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All Elevations Unknown: An Adventure in the Heart of Borneo
“Sam Lightner, Jr., combines two tales of adventure, one historic and the other modern-day in his page-turner . . . With its rich sense of place and history, All Elevations Unknown offers a surprisingly fresh twist to an adventure-climbing tale.” – Climbing Magazine
In the spring of 1999, armed with little more than a description from a book and a map labeled “all elevations unknown,” Sam Lightner and his German rock-climbing buddy, Volker, found themselves deep in the jungles of Borneo on a mission to climb a mountain that was only rumored to exist. What little they knew about the mountain they had learned from the memoirs of Major Tom Harrisson, a British World War II soldier who in 1945 had been assigned the near-impossible mission of parachuting blindly into the thick Borneo rainforest–where the natives had a grisly habit of cutting off heads–to try to reclaim the island for the Allies.
A captivating, utterly original combination of travel adventure memoir and historical re-creation, All Elevations Unknown charts Lightner’s exhilarating and at times harrowing quest to ascend the mountain Batu Lawi in the face of leeches, vipers, and sweat bees, and to keep his team together in one of the earth’s most treacherous uncharted pockets. Along the way, he reconstructs a fascinating historical narrative that chronicles Tom Harrisson’s adventures there during the war and illuminates an astonishing piece of forgotten World War II history. Rife with suspense and vivid detail, the two intertwining tales open up the island of Borneo, its people, and its history in a powerful, unforgettable way, taking adventure writing to new heights.
In the spring of 1999, armed with little more than a description from a book and a map labeled “all elevations unknown,” Sam Lightner and his German rock-climbing buddy, Volker, found themselves deep in the jungles of Borneo on a mission to climb a mountain that was only rumored to exist. What little they knew about the mountain they had learned from the memoirs of Major Tom Harrisson, a British World War II soldier who in 1945 had been assigned the near-impossible mission of parachuting blindly into the thick Borneo rainforest–where the natives had a grisly habit of cutting off heads–to try to reclaim the island for the Allies.
A captivating, utterly original combination of travel adventure memoir and historical re-creation, All Elevations Unknown charts Lightner’s exhilarating and at times harrowing quest to ascend the mountain Batu Lawi in the face of leeches, vipers, and sweat bees, and to keep his team together in one of the earth’s most treacherous uncharted pockets. Along the way, he reconstructs a fascinating historical narrative that chronicles Tom Harrisson’s adventures there during the war and illuminates an astonishing piece of forgotten World War II history. Rife with suspense and vivid detail, the two intertwining tales open up the island of Borneo, its people, and its history in a powerful, unforgettable way, taking adventure writing to new heights.
- GenresTravelNonfictionMemoir
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 7, 2017
The book had a bit of a bad start with me:
"At just over six feet tall, Amat was average sized for a Kelabit." Six feet is really tall for any Sarawakian, even a Kelabit. He must have noticed this because later in the book, he wrote that everyone he met was shorter than him.
And then, he mentioned that the Tuai Rumah was the chief of all the longhouses. In the hierarchy, Tuai Rumah is a longhouse chief (just the one longhouse), Penghulu is the region's chief (which can have several longhouses), and the paramount chief is the Temenggong (which has still more).
And finally, he mentioned something about the loudest sound from the sky coming from a hornbill flapping its wings. My first thought was "That's a pretty sentence, but what about thunder?"
But it actually got a lot better after the first couple of chapters. More accurate and less poetic fluff.
I truly enjoyed his insights on what goes on behind the camera when shooting a documentary. The dangerous scenarios and inefficient paths taken simply for the sake of the shot. He did a really good job conveying the tension that built up between the film crew and the climbers as their goals started diverging.
He also alternated between his story and a fictionalised retelling of Tom Harrison's World Within. World Within has been sitting on my bookshelf's "too read" section for a couple of years. I found it irritating to read a fictionalised and abridged version of another book (one that I already want to read), so after a few chapters, I decided to skip Sam Lightner's retelling of Tom Harrison's events and simply prioritise World Within higher up my reading list. Doing so effectively cut the book's length in half. However, it also made me focus entirely on Sam Lightner's story and I found it incredibly interesting read on its own.
This is the end of my review. But I have one final nit-pick...
I was highly irritated by the part in the book where he wrote about people having to go through customs in Sarawak even after going through it when entering Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur because there is lingering resentment between Malaysia & Indonesia during the 1960's border conflicts. Erm, no. You go through it because Sarawak is one of the countries that united to form Malaysia (the others being Malaya, Singapore, and Sabah - think of it as the region's version of England/Scotland/Wales/N.Ireland). One of the points agreed upon when Sarawak joined the federation was that it could retain autonomy over immigration.
I don't blame the author for this misinformation though. The Malaysian federal government has done such an amazingly effective job in suppressing this information. Most Malaysians - even most Sarawakians - are not even aware that they are, in fact, their own region and not simply a 13th state.
