Everest
Reflections From The Top
-
- £4.99
-
- £4.99
Publisher Description
On 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first ever to set foot on the highest point on earth: the summit of Everest. It was a magical moment. Since then many men and women have striven to reach the top of this awesome mountain, which can be at once beautiful and mystical, unpredictable and highly dangerous, never straightforward and always incredibly tough.
In this timely and remarkable book, published to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the original ascent, mountaineers from all round the world tell what motivated them to make their own summit bids. They highlight how it felt to reach the top and the impact it made on them, ranging from practical comments to spiritual reflections, to philosophical statements on the future of our planet, including contributions from climbers such as: Chris Bonington, Alan Hinkes, Eric Simonson, Reinhold Messner, Jamling Tenzing Norgay, Bear Grylls, Greg Mortimer, Junko Tabei, Peter Hillary, Doug Scott and Stephen Venables.
Not only is this a fascinating and insightful collection to mark more than half a century of the highest adventure, it is also an inspiration to any one of us when we contemplate heroic achievements of our own - whatever they may be.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his introduction, Weare, co-director of the Australian Himalayan Foundation, explains,"It is not until you are practically at the base of Everest that her true dimensions are revealed." Those dimensions--at 29,035 feet high, Everest is the highest point on Earth--have long tempted (and daunted) climbers, and this compact book shares the sentiments of some who reached the mountain's peak. In alphabetical order, each climber taking one page, they recount the big moment. When Major (ret.) H. P. S. Ahluwalia made it to the peak in 1965, his feeling was,"Thank God, it's all over." As Stacy Allison, the first American woman to climb Everest, recalls,"the summit experience was ephemeral and gone in an hour... but the climb itself is in the marrow of my bones." Kaji Sherpa, who ascended Everest in record time, says,"On the summit I am always very relaxed and happy." These musings, which vary from simply joyful to oddly perplexing, are eye-opening in their ability to portray the different reasons people choose to take on the challenge--and, since 2003 marks the 50th anniversary of the mountain's first summit by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, more readers may be on the lookout for titles like this.