Mountains Of Travel Photos

The Dalai Lama had a 70-minute meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on February 18, 2010. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp poll says that nearly three-quarters of all Americans think Tibet should be an independent country.

Here is another funny, yet relevant, Buddhist comic from Bizarro

I have used the same Nepalese guide Gyan Tamang for my treks in Nepal and travel in Tibet. You can reach Gyan Tamang at gptamang@hotmail.com.

This site is best viewed at 1280 x 1024 pixels, or else you will have to scroll to see the photos.

I use Lightbox JS freeware to popup images within a page.

I use freeware to create the photo albums.

I have also made the web pages compliant to

K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain

by Ed Viesturs, David Roberts. Published 2009. America's first mountaineer to climb the 14 8000m peaks, Viesturs describes the major events on K2 along with his personal views. Ed examines "the questions of risk, ambition, loyalty to one's teammates, self-sacrifice, and the price of glory", sharing his direct honest opinions, like: "jerk", "I just don't buy it", "why didn't he get out and do something", and "that directive strikes me as questionable at best". I myself firmly believe in Ed's approach - getting into great physical shape with a thoroughness and intensity of preparation and planning, being a clock watcher and on time, non confrontational, carrying your own weight, and being patient.

You should buy this book first and foremost for Viesturs account of his own summit of K2 in 1992, second for his opinions of the controversial 1939 U.S. expedition led by Fritz Weissner, third for his critique of the August 2008 season where 11 climbers died in a 36-hour period, and finally as a history of the main events in K2's history, including 1938 U.S. reconnaissance expedition, the 1953 U.S. expedition, the controversial first ascent by the Italians in 1954, and the terrifying 1986 season that left 12 dead. There are 8 pages of colour photos (4 from Viesturs K2 ascent in 1992), 8 pages of b/w photos, a 2-page map, and one b/w sketch..

The book starts with Ed critiquing the 2008 tragedy where 11 climbers died in a 36-hour period. He clarifies the misconception that they were all killed when pieces of the frightening large ice serac above the bottleneck fell off. He also states that the real heroes were the Sherpas, unselfishly going back up the mountain to rescue climbers. Ed critiques the dependency on fixed ropes, the lateness of leaving Camp 4 and reaching the summit, and the fact there were no wands to help people find the route.

My favourite chapter is when Ed tells the true story of what happened on his ascent of K2 with Scott Fischer and Charley Mace on August 16, 1992. I was disappointed with No Shortcuts To The Top because the stories were too short and too 'perfect'. Not in this book. Ed uses his diaries to share his innermost raw, blunt, and critical feelings and opinions, highlighting his problems with his teammates and other teams, and lack of leadership. It is tight, entertaining, tense, emotional, an epic! This chapter could have been the whole book and I would have been happy.

Ed and Scott had to put off their own attempt to rescue two climbers. Although Ed is normally risk averse, he and Scott accepted danger to try and rescue two climbers. They were caught in an avalanche, but Ed was able to self arrest and stop their fall. Ed comments on once again accepting too much risk on summit day: "As we got closer to the summit and the falling snow showed no signs of letting up, I knew I was making the greatest mistake of my climbing life. And yet I kept going. ... Scott, Charley, and I broke free of the clouds just short of the summit. We saw it shining in the sun ahead of us. At noon, we stood on top, hugging each other and gasping in the thin air. ... After only thirty minutes on top, we headed down. ... Soon we were stumbling downward in a thickening whiteout." After reaching Camp 4 at 5pm, he wrote in his diary: "We'd pushed our luck beyond the max. I hope I never do that again! No summit is worth dying for. You can always come back." When they reached Camp 4, they found Rob Hall dealing with a very sick Gary Ball suffering from cerebral edema. They now had to help Gary down in bad weather and terrible avalanche danger. They found Ed's wands in the deep snow, which saved their lives by showing them the correct route down. "I don't think I've ever been more physically or emotionally exhausted in my life after that climb and descent."

