Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Vacation Reading
I'll be heading into the land of no Wi-Fi for a while for a Christmas vacation, so I may or may not be posting for about the next 10 days. I'll be reading, though, and you can look forward to some Longstaff, a German work, Fallen Giants, and / or an attempt on the Northeast Ridge. I've posted earlier today several Tenzing and Hillary children's books. Sure are a lot of these out there! Happy Holidays!
First Up Everest, by Styles & Briggs
First Up Everest is a moment-by-moment story for young readers of Hillary and Tenzing's trip from Camp IX to the top of the world written by Showell Styles and illustrated by Raymond Briggs. This is a book framed around the illustrations, and even on the cover, Briggs is listed first. The illustrations are dramatic and full, and I especially appreciate Briggs' efforts for accuracy in both costume and equipment. The mountain is not always to scale, but Briggs uses scale to illustrate Hillary's and Tenzing's fears and emotions. Showell Styles matches Briggs' sense of drama, and he is a stickler for technical accuracy. It was, however, occasionally hard for me to get over his patronizing attitude of Tenzing, such as when he calls him "a little Sherpa" or says that he was helped up the final step with Hillary's "heavy tugs" on the rope. Overall this is a fun and exciting book, but it's not something to hand to kids if you are trying to raise them with a high level of cultural sensitivity.
Learning About Teamwork from the Lives of Hillary and Norgay, by Brenn Jones
Brenn Jones gives young readers advice on working together and a small history and geography lesson in his Learning About Teamwork from the Lives of Hillary and Norgay. He frames the stories of Hillary's and Tenzing's lives around the idea of working together to accomplish great things. He shows that it took a lot of people to get these two men to the top of the world, and that even when they were alone on their summit day, they depended upon on another for survival. Jones covers their early lives, gives a quick nod to Mallory and Irvine, and then gets to the meat of the story: how a team works together to climb a great mountain. It's to bad Jones missed how Hillary and the Sherpas worked together to build the schools and hospitals in the Solu Khumbu region. Jones does mention towards the end that Hillary and his family helped to build the schools, but I was said to see that Jones fails to acknowledge the other half of the team, the Sherpas, who provided some of the materials and much of the labor for building and maintaining these public works.
I would expect someone like Jones, who has written a guide to children's literature and reviews books for a living, to be a little more meticulous in his own writing. There were several factual errors in this book, such as Tenzing stopping partway up the summit climb to brew some tea or Sherpas normally calling Everest Sagarmatha, its Nepali name. He includes a picture of "Mount Everest" that is some other mountain and a picture of "Sherpas" who look quite Hindu. Also, he misspells the names of both Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans. I could go on, but this is getting boring. Time to move on to another book!
I would expect someone like Jones, who has written a guide to children's literature and reviews books for a living, to be a little more meticulous in his own writing. There were several factual errors in this book, such as Tenzing stopping partway up the summit climb to brew some tea or Sherpas normally calling Everest Sagarmatha, its Nepali name. He includes a picture of "Mount Everest" that is some other mountain and a picture of "Sherpas" who look quite Hindu. Also, he misspells the names of both Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans. I could go on, but this is getting boring. Time to move on to another book!
The World's Great Explorers: Edmund Hillary, by Timothy R. Gaffney
Timothy Gaffney writes another young readers' biography of Sir Edmund Hillary to add to the burn pile in The World's Great Explorers: Edmund Hillary. Though it is more thorough than most of Hillary's other young readers' biographies, the book makes a habit of mixing fact and fiction. It seems like Gaffney took pretty good notes on Hillary's books, but when there was something to add beyond the notes, he made something up rather than go back and check his references. The result is that there are a lot of good facts in this book, and some erroneous stuff thrown in. Additionally, although he seems to get the people and the lowlands correct, nearly every photograph of a mountain is mislabeled. It's seriously starting to worry me that the quality of children's literature on Everest might reflect the whole of children's books, and 90 percent of the books my daughter will read would be better used as doorstops than educational tools!
