The first volume of Chris Bonington’s memoirs, I Chose to Climb, was published in 1966 and told of his initiation into mountaineering, from schoolboy beginnings, culminating in the British ascent of the North Face of the Eiger and his decision to turn professional.
The Next Horizon picks up where that volume left off, and relates his subsequent adventures as a mountaineer, photographer, journalist and expedition leader. The book opens with a journey to Chile to climb the Central Tower of Paine in 1962 and it ends in the summer of 1972 with preparations for the autumn Everest expedition which in the event only just failed to put a British climber on top of the world’s highest mountain for the first time.
Here we learn more of the charismatic generation of climbing personalities with whom he traveled, as well as the development of Chris Bonington into the devoted family man and celebrity he is today.
About the Author
Chris Bonington has taken part in 19 Himalayan expeditions and combined a career as a mountaineer with the writing of fifteen books, four of which were about Everest – Everest South West Face, Everest The Hard Way, Everest The Unclimbed Ridge and The Everest Years. Sir Chris was knighted in 1992 for services to mountaineering. He is heading the RGS/Alpine Club’s Everest Celebrations Committee.