After a brief history of the 1902 attempt by Oscar Eckenstein and Aleister Crowley and the 1909 attempt by the Duke of Abruzzi with Vittorio Sella, Ed describes in straightforward detail the 1938 US reconnaissance expedition led by Charlie Houston, quoting sections from "Five Miles High". After reconnoitering the Northeast and Northwest sides, the team decided that the Abruzzi was the best choice. After setting up camps on the ridge, Bill House climbed a great slanting gash in an almost vertical rock now called House's Chimney, and Charlie Houston and Paul Petzoldt reached 7920m feet before turning back due to not enough food and equipment at the highest camp.

My second favourite chapter is when Ed's writing is once again opinionated and enlightening as he describes the controversial 1939 US expedition led by Fritz Wiessner, who had recently emigrated to the US from Germany. After the best climbers dropped out, Fritz had to lead an inexperienced and weak team. Fritz led all the way, breaking trail, and turned back at 8380m just below the easy summit snowfield when Pasang Lama wouldn't go on. After a second attempt failed because Pasang had lost his crampons, Wiessner and Pasang descended to Camp VIII, only occupied by Dudley Wolfe. On the descent the three climbers fell, but Wiessner was able to self arrest, stopping their fall. Viesturs thinks that "only Pete Schoening's 'miracle belay' in 1953 is more legendary than Wiessner's self arrest." Unknown to Wiessner, all camps below camp VIII had been stripped supposedly because they thought that the summit party had been killed. The attempt to rescue Wolfe failed, with Wolfe and three Sherpas perishing on the K2 Shoulder. Ed thinks that "any climber has to be in complete awe of Wiessner's performance on K2." and considers his logistical plan "brilliant" Viesturs calls much of the criticism in the 1992 book K2: The 1939 Tragedy by Andy Kaufman and William L. Putnam "cockeyed", especially the fact that Wiessner led from the front, leaving Wolfe at camp VII on the descent, and what he considers the racial profiling of Wiessner.

Next, Ed describes the 1953 U.S. expedition led by Charlie Houston, calling it "the high point of American mountaineering", and "The courage, devotion and team spirit of that expedition have yet to be surpassed." He quotes from "K2: The Savage Mountain" and from Dee Molenaar's never released diary. A storm hits and they have to remain at Camp VIII for seven days, with Art Gilkey developing thrombophlebitis. In very bad weather and high avalanche danger, the rest of the team attempt to lower Gilkey down the mountain. Pete Schoening performed "the most famous belay in mountaineering history" when he singlehandedly stopped the fall of six teammates with "a single axe and a grip of steel." But the rescue ended in tragedy a few minutes later when Gilkey was avalanched to his death.

The camaraderie and teamwork of the 1953 U.S. team fades into intrigue and back-stabbing on the first ascent of K2 in 1954 by Italians Lino Lacadelli and Achille Campagnoni, with Walter Bonatti becoming a very convenient villain and an ideal sacrificial goat. Walter Bonatti and Pakistani Mahdi carried oxygen bottles to Camp IX, but had to suffer a bivouac at 8100m when Campagnoni intentionally moved the camp from the planned site so Bonatti could not try for the summit. Once back home, Bonatti was silently and later publicly accused of treachery, trying to steal the summit, and using their oxygen. Ed describes it as "a feud so sordid, bitter, and long-lasting that it has few parallels in mountaineering history." Vindication came in 2004 when Lacadelli agrees with most of Bonatti's views in his book K2: The Price of Conquest.

Finally, Ed describes in straightforward detail the tragic 1986 climbing season when 13 people were killed, quoting from Kurt Diemberger's The Endless Knot and Jim Curran's K2: Triumph and Tragedy. After eight unrelated deaths, a snowstorm with excessive wind and cold temperatures hit seven climbers, keeping them tent bound at Camp 4. Julie Tullis died in her sleep. After several days, in a break in the storm, Kurt Diemberger, Dobroslawa Wolf, Alfred Imitzer, Willi Bauer, and Hannes Weiser immediately started down, leaving a delirious Al Rouse at Camp 4. Within a few hundred feet of leaving camp, Imitzer and Wieser collapsed and were left where they lay. With Bauer breaking trail, the other three kept fighting their way down. A few hours later Wolf dropped behind and did not reappear, and the team was down to two. Bauer and Diemberger staggered and stumbled their way down the mountain.

