Chris BoningtonCritiques

I imagine strategic thought was given to publishing this book right after the 1982 trip to Everest, but I believe this book would have greatly benefitted from having been published later, giving the authors more perspective. The narrative was compelling at times but also wildly meandering, leaving me to lose interest when the author(s) would digress into technical details (that they did not explain).

As I read this book, I really wanted to do some online research about the Northeast Ridge. I forced myself to finish the book first so as not to give myself any spoilers. I think it's worth reading, at least, the Wikipedia article on the Three Pinnacles, which gives a little bit of closure to at least one of the members of their 1982 Everest attempt.

This is another book I probably reviewed and certainly recorded as read on Library Thing and which has now disappeared from my library. I will probably move back to Good Reads if this keeps up. I still have a few tabs left in the book; I'll list them here; I can't create a review from scratch this long after reading the book:
p. 65 - Post-monsoon jet stream winds preclude climbing over 26,000 feet. Only Cho Oyo has been so climbed (as of publication). However, it is" little more than a very high-altitude fell walk."
p.67 - Argentian expedition of autumn 1971.
p. 69 - Unsuccessful solo attempts on Everest.
p. 70 - "Another challenge on Everest, of course, is to try to climb the mountain without oxygen. This is the only way a truly light weight expedition could succeed..."
p.100 - The Nepalis are essentially of Indian ethnic background, Hindu by religion, with delicately moulded features slightly reminiscent of those of the Malays or Burmese. Sherpas, on the other hand, are essentially Tibetan...
p. 106 - Changes in habitations in Sola Khumbu between 1961 and 1972.

p. 124 - we were under no illusions about the type of climbing we were going to have on Everest - a great deal of hard work, with comparatively little exciting climbing.

p.127 - "There is no possibility of making a safe route through the Khumbu Icefall."

p. 143-144 - Cultural difficulties dealing with Sherpa porters.

Just his beginnings - until 1966. Not outstanding, but as gripping as any of this genre!

Not the best mountaineering book I've ever read, but still worth picking up. It interested me particularly because the climbing takes a back seat - it's almost a travel book. Sepu Kangri and its surroundings sound beautiful. I find it amazing that there are still places like this left to discover on Earth.½

A diary style account of the 1982 attempt on the as-yet unclimbed North East Ridge of Everest. This included the tragic loss of Joe Tasker and Peter Boardman, which came as such a stunning blow at the time. Typical Bonington writing, full of self doubts and all the aggravation. You feel, in a way, as though you were there witnessing it all, suffering with the team.....

Another one of those Bonington money making schemes, an enormous 'boys own' style book on a range of topics, resembling a huge school project. I bought this for the passage on Broad Peak. I had been led to believe it would give me some insight into the tragedy of Hermann Buhl's death. An interesting read, but I am no further ahead. I wonder about this 400 plus page epic - it's not exactly the thing you would take to read on a bus, but with so much text it can't exactly be described as a coffee table book. Interesting how many editions this book went into, it certainly sold well. Also interesting to note that the Broad Peak chapter was dropped in later editions - too controversial!!!

An excellent account of an excellent climb. Follows the usual Bonington pattern with 70 pages of appendices detailing every aspect of the expedition.½

Found I enjoyed Clarke's contributions somewhat more than the other chap. Bonington surprises himself when he discovers that he enjoys small self contained explorations which don't even include the peak of a difficult mountain as their objective! (Has he heard of Smythe, Shipton, Tilman, et al?) Yet he returns next year with the usual juggernaut. Great read none the less.½

The book is written as a joint effort between the six climbers, with contributions from others. Surprisingly, this turns what was in their own words destined to be 'another bloody expedition book' into a rather interesting study of a very successful climb. This book is hard to beat.

Surprisingly for a Bonington I really enjoyed this book, although I skipped all the appendix material.

A month on the southwest face--fantasy adventure stuff. Very good remarks on the personalities and wonderful pictures.

Excellent account of a classic climb, with colour photographs and maps.

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