London, 1995, 1st UK edition. 192 pp, 200 color photos, 36 maps. Forty Alpine-style Himalayan climbs are described, mostly of 7000-8000 meter peaks. Includes the Ogre, K2, Nanga Parbat, Nanda Devi, Annapurna, Everest, Kangchenjunga. Large-format, DJ, Near Fine.
Features 200 stunning color photos. Contains information about mountaineering regulations and peak fees. Here is a celebration of the pleasures and possibilities of the alpine-style approach in climbing the 6000-, 7000-, and 8000-meter peaks of the Himalaya and the Karakoram. Himalaya Alpine-Style highlights some of the world's finest climbs, a mixture of modern test pieces and older classic routes, varying in height, length and difficulty, on both rock and ice.
Some, like the Catalan route on the South Face of Annapurna and the Golden Pillar of Spantik, are unrepeated and represent the highest levels of commitment and difficulty. Others, like the West Face of Broad Peak, offer a popular, reasonably safe route to an 8000-meter summit, given reasonable weather. Equally seminal in mountaineering history are Nanda Devi's South Ridge, first climbed in 1936, and the 1986 Troillet/Loretan line up the North Face of Everest.
For many mountaineers though, the greatest satisfaction is to be found on lower, more intimate summits like Kwangde, or Panch Chuli or Dharamsurañthe White Sail of the Kulu region of India. Also comparatively low, but technically more demanding, are the famous granite spires of Shivling and Changabang and the incomparable Trango Tower, represented here by Eternal Flame, perhaps the hardest rock climb in the Himalaya.
The peaks covered in this collection include The Ogre, Uli Biaho, Trango Tower, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum IV, Hidden Peak, K2, Nanga Parbat, Nanda Devi, Annapurna, Menlungtse, Shishapangma, Everest, Makalu, Kangchenjunga, and many more. Each carefully chosen route is a superb objective in its own right. Each has been climbed in alpine-style, or at least by a small team using only the minimum of fixed rope. Routes vary in elevation, length, and level of difficulty, on both rock and ice. Each climb description presents historical information, an overview of the challenges that may be encountered, and recommendations on technique.
These are the 14 8000 meter peaks: Mount Everest, K2, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Nanga Parbat, Annapurna, Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak, Shishapangma, Gasherbrum II.