Surviving K2: Surviving Three Day in the Death Zone

by Wilco van Rooijen. Published 2010 in English. The author describes his K2 attempts in 1995 and 2006 before telling the harrowing story of his survival during the deadly 2008 K2 season when 11 climbers died in a 36-hour period. There are 32 pages of colour photos. Wilco writes: "The difference between life and death, particularly on K2, is a thin elastic band. If you stretch it too far, it snaps. ... Those seracs are as huge as skyscrapers, cathedrals and they are teetering; no way stable. If any fragments were to collapse we wouldn't stand a chance."

Exciting, frightening, and heroic story of the author's survival on K2 in 2008 and the heroic rescues of the stranded climbers, especially by Pasang, Gerard McDonnell, and Pemba. I really liked Wilco's tight writing style in keeping to the essence of the story, and sharing his first-hand experiences and what is going on in his mind. The photos are excellent, especially the Pemba Gyalje photos of the serac and the bottleneck area, showing the locations of the various mountaineers at 09:00 and 18:00 on August 2, 2008.

ExplorersWeb gave their Best of ExplorersWeb 2008 Award to Gerard McDonnell: "The most selfless effort was made by Irish Gerard MacDonnell, who after two nights on K2's upper slopes including one in an open bivouac, resolved to alone stay and help two Korean climbers and a Nepali Sherpa, climbers he didn't know. Gerard knew well that his effort seriously put his own life at risk. His action is almost unmatched on the 8000ers. ... Gerard was called 'Jesus' by his peers. 'Hero' is a better word."

After briefly describing his ascent of the north face of the Eiger in July 1994, Wilco describes his first K2 attempt in 1995. Wilco describes in graphic detail how he got hit by a large rock above Camp 1, suffered a near fatal concussion, and had to be led down the mountain. Wilco's second K2 attempt was in 2006. He first attempted Broad Peak, but turned back between the false summit and the true summit because it was too late. He then turned to K2, climbing through the constant rock fall on the Abruzzi route. Teammate Gerald McDonnell was hit by a rock and had to flown out to a hospital in Skardu. Wilco's attempt failed below Camp 4 from bad weather.

Wilco returned in 2008 as the leader of the Norit K2 Expedition, attempting the Cesan route to the left of the normal Abruzzi route. Summit day August 1, 2008 began with Pemba Gyalje leaving Camp 4 on the Shoulder at 1:30am to help fix ropes in the Bottleneck, followed by Wilco, Gerard McDonnell, Jelle Staleman, and Cas van de Gevel at 2:30am. When Wilco reached the Bottleneck, he found that they had used fixed ropes on the easier lower portion and were now out of rope. Jelle decided to go down. Wasting valuable hours, they went down to retrieve the rope and then fixed it in the Bottleneck and Traverse. But, now there was a bottleneck of 19 people in the Bottleneck. Chris Klinke decided to go down, taking a spectacular photo showing the bottleneck of people. The first two fatalities occurred when Serbian Dren Mandic unclipped from the rope and fell to his death, and porter Jehan Baig slipped and fell trying to bring Mandic's body back to Camp 4.

"I crawl the last metres. I cannot believe it, we have made it!" Wilco van Rooijen, Gerard McDonnell, Cas van de Gevel, and Pemba reached the summit of K2 on August 1, 2008 at around 18:30. "We shout, we are happy, we are utterly exhausted. We hold each other, tears rolling down our cheeks." They leave the 'blissful feeling on the summit' and start to descend around 19:00 into "the hard reality of small ledges, slippery, black rocks, treacherous snow and immense ice masses."

Wilco, Gerard and the Italian Marco Confortola lose the route in the dark and bivouac in a snow hole. Ahead of them Norwegians Lars Naesse, Cecile Skog and her husband Rolf Bae were descending the Traverse to the Bottleneck in the dark when "a large section of ice breaks off and sweeps Rolf away. ... The rope that runs through the Bottleneck is also swept away." The climbers would now have to descend the Traverse and Bottleneck with only fragments of ropes to clip into. Lars and Cecile continue climbing down to Camp 4. Cas descended the Bottleneck in the dark, but when he reached the bottom he saw Frenchman Hugues D’Aubarede fall past him. Cas continued to camp 4 where Pemba was already melting snow.