Anyway, Gaffney gives a fairly balanced view to the life of Hillary, not dwelling on Everest, but still spending most of his time on Hillary's adventures. This is definitely the story of Hillary's life as seen in the literature he produced, and might be a semi-reliable way to get an idea of what each of the books he wrote is about. Like Hillary, Gaffney understates Hillary's altruism, giving facts and some interesting stories, but not really analyzing the overall effects Hillary had on Nepal or the Sherpas. This may be the worst Hillary biography I've read so far. Sorry, dude!
Anyway, Gaffney gives a fairly balanced view to the life of Hillary, not dwelling on Everest, but still spending most of his time on Hillary's adventures. This is definitely the story of Hillary's life as seen in the literature he produced, and might be a semi-reliable way to get an idea of what each of the books he wrote is about. Like Hillary, Gaffney understates Hillary's altruism, giving facts and some interesting stories, but not really analyzing the overall effects Hillary had on Nepal or the Sherpas. This may be the worst Hillary biography I've read so far. Sorry, dude!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
After Everest, by Tenzing Norgay as told to Malcolm Barnes
After Everest, an autobiography of Tenzing Norgay put together by Malcolm Barnes, picks up where Ullman's Tiger of the Snows left off in 1955. Because Tenzing could neither read nor write, his autobiography necessarily has a co-author. After Everest tells the tales of the founding and running of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) in Darjeeling as well as the many travels of the author. The book also covers Tenzing's life in Darjeeling and the story of his family.
The book stars an all-star cast of Everest climbers, including Americans, Swiss, British, Indian, and others. I was impressed by how much contact he had with other Everesters, especially Lute Jerstad and many of the Swiss. I also took note how relatively little I read about the British, including Sir Edmund Hillary, in this book. While Tenzing attends a couple reunions and makes a tour of New Zealand with Hillary, it doesn't seem to me that he seeks out contact with his 1953 teammates. He does discuss near the end that the Swiss expeditions overall had a greater impact on his psyche, since they were new adventures and overall much harder work than the British venture. I also didn't previously know (or perhaps remember?) of his role of organizing gear and porters for the three Indian Everest expeditions of 1960, 1962, and 1965, or that the HMI ran shakedowns for these trips. (It's been several years since I read Douglas' Hero of Everest, my most recent Tenzing adult biography, and it's quite possible this information is in there somewhere.)
The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute is something quite amazing. With the help of many Swiss mountaineers and the governments of India and West Bengal, Tenzing helps establish a top-of-the-line climbing school, with basic and advanced courses for all ages, as well as adventure programs for teens. The students trek into Sikkim for several weeks of on-site mountain training. The programs provides several scholarships for Sherpas, and the tuition overall is rather low thanks to government subsidies. I was amazed that the basic program has only a ten percent graduation rate due to the staff's high standards.
Tenzing travels worldwide, and is especially fond of Switzerland. Everywhere he travels, people want to show him their native mountains, and he gets to see many of the world's great ranges (the Andes being the big exception). I was especially happy to read about his trip up Mount Ranier with Lute Jerstad, Jim Whittaker, Tom Hornbein, and Barry Bishop. They made one of the harder routes sound like a holiday in the park!
And lastly, I learned that I actually have something in common with Tenzing Norgay: "If I can find in any country plenty of good cheese, milk, and fruit, I can be a very satisfied man."
The book stars an all-star cast of Everest climbers, including Americans, Swiss, British, Indian, and others. I was impressed by how much contact he had with other Everesters, especially Lute Jerstad and many of the Swiss. I also took note how relatively little I read about the British, including Sir Edmund Hillary, in this book. While Tenzing attends a couple reunions and makes a tour of New Zealand with Hillary, it doesn't seem to me that he seeks out contact with his 1953 teammates. He does discuss near the end that the Swiss expeditions overall had a greater impact on his psyche, since they were new adventures and overall much harder work than the British venture. I also didn't previously know (or perhaps remember?) of his role of organizing gear and porters for the three Indian Everest expeditions of 1960, 1962, and 1965, or that the HMI ran shakedowns for these trips. (It's been several years since I read Douglas' Hero of Everest, my most recent Tenzing adult biography, and it's quite possible this information is in there somewhere.)
