UK, Tony Astill, 2005, 1st edition. 359 pp, 125 b/w photos (most full page or half page), 9 maps, 3 fold-out and one in color issued as the second Dust Jacket. Larger navy cloth hardcover with gilt titles and special double dust jackets. Very Fine condition.
This is the first complete book on a little known, but successful and historically important British Mount Everest Expedition of 1935 as told from the diaries and reports of the team members.
During an 'orgy of mountaineering' within three months in 1935 they made the first ascents of twenty-six Himalayan peaks over 20,000' on the north side of Everest, 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.
Led by Eric Shipton, this fifth British expedition to Everest gave an opportunity to a 19 year old Sherpa Tenzing Norgay to have his first mountaineering experience. Eighteen years later he and Edmund Hillary made the first ascent of Everest. On this 1935 expedition Dan Bryant was the first New Zealander to climb in the Everest region, and 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.
Dan Bryant being a New Zealander was adept on glaciers and steep snow and ice, and Shipton's favorable experience with Dan caused him to include New Zealanders Ed Hillary and George Lowe on his three Everest area expeditions in the 1950s: the 1951 Everest reconnaissance from Nepal; the 1952 Cho Oyu attempt; and the 1953 expedition that finally made the first ascent.
This massive book 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 book completes the history of Everest exploration, filling the long-empty gap on the shelves of libraries and mountaineering collections.
This book is large and heavy so we will request extra postage for Priority Mail or International Mail.
