London, 1995, 1st UK edition. Anderson's 7 Summits solo feat. For those who follow the quest for the 7 Summits. DJ, as New.
When Robert wrote this book in 1995 he had not finished Everest, but now he has completed Everest and all the Seven Summits.
Reviewed by Neil Nelson, The Evening Standard, Wellington, New Zealand Saturday, February 24, 1996
Having spent the past 20 years scaling some of the world's most difficult peaks, American-born Aucklander Robert Anderson set himself a new challenge: to climb the highest peak on each of the world's seven continents. As an added challenge, he elected to climb them solo.
Ultimately, he failed in his bid, with Everest getting the better of him on two separate occasions [he did climb it on his 7th attempts].
But failure to stand on the top of the world's highest peak doesn't diminish Anderson's achievement or the highly readable accounts he has written of his adventures. As the price tags would suggest, the two books which have resulted from his seven summits project are totally different. Anderson's account of the expedition is essentially a précis of the story he tells in To Everest via Antarctica. During the past decade or so, I've read numerous accounts of climbing expeditions: this one rates as one of the best. Unlike some mountaineers, who feel compelled to describe in minute detail everything they did during the expedition, Anderson concentrates more on the adventures he had actually getting to the mountain. He admits it is more of a travel book than a book about climbing and that he wrote it for a broader market. Some chapters have little to do with climbing at all. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in Anderson's descriptions of his travels in Russia, late in 1992, after conquering Mt Elbrus, Europe's highest peak.
With Elbrus out of the way, and three weeks left on his Russian visa, Anderson decided the opportunity to see some of Russia was too good an opportunity to miss. With the Russia of old rapidly being split into a series of new countries, and new border crossings appearing at random, it was decided a large bus would be the easiest way of moving around. One was soon found and with several companions Anderson set off for a fascinating tour of parts of Russia which had seldom seen Western tourists.
The tales he relates of his journey make for absorbing and humorous reading. With a degree in writing and a career spent mainly in the advertising industry - the business he set up in New Zealand and subsequently sold helped fund his seven summits project - Anderson wastes few words. He has an economical, easy-to-read style and knows how to tell a good story. While the price of 7 Summits Solo means it's unlikely to appear on best-seller lists, To Everest via Antarctica deserves to be. One of the most enjoyable books I read in 1995, I look forward to reading of Anderson's further adventures.
