Seattle, 1987, 1st US edition. 239 pp, color and b/w illustrations, maps. Hardcover with dust jacket. Fine.
Winner of the Boardman-Tasker prize for fine mountaineering literature, this is the account of two expeditions. The smaller team does the 1st ascent of the N face of Kishtwar-Shivling in Kashmir; the second was a larger team on Rimo III and other peaks.
Painted Mountains is the story of two very different expeditions to the unclimbed 6000-7000 meter peaks of Kashmir. In 1983 Stephen Venables and Dick Renshaw climbed the North Face of Kishtwar-Shivling, a great mixed climb on snow and ice and rock, with surprise of line and texture. In 1985 the author was back in Kashmir, in the little known eastern ranges of the Karkoram with the Siachen-Indo-British Expedition. Their climbing objective was the peaks of the Rimo massif. Stephen Venables writes with fluency, enthusiasm, a nice sense of humor and a sound sense of the historical framework. this is his first book and an invaluable source of information for other climbers, as well as a first-class armchair read.
CONTENTSPart One: KISHTWAR-SHIVLING A Dream - Causeway of distress - Monsoon - getting to Know the Mountain On the Wall - The Summit - Return to Earth
Part Two: RIMO, THE PAINTED MOUNTAIN An Invitation - Mangoes and Momoes - Beyond the Inner Line - To the Lake of Bones Exploration - Seven Days on Rimo I - The Far Side of Rimo - The Double Humped Camel & Mahendra's Bridge Appendices Expedition Diary: Kishtwar-Shivling 1983 Mountaineering in the Kishtwar Himalaya 1947-85 Siachen Indo-British Expedition 1985 Exploration & Mountaineering in the East Karakoram 1821-1985 The Siachen & Terong Glaciers, East Karakoram Scientific Report by Henry Osmaston