The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute is something quite amazing. With the help of many Swiss mountaineers and the governments of India and West Bengal, Tenzing helps establish a top-of-the-line climbing school, with basic and advanced courses for all ages, as well as adventure programs for teens. The students trek into Sikkim for several weeks of on-site mountain training. The programs provides several scholarships for Sherpas, and the tuition overall is rather low thanks to government subsidies. I was amazed that the basic program has only a ten percent graduation rate due to the staff's high standards.
Tenzing travels worldwide, and is especially fond of Switzerland. Everywhere he travels, people want to show him their native mountains, and he gets to see many of the world's great ranges (the Andes being the big exception). I was especially happy to read about his trip up Mount Ranier with Lute Jerstad, Jim Whittaker, Tom Hornbein, and Barry Bishop. They made one of the harder routes sound like a holiday in the park!
And lastly, I learned that I actually have something in common with Tenzing Norgay: "If I can find in any country plenty of good cheese, milk, and fruit, I can be a very satisfied man."
Monday, December 20, 2010
Ten Great Mountains, by R. L. G. Irving
Robert Lock Graham Irving is perhaps most well known as the man who introduced George Mallory to climbing in 1904, but he also kept pretty good track of mountaineering history, as shown in Ten Great Mountains. In the book, he tells some of the more significant tales of each of the mountains covered, including Snowdon, Ben Nevis, Mount Cook, the Matterhorn, Ushba, Mont Blanc, Mount Logan, Nanga Parbat, Kanchenjunga, and Mount Everest.
In the section on Mount Everest (pages 193-213), Irving discusses the 1921 reconnaissance, the 1924 attempt, and the 1933 attempt, as well as offers some interesting advice for future attempts. He is most interested in discussing the people who were given a sporting chance at the mountain, and besides the reconnaissance sticks to the narratives from Camp VI and up, including the climbs of Norton & Somerville, Mallory & Irvine, Wager & Wyn-Harris, and Shipton & Smythe. He gives the climbs of Norton, Somerville, Shipton, and Smythe precedence, and its clear that he considers supplemental oxygen unsporting. Additionally, I found it interesting to get a perspective on the disappearance of Mallory from his early climbing mentor.
He states that either a small party should climb it for the love of climbing and spurn the media, or that every possible resource should be used to get men to the top. His first idea regarding an all-out attempt, which he also believes to be the most thrifty method, would be to hire an airship to fly over the summit, and to lower some men in a basket to the summit. After setting foot on Mount Everest, these pioneers should have no trouble recouping their costs through the media. His other suggestion is to fly a plane over the Northeast Ridge and to drop an anchor with a rope attached above the Second Step, so that all the difficulties of the mountain will be removed. At times, it was difficult to tell if he was being serious or trying to pull one over on his reader, and I seriously hope he was joking about these two ideas!
In the section on Mount Everest (pages 193-213), Irving discusses the 1921 reconnaissance, the 1924 attempt, and the 1933 attempt, as well as offers some interesting advice for future attempts. He is most interested in discussing the people who were given a sporting chance at the mountain, and besides the reconnaissance sticks to the narratives from Camp VI and up, including the climbs of Norton & Somerville, Mallory & Irvine, Wager & Wyn-Harris, and Shipton & Smythe. He gives the climbs of Norton, Somerville, Shipton, and Smythe precedence, and its clear that he considers supplemental oxygen unsporting. Additionally, I found it interesting to get a perspective on the disappearance of Mallory from his early climbing mentor.
