoyed some light climbing in the Lake District as a teenager, and I once climbed Snowdon, climbing up Everest is not something that is appealing in the slightest.

I wonder if it reveals a desire to do something unexpected and challenging, something that I couldn't possibly attempt because it involves dropping everything and departing for the other side of the world for months at a time. Or maybe I just enjoy reading about frozen hardships while I'm nice and safe under a warm blanket with a cup of tea and a biscuit!

Do you have an odd shelf?