"At just over six feet tall, Amat was average sized for a Kelabit." Six feet is really tall for any Sarawakian, even a Kelabit. He must have noticed this because later in the book, he wrote that everyone he met was shorter than him.
And then, he mentioned that the Tuai Rumah was the chief of all the longhouses. In the hierarchy, Tuai Rumah is a longhouse chief (just the one longhouse), Penghulu is the region's chief (which can have several longhouses), and the paramount chief is the Temenggong (which has still more).
And finally, he mentioned something about the loudest sound from the sky coming from a hornbill flapping its wings. My first thought was "That's a pretty sentence, but what about thunder?"
But it actually got a lot better after the first couple of chapters. More accurate and less poetic fluff.
I truly enjoyed his insights on what goes on behind the camera when shooting a documentary. The dangerous scenarios and inefficient paths taken simply for the sake of the shot. He did a really good job conveying the tension that built up between the film crew and the climbers as their goals started diverging.
He also alternated between his story and a fictionalised retelling of Tom Harrison's World Within. World Within has been sitting on my bookshelf's "too read" section for a couple of years. I found it irritating to read a fictionalised and abridged version of another book (one that I already want to read), so after a few chapters, I decided to skip Sam Lightner's retelling of Tom Harrison's events and simply prioritise World Within higher up my reading list. Doing so effectively cut the book's length in half. However, it also made me focus entirely on Sam Lightner's story and I found it incredibly interesting read on its own.
This is the end of my review. But I have one final nit-pick...
I was highly irritated by the part in the book where he wrote about people having to go through customs in Sarawak even after going through it when entering Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur because there is lingering resentment between Malaysia & Indonesia during the 1960's border conflicts. Erm, no. You go through it because Sarawak is one of the countries that united to form Malaysia (the others being Malaya, Singapore, and Sabah - think of it as the region's version of England/Scotland/Wales/N.Ireland). One of the points agreed upon when Sarawak joined the federation was that it could retain autonomy over immigration.
I don't blame the author for this misinformation though. The Malaysian federal government has done such an amazingly effective job in suppressing this information. Most Malaysians - even most Sarawakians - are not even aware that they are, in fact, their own region and not simply a 13th state.
July 13, 2022
when i found this book at a second hand book (tent) store, i wasn’t expecting what i’ve read at all. let me premise this by saying i am a 14 year old with basically zero rock climbing knowledge, who was also unaware of borneo previously to this book. (too be fair i’ve never been taught geography). i don’t read a lot of non fiction, but this book was a perfect balance of historical fiction and a thrilling adventure. every other chapter switches from sam lightners documentation of his journey, to tom harrison expedition. it’s weird to think that just 30 years ago, it took extreme planning, skills, practice and equipment to travel to places that now simply take a flight. what i mean is that lightner describes his journey as hard and painful, and shortly after reading the book, i did some research and there is just so much more information on borneo. of course that goes for many things now, with ya know the internet, but still. essentially sam and his friend volker traveled to a destination based off of a document from 50 years ago. this book took me much longer to read than i anticipated, but i couldn’t bring myself to take a break, since i felt as if i would miss something if i did. sam faces many challenges, from snakes and leeches, to climbing unknown elevations, to communicating with his own team, getting funding, and negotiating people from borneo to go with him although he didn’t have the funds to pay them to do so. comparing his journey to tom harrison’s is so facilitating. while harrison went to borneo on a WW2 mission, and lightner went to explore, they had similar experiences with the climate, and peak 200. this book made me want to, well, not rock climb but definitely do some more reading on rock climbing. additionally i want to find the documentary (if it was made) of lightner expedition and maybe even read tom harrison’s book. so read this book, you might find it as interesting as i did, or you might find it as boring as everyone i’ve recommended it to has. it’s up to you.
June 21, 2011
Sam Lightner sets off to climb a mountain that no one is sure even exists. The only evidence he has is a photograph in a WWII memoir and some legends from the Borneo locals. He finds the mountain, and his account of the trip to and up it is interwoven with the story of how an Australian force parachuted into Borneo and tried to organize the local tribesmen into an anti-Japanese guerilla force.
Great tone with a sardonic humor, full of interesting historical information, and a fast read.
Great tone with a sardonic humor, full of interesting historical information, and a fast read.
March 11, 2009
This is one of those travel memoirs that gets lost in the shuffle that should have way more recognition than it does. A brilliant mix of history and his experience with a small team climbing an obscure peak in Borneo.
July 7, 2009
This is one of the coolest ways to read about history. The author talks about climbing a little known mountain in the jungles of Borneo and every other chapter is about an Austalian special forces mission that took place in the same areas during WWII.
March 19, 2012
3.5 stars honestly. I don't know but seems Borneo super wild in this book! Past and modern plot maybe making this books not really boring. Well all in all, good book to read on from professional climbers.
December 10, 2013
Interesting book. Great to learn a little bit more about the history of WWII but overall the writing was sub-par
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews