London, 1969-73, 3rd-4th printing. 208 pp, 40 illustrations. Chris' first book: the 1st British ascent of the Eiger Nordwand with Harlin and Haston, and the Annapurna South Face expedition. Chris Bonington captures the highlights of his formative years of climbing from when he started as a London schoolboy at the age of sixteen to the first major expedition he led to climb the huge South Face of Annapurna in 1970 – at the time probably the hardest big face in the Himalayas.He covers his discovery of rock climbing with the basic gear of the fifties, early forays into Scotland, then on to the Alps with his attempts and final success to be first Briton to climb the notorious North Wall of the Eiger and make the first ascent of The Central Pillarof Freney on the South side of Mont Blanc.He tells of some of the great characters of British mountaineering –Hamish MacInnes, Don Whillans, Tom Patey and many more. He describes his early Himalayan climbs to Annapurna II and Nuptse in the early sixties when Nepal was still undeveloped and goes on his adventures a sa photo journalist culminating in the first ever descent of the Blue Nile. Hardcover, DJ, Near Fine. SIGNED by Chris Bonington. First editions of Bonington's first book are rather hard to find
