Eric Shipton: Everest and Beyond

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Threading his way over Tibetan passes or forcing the forbidding cirque of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, mountaineering legend Eric Shipton (1907-1977) continues to fascinate readers. Here biographer Peter Steele draws a full-bodied portrait of the self-effacing explorer with new information about his public and private lives. He gives, for the first time, the full story behind Shipton's shocking exclusion from the 1953 British expedition to Everest, a controversy that reverberated through the climbing world long after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay successfully reached the summit.

SYNOPSIS

From Africa to Everest to South America and the Southern Patagonia ice cap, the enigmatic Eric Shipton's (1907-1977) adventures continue to fascinate readers. Drawing upon scores of personal interviews as well as Shipton's own correspondence, Steele draws a full-bodied portrait of the self-effacing explorer and mountaineering legend, offering new information about his public and private lives. He reveals the full story behind Shipton's shocking exclusion from the 1953 British expedition to Everest, a controversy that reverberated through the climbing world long after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay successfully reached the summit. Tracing Shipton's career from his early years spent climbing with H.W. Tilman in Africa to the 1933 Everest expedition--where Shipton's disenchantment with elaborate, large-scale expeditions became complete—to explorations of Garhwal, the Karakoram, and Kashgar, Steele gives him the place in history he has long deserved. Includes a 16-page photo insert.

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