He states that either a small party should climb it for the love of climbing and spurn the media, or that every possible resource should be used to get men to the top. His first idea regarding an all-out attempt, which he also believes to be the most thrifty method, would be to hire an airship to fly over the summit, and to lower some men in a basket to the summit. After setting foot on Mount Everest, these pioneers should have no trouble recouping their costs through the media. His other suggestion is to fly a plane over the Northeast Ridge and to drop an anchor with a rope attached above the Second Step, so that all the difficulties of the mountain will be removed. At times, it was difficult to tell if he was being serious or trying to pull one over on his reader, and I seriously hope he was joking about these two ideas!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Travels Along the Edge, by David Noland
David Noland writes a guidebook to some of the world's most exciting adventures for the hard-core traveler in Travels Along the Edge. He gives the readers 40 possibilities to push themselves to their personal limit while seeing some of the most beautiful places in the world, such as canoeing the Zambezi River, mountain biking the Dominican rain forest, skiing to the North Pole, or, of course, climbing Mount Everest. Each of the sections contains a short narrative from someone who has actually accomplished the task, followed by a list of outfitters who specialize in that particular trip, and then a section on what to expect on your journey.
The section on Everest begins with the tale of Bob Hempstead, another character who earned a place, along with Tom Whittaker of my last post (Higher Purpose), in Greg Child's Everest story in his Postcards from the Ledge. Hempstead became the highest rope-slinger in North America after doing a rope trick on Mount McKinley, and then the Western Hemisphere after another stunt on Aconcagua. He then sets his sights on being the highest rope-slinger in the world atop Everest. He signs up with an Everest outfitter, and then heads off to the north side of Everest in 1995. After a month of drudge work carrying supplies up the mountain, he sets out for the summit with an impromptu team he met at the high camp. Just shy of the summit, he slips to his almost certain death, but snags on the edge of a cliff. Greg Child and a Sherpa, Babu, happen to be at the scene, and drop him some rope to help him back up to the ridge crest. He hobbles to the summit, does a little trick, and escapes with his life.
After the story, Noland goes on to explain the ins and outs of choosing a side to climb and an outfitter to use. The South Col is a technically easier, but perhaps more dangerous route. The North Col is relatively cheaper, but saves most of the difficult climbing for the end. He lists a number of outfitters, including Adventure Consultants and Himalayan Experience, and lists their current pricing as well as their histories.
Noland puts no icing on the cake with what the climber should expect. Death is the first item on the list, and he tells of the 1996 disaster as an example and gives the statistic that for every four people who have made it to the summit, one person has died trying. Misery makes a close second, with physical strain, bitter cold, fear, wind, and pain. He says that high-altitude climbing experience is highly recommended but is not required, citing Peggy Gudgell's success in 1988 after only climbing in the continental US before making it. I found the advice given by Bob Hempstead, the man who was rescued by two others after his fall near the summit, quite ironic: "The secret to success on Everest is that, in the end, you've got to look out for yourself." Good thing the guys who saved him didn't listen to the same advice!
The section on Everest begins with the tale of Bob Hempstead, another character who earned a place, along with Tom Whittaker of my last post (Higher Purpose), in Greg Child's Everest story in his Postcards from the Ledge. Hempstead became the highest rope-slinger in North America after doing a rope trick on Mount McKinley, and then the Western Hemisphere after another stunt on Aconcagua. He then sets his sights on being the highest rope-slinger in the world atop Everest. He signs up with an Everest outfitter, and then heads off to the north side of Everest in 1995. After a month of drudge work carrying supplies up the mountain, he sets out for the summit with an impromptu team he met at the high camp. Just shy of the summit, he slips to his almost certain death, but snags on the edge of a cliff. Greg Child and a Sherpa, Babu, happen to be at the scene, and drop him some rope to help him back up to the ridge crest. He hobbles to the summit, does a little trick, and escapes with his life.
After the story, Noland goes on to explain the ins and outs of choosing a side to climb and an outfitter to use. The South Col is a technically easier, but perhaps more dangerous route. The North Col is relatively cheaper, but saves most of the difficult climbing for the end. He lists a number of outfitters, including Adventure Consultants and Himalayan Experience, and lists their current pricing as well as their histories.