The next morning Wilco, Gerard and Marco continue looking for the route, but when Wilco notices he was starting to go snow-blind he heads straight down as fast as he can. He stumbles onto a rope and finds the route, but finds two Koreans and Sherpa Jumic Bothe hanging upside down tangled in the ropes. A fourth Korean was already missing. Wilco doesn't have the energy to help them, and continues his descent. "What can I do? Nothing. I am at the end of my strength.. And here is a huge jumble of ropes and people. ... Life has been reduced to the essence of survival. Nothing more. ... I am hardly thinking, but acting on instinct." He loses the route again and when he reaches a very steep portion, he turns around and climbs back up to the ropes. He finally reaches the bottom of the Bottleneck, but he loses the way again in a thick mist.

Meanwhile, Gerard and Marco also come across the two Koreans and Jumic Bothe. They try, but can't untangle them from the ropes; so Marco descends. However, Gerard selflessly stays, and after six hours is able to free them, and they descend together. Gerard tragically is hit by a chunk of serac and falls to his death. Pemba climbed back up to help the barely conscious Marco just below the Bottleneck. Two of the Korean Sherpas, Pemba and Tsering, climbed back up from Camp 4 to help the Koreans descend. After reaching the summit with Marco, Pakistan Meherban Karim lost the route and apparently on August 2nd fell over the Serac. But then, another serac avalanche occurs. Tsering managed to jump out the way, as did Pemba at the Shoulder, catching Marco by the neck. However, the slide carried with it Jumic, Pasang, and the two young Koreans.

The lost Wilco has the bright idea to call his wife Heleen at home in the Netherlands. He asks her to call base camp in the Netherlands to call K2 Base Camp to call Camp 4 and have Pemba and Cas look for him. It works! Pemba calls him on the phone and tells him to descend straight, and that he and Cas will ascend, yelling to see if they can find each other. But once again Wilco veers off the route, with "blurry views and no points of recognition, I am alone in a dull, ice-cold world of snow, mist and rocks, and suffering from poor vision." He calls Heleen again to relay that he can't find Pemba, and continues his descent. "God, I feel so alone. This is the end ... Am I in heaven? Or have I checked into hell?" His eyesight starts to improve and he descends faster to about 7350m. "At this point back in Base Camp, Chris Klinke ... observes an orange speck [Wilco] moving slowly high up on the mountain to the left of the Cesan Route above camp 3." Base camp calls Pemba and Cas to descend to camp 3 and find Wilco. But night falls, and Wilco has to bivouac again, sitting near two dead climbers. "It is all weighing heavily: thirst, loneliness, the steepness, the cold, the dark. My feelings are numbed." Pemba reaches Camp 3, but Cas also has to bivouac, in fact only 300 metres from Wilco. The next morning Wilco starts to descend at first light and finds Cas. "We fall into each other's arms and cry." Pemba arrives and then they descend the mountain and the next day fly out by helicopter.

Beyond The Mountain

by Steve House. Published 2009. Winner of the 2009 Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature. Nanga Parbat book ends Steve House’s climbing career with his early attempt on Nanga Parbat in 1990, and his successful ascent in 2005 with Vince Anderson of a new route on the extremely difficult Nanga Parbat Rupal Face Central Pillar, done in five days plus two down, in alpine style, making them winners of the famous Piolet d`Or that year.

In between, Steve chronicles his climbs, including the unclimbed Denali Father and Son Wall in 1995, a new route solo on Denali Washburn Wall in 1996, the second ascent of the Barely Legal ice pillar in 1995, his harrowing escape from a crevasse on the Nant Blanc Glacier near Petit Dru in 1996, an attempt on the Emperor Face of Mount Robson in 1997, ascent of Howse Peak in 1999, attending Alex Lowe’s funeral in October 1999, a 60 hour alpine push on the Denali Slovak Direct route in June 2000, a fast 25 hour ascent of the Mount Foraker Infinite Spur in 2001, an attempt on the Nuptse South Face in 2002, an attempt on Masherbrum and K7 in 2003, the third ascent of the Twin Tower in 2004,  the second ascent of K7 in one single 42 hour push on his seventh attempt in 2004, a failed attempt on Nanga Parbat in 2004, and the North Face of Mount Alberta with Vince Anderson in 2008. There are 20 pages of colour photos, 60 pages of bw photos, and 3 maps.

