Everest: Alone at the Summit FROM THE PUBLISHER
Stephen Venables and three companions set out to climb Everest's most challenging and remote wall, the massive Kangshung Face in 1988. Some experts gave them little chance of success -- or even survival. The team was the smallest group ever to attempt such a difficult climb on the world's highest mountain. Following many weeks of struggle and a 16-hour push from high camp, Venables reached the summit alone. After a blizzard delayed his descent, he was forced to spend a night in the open at 28,000 feet -- and the team's troubles were just beginning.
FROM THE CRITICS
KLIATT
In the spring of 1988, the author and three companions embarked on an expedition that would ultimately test the limits of human endurance. Their goal: the summit of Mt. Everest. Their modus operandi: no porters, no bottled oxygen, and a route that included the Kangshung Face, the most formidable part of the world's highest mountain. Apprised of this audacious plan, veteran American alpinist Charles Houston reportedly exclaimed, "Kangshung Face! Four people! You're mad!" Seven weeks after arriving at the base of the massive wall, Venables and Venables alone reached the summit, the first Briton to do so without oxygen. Of course summitting means little if one does not successfully descend, and the author had a problem in that regard. A blizzard slowed him down, and he was forced to spend a night in the open at 28,000 feet—incredible. Obviously he lived to tell his remarkable tale, as did his fellow climbers. Originally published in Britain 12 years ago, Thunder's Mouth Press has reissued this extraordinary account under its Adrenaline Classics imprint, making it available to American readers for the first time. Thank you, Jon Krakauer. Legendary Reinhold Messner gives the book a big thumbs up, and I concur. Supplementing the thrilling narrative is a wealth of dramatic photographs, an extremely helpful selection of maps and diagrams, and several interesting appendices, including an expedition diary, and a historical overview of high altitude climbing sans oxygen. Adventure writing at its most compelling. (Adrenaline). KLIATT Codes: SA*—Exceptional book, recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Publishers Group West/Thunder'sMouth, 262p, illus, index, 23cm, 00-044297, $14.95. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Randy M. Brough; Lib. Dir., Franklin P.L., Franklin, NH January 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 1)
Library Journal
British author Venables (Painted Mountains) specializes in alpine-style climbing, in which small numbers of climbers rapidly scale peaks with a minimum of equipment and support. This method differs drastically from the more common siege-style climbs, which rely on larger groups using porters to establish a series of successively higher, well-stocked camps. This work was written immediately after Venables and three other climbers attempted a new route up the most dramatic face of the world's highest mountain without supplemental oxygen. Originally published in England in 1989 as Everest: Kangshung Face, this fast-paced account will appeal to both the armchair adventurer who devoured Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air (LJ 4/1/97) and the seasoned mountaineer. Extremely well illustrated and with several appendixes, including a comprehensive history of high-altitude climbs that eschewed supplemental oxygen, this is recommended for all mountaineering/outdoor adventure collections.--Tim Markus, Evergreen State Coll. Lib., Olympia, WA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
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