Customer Reviews

Lost Mountains: Climbs in the Himalaya

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The primary thought that hit me about halfway through this book was how pure it is. Think of the accounts of the first summit on Annapurna I, then reduce the size of the expedition and take away the militaristic approach to the mountain. You're left with pure adventure and exploration by skilled climbers who know little about where in particular they are going and how they are going to reach the summit of whichever peak the choose. No one has ever been there before them, as far as history knows. And things never go quite according to plan, but they love it anyway.

Venables, in what I believe was his first book of several, tells two stories, each of one or more first ascents in relatively unexplored portions of Kashmir. The first is a success on a climb with just him and his climbing partner; the second is a mixed bag of failure and success with a larger expedition assisted by the Indian army. In neither is there the greed or summit fever found in many of the popular accounts of Everest, for example. These are largely the stories of the mountains themselves, along with details of what the climbers had to do to make their way through and up the peaks.

This is fine writing from a respected English climber with many accomplishments to his name. It is well worth reading if you care to keep the freedom and spirit of the hills alive in your mind until the next time you can be there yourself.

The first half of this book was more interesting for me -- the expedition to Kishtware Shivling was self-contained and the author was able to convey more of a sense of place and spirit. The second half settles down to more of slow, plodding pace. There are no great revelations; it is almost as if the famed British 'reserve' seems to come into play. The writing itself doesn't have the same spirit or liveliness that other writers bring to the genre of mountaineering books; that is, less of the climbers' actual personalities are conveyed than in other books. Unlike some of the best books, there are few spots in this book where the tension and pressures of climbing become self-evident in the writing and the expressed drama between the climbers. That said, there were parts of the book that were very rewarding and enjoyable to read such as the elaborate details given on the hike into the mountains gave me a better perspective on the geography rather than just observation of details. In short, this not a bad book by any stretch of the definition -- it's just not a great one.

The first part of this book focuses on Venables' and Dick Renshaw's summit of Kishtwar-Shivling, a then unclimbed 6000 meter peak in the Himalaya. Venables is a capable author and conveys a sense of adventure that books of this type often lack. He understates the danger they faced on the mountain, particularly after their summit climb. The second half of the book deals with the Alpine Club's climbing in the Eastern Karakoram. Venables did make a mistake and he certainly expressed his sense of embarrassment at his blunder (I don't want to spoil the book for those who haven't read it). Venables does not "rag on the ones who saved him." This book is a nice change of pace, as it focuses on basically unknown mountains.