Obsessed with Everest

Setting sun bathes summit of Everest in golden hue

I thought I was becoming obsessed with Mount Everest while reading my fifth book on the world’s highest mountain. The book in question is Into the Silence by Wade Davis and I found it difficult to put down until I had plowed through all 554 pages plus another 68 pages of epilogue, acknowledgements and annotated bibliography. It describes three attempts by British climbers including two led by George Mallory to reach the summit – three attempts that ultimately failed (as far as we know). There was crucial participation by an Australian who brought oxygen to the high altitude and a Canadian surveyor who determined the route up the mountain. The book, 10 years in the making, covers a wide swath of time including much gruesome detail of the First World War, the structure of the British class system and the heroic efforts to reach the summit of Everest. David Suzuki says Davis, a B.C. native and explorer-in-residence at National Geographic, writes like a poet. I have to concur. There is also much tension as you would expect in any great adventure story. In doing his prodigious research, Davis tramped through the Himalayas, combed through dozens of libraries, conducted many interviews and amassed a collection of more than 600 volumes on Everest. Now that’s obsession. See my story here https://davestravelsblog.com/trekking-to-everest-2/

About Dave Yates

I have hiked and biked through Nepal, Cuba and Mexico. I also maintain a busy schedule of adventure traveling in Canada. Many stories in the blog were originally published in the Travel Section of The Montreal Gazette. My web site is: https://davestravelsblog.wordpress.com