Noland puts no icing on the cake with what the climber should expect. Death is the first item on the list, and he tells of the 1996 disaster as an example and gives the statistic that for every four people who have made it to the summit, one person has died trying. Misery makes a close second, with physical strain, bitter cold, fear, wind, and pain. He says that high-altitude climbing experience is highly recommended but is not required, citing Peggy Gudgell's success in 1988 after only climbing in the continental US before making it. I found the advice given by Bob Hempstead, the man who was rescued by two others after his fall near the summit, quite ironic: "The secret to success on Everest is that, in the end, you've got to look out for yourself." Good thing the guys who saved him didn't listen to the same advice!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Higher Purpose, by Tom Whittaker
Tom Whittaker becomes the first disabled person to climb Everest in his Higher Purpose. Ever since he lost his foot in a car wreck, Whittaker has spent his life forcing people (especially the disabled!) to reconsider their perception of the disabled. Both before and after his accident, Whittaker followed his passion of outdoor adventure. After he lost his foot, he came to realize that sharing this drive with other disabled people and getting them to do things they never imagined possible was both an inspiration to them and the key to his own fulfillment.
I found it very interesting to watch Whittaker morph from a climbing nomad with high ambitions to a empathetic and inspirational individual who finds a positive outlet for his drive. After several years of helping other disabled people see through their adventurous dreams, he is invited on a South Col Everest climb in 1989. He makes the stipulation that he be invited as a climber, and not a marketing device on this trip. He, Andy Lapkiss, and some Sherpas make a harrowing escape from the mountain on this trip, and ultimately, he does not make it to the top this time.
Whittaker returns to Everest in 1995 with Greg Child after they catch up at an outdoor convention and hatch a scheme to market their climb. Once again, no dice for Whittaker, but Child does provide him the inspiration he needs to return. Whittaker makes another effort in 1998 from the South Col, but this time, he is supported by his friends from his early days of helping the disabled believe in themselves. Six of his friends, with 3 legs between them, make the trek to Base Camp to send him off on his trip up the mountain. You'll have to read the rest.
I had to read this book after I found out from Douglas and Rose's Regions of the Heart that this was the guy that Greg Child accompanied to Everest in 1995. I'm a big fan of Greg Child, and I thought it would be fun to get a feel for him from another perspective. I also thought it would be fun to read a much longer version of the story Child writes in Postcards from the Ledge about their trip to Everest. Child also appears in this book during Whittaker's 1978 ascent of El Capitan's "The Nose." I was surprised not to read anything about Alison Hargreaves, since she, too, was climbing under the supervision of Russel Brice on the north side of Everest that same season.
Overall, I found this both an exciting and a thought-provoking read. Whittaker does a great job of presenting his life philosophy both in print and as a living example, and his gallows humor makes this book fun. Hope you enjoy!
I found it very interesting to watch Whittaker morph from a climbing nomad with high ambitions to a empathetic and inspirational individual who finds a positive outlet for his drive. After several years of helping other disabled people see through their adventurous dreams, he is invited on a South Col Everest climb in 1989. He makes the stipulation that he be invited as a climber, and not a marketing device on this trip. He, Andy Lapkiss, and some Sherpas make a harrowing escape from the mountain on this trip, and ultimately, he does not make it to the top this time.
Whittaker returns to Everest in 1995 with Greg Child after they catch up at an outdoor convention and hatch a scheme to market their climb. Once again, no dice for Whittaker, but Child does provide him the inspiration he needs to return. Whittaker makes another effort in 1998 from the South Col, but this time, he is supported by his friends from his early days of helping the disabled believe in themselves. Six of his friends, with 3 legs between them, make the trek to Base Camp to send him off on his trip up the mountain. You'll have to read the rest.
