UK, 2005, 1st edition. 350 pp, 128 photos, 10 maps. This is the first book on this little known, but historically important, British Mount Everest expedition of 1935, as told from the diaries and reports of the team members.
Led by Eric Shipton, this fifth expedition to Everest gave an opportunity to 19-year-old Sherpa Tenzing for his first mountaineering experience. Eighteen years later he, together with Ed Hillary, made the first ascent of Everest. Dan Bryant, the first New Zealander to climb in the Everest region, joined the team of Bill Tilman, Edmund Wigram, Edwin Kempson, Michael Spender, and Charles Warren, who found the body of Everest aviator Maurice Wilson, which they 'buried' in a crevasse.
During an 'orgy of mountaineering' within three months they made the first ascents of two dozen Himalayan peaks over 20,000', a feat which remains unsurpassed. The expedition tried out new men and equipment in preparation for an attempt to reach the summit of Everest the following year. Snow conditions were tested on the treacherous North Col, with almost calamitous results. Many of the photos shown here have never been previously published.
Includes a foreword by Lord Hunt, an introduction by Sir Edmund Hillary, an appreciation by Dr. Charles Clarke, and biographical introductions by Norman Hardie, Kim Meldrum, Audrey Salkeld, Peter Steele, and Michael Ward. This remarkable new book will complete the history of Everest exploration, filling the long-empty gap on the shelves of libraries and mountaineering collections. Large, heavy hardcover with Dust Jacket.
