Everest To Never Rest

At 92, travel writer Jan Morris files what may be the last report from her remarkable life.

- Linda Herrick

Somewhere in rural north Wales, a white-haired elderly woman briskly strides 1000 paces along a lane each day, whistling and singing national anthems to keep her march “proud and steady”. Land of Our Fathers, God Save the Queen, Waltzing Matilda, Land of Hope and Glory help propel Jan Morris, travel writer and journalist, onwards as she grapples with the travails of old age – she is 92. with the travails of old age – she is 92.

Morris, who became famous when she accompanied and reported on Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s 1953 Everest triumph, is filing what may be her last report, In My Mind’s Eye, a collection of short “thought diaries” as she approaches the end of the line. She is still a sprightly writer, with a remarkable backstory.