I had to read this book after I found out from Douglas and Rose's Regions of the Heart that this was the guy that Greg Child accompanied to Everest in 1995. I'm a big fan of Greg Child, and I thought it would be fun to get a feel for him from another perspective. I also thought it would be fun to read a much longer version of the story Child writes in Postcards from the Ledge about their trip to Everest. Child also appears in this book during Whittaker's 1978 ascent of El Capitan's "The Nose." I was surprised not to read anything about Alison Hargreaves, since she, too, was climbing under the supervision of Russel Brice on the north side of Everest that same season.
Overall, I found this both an exciting and a thought-provoking read. Whittaker does a great job of presenting his life philosophy both in print and as a living example, and his gallows humor makes this book fun. Hope you enjoy!
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Mammoth Book of Mountain Disasters, edited by Hamish MacInnes
Hamish MacInnes exhibits his storytelling skill in The Mammoth Book of Mountain Disasters. He pulls together magazine articles, book excerpts, and a couple unpublished works to create an exciting collection of mountain rescue stories. The Mount Everest portion (pages 317 - 324) tells of the loss and search for Tony Tighe at the end of the 1973 British Southwest Face expedition from the perspective of MacInnes, himself.
I was excited to find out that MacInnes talks first about his participation, along with Doug Scott and Don Whillans, in the 1972 European Southwest Face Expedition and his general distaste for Karl Herrligkoffer, its leader. A while back, I was disappointed when Doug Scott spoke only briefly about both this expedition and his harrowing escape from the Ogre in his autobiography, Himalayan Climber. Perhaps he does not like to dwell on unpleasant moments! MacInnes only provides a few extra, but entertaining, details on the 1972 expedition, but later in the book, he also gives good space to Scott's Ogre epic.
The Tony Tighe incident is well-known to Chris Bonington fans as his second end-of-expedition disasters. Both on Bonington's 1971 Annapurna South Face Expedition with Ian Clough and his 1973 Everest Southwest Face Expedition with Tony Tighe, the mountain exacts a price seemingly after the game's over. Though Tony's responsibilities are in base camp, at the end of the expedition Bonington allows him to climb the Khumbu Icefall to get a look at the Western Cwm while the high-altitude Sherpas make a final carry to clear Advanced Base Camp. The Sherpas pass Tony on the way up and do not see him on the way down, but a large section of overhanging ice has collapsed in the meantime. MacInnes gives details of the search for Tony from his own perspective as well as a couple statements from Doug Scott. Though a short account, his perspective differs slightly from Bonington's, such as more detailed descriptions of the condition of the icefall the day after the incident. Also, he tells a fun bartering story about Doug Scott and a hard-dealing Sherpa.
A lengthier account of both the incident and the entire expedition are found in Bonington's Everest: Southwest Face; also, an entertaining read about the life and climbs of Bonington and his friends, including the 1973 Southwest Face Expedition is Clint Willis's The Boys of Everest.
I was excited to find out that MacInnes talks first about his participation, along with Doug Scott and Don Whillans, in the 1972 European Southwest Face Expedition and his general distaste for Karl Herrligkoffer, its leader. A while back, I was disappointed when Doug Scott spoke only briefly about both this expedition and his harrowing escape from the Ogre in his autobiography, Himalayan Climber. Perhaps he does not like to dwell on unpleasant moments! MacInnes only provides a few extra, but entertaining, details on the 1972 expedition, but later in the book, he also gives good space to Scott's Ogre epic.
The Tony Tighe incident is well-known to Chris Bonington fans as his second end-of-expedition disasters. Both on Bonington's 1971 Annapurna South Face Expedition with Ian Clough and his 1973 Everest Southwest Face Expedition with Tony Tighe, the mountain exacts a price seemingly after the game's over. Though Tony's responsibilities are in base camp, at the end of the expedition Bonington allows him to climb the Khumbu Icefall to get a look at the Western Cwm while the high-altitude Sherpas make a final carry to clear Advanced Base Camp. The Sherpas pass Tony on the way up and do not see him on the way down, but a large section of overhanging ice has collapsed in the meantime. MacInnes gives details of the search for Tony from his own perspective as well as a couple statements from Doug Scott. Though a short account, his perspective differs slightly from Bonington's, such as more detailed descriptions of the condition of the icefall the day after the incident. Also, he tells a fun bartering story about Doug Scott and a hard-dealing Sherpa.