After climbing in Slovenia, House participated in his first attempt on Nanga Parbat on a Slovene expedition. trying the Schell Route. On July 31, 1990 Marija Frantar and Joze Rozman reached the summit via the Schell Route. After a failed attempt in 2004, House was back with Vince Anderson to attempt a new route on the extremely difficult 4100m Rupal Face in 2005. House switches back in forth in time from the ascent to the dangerous descent to the ascent as he highlights the challenge and success.

Steve House and Vince Anderson reached the summit of Nanga Parbat via the 4100m Rupal Face on September 6, 2005. “Just before the top, I kneel in the snow, overwhelmed by emotion. Years of physical and psychological journey - to make myself strong enough, to discover whether I am brave enough all fold into this one moment. It seems sacrilegious to step onto the summit. ... frozen tears fall to the snow at my feet, becoming part of Nanga Parbat, as it became part of me so many years ago. ... In that moment, I understand that on the outer edge of infinity lies nothingness, that in the instant I achieve my objective, and discover my true self, both are lost." Steve and Vince became the first North Americans to win the Piolet d'Or for the first rapid alpine-style ascent of the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat.

House’s writing is intelligent, honest, illuminating his progress as a climber and his innermost thoughts on the dangers of climbing. The stories are short and to the point, keeping them taught and interesting. The photos are very good and plentiful enough to help visualize the stories.

Manaslu Expedition - Best Of E.O.F.T. No. 5

The Best Of The European Outdoor Film Tour Number 5 features 7 videos: Expedition Manaslu (29 minutes, German) - an attempt to speed climb Manaslu in 2007; Play Gravity (16 minutes, English) - paragliding, snowboarding down mountains, and speedriding using a paraglider and skis; Urban Rocks (15 minutes, German, Italian and English) - climbing rock mountains in Cinque Torri, climbing rocks and huge rock walls in Vienna, and climbing a rock wall on a large bridge in Fribourg; Touching The Stairs (3 minutes, English - funny story of pretending to climb a mountain, but really just walking up the stairs; Acht Schritte (16 minutes, English and German) - a Trans Alpine run through Germany, Austria and Italy in 2008; Oil And Water (23 minutes, English) - a road trip down the Panamerican Highway in 2006 and 2007 from Alaska to Argentina in a truck fuelled by waste vegetable oil from restaurants, while kayaking white water along the way; Seasons (14 minutes, English) - mountain biking.

Expedition Manaslu, directed by Carsten Maaz and filmed by Hubert Rieger, follows Benedikt Bohm, Sebastian Hoag and Nicolas Bonnet on their attempt to mountain climb on skis Manaslu in the fall of 2007. They leave the village of Sama and reach base camp in ideal weather conditions, and acclimatize by setting  up camps 1 and 2 and skiing down. They climb again and then are hit by extremely heavy snowfall for over 5 days. They descend to Sama and wait out the storm in the rain. After the weather improves, they dig out their camps and give it one last push for the summit. Just 200m below the summit, they evaluate the snow and avalanche conditions, and decide to descend, skiing back down.

The filming  is excellent, showing the beauty of Manaslu, the expansiveness of the surrounding area, and all aspects of the climb. The pacing is tight with good use of the climbers sharing their thoughts. The skiing scenes using helmet cams are especially good, giving you a first hand view of the dangerous terrain and the exhilaration of the skiing.

Everest & Oyu

by Miroslav Caban. Published 2005. The book describes the author's Cho Oyu attempt and successful Everest North Face summit in 2002. He includes details of the changing weather forecasts and excerpts from his expedition log and copies of Emails from home. "There's the soul, the mind, and the body, working together in perfect harmony, striving for maximum teamwork, the goal of which is a short moment spent at the top spot of the planet." There are 56 pages of colour photos, 2 of them 4-page panoramas. There are 16 pages of colour photos dedicated to the Cho Oyu attempt.

