by Ed Viesturs
My experiences on Everest have been life-changing, and the friendships formed there everlasting. I can attest that the “Everest experience” is one of the unique events in anyone’s life, whether it’s the magical trek though the Khumbu, or helping to manage base camp, or the climb itself. To take part in the collaborative effort of an Everest ascent turns one into a different person. Everyone revels in the excitement and shares in the journey. I’ve seen through my own eyes how important teamwork is for these expeditions, and I never take for granted the contributions made by my teammates. I thank everyone who has helped me along the way to take part in eleven safe expeditions.
In my dedication to this book, I’ve saluted some, but certainly not all of the partners, teammates, Sherpas, staff, and friends with whom I’ve been on the highest mountain on earth. As for those others—I thank you as well. Several of those to whom I feel a special debt of gratitude are Eric Simonson, for believing enough in me to invite me on my first Everest expedition; Jim Whittaker, for including me in his International Peace Climb; Hall Wendel, for trusting my judgment and not giving up; Rob Hall, for asking me to partner with him on two of his commercial expeditions; and David Breashears for entrusting me with organizing and co-leading three of his expeditions. The memories we share enrich our lives and can be recalled instantly with a simple look, or a “remember when.” No matter how many times you’ve been to Everest, the experience never leaves you.
I also want to thank my loving wife, Paula. Her emotional support and belief in me during these last nineteen years have given me strength beyond measure. As the Everest expeditions went by, our family grew. The love, cards, letters, and drawings given to me by my four children as I departed from home brought joy and tears to my eyes, as I knew that part of them was with me as I climbed Everest’s slopes. I thank them for accepting my absences so that I could “do-what-I-do.”
Once again, piecing together the events of all my expeditions and organizing my thoughts in an orderly and readable fashion have been the handiwork of David Roberts. Our fourth collaboration was as enjoyable and smooth as the first. I’ve often said that I supply the building materials and David builds the house. David has a gift with words that I’ll never have, and I thank him for once again finding my voice as he crafted this book. His historical knowledge and enthusiasm for recounting some of the greatest Everest expeditions of years past made this book richer in many ways. Writing a book together is like climbing a mountain. Finding the right partner and enjoying the process have always been paramount for me, and I feel we’ve succeeded in this.
Thanks to Stacy Creamer, my editor at Touchstone Books, for once again wanting to bring my stories to the world. Having her at the editorial helm for No Shortcuts to the Top helped that book reach heights that I never expected. To have her working with us again is a delight. Stacy’s assistant, Miya Kumangai, skillfully managed the many details that go into making a published book. And Gypsy da Silva superintended the copyediting with her matchless aplomb.
Stuart Krichevsky, my literary agent, helped make this book possible and ironed out the lumps and bumps so that David and I could have a smooth ride. Stuart’s colleagues, Shana Cohen and Ross Harris, also performed many a vital task.
Emily Burke spent invaluable time and energy researching, acquiring, and gaining permission for the beautiful historical photos published in this book. Anne-Laure Treny gave us much-needed assistance in translating the witty prose of Erhard Loretan’s memoir.
Last but not least, thanks to Tom Hornbein, not only for writing the introduction to the book, but also for showing all of us what’s humanly possible in the example of his amazing ascent of Everest’s West Ridge with Willi Unsoeld in 1963. We can all learn from Tom’s humility and thoughtfulness. I thank him for his contribution and friendship.
(1) In 1922, George Leigh Mallory (left), Teddy Norton, and Howard Somervell (who took the photo) reached 27,000 feet on Everest’s northeast ridge.
(2) The 1924 expedition group photo. Mallory is standing second from left, his boot on a teammate’s shoulder. Sandy Irvine is standing first left.
(3) The last photo ever taken of Mallory (left) and Irvine, as they set off from the North Col on June 6, 1924.
(4) Eric Shipton gazes at the summit pyramid of Everest on the 1935 expedition.
(5) Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay high on the South Col route in 1953.
