Polish alpinist, Voytek Kurtyka, termed the practice the "art of suffering." The stories here range from the French climber Elisabeth Revol's solo winter attempt of Makalu, to American Cory Richards and his dramatic effort on Gasherbrum II with famed Italian alpinist Simone Moro and Kazakh hard man Denis Urubko. Award-winning author Bernadette McDonald traveled extensively to interview many of the climbers featured in this book--including Revol, the climbing partner of Tomek Mackiewicz, and Anna Mackiewicz, his widow, meeting them just a few months after Mackiewicz's death on Nanga Parbat. McDonald's many personal relationships with profiled climbers and her ability to tap into emotions and family histories lend Winter 8000 an intimacy too often lacking in mountaineering histories.These accounts prove the point: Nature is not subservient to man.

    It was an astonishing achievement for a British team led by Everest veteran Charles Evans. Drawing on interviews, diaries and unpublished accounts, Mick Conefrey begins his story in 1905 with the first, disastrous attempt on the mountain by a team led by Aleister Crowley, explores the three dramatic German expeditions of the the late 1920s and brings it all to a climax 50 years later with the first ascent by Joe Brown and George Band. The Last Great Mountain is the final instalment of Mick Conefrey's acclaimed high altitude trilogy.

    Twenty climbers began ascending what has arguably been called the second-most climbed mountain in the world--Oregon's Mount Hood.Caught in one of the worst blizzards imaginable, they battled the elements while waiting for a rescue. The community responded by launching one of the largest mountain Search and Rescue (SAR) operations in the nation's history.Recognizing that no book concerning the highly controversial story existed, the author spent over four years researching and carefully assembling the heartbreaking pieces of the puzzle.Ric Conrad conducted thirty-seven interviews with key witnesses. He presents the story from several unique perspectives: those in the command post, directing the operation; those on the individual SAR teams, battling time and the elements; and the friends and family members of the missing climbers, maintaining their multi-day vigil.Representatives from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department, Portland Mountain Rescue, Seattle Mountain Rescue, Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit, the Crag Rats, Hillsboro Helicopters, Timberline Lodge, and the 304th Air Force Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron have all shared their memories in this compelling volume. Original strategy directives, team missions, and configurations--all are explored and explained.The oral history gleaned from these interviews, coupled with the author's extensive use of primary documentation, has yielded--at long last--the agonizing, yet heroic story of one of America's worst mountaineering tragedies.

    Starting in early March, she walked for 211 days, covering over 3,500 miles and climbing more than 119,000 metres to reach the highest points of 91 counties - that's equivalent to walking 1/7th of the way round the equator, and climbing 13 1/2 times the height of Everest.This book recounts Victoria's adventures, from 50-mph blizzards to tents full of slugs, with plenty of humour and insightful observation along the way.