The book starts with Miroslav Caban and his climbing partner Milos Palacky flying to Kathmandu and Lukla to attempt an acclimatizing trek to Moro La. After returning to Kathmandu, they drive to Tingri in Tibet and Cho Oyu Base Camp, and trek to Cho Oyu Advanced Base Camp (5700m). They acclimatize by climbing to Camp I (6400m) and Camp II (7200m) where "The weather turned incredibly fast. It was a hurricane in the Himalayas with winds of over 200 km/hour." After surviving three days pinned down by the storm they retreated to base camp, and after a rest started their last try at the summit. They struggled through deep snow, making it to 7800m before turning around because it was too late and their primary goal was to acclimatize for Everest. "This was our victory - a safe return."

After a brief rest in Tingri, they drive to Everest North Base Camp, and trek to Everest ABC (6400m). They climb to the North Col, where their porter deserts them. They ask their expedition agent to find another porter, and Milos waits for him at the North Col while Miroslav continues alone to Camp II (7500m), "determined to undergo the battle for the summit with all my powers, both physical and mental". Milos feels sick and decides not to continue, while Miroslav continues to Camp III (8300m). The new porter arrives, carrying only a bit of food, but no tent. Miroslav tries to persuade other mountaineers and Sherpas to let him sleep in their tents, but to no avail. He has to pay a Sherpa $100 to let him sleep in his tent.

Miroslav continues climbing alone without oxygen towards the summit. As he nears the summit, he sits down "I couldn't hold it back: exhaustion, sentiment, and joy brought water to my eyes. Now I'm gushing tears like a little kid, but I'm not ashamed. My life's goal is before my eyes." Miroslav Caban reached the Everest summit at 11:30 on May May 17, 2002. "The weather is beautiful. I step onto it with my right foot. My fantastic dream has become a reality. Here I am on the highest spot on the planet. ... The warm feeling of satisfaction I had from having organized the whole expedition myself heated my body."

The photos are absolutely excellent. This is a very entertaining, humorous and exciting read. His emails from home remind you that daily life continues at home, and accentuates the loneliness he often feels. Miroslav comes off a bit naive at first, getting sick drinking water, people ripping him off, hassles with jeep drivers and yak herders, and porters deserting him. Despite a very small budget that causes many issues, especially with porters, the author adapts to each new situation and preservers his seat-of-the-pants climb.

Mount Everest, Nanga Parbat, Dhaulagiri mit Dieter Porsche

by Dieter Porsche. Published 2009 in German. This is a day by day photographic coffee-table book of Dieter Porsche's ascent of Dhaulagiri in 2003, Nangpa Parbat in1999, and Everest South Summit in 2001. Each chapter begins with a brief history of the first ascent attempts and main ascents and photos illustrating Dieter's ascent route from a distance and close up. You can see Dieter's diary and many photos from the book at alpin-extrem.de.

The Dhaulagiri chapter follows the climbers trekking from Beni to Tatopani, Dharapani, Muri, Boghara, Dobang, Choriban, and Italian Base Camp to Dhaulagiri Base Camp. After resting at base camp, they climb to Camp I (5700m), Camp II (6600m) and back to base camp. In knee-deep snow they ascend to 6300m before descending in strong winds. After waiting out the hurricane storm at base camp, they ascend to Camps I and II before descending once again to base camp in dangerous avalanche conditions. When a forecasted good weather window opens up, the team ascends once again to Camp I, II, II (7400m) and on to the summit.

On May 20, 2003 Dieter Porsche, Jochen Hasse, Christoph Von Preysing, Olaf Zill and Pemba Rinjee Sherpa reached the summit of Dhaulagiri by the normal route. On the decent Christoph and Frank Meutzner slipped and fell 600m. Although both are unharmed, Christoph is suffering acute mountain sickness and is barely responsive, and they have to drag him down. Around midnight Dieter loses sight of the others and decides to bivouac at 7800m. In the morning, with frostbitten hands and toes, Dieter makes it back to Camp III, where the others help him struggle down to base camp. A rescue helicopter takes him to Kathmandu, and the next day he flies to Germany.