(6) Tenzing on the summit on the first ascent of Everest, May 29, 1953.
(7) Two climbers dwarfed by the mountain as they approach the West Ridge in 1963. (© Barry Bishop, courtesy of National Geographic Society)
(8) Tom Hornbein climbing high on the West Ridge, May 22, 1963. (Photo by Willi Unsoeld and used by permission of Jolene Unsoeld)
(9) Dougal Haston climbs the Hillary Step very late on September 24, 1975, as he and Doug Scott complete the first ascent of the Southwest Face. Hours later, the two men would survive the highest bivouac ever attempted to that date. (© Doug Scott)
(10) Krzysztof Wielicki, one of the two Poles who made the first winter ascent of Everest in 1980. (© Bogdan Jankowski)
(11) Leszek Cichy, Wielicki’s summit partner in the winter ascent. (© Bogdan Jankowski)
(12) George Lowe leading the crux pitch on the Kangshung Face in 1981. (© Sue Giller)
(13) A climber jumars the headwall on the Kangshung Face. Climbing of such a high technical standard had never before been accomplished on Everest. (1981 American Kangshung Expedition)
(14) Erhard Loretan on the summit of Everest after he and Jean Troillet completed their astounding 1986 alpine-style ascent of the Japanese and Hornbein Couloirs in only 43 hours round-trip. (© Jean Troillet.)
(15) The southeast ridge from the South Col, now the standard route on Everest. The British Southwest Face expedition ascended the couloirs and rock bands on the left. (© Ed Viesturs)
(16) The Kangshung or east face of Everest. The American team in 1983 ascended the central buttress. (© Ed Viesturs)
(1) Eric Simonson in the Great Couloir at 27,500 feet, on my first attempt on Everest in 1987.
(2) Success at last! My self-portrait on the summit of Everest in 1990, on my third try.
(3) Wong Chu, our head Sherpa, carries a load across a crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall in 1991.
(4) Camp III at 24,000 feet in 1991, with new snow dusting our tents. A cloud bank creeps up the Western Cwm below us.
(5) In 1991, a line of climbers ascends the Lhotse Face near the Yellow Band. In 2012, that line would include more than 200 climbers!
(6) An accumulation of discarded oxygen bottles at the South Col as seen in 1991. In recent years these bottles have all been cleaned up due to an incentive to pay Sherpas to bring them down.
(7) Summit day, 1991, high on the southeast ridge. Makalu in the background, far- distant Kangchenjunga on the left.
(8) On my solo attempt from the north in 1993, my lonely camp after a snow storm.
(9) The final section of the summit ridge in 1994.
(10) Rob Hall (right) and me on the summit, 1994.
(11) I’m climbing the last few feet to the summit of Lhotse in 1994, with Everest in the background. (© Rob Hall)
(12) Doug Hansen (front) in 1995, climbing at about 27,000 feet in 1995. Doug would die on Everest next year in the tragedy that also took the lives of Rob Hall and Scott Fischer.
(13) In 1996, Paula Viesturs checks expedition food and gear lists in Kathmandu.
(14) Paula and myself at base camp in 1996.
(15) Our team moves in front of Ama Dablam in 1996. (© Paula Viesturs)
(16) David Breashears wielding the IMAX camera at 25,000 feet.
(17) Going for the top in 1996. The rest of our IMAX team is visible in the lower left.
(18) Left to right: myself, Paula, Araceli Segarra, and David Breashears in Deboche, relieved to be heading home after the tragedy of 1996.
(19) The shadow of Everest from 27,500 feet, just after dawn on May 23, 1997
.
(20) The South Summit at dawn in 1997.
(21) Veikka Gustafsson and myself on the summit in 2005.
(22) I’m approaching the South Col on my last attempt on Everest in 2009, just before my 50th birthday. (© Eddie Bauer First Ascent/Jake Norton)
(23) On the summit in 2009, for the seventh time. (© Eddie Bauer First Ascent/Jake Norton)
(24) A fond farewell—Everest from Kala Patar in 2009.