A lengthier account of both the incident and the entire expedition are found in Bonington's Everest: Southwest Face; also, an entertaining read about the life and climbs of Bonington and his friends, including the 1973 Southwest Face Expedition is Clint Willis's The Boys of Everest.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Regions of the Heart, by Rose & Douglas
David Rose and Ed Douglas write a biography of Alison Hargreaves, the first British woman to climb Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen, in their Regions of the Heart. Their account, largely based on her daily diaries, tells of her passion for climbing, her rocky relationship with Jim Ballard, and her many climbs, including her ascent of Everest and her disappearance on K2.
Rose and Douglas tell us that Hargreaves was a high-performing rock climber who only too late got the recognition she deserved for her talent and drive. They paint a complex picture of her motivations, contrasting her desire for independence with her dependence on her husband and how this balancing act allowed her the freedom to climb but also hindered her climbing career. It seems as if her entire personal and professional life was a harder climb for her than any rock face the world over!
After a bust in the rock climbing media for six difficult Alpine classic routes she climbs solo at breakneck speed, Hargreaves turns to the Himalayas to get some attention with her power and stamina. She vies to be the first British woman to ascend Everest, but is trumped by Rebecca Stephens. (You can read about Stephens ascent in her On Top of the World.) Hargreaves heads to Everest anyway in 1994 to climb the Southeast Ridge without supplemental oxygen, but comes up shy. In 1995, she ups the ante, and climbs to the top, both without bottled oxygen and unsupported, via the North Col. She comes home to a three-week media circus before heading out to K2. She climbs to the top, and never returns.
After reading this book, I'm still not sure what to think of Alison Hargreaves. She's a controversial figure in the climbing community, and I've only read a single perspective on her so far. There are a couple other books about her, including James Ballard's One and Two Halves to K2, and Jennifer Jordan's Savage Summit, and I know she'll make some cameos in the 1994 and 1995 Everest season books, such as Tom Whittaker's Higher Purpose and Greg Child's Postcards from the Ledge. Her Everest climb is a phenomenal achievement, and according to this book, she did it in style. Currently, I'm going to remember her for that!
Rose and Douglas tell us that Hargreaves was a high-performing rock climber who only too late got the recognition she deserved for her talent and drive. They paint a complex picture of her motivations, contrasting her desire for independence with her dependence on her husband and how this balancing act allowed her the freedom to climb but also hindered her climbing career. It seems as if her entire personal and professional life was a harder climb for her than any rock face the world over!
After a bust in the rock climbing media for six difficult Alpine classic routes she climbs solo at breakneck speed, Hargreaves turns to the Himalayas to get some attention with her power and stamina. She vies to be the first British woman to ascend Everest, but is trumped by Rebecca Stephens. (You can read about Stephens ascent in her On Top of the World.) Hargreaves heads to Everest anyway in 1994 to climb the Southeast Ridge without supplemental oxygen, but comes up shy. In 1995, she ups the ante, and climbs to the top, both without bottled oxygen and unsupported, via the North Col. She comes home to a three-week media circus before heading out to K2. She climbs to the top, and never returns.
After reading this book, I'm still not sure what to think of Alison Hargreaves. She's a controversial figure in the climbing community, and I've only read a single perspective on her so far. There are a couple other books about her, including James Ballard's One and Two Halves to K2, and Jennifer Jordan's Savage Summit, and I know she'll make some cameos in the 1994 and 1995 Everest season books, such as Tom Whittaker's Higher Purpose and Greg Child's Postcards from the Ledge. Her Everest climb is a phenomenal achievement, and according to this book, she did it in style. Currently, I'm going to remember her for that!
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