The Nanga Parbat chapter follows the climbers driving up the Karakorum Highway and trekking to Diamir base camp (4250m), set in a grassy area amongst a profusion of flowers. Alternating ascending and descending to base camp, they set up Camp I (4900m), climb the steep Kinshofer wall to Camp II (6000m), and set up more fixed ropes. After a final rest in base camp, they climb to Camp II and set up Camp III (6800m) and Camp IV (7100m) on the ice-field below the summit headwall. They climb in deep snow and finally up the rocks to the summit. On July 2, 1999 at 16:00 Dieter Porsche, Nick Cofman, and Michel Vincent reached the summit of Nanga Parbat by the standard, Diamir Face Route. The visibility worsened and they quickly left the summit. Dieter lost sight of the others and, with thoughts of his role model Herman Buhl, had to bivouac with expedition leader Peter Guggemos at 7600m.  The next day they descend to Camp IV and the following day to base camp.

The Everest chapter begins with a flight to Lukla and trekking to Phakding, Namche Bazaar, Tengboche and Dingboche with beautiful views of Ama Dablam, Lobuche, and base camp (5250m). After the puja ceremony, they do acclimatization climbs through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall to Camp I (6000m), Camp II (6400m), and Camp III (7300m) on the Lhotse Face. Before their final summit push they descend to a sad base camp with the news that Baba Chiri Sherpa had died and his body was being flown to Kathmandu. After waiting for a weather window, they ascend to Camp II, Camp III, and the South Col (8000m). They climb through the night and on May 22, 2001 at 10:00 Dieter Porsche and Helmut Hackl reached the Everest South Summit (8751m). But, without any more fixed ropes, the head Sherpa Dawa Chiri turns them around, and they descend back to the South Col and off the mountain.

Even if you can't understand German, the photos are excellent. I especially liked the detailed climbing routes, and that all aspects of the trek and climb are included, not just the highlights.

Dead Lucky

by Lincoln Hall. Published in 2007. Hall tells the story of his miraculous survival when he was presumed dead high on the Mount Everest North Face in 2006. There are xx pages of colour photos.

After a failed attempt in 1984, Lincoln Hall returned to Everest in 2006 to be the camera man for an attempt by a young Australian. Hall describes the drive to base camp, the acclimatization climbs, and the many deaths on the mountain in 2006, including David Sharp. When his client dropped out, Hall continued the climb and reached the Everest summit on May 25 at 9am. "The crest of the summit itself rose like a small breaking wave, creating a final half-metre-high step. I paused for an extra breath then stepped up onto the highest point on the planet. Eight thousand, eight hundred and fifty metres. I was alone on the roof of the world."

On the descent after passing the Third Step, Hall collapsed, becoming: "a delirious, unaccomodating person ... staggering a few steps, collapsing in the snow, muttering nonsense, refusing to cooperate." The Sherpas tried dragging him down the mountain, but gave up as night approached. "After lying totally motionless in the snow at 8600 metres for two hours, I had been pronounced dead, with the probable cause of death being cerebral oedema."

"I was no longer capable of distinguishing between the reality of the mountain and the fabrications of my mind. ... I was exhausted, frostbitten and alone on the summit ridge of Everest. I had begun the decline, which would finish with me freezing to death. ... The horror of this realization snapped me into complete lucidity. I knew I had to escape from this awful predicament."

Hall contrasts what is happening to him on Everest with his wife, family and friends, who were told he was dead. The next morning Dan Mazur, Andrew Brash, Myles Osbourne, and Jangbu Sherpa found Hall, who was able to speak coherently with them, but still suffering hallucinations. They compassionately put off their own summit attempt to stay with Lincoln for hours until two Sherpas could arrive to lead him down. The descent turned into a nightmare when the two Sherpas threatened him if he didn't keep going down, and eventually did hit him with their ice axe. Hall was happy to meet the other Sherpas and made it to the North Col at dusk on May 26. Hall finishes the book with his trip back to base camp, Kathmandu, and dealing with all the press attention in Kathmandu and back home in Australia, and some conjectures on why he survived while others died.

I like Hall's writing style - engaging, simple, straightforward, and to the point. Hall describes in chilling vivid detail his hallucinations as he struggled to survive. The photos are very good.