Snowlines

Simon Akam was almost killed on Russia's highest mountain in 2017.

It was a narrow escape from a near-fatal accident on a commercial skiing expedition – and it provided a reckoning. Rather than turn away from the mountains, Akam resolved to go back. This time, though, he wanted to do it properly.

He would go with the right people – alpine natives, not carpetbagging Anglophones. He would learn the right skills and serve a proper apprenticeship, aimed at true autonomy: months in France and Switzerland, perfecting his French and German while honing his mountain craft. His goal was the Patrouille des Glaciers, a gruelling race along the legendary Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt, undertaken in a single continuous push.

Woven through this personal journey is the story of the sport and the route itself: a tale that slalomed from Scandinavia to the Alps, east to Asia, west to the New World, and up and down to the poles. It is about how a select group of men, and a few women – often bound by dynasty as much as skill – negotiated the long twentieth century, on the mountains and off. It is about which of winter's myriad hazards can be controlled, and which cannot, and at what cost control is maintained. And it is about whether the mastery you believe you hold over your environment, your body and your mind is truly as strong as you think.

Blending high-altitude adventure with narrative history, Snowlines is a gripping account of risk, mastery and reinvention – and of testing yourself against a landscape that can never be fully tamed

Reviews

Praise for The Changing of the Guard:

‘Simon Akam has written a perceptive, challenging and passionate book that looks at modern soldiering. In doing so, Akam provides an invaluable look at how the British Army works ― and how the changing world in the 21st century is asking new and complex questions for soldiers and military strategy alike.’

Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

‘The truth about the British Army’

Jason Burke, The Guardian

‘A blockbuster critique … with heaps of evidence.’

Matthew Paris, The Times

‘A passionate book.’

Max Hastings, Sunday Times

‘It’s compellingly written ― I got through all 500-plus pages in two sittings ― and it is certainly worth the effort.’

Adrian Weale, Mail on Sunday

‘Detailed and well structured.’

Anthony Loyd, New Statesman

‘Impassioned … It is a valuable addition to analysing the past, present and future of a venerated institution.’

Kim Sengupta, The Independent

About the author

Simon Akam is a British writer. Born in Cambridge, England, he held a Gap Year Commission in the British Army before studying English Literature at Oxford University. He later won a Fulbright scholarship to attend Columbia Journalism School in New York. Simon has worked for The New York Times, Reuters and Newsweek and is currently a contributing writer for the Economist's 1843 magazine, where his coverage of the coronavirus pandemic was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize.