With Hillary went Peter Mulgrew, of the Royal New Zealand Navy, an experienced mountaineer who had accompanied Hillary to the South Pole in 1957. Mulgrew collapsed when nearly at the summit of Makalu, and was brought back down to base severely frostbitten and literally more dead than alive, by his comrades, who braved appalling dangers in the race to save his life.At the little hospital at Kathmandu, a drug given to alleviate his pain set up an addiction. On return to Auckland, both feet and several fingers had to be amputated. The shock deepened the addiction; but Peter Mulgrew and his wife faced, fought, and conquered it together. Peter Mulgrew writes clearly, vividly and with great good humour. His disablement has left unscathed his with and his high spirits.