© EDDIE BAUER—KYLE DELEU
ED VIESTURS is widely regarded as America’s foremost high-altitude mountaineer. In 1992 he was awarded the American Alpine Club’s David A. Sowles Award for his participation in two rescues on K2. He is also the recipient of the Explorers Club’s Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding achievement in the field of mountaineering. He lives in Ketchum, Idaho, with his wife and their children.
www.edviesturs.com
© IRENE OWSLEY/IRENE OWSLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
DAVID ROBERTS is the author of twenty-four books on mountaineering, adventure, and the history of the American Southwest. His essays and articles have appeared in National Geographic, National Geographic Adventure, and The Atlantic Monthly, among other publications. He lives in Watertown, Massachusetts.
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Bibliography
Anker, Conrad, and David Roberts. The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest. New York, 1999.
Béghin, Pierre. “Everest, The Hornbein Couloir Direct from Tibet,” The American Alpine Journal, vol. 29, 1987.
Bonington, Chris. Everest the Hard Way. London, 1976.
Boukreev, Anatoli. Above the Clouds. New York, 2001.
Boukreev, Anatoli, with G. Weston DeWalt. The Climb. New York, 1998.
Breashears, David. High Exposure. New York, 1999.
Brniak, Marek, and Józef Nyka. “Two Polish Ascents of Everest,” The American Alpine Journal, vol. 23, 1981.
Carter, H. Adams. “Mount Everest from the North,” The American Alpine Journal, vol. XII, 1961.
Douglas, Ed. Tenzing: Hero of Everest. Washington, DC, 2003.
Dyhrenfurth, Norman G., and William F. Unsoeld. “Mount Everest, 1963,” The American Alpine Journal, vol. XIV, 1964.
Gillman, Peter, and Leni Gillman. The Wildest Dream: Mallory: His Life and Conflicting Passions. London, 2000.
Haston, Dougal. In High Places. London, 1972.
Hillary, Sir Edmund. High Adventure. London, 1955.
Hornbein, Thomas. Everest: The West Ridge. San Francisco, 1965.
Hunt, Sir John. The Ascent of Everest. London, 1953.
Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air. New York, 1997.
Loretan, Erhard, with Jean Amman. Les 8000 Rugissants. Fribourg, Switzerland, 1996.
McDonald, Bernadette. Freedom Climbers. Victoria, British Columbia, 2011.
Messner, Reinhold. The Crystal Horizon: Everest—The First Solo Ascent. Seattle, 1989.
Morris, James. Coronation Everest. London, 1958.
Morrissey, James D. “Kangshung Face of Everest,” The American Alpine Journal, vol. 26, 1984.
Norton, Colonel Edward F., et al. The Fight for Everest: 1924. London, 1925.
Noyce, Wilfrid. South Col. London, 1954.
Roberts, David. “50 Years on Everest,” National Geographic Adventure, April 2003.
Shipton, Eric. That Untravelled World. London, 1969.
Simonson, Eric. “Everest Attempt Via the Great Couloir,” The American Alpine Journal, vol. 30, 1988.
Tabin, Geoffrey. “The Kangshung Face of Everest,” The American Alpine Journal, vol. 24, 1982.
Tilman, H. W. Mount Everest: 1938. Cambridge, U. K., 1948.
———. The Ascent of Nanda Devi. Cambridge, U. K., 1937.
Ullman, James Ramsey. Americans on Everest. Philadelphia, 1964.
Unsworth, Walt. Everest: The Mountaineering History. Seattle, 2000 (third edition).
Viesturs, Ed. “Everest Attempt,” The American Alpine Journal, vol. 36, 1994.
Viesturs, Ed, with David Roberts. K2: Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain. New York, 2009.
———. No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks. New York, 2006.
———. The Will to Climb: Obsession and Commitment and the Quest to Climb Annapurna—the World’s Deadliest Peak. New York, 2011.
