For the Everest or mountain reader afficionado, what books are really essential?
What is the book that is not only a very good read for the holidays, but also a gift that is long remembered and looks great in the library? Or at the very least, evokes good memories and is always available on the digital book shelf?
So what are the top 5 Everest books you can choose with confidence, whether you know the heights yourself, or just want a truly good mountain book with tales from the top of the world?
Here’s two new books released this year – and both by women. With a woman’s perspective (obviously) but also with rare insight into both teams who have gone before, the world they live in as women climbers and the men and boys they have had to put up with.
1. Tap Dancing on Everest by Dr. Miriam Zieman
This is Mimi’s account of her joining us on our ascent of the Kangshung Face – which now has two and and a bit books about it already. But this provides a new look at going from being a trekker, to being part of a lonely team making their way, without oxygen or Sherpa support, up Everest’s largest and aruably most dangerous face.
With no other outside contact, six weeks camped in the remote Kama valley in Tibet and a team singularily focused on the mountain, her challenging experience, insights into the team and joy in the mountains shines through. From the streets of New York to the heights of Everest, a truly rare and unique perspective into her Everest experience.
2. Enough, by Melissa Arnot-Reid
A very powerful and memorable book. As it ultimately ends with Melissa’s ascent of Everest without oxygen, the first by an American woman, it is an Everest book.
However, the emotional depths it goes to, the life before her Everest climbs and her experiences in the male dominated guiding community are in stark contrast to a joy of the mountains tale. It is revealingly open, honest, at times frightening, and very well written, a rarity in this genre it seems. For more about it, I reviewed it previously here.
1. Sir Edmund Hillary: High Adventure, the true story of the first ascent of Mount Everest
The absolute classic, with enough of the background and pre-Everest expedition details to set the scene, and the personal insights to make it compelling. As much as this account of the first ascent is a must read for climbers, it is also superbly written, with a balance of the detail, personalities and mountain tales that bring the climb to life.
In person, Ed was a climbers, climber: more comfortable talking gear, strategy, team and approach than working on the machinations or politics involved in a big expedition.
Balanced with Tenzings great depth of Himalayan experience and previous 6 attempts on the mountain, they were the ideal team for the top – Expedition Leader John Hunt clearly picked the winners.
2 Tenzing Norgay: Tiger of the Snows
Very much the companion piece to Ed Hillary’s book – a terrific read and one feels, that the writing by Ullman, reflects Tenzings true spirit.
The tale alone, of growing up and participating in no less than six previous Everest attempts prior to standing on the summit, makes a great book in itself. And the Everest history, from the early Everest expeditions and life in Darjeeling, to climbing Everest and the fame that followed creates a full picture of a life very well lived.
2.1 Jamling Tenzing Norgay: Touching My Father’s Soul
For a great insight into two generations of Tenzing climbers, this is a tale from Jamling Tenzing Norgay’s own ascent of Everest, accomplished during the fateful 1996 season on Everest and filmed for David Breashears Imax movie. It has both the family and the unique Sherpa connection and is a great story, well told.
3. Reinhold Messner: The Crystal Horizon
The title could seem a bit out of the blue. But on the North Face of Everest, the expanse of snow, the altitude tunneling the vision, with the single minded need to climb up the endless snow, the Crystal Horizon is very aptly named for the internal journey Messner takes into himself on the climb. Perhaps one of the best lines describing his ascent is:
“In my state of spiritual abstraction, I no longer belong to myself and to my eyesight. I am nothing more than a single narrow gasping lung, floating over the mists and summits.”
4. Stephen Venables: Everest, Kangshung Face.
On one hand, including this book is totally unfair, as I led the expedition and feature heavily in the book. On the other hand, I should know whether it rings true or not, whether it captures the spirit of our climb from having been there.
As far as the climb, I have a bit of support from the master himself after Messner commented on our climb:
“The best ascent of Everest in terms and style of pure adventure.” Reinhold Messner
I think one of the hardest things to do is read about yourself, how others see you, particularly when still very active, in the midst of the fray, of putting up new routes, of comparing your achievements to others.
I had the chance to read Stephen’s book in an early draft and soon found I was reading as someone detached from being part of the story, of wanting to know what would happen next, of what someone would say, where would the climb take them, what would the result be. And that’s when I realized it was a really good book.
With Everest now described as a ‘piste’ (groomed ski run) by Messner, and having on my most recent ascent of the South side, done the entire climb from Base Camp to the summit without pulling my ice axe off my pack, hopefully someone will pick up this book and realize there is real adventure and some great routes still left on Everest if you dare to go ‘off piste,’ as described by Messner in his interview with Jim Clash in Forbes.
4.1 Ed Webster: Snow in the Kingdom
Ed’s magnum opus, with the title taken from Radio Nepal’s 8 p.m. weather forecast that we avidly listened for every night on an intermittent radio signal – that inevitably said: and tomorrow there will be: “Snow in the Kingdom.”
This book takes us through Ed’s three Everest expeditions and perhaps more interesting, his life around the climbs and personalities associated with them. If there ever was a set of stories that helps to define the magnetism of Everest for us all, this does a great job of getting into the incredible attraction, push and pull of Everest dynamics.
I’ve saved this book for last, but Jon’s timeless and iconic book on the 1996 disaster on Everest is a modern tour-de-force of Everest literature. It weaves a cast of characters, the world’s tallest mountain, personal insight and drama into one of the most powerful tales of mountaineering ever. It was a multiple best seller and made into the Hollywood movie, ‘Everest’.
While it is a great read, it is also one of the few books I’ve read twice – the first time when it came out. The second, at Everest Base Camp prior to guiding a team to the top – as a refresher on all the things not to do to ensure a safe and successful ascent. I wrote Jon afterwards and pointed out that while I don’t think he ever intended Into Thin Air as an instruction manual for climbing Everest, it did serve that purpose very well.
Of course you can buy any of these from Amazon, but for the personally signed, first editions, best to go to Michael Chessler, who will have the best selection for you. I don’t make any commision on any of the links to the books. On my book, when you meet me next in Kathmandu, I will happily share a beverage and sign the book for you.
