Nanda Devi: Exploration and Ascent
by Eric Shipton, H. W. Tilman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Eric Shipton, H. W. TilmanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-02
ISBN: 0898867215
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
Book Reviews of Nanda Devi: Exploration and Ascent
Book Review: First to Visit the Goddess...
Summary: 5 Stars
It is difficult to remember, in this age of GPS locators, satellite imagery, and helicopter rescues, that less than one hundred years ago, there were still unexplored places in the world. Eric Shipton's forgotten mountaineering classic "Nanda Devi" is a thrilling account of his 1934 expedition with climbing partner H.W. Tilman and a handful of sherpas into the inner sanctuary of Nanda Devi, a heretofore unvisited major peak in the Himalayas of northern India.
The principal obstacle to the approach to Nanda Devi was a surrounding ring of 20,000 foot peaks. The only obvious gap in this wall was the Rishi Gorge, a deep, steep, and narrow outlet for glacial meltwater. The gorge had defeated several previous expeditions, leaving the "goddess Nanda Devi" unvisited by man. Shipton and Tilman, early practitioners of the light alpine approach to climbing, forged a path up the gorge and became the first to explore the inner sanctuary around the base of Nanda Devi. Shipton recounts how the men raced a dwindling food supply and the approaching monsoon season to solve a serious of cliffs, narrow ledges, and repeated crossings of a raging river.
Shipton and Tilman, forced to leave Nanda Devi before the monsoon made their route impassible, then decided to traverse the Badrinath-Kedarnath watersheds in northern India to see if they were in fact linked. Their traverse required climbing one glacier, crossing a 20,000 foot col, and descending another glacier and miles of extremely steep, jungle-covered mountainside, on a hunch and an ancient legend that their route might lead back to human habitation. The men, beyond the reach of any possible outside assistance, were reduced to eating bamboo shoots and mushrooms, while dead-reckoning through a pathless wilderness. Having survived, they determined on a post-monsoon return to Nanda Devi and an approach to the mountain itself.
Shipton writes in a matter-of-fact, often ironic and humorous style. His respect for his traveling companions is obvious and it is easy to lose sight of the significant risks he and his party were running. Shipton's observations of northern India would make a delightful travelogue all by themselves. The text includes a handful of photographs and a large-scale sketchmap.
"Nanda Devi" is very highly recommended as an enthralling classic of exploration and climbing.
Summary of Nanda Devi: Exploration and Ascent
This compilation of the classic mountain exploration books Nanda Devi and The Ascent of Nanda Devi creates a fascinating adventure tale.Mountain Climbing Books
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