Whittaker, Jim. A Life on the Edge. Seattle, 2000.
———. “Everest International Peace Climb,” The American Alpine Journal, vol. 33, 1991.
Wielicki, Krzysztof. Crown of the Himalaya: 14 x 8000. Kraków, Poland, 1997.
Index
Abelardo, 163
Above the Clouds (Boukreev), 203–4
Aconcagua, 303
Adventure Consultants, 150–51, 158, 160, 161, 207, 218, 219, 222
Aiguilles du Diables, 117
Akhter, Jawed, 179, 180
Aldrin, Buzz, 111
Allsup, Jack, 2–3
Alone to the South Pole (Ousland), 152
Alpine Club, 30, 31, 40
Alpine Journal (British), 172
Alps, 263
altitude sickness, 262
Amedeo, Luigi, 101
American Alpine Journal, 11, 78, 97, 143, 175, 256, 268, 288
American Mount Everest Expedition (AMEE), xii, xiii, xvi, 179–201, 235
Americans on Everest (Ullman), 182, 184, 188
Amundsen, Roald, 109
Ang Dawa (Sherpa), 190, 191, 194
Ang Phurba (Sherpa), 243
Angtarkav, 51
Ang Temba II, 133
Anker, Conrad, 55–58, 171, 176
Annapurna, xii, xv, 21, 26, 27, 48, 49, 107–8, 109, 149, 206, 238, 249, 267, 271, 281, 289, 293–95, 296, 297, 302
Antarctica, 110, 262
Apa Sherpa, 1, 133, 300
Arkansas Everest Expedition, 3, 62
Arnette, Alan, 298, 307, 310
Arnold, Jan, 214
Arsentiev, Sergei, 90, 93
Ascent of Everest, The (Hunt), 124, 128, 205
Ascent of K2 (Desio), 103
Athans, Pete, 207
Auten, Al, 196, 197, 198
avalanches, 46, 71, 73, 76, 145, 147
Aztec empire, 109
Babu Chiri, 300
Bahuguna, Harsh, 236
Ball, Gary, 150–51
Bangkok, 86
Barclays Bank, 238
Bass, Dick, 129
Bates, Bob, 139
Beckey, Fred, 179
Béghin, Annie, 282–83
Béghin, Pierre, 49, 281–84, 286–90
Bell, Charles, 31
Bell, George, 179
Bhutan, 30
Bishop, Barry, 182, 185, 189, 190, 196–97, 200
bivouacking, 265–66
Blank on the Map (Shipton), 116
Boardman, Peter, 237–38, 242, 243, 248–49, 311
Bocarde, Gary, 251, 255
Boivin, Jean-Marc, 284, 300
Bonatti, Walter, 32, 235
Bonington, Chris, 187, 236–44, 249–50, 259
Boukreev, Anatoli, 24, 203–4, 213–14
Bourdillon, Tom, 123–24, 125, 242
Boyle, John, 256
Boysen, Martin, 237, 239–40, 2
43, 248
Braithwaite, “Tut,” 237, 240–41, 243
Breashears, David, 23, 33, 129, 204, 206–13, 215–20, 222, 226–29, 242, 251, 255, 295, 296
Breitenbach, Jake, xvi, 115, 185, 186–87
Brice, Russell, 125, 158
Bridges, Lloyd, 182
Brniak, Marek, 268
Broad Peak, 103, 181, 206, 219, 251, 267, 293
Brooke, Rupert, 50
Bruce, Charles, 39–40, 45, 48
Bruce, Geoffrey, 45, 48, 52
Bryant, Dan, 112
Bu, Gyal, 90
Buhl, Hermann, 32, 103, 109, 181
Buhler, Carlos, 257
Bullard, Amy, 295
Bullock, Guy, 34–38, 233, 250
Burdsall, Richard, 178
Burke, Mick, 21–22, 237, 238, 241, 243, 248–50
Burleson, Todd, 154, 207
Burma, 30
carbon monoxide, 144
Carsolio, Carlos, 167