Customer Reviews

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

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4 star:		(6)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

(I read the 2003 hardcover reprint with contemporary preface by Sir Hillary, ISBN 8174362665)

Written shortly after the historic 1953 climb, the adventure is detailed with modest nonchalance in a prose style of intense clarity and directness. I physically shuddered during portions of the narrative, and wept not a few times also. Needless to say, I could not put it down. No ghost writers here; Hillary is a masterful pen and his personality is revealed not only by the monumental journeys he describes but in the way he describes them.

There are two crude maps of the Himalaya region in this book--they alone will not be adequate if you wish to follow the story step-by-step, but they do provide a general overview, and they do show the routes being discussed. There are several pages of photos also, although they were not printed on glossy media in my hardcover edition.

As both a crucial primary historical record and an entertaining read, this book is essential.

HIGH ADVENTURE is Sir Edmund Hillary's engaging and somewhat self-effacing account of the first recorded successful Everest ascent in 1953.

An earlier reviewer describes Hillary as "a bigot," I suppose because he describes the Sherpas he worked with as "coolies." Of course, HIGH ADVENTURE was written in 1955, when attitudes were much different. And Hillary, far from being self-aggrandizing, seems to shun the spotlight.

Certainly, Hillary makes fairly little of his pre-Everest climbs, although they undoubtedly made him a splendid mountaineer. His lyrical voice for settings and experiences is fine, though never as poetical as Peter Matthiessen in THE SNOW LEOPARD, who traversed much of the same ground.

One of the shortcomings of this book is the lack of an Afterword in the new edition. One has to wonder what Hillary thinks of Everest's now chintzy, clockworked guided climbs. For a view from today's polluted top of the mountain read Jon Ktrakauer's INTO THIN AIR.

The funny thing is that people probably eschew this book, thinking it's written in "old fashioned" terminology or it's "just another summit book."

Nothing could be further from the truth. Hillary's enthusiasm for mountain climbing punctuates every page (literally; I don't think there's a page in the book that lacks an exclamation point). He talks about the technicalities of climbing with ease and in accessible language, and he regards the mountains as beings in their own right, worthy of respect and awe.

In addition, the edition of the book I read, despite being a paperback, was illustrated not only with line drawings reminiscent of Arthur Ransome's books, but with simple maps and diagrams showing exactly where the various glaciers are or the path through the Khombu icefall (not nearly as simple as later books/authors make it seem!). These diagrams add even more personality to an already-fascinating book, and give the reader a real sense of what these explorers faced.

This is an enthralling book that goes along at a great pace and it was definitely over too soon. Give it a try: it's worth at least a dozen of the whiny 70's mountaineering books!

(I read the hard-cover edition which is not in stock at Amazon at the time of writing this.)

The outcome of the adventure - the first successful summit climb of Everest - is a well-known fact. However, Hillary's telling of the story makes a gripping tale, well worth reading. Sometimes the matter-of-fact narration makes you think those climbs and hazards were really easy. A look at the black and white photos (in the paperback edition I have, these are separate plates) of the ice walls and crevasses dispels such fantasies! Even following well-trodden routes up the Everest is no mean task; it is awe-inspiring to read about the route-finders' story in first person.

The book talks about not only the actual climb of Everest, but events leading up to it for the previous two years. Some of these are amazing feats of strength and courage, and give an understanding of the spirit of the original pioneers. For instance, Hillary and his friend ford various rivers in full monsoon strength - they not only ford it once, but ferry across terrified porters with massive loads, multiple times. They spend days together fording such rivers and helping porters across with their luggage. All this only to reach the foothills of the Himalayas, this is only the precursor to the actual climbing. Then almost as an aside, Hillary talks about rafting down a river and being caught in a whirlpool.

The tone of the book remains light and easy. Hillary describes reaching the summit as a moment of quiet satisfaction, nothing over-dramatized. The story talks for itself I guess, there's no need for adding drama to it.

It seems to me that Hillary's account of his Everest summit is honestly written. I found his writing style engaging, not because it was good, per say, but because it seemed to be a normal guy saying what he felt needed to be said. His style and opinions were very 1950's, and I don't think he meant any harm to anyone, sherpas and whatnot. I liked it. The fact that Hillary never saw a mountain until he was 16 makes me think I have a shot at Everest someday...

This was written By Ed Hillary himself and is a detailed account of the harrowing adventures that culminated in the summit of Everest. He really writes well for a mountaineer/beekeeper. The pictures are mediocre at best. A must read for any serious alpinist and suitable for anyone with morbid curiosity of what real men used to accomplish before we had charted routes and newfangled gadgetry to rely on.

I have had this book sitting in the house for a while. Last year during "Bad Boy" camp, I wished I had a book with me. So I got this text to read during the summer. The problem was that I wanted some motivation for the up and coming hikes. In the last week, I hiked four 14ers, did about 30 miles, and 16,000 elevation gain. And this book was the inspiration during those travels. It is a wonderful book about the first accent of Everest. On the market now, there are numerous books about this mountain, but this is the first book of the story to the summit. Everest, though still super hard, is less difficult these days with Sharpas heading up first and fixing lines and ladders, but when Sir Edmund Hillary did it, there was nothing of the "paved road." The book is not the best written, he was a mountain climber more than a writer, but the story is amazing. It is really difficult to imagine the suffering that this man went through for all of those days and nights. There have been so many people that died on this hill, and for him and Tenzing to make it is a huge accomplishment. If you love mountaineering stories, and stories about success and overcoming the odds, this is definitely a worthy read.

as others have said, this is a must read if you're into mountaineering or even adventure type books. Well written, very easy to read, tough to put down. Even getting to the base of the mountain was an adventure and accomplishment at that time.

I think I summed it up pretty well in the title. There was a lot more about Hillary's earlier attempts to climb Everest than I would have expected or liked.

The outcome of the adventure - the first successful summit climb of Everest - is a well-known fact. However, Hillary's telling of the story makes a gripping tale, well worth reading. Sometimes the matter-of-fact narration makes you think those climbs and hazards were really easy. A look at the black and white photos (in the paperback edition I have, these are separate plates) of the ice walls and crevasses dispels such fantasies! Even following well-trodden routes up the Everest is no mean task; it is awe-inspiring to read about the route-finders' story in first person.

The book talks about not only the actual climb of Everest, but events leading up to it for the previous two years. Some of these are amazing feats of strength and courage, and give an understanding of the spirit of the original pioneers. For instance, Hillary and his friend ford various rivers in full monsoon strength - they not only ford it once, but ferry across terrified porters with massive loads, multiple times. They spend days together fording such rivers and helping porters across with their luggage. All this only to reach the foothills of the Himalayas, this is only the precursor to the actual climbing. Then almost as an aside, Hillary talks about rafting down a river and being caught in a whirlpool.

The tone of the book remains light and easy. Hillary describes reaching the summit as a moment of quiet satisfaction, nothing over-dramatized. The story talks for itself I guess, there's no need for adding drama to it.