High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest - Softcover

Hillary, Edmund

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9780195167344: High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0195167341 ISBN 13: 9780195167344
Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 2003

Synopsis

Fear lives among Everest's mighty ice-fluted faces and howls across its razor-sharp crags. Gnawing at reason and enslaving minds, it has killed many and defeated countless others. But in 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay stared into its dark eye and did not waver. On May 29, they pushed spent bodies and aching lungs past the achievable to pursue the impossible. At a terminal altitude of 29,028 feet, they stood triumphant atop the highest peak in the world.
With nimble words and a straightforward style, New Zealand mountaineering legend Hillary recollects the bravery and frustration, the agony and glory that marked his Everest odyssey. From the 1951 expedition that led to the discovery of the Southern Route, through the grueling Himalayan training of 1952, and on to the successful 1953 expedition led by Colonel John Hunt, Hillary conveys in precise language the mountain's unforgiving conditions. In explicit detail he recalls an Everest where chaotic icefalls force costly detours, unstable snow ledges promise to avalanche at the slightest misstep, and brutal weather shifts from pulse-stopping cold to fiendish heat in mere minutes.
In defiance of these torturous conditions, Hillary remains enthusiastic and never hesitates in his quest for the summit. Despite the enormity of his and Norgay's achievement, he regards himself, Norgay, and the other members of his expedition as hardworking men, not heroes. And while he never would have reached the top without practiced skill and technical competence, his thrilling memoir speaks first to his admiration of the human drive to explore, to understand, to risk, and to conquer.

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About the Author

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on July 20, 1919. On May 29, 1953, he and Nepalese mountaineer Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. He lives in New Zealand.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
Publication date
2003
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0195167341
ISBN 13 
9780195167344
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
245
Rating
  • 4.15 out of 5 stars
    1,600 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780786270552: High Adventure: The True Story Of The First Ascent Of Everest

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0786270551 ISBN 13:  9780786270552
Publisher: Thorndike Press, 2004
Hardcover